What's The Frequency, Kolchak? - Recap

Todd Hoffman seated in a wheelchair and handcuffed in place. He's in a diplidated room filled with old newspaper. A man comes up behind him and wheels him through a door and into a hallway. The door at the other ends up and Hoffman is shoved down the hallway and through the door. A few minutes later Hoffman's captor pulls the wheelchair back on a rope: Hoffman is gone and the wheelchair is covered in blood.

Kolchak is working on a story about the missing Hoffman, the fourth such case in the last month where people went missing in the downtown area. Perri arrives and asks if he'll be going to the surprise birthday party for her that she already knows about, but Carl hasn't heard anything about it. They're interrupted by a brief call but the person at the other end hangs up. Perri takes off for the surprise party and a man comes in, looking for Carl. The man says that he's 227 and Carl is 223, and he wants the answer that Carl has concealed in his news articles. Carl has no idea what he's talking about, and the man, Paul, draws a gun on the reporter. Paul takes Carl's car keys, finds out where it is, and knocks Kolchak out.

Carl wakes up handcuffed to the wheelchair in Paul's house. Paul insists that Carl give him the answer, but when Kolchak doesn't know what to say, Paul explains he was in room 227 at the psych ward where Kolchak stayed after the death of his wife Irene, in room 223. Paul says that the "Old Man" is responsible for the abductions and says that he's figured out Kolchak was sending him a coded message. What Paul needs to know is how to get away from the Old Man.

Perri is at her party with Jain and they call Kolchak. At Paul's house, the phone rings and the nutcase gets rid of it. He then claims that the Old Man is hiding in Paul's body, moving from spot to spot. When Paul thought the Old Man was in his toes, he tried to cut them off to get rid of his captor. Paul shows Carl a yellow line where the hallway begins and says that if anyone crosses the yellow line, then they're gone for good. Paul prepares to cut Carl's head open to get the answers so Carl bluffs and says Paul passed his test. He tells Paul to get Carl's equipment out of his car and when the man leaves, Carl tries to get away. The door is locked but when Kolchak looks out the window, he sees an Asian man coming home. Carl whispers to the man who says he's Paul's caseworker, Stanley Kim. He starts to call the police but Paul knocks him out with a cattle prod. He then puts Kim in the chair and shoves him down the hallway. After the Old Man kills Kim, Paul pulls back the wheelchair and goes through the equipment he brought in from Kolchak's car. Among the items is a thermographic camera, but Paul doesn't think any of it is useful. Carl tries to persuade Paul that he has the answer but he was sending it subconsciously through his articles and doesn't know what it is consciously. Kolchak asserts that Paul needs to let him write his story to get the answers.

Perri and Jain wonder why Carl isn't answering his phone so they go check up on him.

Paul gives Carl his typewriter and starts talking about how he met the Old Man in the psych ward. Paul was a criminal who pretended to be insane, and received shock treatments. The Old Man appeared to him in the psych ward and took over his body, and has been forcing him to kill people ever since. Carl figures the "Old Man" is a manifestation of Paul's guilt and tells Paul to use the thermographic camera. However, it shows there's actually someone in the room at the end of the hallway. The door at the other end opens and Stanley Kim stumbles out, bleeding badly. Paul believes that Kim is actually the Old Man in disguise, and refuses to go help him. Kim asks Carl for help, saying that Paul was obsessed with the reporter and was on day-leave the day that Irene died. When Paul returned that day, there was blood on his pants. Paul refuses to help the caseworker and wheels Carl away before he can get more answers about Irene's death and Paul's involvement.

Perri and Jain go back to the newspaper and confirm Carl's car is gone. Tony thinks Carl just decided to take off but Perri decides to trace the hang-up call from earlier.

Kolchak manages to free himself with a pair of cutters while Stanley calls out to Paul for help. Perri arrives outside and Carl manages to signal her. She refuses to leave and comes inside, then calls an ambulance. He admits he knew about the surprise party but preferred to be alone. Paul comes in and Perri is forced to hide, and he explains that he's deciphered Carl's hidden message: it says "Cross the yellow line." A desperate Perri attacks Paul and he shoots her. She dies in Carl's arms, but Paul says she's the Old Man in another disguise. Carl's had enough, breaks free, and beats the man, then hauls him down the hallway and throws him into the Old Man's room. However, as he turns to go, the door shuts on its own. The door is locked and Carl looks back down the hallway to see Perri, who disappears. The hallway door opens and Carl goes inside to find Paul and Stanley, dead, along with Hoffman and the others.

The police and the real Perri arrives, and Carl apologizes for missing her birthday. He's left to wonder exactly what Paul knew, and how he was involved with Irene's death.

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