Horror never really satisfied Serling like it did Steven KIng. Serling was more into supernatural themes, metaphysical and psychological dramas. His scripts tended to be deeper than the typical TV fare.
They offered Rod Serling the job of producer and he turned it down. He let Jack Laird work 20 hour days on the show while he wrote by the pool. He publicly attacked the show during its best season on talk shows and then took a fat paycheck to film intros to butchered episodes of The Sixth Sense so that it could be put on Night Gallery syndication package. If he cared about the quality of "Night Gallery" I don't think he would have done that. I can find no negative comments about that in any Rod Serling interviews. He seemed happy that he ruined the show.
I was 5 years old, when Night Gallery first began. My mom & dad had let me watch horror tv shows and movies with them, since I was 3 years old. In 1971, when I was 6 years old and starting school, my parents gave me a set bedtime for the first time. When I complained, that would make me miss Night Gallery, my parents agreed that I could stay up and watch it with them. That's how much we loved Night Gallery, in our house. Lol.
I had to sneak out of my room and hide behind the couch to watch, not because of the content, because it started at 10 or 11 pm. I was allowed to watch R rated horror since I was 2 years old since it didn't bother me as long as I had my blanky to hide in and peep through.
I remember watching it with my dad. When the ending of "The Other Way Out" confused me, my dad said that it was a "magic bullet". Good enough for me, hell I was only 5 or 6 years old
@@caucasoidape8838 No. Horror movies and horror tv shows, have never given me nightmares, not even when I was little. Probably because I was used to them, from such an early age.
The NG's Cemetery with Roddy McDowall, SCARED the Crap out of me... Those paintings were so believable.. And then the war criminal in hiding and looking at a painting of a fisherman.. There's no other actor than Rod Serling to give it that special touch. He was perfect.
As a woman in her 30s, I grew up on Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, Kolchak, and unrelatedly Unsolved Mysteries. This fostered my love of great storytelling & unforgettable characters - but mostly for the supernatural & mystery genre of TV
Nice handle. I wish i could have met a woman in her thirties who liked those three shows and maybe you could have shown me unsolved mysteries. I respected robert stack and used to love the untouchables except that in real life the mafia almost always won which was depressing
@@davidhallett8783 thanks :) The Untouchables with Stack is a classic masterpiece. I cherish my Boxset of the series. It and my complete Unsolved Mysteries Set (which is long OOP & ridiculously priced now) are 2 of my best purchases from my early 20s.
I still remember a fantastic segment with John Astin as a biker who dies in a car accident and is sent for eternity to a very boring waiting room. He says he wants to be sent to hell where the action is and is told he's already in hell. It was great I still remember it to this day
I remember that episode. That jukebox with ceiling high stacks of insipid, corny, and just plain bad 45rpm records. Hell's Bells was the title, I think.
That pilot episode with Roddy McDowell was one of the scariest things I saw on television growing up. Even now as an adult, I have no desire to watch it again.
A few years ago my GF & I were watching The Cemetery on Halloween (scary movie) night. The porch light was off after we handed out the last of the treats. When Jeremy got out of the grave, walked to the house, opened the door, a little kid started pounding on my front door. I yelled almost as loud as Portifoy. BTW, The Doll is the episode I won't watch in the dark.
I loved Night Gallery precicely because of the early-70's look and feel. Something about the cinematography from the late 60-s to about 1976 was just spellbinding to me. The film stock, the coloring techniques, the camera angles were so different than anything before or after...very dream-like.
The one segment from the pilot that stuck with me was the one about the Nazi commandant who hiding in Argentina with Israeli agents hunting him. He sees a painting in a museum of a man in a boat and he has feelings that he's inside the picture. Later when he is running from the agents he runs into the museum begging to be let into the picture, but the museum is dark and the painting in question has been replaced with one of the Holocaust to which the commandant is now trapped inside suffering for eternity. It always struck me as powerful in the sense of to what point can a person be beyond redemption and this character is accused by one of his former victims as "putting to many Christs on crosses for any God to give him an audience." It's just as much a cautionary tale with a spiritual warning as it might be a horror story.
That reminds me of the Stephen King short story called “Apt Pupil/Summer Of Corruption ” where a teenager finds out that he’s living next door to a Nazi criminal and blackmails him by making him dress up in his Nazi regalia.
It's called The Escape Route starring Richard Kiley, who also starred in Season 2's The Ghost of Sorworth Place (also with Jill Ireland), and directed by Barrt Shear (Across 110th Street).
I have read that people who suffer with high anxiety tend to watch the same programs and movies over and over because it gives them a sense of security. How ironic that my go-to TV shows are The Twilight Zone and Night Gallery!
Mine was watching a movie called "Horrors of the Black Museum. It started with a postal truck driving through the streets of NYC to deliver a package to two women. One opened it and said "oh wow a new binocular from an admirer." She walked to a window and said it didn't work. The other said you have to turn the adjustment and turning it sprung spikes into her eyeballs. But the most scary part was when a woman went to bed and laid down on her back. She looked up to see a scary looking monster that released a sharp blade the sliced off her head. For that reason I have not been able to sleep on my back, especially on the lower bed of a bunkbed. But I adore the Twilight Zone and watch their annual holiday runs.
@@tonyrobichaud Oh man, you weren't the only one traumatized by Horrors of the Black Museum! I was 10 or 11 when I caught that one day alone and immediately turned off the TV after the binoculars. It was a looooong time before I could use binoculars again. The bed guillotine was scary too! Now watching as an adult I see it as a terrific movie with Michael Gough! And it will always crack me up how the young lady danced in the pub...
@@kirnpu Wow, hey thanks for mentioning that movie. I have mentioned it to others but they do not know about it. It was a movie with scene after scene that showed yet another act of horror. I remember the swimming pool full of acid used to lower bodies into it tied to chains and when pulled back up, only the skeleton was left. I was also very young and think I saw it in a movie theater. I also tested binoculars for many years at arms length to test the focus knob first... ha-ha. Yea, I saw it again as an adult and had laughs about it. It is a horror classic to me.
@@tonyrobichaud Truly. This was one of only two movies that I turned off out of fear as a child. The other was The Tingler with Vincent Price. Ahhhh.....good times!
I grew up watching Rod Serling, I've read his war record, he fought in some big battles in the Philippines. He was on my list to meet someday, sadly he pass while I was in boot camp in 75.👍❤🇺🇸
I'm sure if the TV executives knew back in the day what we know now, they would have given Rod Serling an open check book and absolute control of the Twilight Zone and Night Gallery. Both are iconic and brilliantly done. It's a shame they were so short sighted.
Night Gallery is a very good series with many memorable segments........my favorite episodes are ' A Fear of Spiders', 'Since Aunt Ada Came to Stay', 'The Boy Who Predicted Earthquakes', Certain Shadows on the Wall',' The Phamtom Farmhouse', 'Green Fingers', 'The Dead Man', 'Return of the Sorceror', ' Last Rites for a Dead Druid'
@@Bigbadwhitecracker that sucks to hear, he probably just wanted opportunity and hated the status quo ups it was successful then he had to deal with the finance side much like record labels
That intro still give me chills! Used to stay up to watch this with my siblings as a 70s kid and it definitely made an impact on my life. The “Green Fiiiiiggerrrrs!” lady still haunts my dreams, along with the ass-backward (literally) Mermaid. Scary for a kid, even if it was “lackluster” for older Twilight Zone fans at the time. This was a great mini-doc! Sad that Rod's creative input was undercut and the fate of some of those awesome paintings.
Such an underrated show, my favorite segments are probably "The Diary" and "You Can’t Get Help Like That Anymore". Also,that is the first time I have seen the dog sized spider from "A Fear of Spiders", I have never been able to get myself to look at it while watching the episode, and when I saw it for the first time, I threw a blanket over my head.
One of my favorites, too ! Interestingly, all of the characters in that episode had at one time or another played similar roles in various movie and t.v.westerns. Steve Forrest ( as gunfighter Samuel Dichter ) and Jim Davis ( as bank robber Abe Bennett ) were outlaws in several segments of “Gunsmoke”. Gilbert Roland was perfectly cast as the “bartender” ( a.k.a. Satan ). If you like westerns, with supernatural overtones, this is the one for you 🤠💀👹 Night Gallery’s “The Waiting Room” ( Jan.26,1972 ) ...
My parents wouldn't let me watch this when I was a little kid. So, I would sneak out of bed and hide behind the door to watch it when they were watching it. I usually ended up having nightmares but kept watching anyway.
I've always wondered what happened to all those paintings, and, thanks to your video, I now know. Wouldn't it be great if the surviving paintings could be borrowed from their owners for an exhibit? Just a suggestion.
I watched "Night Gallery" when it first aired in 1970-1973. Some episodes weren't very good, but some I enjoyed very much. I really liked the Lovecraft adaptations and "Shadows on the Wall".
I'm glad you mentioned The Sixth Sense. I was pretty irritated when I began seeing that show inserted into Night Gallery reruns, especially since the episodes were chopped up and squeezed down to 30 minutes. I'd love to see a RerunZone of The Sixth Sense.
I really liked 2 segments from the pilot/tv film, The Cemetery and Eyes. The Cemetery had a lot of great twists and surprises, and Eyes was a great suspenseful story brilliantly directed by Steven Spielberg
Thank you. Now I understand what happened to Rod Serling in the fkd 70s: Nitwit brass at the networks who thought they had a handle on the genre and its audience but, ultimately, didn't care (because they weren't required to care) one way or another. Rod was a True Professional, adequately demonstrated by his response to Dick Cavet's "leading" question. The genre was changing into the 1980s (witness "Blade Runner", Alien) everywhere but on the Telly, some of it fueled by the arcane imagination of such luminaries as Philip K. Dick (posthumously), who couldn't sell a script through the 50s, 60s and 70s to, literally, save his life. Serling and Dick were contemporaries, but Dick's vision would prevail over Serling's "homespun" approach to plot and DENOUEMENT in a suddenly "fluid" genre; a genre which is, once again, much in-need of a creative "transfusion", if it is to survive the likes of "The Expanse" and the YAWN-ing VOID of Soap Opera Sci-Fi hybridoma. If you want a real treat, get with Rod Serling's 1956 movie "Patterns", with Van Heflin and Ed Begley. The "irony" is so thick, you could eat it with a fork. But use a spoon. You won't want to miss a drop. Don't get me started on Ray Bradbury! Something wicked that way comes... Live Long and Prosper. 🖖 🦋
@@GAMakin I am not sure where I was gifted that one as it has been a few years ago and my cut rate collection has grown. But I believe it was at the library where I worked which is fitting. I love Bradbury’s writing and have re-read many of his tales. I especially enjoy reading him again in the October Country of Autumn. Good luck in your search for Something Wicked this way comes, I am certain that you know it is quite worth it. You may want to try something like half price books online. I recently found a great Chinese film I had been looking for about 15 years: ‘Devils on the Doorstep’ used in excellent shape for ~$12 total. Good luck and happy hunting. C, ya. P.S. Yes, Patterns is so very good.
@@Claytone-Records I'll keep an eye out for 'Devils on the Doorstep'. Checked Wiki for a synopsis. I enjoy the Chinese sense of Irony. So I'll be making a concerted search. The Synopsis brought to mind another title I'm searching: 'The Flowers of War', with Christian Bale and an otherwise Chinese cast, Director, etc. I caught it in an early, limited release, which allowed it to be considered for an Academy Award. Had it on DVD, a pre-release version, which someone "borrowed" permanently. It has its ironic moments but it is a fairly accurate rendition of conditions in Nanking, after the Japanese laid waste to it in 1939. The SURREAL to the UNFATHOMABLE, but ultimately: strangely uplifting. I have written for the Big Screen: mid-1980s to 2010; "properties" that ultimately functioned as "story treatments". Finances are responsible: Treatments are (or were) 1/4 the WGA scale for a full screenplay. Non-disclosure agreements are binding in-perpetuity, so I am constrained from any "elaboration". Can't say how I know it, but... in the original version of 'The Matrix' (much less violent than the screen version), the main character's name is Ne0: Ne (for NEON) 0 (as in: ZERO or NULL: ∅)... A1:Sc1: Night: Raining heavily. The empty, timeworn streets are awash. Rain pours from fractured gutters overhead. A flickering neon sign in the window of an abandoned, backstreet storefront: ∅. The street is empty of all signs of life save one: A hooded figure emerges from the shadows beneath a nearby railroad overpass... 😳 LOL It's a long story. 🦋
@@GAMakin The Chinese have a fine sense of irony indeed. I am certain you will enjoy the story and requisite irony of ‘Devil’s on the Doorstep’. And based on what you have said, I now need watch for ‘The Flowers of War’ as I am certain I did not see it. I am intrigued by what you have written concerning the Big Screen, brings many questions to mind. However, as you seem to be bound in perpetuity, I will refrain from asking. I am quite pleased moreover to read of the A 1: Sc 1: Neon night… : ). Thanks.
Rod Serling was an Amazing Talent with his Twilight Zone and The Very Under Rated Night Gallery. Thank You Rod and RIP. Also Have All the DVD's. So Awesome*******
Same here, Arch! I revisit my Night Gallery episodes periodically. Love the whole series! Hard to pick a favorite, but among them is the episode called "Tell David" with Sandra Dee.
Going to have to get me the Night Gallery Disc. i remember them when I was a kid. Kept me up all night. Scare me more than any modern horror, or macabre flick. The original 90 minute movie is classic with Richard Kiel. Joan Crawford and an amazing Roddy Mcdowell.
I recently watched all three season, and I totally understand why Serling disowned the show. But it's still fun nonetheless. I heard it was more Jack Laird's show than Rod Serling's, but the best episodes were written by Serling himself.
That one, while not particularly scary, is absolutely magnificent. As also is "The Messiah Of Mott Street," and, in keeping with the same kind of sentimental, redemptive, O. Henry-like type of story, I guess "Silent Snow, Secret Snow" could also be listed, though it contains a certain amount of unsettlingness and fear and the macabre that the other two don't. At any rate, all those have a TTZ feel to them. I mean, they could easily have been Twilight Zone episodes.
I remember as a 8 or 9 y/o watching the episodes in our (purposely by me)dimly lit den. Within a year or so I remember adding to the Friday or Saturday late night shows to watch....D Kirshner’s Rock Concert & The Midnight Special. After SNL, of course. Night Gallery would come on around the time before or after those shows...My parents thought I was in bed asleep...or did they? I now believe my mom indulged me w/my tv escape-isms. I know she was more content with me watching the shows featuring music ‘acts’. I suppose these shows are what set me on a path to being a night owl, LOVING going to concerts, & a love of reading books of all genres (including scaryAF storylines). Rock ‘n Roll...scary Night Gallery/Twilight Zone/Outer Limits/Kolchak... The stuff of MANY a childhoods. I realize that nothing can last forever, however, when the real talent is stifled the ‘audience’ bears the brunt of bad decisions. So, definitely...Studio execs, for probably EVER, seem to eventually RUIN EVERYTHING. Thank you to this channel’s creator for bringing topics like this, from our memory banks, to the present. Keep ‘em coming...Please.
Night Gallery may not be as great overall compared to Twilight Zone, but it still has some outstanding episodes. I still remember "Their Tearing Down Tim Riley's Bar". An Emmy winning episode.
That was a great video, thanks! I was always puzzled about why Gary Collins was sometimes the main character and other times no where to be found. Makes total sense now.
Night Gallery was also the inspiration for shows like Tales from the Crypt, and the kid-focused shows Are You Afraid of the Dark? and Goosebumps. I’ve always loved this format and should probably watch Night Gallery again.
The original opening sequence music as well as mix of painted images, impossible architecture, & insane looking people still freaks me out & entertains me since I was a child in the 70s.
I just finished a short story book based on Rod's approach to story telling. His influence will live forever and always be the gift that keeps on giving.
Night Gallery was a gripping yet underrated tv series. It might've been more subtle, with neater twists and turns in its stories, had Rod Serling been at the helm, and made the major decisions. One episode I found really creepy was "Cool Air" adapted from the H.P. Lovecraft story. Oh, that shocker ending!! And the one featuring a sea captain who falls in love with a mermaid brought up in his boat's fishing net. When the ship's doctor gives her medicine, her human & fish parts change places! (Can't remember the episode title offhand.) Nevertheless, there were a few good episodes that stood out. 😮💀
“Lindemann’s Catch” ( Jan.12,1972 ) written by Rod Serling, and starring Stuart Whitman as bitter sea Captain Hendrick Linndemann. The mermaid was played by actress Anabel Garth. This segment would have made a perfect companion feature with the first season episode “Lone Survivor” ( Jan.13,1971 ), also written by Rod Serling, about a cowardly lost soul condemned to ride the final voyage of doomed ships forever ( the “Titanic”, “Lusitania” , and “Andrea Doria” ) 🚢💀😮
I think Rod was the best the mystery genre ever had. No matter what topic... Or how crazy... He always nailed it. Even when the everything was against him.
Truly, one of the scariest shows on 70's TV. Many shows tried to catch it's lightning in a bottle, but the only one that came close was HBO's Tales From The Crypt. If only NBC let Rod Serling have his way in terms of creativity, who knows what would the end product be. 👻
I suppose that Mr. Rod Serling learned his lesson when dealing with studio executives after "Night Gallery". Two episodes from the series that I enjoyed were "The Survivor" (played by John Colicos), and "The Flip Side of Satan".
Many people dont know that he and Michael Wilson wrote the screenplay for the 1968 The Planet of the Apes . Sure alot was changed like ape city but he wrote 40 drafts for that film ( they made a comic in 2017 on the first draft ) . You can see alot of him in that film like the ending.
Loved the Night Gallery but the three episodes I most remember were the three that you said were the orgiinal movie so that must be the thing that hooked me. Rod Serling was a creative genuis.
I enjoyed watching these episodes, I still do. They show them on Comet on Saturdays. Some of the episodes use the same themes as Twilight Zone episodes. Some episodes hold up very well. Others make interesting time capsules.
I loved the early Night Gallery episodes, but it seemed to the end of the run it got caught in a trap of ESP episodes and it just went down hill with Gary Collins just squinting for dramatic effect.
@Edward Bashaw Was looking for this comment. Yes, it wasn't mentioned but I wonder how RS felt about those. Considering his style, I would think not so much. Too bad they messed up not realizing his quality of style was why it had the ratings. Declining due to their greed and inability to see an icon in the making. Creating legendary classics right in front of them. Doubt I wasn't the only one that turned channels seeing GC, knowing here we go... "Squinting"? 😑
Gary Collins wasn't in Night Gallery at all, he had his own series, The Sixth Sense. I remember as a teenager enjoying both shows. It's too bad soul less executives have managed to screw up 2 tv shows by cramming them together. I've been trying to find The Sixth Sense episodes but haven't been able to. I have no desire to waste my money on jammed together, heavily edited product that doesn't even resemble the original content.
Night Gallery was my introduction to Rod Serling (was a bit too young to see Twilight Zone first run....and yes, that STILL means I'm old as dirt ^_^).
In the early 80’s Gallery was shown at 10:00 m-f..If I was playing with my Star Wars figures and I forgot to change the channel before 10:00 and that theme music came on, my blood would run cold and my night was f*cked!
Thanks, I always wondered what the deal was with this show. I was a little kid when it first came on and had to hide behind the couch to watch because it was past my bedtime. Being sneaky just made it more fun! I love the paintings, if they were wax figures I would have been turned off, the show needed something consistently cool to make up for the inconsistent quality of the content. Even the paintings I didn't like so much were still paintings and nicer than the alternatives. I wonder how many still exist and what happened to all of them.
It was quite a shock when, after a considerable absence on television, they began showing Night Gallery in syndication and viewers were suddenly confronted by those dreadful "Sixth Sense" add-ons, as well as the re-editing, with many scratching their heads in puzzlement and thinking, "That's not how I remember it"
My warmest memories of television of that late sixties era are always of Night Gallery. As uneven as it was, alternating between absolute genius and mere throwaway footage, I watched it religiously. No matter how disappointed I might be in a weekly episode where all the stories disappointed, I would still watch (& hope) on the next week’s offering, hoping that at least one of the stories would be another “home run.” I wasn’t surprised when Serling eventually sued the producers(?)/network after/during(?) the last season. They had finally successfully in butchering it so badly that even my loyalty to the show vanished. But the masterpieces that were produced amongst the detritus I still remember fondly! How could anyone who appreciates good short stories and artistic merit not? Long live Night Gallery!
I catch this show even now weekly on over the air channel Comet tv 📺! I've seen almost every episode 👀. You should do a "Dark Shadows" one! Thanks for post, RerunZone.
A lot of the episodes were quite interesting indeed & the paintings were extraordinary... to say the least. The opening credits & music were creepy as hell .
Rod Serling was an artist. Profit driven corporate types don't trust artists and will often kill the productive goose; the artist. The artist wants to create in order to amaze and affect people, but the greedy ones just want more money, which makes them blind and unwise, as well as failures. Profits are fine, but they are subordinate.
I remember watching the pilot with my mom. My dad was out of town and we decided to watch it. Bad idea, the segment with the old man coming out of the grave yard scared the hell out me and my mom and I never watched night gallery again.
Honestly, the Pilot Episode/Movie was literally the best episode of the entire series. Having seen the entire series years ago, I can honestly say that. After the absolutely incredible Pilot, every other episode was either _almost_ as good but not quite. Or, terrible. Especially when the series began to follow Gary Collin's character and it turned from horror to New Age mumbo-jumbo. (Okay, there were isolated stories here and there that were genuinely good. But those were horrendously rare during the run of the series. The series literally peaked during that Pilot episode.)
that brings back some memories,during my much younger days,l looked forward to my weekend visits to my grandmother,Night Gallery(that theme song still gives me the chills)Benny Hill & The Gold Diggers were among our favorites 😊
I had heard Rod was basically just the narrator on Night Gallery. Here I see that he did do some writing. Not much, apparently. He wrote almost all of the Twilight Zone eps. He deserves his legend status.
Great story behind the episode “Silent Snow, Secret Snow”. Orson Welles agreed to record narration but as airtime got closer he had yet to show up to record his narration. At the last minute. An envelope arrived and inside was a reel of tape. Orson had recorded all the narration himself and simply sent them the tape
Jack Laird deserves credit for much of what was good with Night Gallery. He contributed his own ideas, reshaped Rod Serling's ideas to a presentable form, and overall was a top notch showrunner.
a very worthy follow up to twilight zone... wish he got more control to do as he desired though. and i enjoyed the episodes i was able to watch. the earwick/worm thing one was especially satisfying.!! always stayed in my memories... R.I.P. rod serling
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Rod was the Master of the Macabre...ahead of his time, yet timeless
Steven King before Steven King, right?!😜
Horror never really satisfied Serling like it did Steven KIng. Serling was more into supernatural themes, metaphysical and psychological dramas. His scripts tended to be deeper than the typical TV fare.
I can respect that😀
@@jrooksable Booo
If only they would have let him have creative control it would have been even more amazing.
In truth, had Serling HAD total creative control it would've been a Twilight Zone reboot!♥
I thought 2 of the segments from the pilot episode/tv film, The Cemetery and Eyes, were pretty good
@@Omar-wq9dz Yes, he won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for the pilot. But you didn't like the last one?
I think it is Jack Laird who obviously ruined the show, and who especially ruined the tone of it.
They offered Rod Serling the job of producer and he turned it down. He let Jack Laird work 20 hour days on the show while he wrote by the pool. He publicly attacked the show during its best season on talk shows and then took a fat paycheck to film intros to butchered episodes of The Sixth Sense so that it could be put on Night Gallery syndication package. If he cared about the quality of "Night Gallery" I don't think he would have done that. I can find no negative comments about that in any Rod Serling interviews. He seemed happy that he ruined the show.
I was 5 years old, when Night Gallery first began. My mom & dad had let me watch horror tv shows and movies with them, since I was 3 years old. In 1971, when I was 6 years old and starting school, my parents gave me a set bedtime for the first time. When I complained, that would make me miss Night Gallery, my parents agreed that I could stay up and watch it with them. That's how much we loved Night Gallery, in our house. Lol.
I had to sneak out of my room and hide behind the couch to watch, not because of the content, because it started at 10 or 11 pm.
I was allowed to watch R rated horror since I was 2 years old since it didn't bother me as long as I had my blanky to hide in and peep through.
I remember watching it with my dad. When the ending of "The Other Way Out" confused me, my dad said that it was a "magic bullet".
Good enough for me, hell I was only 5 or 6 years old
awws
Did any of it have you spooked at night?
@@caucasoidape8838 No. Horror movies and horror tv shows, have never given me nightmares, not even when I was little. Probably because I was used to them, from such an early age.
Rod Serling was a genius The Twilight Zone is timeless. Night Gallery was hit or miss. The opening intro of it with the pictures and music was spooky.
Still is!
ABSOLUTELY!! The music and the opening visuals were BEYOND words!!! GENIUS!!!
I’ve watched some episodes on Comet TV and I have to say I agree. The show was not the best. Twilight Zone was better.
I agree the opening theme always creep me out when I was a teenager . But the show is great one of my favorite episode is A question of fear.
@@stevemoore9509 high on my list. But my favourite was.
The waiting room
Six great actors a great story also great music. And the silence is golden
The NG's Cemetery with Roddy McDowall, SCARED the Crap out of me... Those paintings were so believable.. And then the war criminal in hiding and looking at a painting of a fisherman.. There's no other actor than Rod Serling to give it that special touch. He was perfect.
As a woman in her 30s, I grew up on Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, Kolchak, and unrelatedly Unsolved Mysteries. This fostered my love of great storytelling & unforgettable characters - but mostly for the supernatural & mystery genre of TV
You should watch The Outer Limits
You and I both.
@@seriousnesstv7902 I have! The original and 90s reboot. Love them.
Nice handle. I wish i could have met a woman in her thirties who liked those three shows and maybe you could have shown me unsolved mysteries. I respected robert stack and used to love the untouchables except that in real life the mafia almost always won which was depressing
@@davidhallett8783 thanks :) The Untouchables with Stack is a classic masterpiece. I cherish my Boxset of the series. It and my complete Unsolved Mysteries Set (which is long OOP & ridiculously priced now) are 2 of my best purchases from my early 20s.
I still remember a fantastic segment with John Astin as a biker who dies in a car accident and is sent for eternity to a very boring waiting room. He says he wants to be sent to hell where the action is and is told he's already in hell. It was great I still remember it to this day
I remember that episode. That jukebox with ceiling high stacks of insipid, corny, and just plain bad 45rpm records. Hell's Bells was the title, I think.
Lol That sounds hilarious. I need to check that episode out.
That pilot episode with Roddy McDowell was one of the scariest things I saw on television growing up. Even now as an adult, I have no desire to watch it again.
I agree.
That and the Nazi in Argentina segment were superior
to the rather choppy one Spielberg directed.
Jeez, I have obviously missed out on this show, I'll have to check it out!
@@VorpalDerringer Good luck. Unless you are able to catch it somewhere on reruns. It has never been released on video.
A few years ago my GF & I were watching The Cemetery on Halloween (scary movie) night. The porch light was off after we handed out the last of the treats. When Jeremy got out of the grave, walked to the house, opened the door, a little kid started pounding on my front door. I yelled almost as loud as Portifoy. BTW, The Doll is the episode I won't watch in the dark.
Absolutely. Also the one with the spider that kept growing. Truly terrifying stuff for a kid!
I loved Night Gallery precicely because of the early-70's look and feel. Something about the cinematography from the late 60-s to about 1976 was just spellbinding to me. The film stock, the coloring techniques, the camera angles were so different than anything before or after...very dream-like.
Your right! I love that early 70s, 35mm Kodak film look!
It hurts to imagine how much great TV would have been created if Rod Serling was given a blank cheque and a permanent home for his ideas.
Not to mention his untimely death.😔
The one segment from the pilot that stuck with me was the one about the Nazi commandant who hiding in Argentina with Israeli agents hunting him. He sees a painting in a museum of a man in a boat and he has feelings that he's inside the picture. Later when he is running from the agents he runs into the museum begging to be let into the picture, but the museum is dark and the painting in question has been replaced with one of the Holocaust to which the commandant is now trapped inside suffering for eternity. It always struck me as powerful in the sense of to what point can a person be beyond redemption and this character is accused by one of his former victims as "putting to many Christs on crosses for any God to give him an audience." It's just as much a cautionary tale with a spiritual warning as it might be a horror story.
One of my favorites, too! The twist at the end was shocking! Didn't see that coming!
That was a fantastic show
That reminds me of the Stephen King short story called “Apt Pupil/Summer Of Corruption ” where a teenager finds out that he’s living next door to a Nazi criminal and blackmails him by making him dress up in his Nazi regalia.
It's called The Escape Route starring Richard Kiley, who also starred in Season 2's The Ghost of Sorworth Place (also with Jill Ireland), and directed by Barrt Shear (Across 110th Street).
l was in my pre-teens when l viewed that segment,it still haunts me to this day,it was very powerful 🤔
I have read that people who suffer with high anxiety tend to watch the same programs and movies over and over because it gives them a sense of security. How ironic that my go-to TV shows are The Twilight Zone and Night Gallery!
Brilliant insight. Same with me
The scariest moment of my 10 year old life was watching ‘I will never leave you, ever’ in 1972. Will never forget that ending,
Mine was watching a movie called "Horrors of the Black Museum. It started with a postal truck driving through the streets of NYC to deliver a package to two women. One opened it and said "oh wow a new binocular from an admirer." She walked to a window and said it didn't work. The other said you have to turn the adjustment and turning it sprung spikes into her eyeballs. But the most scary part was when a woman went to bed and laid down on her back. She looked up to see a scary looking monster that released a sharp blade the sliced off her head. For that reason I have not been able to sleep on my back, especially on the lower bed of a bunkbed. But I adore the Twilight Zone and watch their annual holiday runs.
@@tonyrobichaud Oh man, you weren't the only one traumatized by Horrors of the Black Museum! I was 10 or 11 when I caught that one day alone and immediately turned off the TV after the binoculars. It was a looooong time before I could use binoculars again. The bed guillotine was scary too! Now watching as an adult I see it as a terrific movie with Michael Gough! And it will always crack me up how the young lady danced in the pub...
@@kirnpu Wow, hey thanks for mentioning that movie. I have mentioned it to others but they do not know about it. It was a movie with scene after scene that showed yet another act of horror. I remember the swimming pool full of acid used to lower bodies into it tied to chains and when pulled back up, only the skeleton was left. I was also very young and think I saw it in a movie theater. I also tested binoculars for many years at arms length to test the focus knob first... ha-ha. Yea, I saw it again as an adult and had laughs about it. It is a horror classic to me.
@@tonyrobichaud Truly. This was one of only two movies that I turned off out of fear as a child. The other was The Tingler with Vincent Price. Ahhhh.....good times!
Seems like it never did leave you, ever lol Now I’m off to search for it myself
Rod serling was the coolest guy I've ever seen on tv
He had a great voice for doing documentaries
My favorite Night Gallery episode was "Cemetery" starring Ossie Davis and Roddy McDowell.
Mine too.
portafoy
That was one of the creepiest episodes to me. Have to watch it again
I grew up watching Rod Serling, I've read his war record, he fought in some big battles in the Philippines. He was on my list to meet someday, sadly he pass while I was in boot camp in 75.👍❤🇺🇸
The "Spectre in tap shoes" episode is the scariest one I ever saw. An I was an adult when I watched it. 18+ an scared shitless... Thank you Rod!
I'm sure if the TV executives knew back in the day what we know now, they would have given Rod Serling an open check book and absolute control of the Twilight Zone and Night Gallery. Both are iconic and brilliantly done. It's a shame they were so short sighted.
Night Gallery is a very good series with many memorable segments........my favorite episodes are ' A Fear of Spiders', 'Since Aunt Ada Came to Stay', 'The Boy Who Predicted Earthquakes', Certain Shadows on the Wall',' The Phamtom Farmhouse', 'Green Fingers', 'The Dead Man', 'Return of the Sorceror', ' Last Rites for a Dead Druid'
Rod Serling was a genius!💯
But a terrible businessman which is why he didn't own the name for TZ
Rod Serling and Richard Matheson between them have probably written some of the best tv and movie work ever.
@@Bigbadwhitecracker that sucks to hear, he probably just wanted opportunity and hated the status quo ups it was successful then he had to deal with the finance side much like record labels
That intro still give me chills! Used to stay up to watch this with my siblings as a 70s kid and it definitely made an impact on my life. The “Green Fiiiiiggerrrrs!” lady still haunts my dreams, along with the ass-backward (literally) Mermaid.
Scary for a kid, even if it was “lackluster” for older Twilight Zone fans at the time. This was a great mini-doc! Sad that Rod's creative input was undercut and the fate of some of those awesome paintings.
im a big fan of both twiilight zone and night gallery, those 2 shows were my go to shows back in the late 70s.
Such an underrated show, my favorite segments are probably "The Diary" and "You Can’t Get Help Like That Anymore". Also,that is the first time I have seen the dog sized spider from "A Fear of Spiders", I have never been able to get myself to look at it while watching the episode, and when I saw it for the first time, I threw a blanket over my head.
It is never really explained if the spider was real or if it was just a figment of the highfalutin character’s imagination.
You're right, it never was explained. And I think that's a good thing.
I love this show. The Waiting Room is one of my all time favorite episodes of Night Gallery.
One of the best agreed
That was a good one too!
One of my favorites, too ! Interestingly, all of the characters in that episode had at one time or another played similar roles in various movie and t.v.westerns. Steve Forrest ( as gunfighter Samuel Dichter ) and Jim Davis ( as bank robber Abe Bennett ) were outlaws in several segments of “Gunsmoke”. Gilbert Roland was perfectly cast as the “bartender” ( a.k.a. Satan ). If you like westerns, with supernatural overtones, this is the one for you 🤠💀👹 Night Gallery’s “The Waiting Room” ( Jan.26,1972 ) ...
My parents wouldn't let me watch this when I was a little kid. So, I would sneak out of bed and hide behind the door to watch it when they were watching it. I usually ended up having nightmares but kept watching anyway.
I've always wondered what happened to all those paintings, and, thanks to your video, I now know. Wouldn't it be great if the surviving paintings could be borrowed from their owners for an exhibit? Just a suggestion.
I love this show! Wish it could've lasted longer
I watched "Night Gallery" when it first aired in 1970-1973. Some episodes weren't very good, but some I enjoyed very much. I really liked the Lovecraft adaptations and "Shadows on the Wall".
The Pickman’s Model adaptation wasn’t half-bad.
I'm glad you mentioned The Sixth Sense. I was pretty irritated when I began seeing that show inserted into Night Gallery reruns, especially since the episodes were chopped up and squeezed down to 30 minutes. I'd love to see a RerunZone of The Sixth Sense.
I really liked 2 segments from the pilot/tv film, The Cemetery and Eyes. The Cemetery had a lot of great twists and surprises, and Eyes was a great suspenseful story brilliantly directed by Steven Spielberg
Thank you. Now I understand what happened to Rod Serling in the fkd 70s: Nitwit brass at the networks who thought they had a handle on the genre and its audience but, ultimately, didn't care (because they weren't required to care) one way or another. Rod was a True Professional, adequately demonstrated by his response to Dick Cavet's "leading" question. The genre was changing into the 1980s (witness "Blade Runner", Alien) everywhere but on the Telly, some of it fueled by the arcane imagination of such luminaries as Philip K. Dick (posthumously), who couldn't sell a script through the 50s, 60s and 70s to, literally, save his life. Serling and Dick were contemporaries, but Dick's vision would prevail over Serling's "homespun" approach to plot and DENOUEMENT in a suddenly "fluid" genre; a genre which is, once again, much in-need of a creative "transfusion", if it is to survive the likes of "The Expanse" and the YAWN-ing VOID of Soap Opera Sci-Fi hybridoma.
If you want a real treat, get with Rod Serling's 1956 movie "Patterns", with Van Heflin and Ed Begley. The "irony" is so thick, you could eat it with a fork. But use a spoon. You won't want to miss a drop.
Don't get me started on Ray Bradbury! Something wicked that way comes...
Live Long and Prosper. 🖖
🦋
I have the Something Wicked on dvd. I was surprised to find it for $1. Some people.
@@Claytone-Records Lucky find. I have been searching for a copy: Salvation Army Store, bargain book stores, etc. I'll keep looking.
@@GAMakin I am not sure where I was gifted that one as it has been a few years ago and my cut rate collection has grown. But I believe it was at the library where I worked which is fitting. I love Bradbury’s writing and have re-read many of his tales. I especially enjoy reading him again in the October Country of Autumn. Good luck in your search for Something Wicked this way comes, I am certain that you know it is quite worth it. You may want to try something like half price books online. I recently found a great Chinese film I had been looking for about 15 years: ‘Devils on the Doorstep’ used in excellent shape for ~$12 total.
Good luck and happy hunting. C, ya. P.S. Yes, Patterns is so very good.
@@Claytone-Records I'll keep an eye out for 'Devils on the Doorstep'. Checked Wiki for a synopsis. I enjoy the Chinese sense of Irony. So I'll be making a concerted search. The Synopsis brought to mind another title I'm searching: 'The Flowers of War', with Christian Bale and an otherwise Chinese cast, Director, etc. I caught it in an early, limited release, which allowed it to be considered for an Academy Award. Had it on DVD, a pre-release version, which someone "borrowed" permanently. It has its ironic moments but it is a fairly accurate rendition of conditions in Nanking, after the Japanese laid waste to it in 1939. The SURREAL to the UNFATHOMABLE, but ultimately: strangely uplifting. I have written for the Big Screen: mid-1980s to 2010; "properties" that ultimately functioned as "story treatments". Finances are responsible: Treatments are (or were) 1/4 the WGA scale for a full screenplay. Non-disclosure agreements are binding in-perpetuity, so I am constrained from any "elaboration". Can't say how I know it, but... in the original version of 'The Matrix' (much less violent than the screen version), the main character's name is Ne0: Ne (for NEON) 0 (as in: ZERO or NULL: ∅)... A1:Sc1: Night: Raining heavily. The empty, timeworn streets are awash. Rain pours from fractured gutters overhead. A flickering neon sign in the window of an abandoned, backstreet storefront: ∅. The street is empty of all signs of life save one: A hooded figure emerges from the shadows beneath a nearby railroad overpass... 😳 LOL It's a long story.
🦋
@@GAMakin The Chinese have a fine sense of irony indeed. I am certain you will enjoy the story and requisite irony of ‘Devil’s on the Doorstep’. And based on what you have said, I now need watch for ‘The Flowers of War’ as I am certain I did not see it. I am intrigued by what you have written concerning the Big Screen, brings many questions to mind. However, as you seem to be bound in perpetuity, I will refrain from asking. I am quite pleased moreover to read of the A 1: Sc 1: Neon night… : ). Thanks.
Watched Eyes by myself as a kid one late evening. The unease of the episode has been haunting me for the last 40 years.
I absolutely love Night Gallery! Very, very happy to own the entire series on DVD.
You are so lucky to have that collection!
@@sparrowgael Thank you very much. I feel very fortunate to own it.
Night Gallery holds a special place in my heart, more than The Twilight Zone.
I absolutely love night gallery! Yea not all episodes are gold but the ones that are good are fantastic!
Rod Serling was an Amazing Talent with his Twilight Zone and The Very Under Rated Night Gallery. Thank You Rod and RIP. Also Have All the DVD's. So Awesome*******
I love Night Gallery, I got the whole series on disc. I might just need to give them a spin again soon, rite in time for 🎃 Halloween.
Yeah me too. I recently picked up all 3 seasons on DVD. Such a different and special classic TV show.
Kino lober is releasing this on blu ray with season 1 on November 23, then the rest of the seasons in 2022... it is up for preorder on amazon as now
Brenden Riche Sweet! 🤩
Same here, Arch! I revisit my Night Gallery episodes periodically. Love the whole series! Hard to pick a favorite, but among them is the episode called "Tell David" with Sandra Dee.
@@atranfanatic For sure!
I used to watch Night Gallery every week. I loved it.
Going to have to get me the Night Gallery Disc. i remember them when I was a kid. Kept me up all night. Scare me more than any modern horror, or macabre flick. The original 90 minute movie is classic with Richard Kiel. Joan Crawford and an amazing Roddy Mcdowell.
That introduction music scared the crap out of me as a kid. Great show.
I recently watched all three season, and I totally understand why Serling disowned the show. But it's still fun nonetheless. I heard it was more Jack Laird's show than Rod Serling's, but the best episodes were written by Serling himself.
I remember when I used to stay up until 11:30 at night watching the night gallery, miss those times.
"The Girl With the Hungry Eyes" with Joanna Pettit and James Farentino one of my favorite episodes...
They’re Tearing Down Tim Riley’s Bar stands right up there with most TZ episodes. Others are good too but that is my favorite.
That one, while not particularly scary, is absolutely magnificent. As also is "The Messiah Of Mott Street," and, in keeping with the same kind of sentimental, redemptive, O. Henry-like type of story, I guess "Silent Snow, Secret Snow" could also be listed, though it contains a certain amount of unsettlingness and fear and the macabre that the other two don't. At any rate, all those have a TTZ feel to them. I mean, they could easily have been Twilight Zone episodes.
I remember as a 8 or 9 y/o watching the episodes in our (purposely by me)dimly lit den. Within a year or so I remember adding to the Friday or Saturday late night shows to watch....D Kirshner’s Rock Concert & The Midnight Special. After SNL, of course. Night Gallery would come on around the time before or after those shows...My parents thought I was in bed asleep...or did they? I now believe my mom indulged me w/my tv escape-isms. I know she was more content with me watching the shows featuring music ‘acts’. I suppose these shows are what set me on a path to being a night owl, LOVING going to concerts, & a love of reading books of all genres (including scaryAF storylines). Rock ‘n Roll...scary Night Gallery/Twilight Zone/Outer Limits/Kolchak... The stuff of MANY a childhoods. I realize that nothing can last forever, however, when the real talent is stifled the ‘audience’ bears the brunt of bad decisions.
So, definitely...Studio execs, for probably EVER, seem to eventually
RUIN EVERYTHING.
Thank you to this channel’s creator for bringing topics like this, from our memory banks, to the present. Keep ‘em coming...Please.
Night Gallery may not be as great overall compared to Twilight Zone, but it still has some outstanding episodes. I still remember "Their Tearing Down Tim Riley's Bar". An Emmy winning episode.
I grew up watching both the Twilight Zone and Night Gallery. Both of those theme songs still give me the creeps
That was a great video, thanks! I was always puzzled about why Gary Collins was sometimes the main character and other times no where to be found. Makes total sense now.
Night Gallery was also the inspiration for shows like Tales from the Crypt, and the kid-focused shows Are You Afraid of the Dark? and Goosebumps.
I’ve always loved this format and should probably watch Night Gallery again.
The original opening sequence music as well as mix of painted images, impossible architecture, & insane looking people still freaks me out & entertains me since I was a child in the 70s.
I just finished a short story book based on Rod's approach to story telling. His influence will live forever and always be the gift that keeps on giving.
I love this series, the script,the acting everything was perfect,one of my favourites.Rod Serling was a genius.
Let's not forget, "One Step Beyond" another classic and my #1 story is the, "Tiger." and also, "Chiller, Creature Feature"
Night Gallery was a gripping yet underrated tv series. It might've been more subtle, with neater twists and turns in its stories, had Rod Serling been at the helm, and made the major decisions.
One episode I found really creepy was "Cool Air" adapted from the H.P. Lovecraft story. Oh, that shocker ending!!
And the one featuring a sea captain who falls in love with a mermaid brought up in his boat's fishing net. When the ship's doctor gives her medicine, her human & fish parts change places! (Can't remember the episode title offhand.)
Nevertheless, there were a few good episodes that stood out. 😮💀
“Lindemann’s Catch” ( Jan.12,1972 ) written by Rod Serling, and starring Stuart Whitman as bitter sea Captain Hendrick Linndemann. The mermaid was played by actress Anabel Garth. This segment would have made a perfect companion feature with the first season episode “Lone Survivor” ( Jan.13,1971 ), also written by Rod Serling, about a cowardly lost soul condemned to ride the final voyage of doomed ships forever ( the “Titanic”, “Lusitania” , and “Andrea Doria” ) 🚢💀😮
Night gallery was a masterpiece
if Rod was giving the creative control he wanted, it COULD HAVE BEEN.
I think Rod was the best the mystery genre ever had. No matter what topic... Or how crazy... He always nailed it. Even when the everything was against him.
Truly, one of the scariest shows on 70's TV. Many shows tried to catch it's lightning in a bottle, but the only one that came close was HBO's Tales From The Crypt.
If only NBC let Rod Serling have his way in terms of creativity, who knows what would the end product be. 👻
I suppose that Mr. Rod Serling learned his lesson when dealing with studio executives after "Night Gallery". Two episodes from the series that I enjoyed were "The Survivor" (played by John Colicos), and "The Flip Side of Satan".
Many people dont know that he and Michael Wilson wrote the screenplay for the 1968 The Planet of the Apes . Sure alot was changed like ape city but he wrote 40 drafts for that film ( they made a comic in 2017 on the first draft ) . You can see alot of him in that film like the ending.
Loved the Night Gallery but the three episodes I most remember were the three that you said were the orgiinal movie so that must be the thing that hooked me. Rod Serling was a creative genuis.
1. Death on a Barge
2. Lindeman's Catch
Two of my absolute favorites!
"The Sins of the Fathers" episode (The one about the "sin eater") haunts me to this day. Such an amazingly messed up piece of television art.
This is one of my two favorites; this and Certain Shadows on the Wall. Half a century later, they still give me chills.
Night Gallery ❕ I manages to talk my parents to watch it once,and they were hooked. Dude made wonderful television.
I enjoyed watching these episodes, I still do. They show them on Comet on Saturdays. Some of the episodes use the same themes as Twilight Zone episodes. Some episodes hold up very well. Others make interesting time capsules.
I loved the early Night Gallery episodes, but it seemed to the end of the run it got caught in a trap of ESP episodes and it just went down hill with Gary Collins just squinting for dramatic effect.
@Edward Bashaw
Was looking for this comment. Yes, it wasn't mentioned but I wonder how RS felt about those. Considering his style, I would think not so much. Too bad they messed up not realizing his quality of style was why it had the ratings. Declining due to their greed and inability to see an icon in the making. Creating legendary classics right in front of them. Doubt I wasn't the only one that turned channels seeing GC, knowing here we go... "Squinting"? 😑
Gary Collins wasn't in Night Gallery at all, he had his own series, The Sixth Sense. I remember as a teenager enjoying both shows. It's too bad soul less executives have managed to screw up 2 tv shows by cramming them together. I've been trying to find The Sixth Sense episodes but haven't been able to. I have no desire to waste my money on jammed together, heavily edited product that doesn't even resemble the original content.
Great presentation! I loved Night Gallery.
The opening credits and music totally freaked me out as a kid
“The Tune In Dan’s Cafe”: haunting, mesmerizing, unforgettable.
Very good job on this video, I grew up watching Night Gallery reruns and have the whole DVD collection, one of my favorite shows ever!
I remember some early episodes of the Night Gallery scared the crap out of me as a kid.
Night Gallery was my introduction to Rod Serling (was a bit too young to see Twilight Zone first run....and yes, that STILL means I'm old as dirt ^_^).
I was just recovering from the shows theme song and you sent me right back into my ptsd
The opening theme alone was enough to get me scared as a child..
Childhood memories for life
The introduction to this series always gave me the creeps.
It was that creepy music as the camera pans to the picture.
Gil Mellé, man, a true pioneer!
Night Gallery rules!
Best eps. "A Question of Fear", "Pickman's Model", "Last Rites for a Dead Druid", and "The Housekeeper".
Yes. "A Question of Fear" is my fave.
In the early 80’s Gallery was shown at 10:00 m-f..If I was playing with my Star Wars figures and I forgot to change the channel before 10:00 and that theme music came on, my blood would run cold and my night was f*cked!
THE ACADEMY and THE DIARY are absolutely brilliant!! ;-) ;-) ;-)
Thank You !
You are welcome!
Thanks, I always wondered what the deal was with this show. I was a little kid when it first came on and had to hide behind the couch to watch because it was past my bedtime. Being sneaky just made it more fun!
I love the paintings, if they were wax figures I would have been turned off, the show needed something consistently cool to make up for the inconsistent quality of the content. Even the paintings I didn't like so much were still paintings and nicer than the alternatives. I wonder how many still exist and what happened to all of them.
It was quite a shock when, after a considerable absence on television, they began showing Night Gallery in syndication and viewers were suddenly confronted by those dreadful "Sixth Sense" add-ons, as well as the re-editing, with many scratching their heads in puzzlement and thinking, "That's not how I remember it"
My warmest memories of television of that late sixties era are always of Night Gallery. As uneven as it was, alternating between absolute genius and mere throwaway footage, I watched it religiously. No matter how disappointed I might be in a weekly episode where all the stories disappointed, I would still watch (& hope) on the next week’s offering, hoping that at least one of the stories would be another “home run.”
I wasn’t surprised when Serling eventually sued the producers(?)/network after/during(?) the last season. They had finally successfully in butchering it so badly that even my loyalty to the show vanished.
But the masterpieces that were produced amongst the detritus I still remember fondly! How could anyone who appreciates good short stories and artistic merit not? Long live Night Gallery!
Night gallery is one of my favorite shows as a kid watching it on reruns
I catch this show even now weekly on over the air channel Comet tv 📺! I've seen almost every episode 👀. You should do a "Dark Shadows" one! Thanks for post, RerunZone.
The fact that anything of quality is ever produced when you have the guys in suits blocking, always amazes me.
A lot of the episodes were quite interesting indeed & the paintings were extraordinary... to say the least. The opening credits & music were creepy as hell .
Credit goes to Gil Mellè for the theme & Tom Wright for the paintings.
Rod Serling was an artist. Profit driven corporate types don't trust artists and will often kill the productive goose; the artist. The artist wants to create in order to amaze and affect people, but the greedy ones just want more money, which makes them blind and unwise, as well as failures. Profits are fine, but they are subordinate.
Thank you for these insights.
I remember watching the pilot with my mom. My dad was out of town and we decided to watch it. Bad idea, the segment with the old man coming out of the grave yard scared the hell out me and my mom and I never watched night gallery again.
Honestly, the Pilot Episode/Movie was literally the best episode of the entire series. Having seen the entire series years ago, I can honestly say that. After the absolutely incredible Pilot, every other episode was either _almost_ as good but not quite. Or, terrible. Especially when the series began to follow Gary Collin's character and it turned from horror to New Age mumbo-jumbo. (Okay, there were isolated stories here and there that were genuinely good. But those were horrendously rare during the run of the series. The series literally peaked during that Pilot episode.)
The Caterpillar from season 2 is generally rated the highest of all episodes.
that brings back some memories,during my much younger days,l looked forward to my weekend visits to my grandmother,Night Gallery(that theme song still gives me the chills)Benny Hill & The Gold Diggers were among our favorites 😊
“ Not only was it in color but it took The Twilight Zone to a scarier level. I was nine years old in 1970, very scary stuff.”
I have the complete Night Gallery series on DVD. Good shit!
I had heard Rod was basically just the narrator on Night Gallery. Here I see that he did do some writing. Not much, apparently. He wrote almost all of the Twilight Zone eps. He deserves his legend status.
His monologue on the Twilight Zone as his pick words were so intense and intelligent for its time .
It's why Twilight Zone was so much better.
Great story behind the episode “Silent Snow, Secret Snow”. Orson Welles agreed to record narration but as airtime got closer he had yet to show up to record his narration. At the last minute. An envelope arrived and inside was a reel of tape. Orson had recorded all the narration himself and simply sent them the tape
I loved watching Night Gallery as a kid...used to stay up on Friday nights to watch this.
Jack Laird deserves credit for much of what was good with Night Gallery.
He contributed his own ideas, reshaped Rod Serling's ideas to a presentable form,
and overall was a top notch showrunner.
Very interesting. This show really scared me when I was a little kid.
a very worthy follow up to twilight zone...
wish he got more control to do as he desired though.
and i enjoyed the episodes i was able to watch.
the earwick/worm thing one was especially satisfying.!!
always stayed in my memories...
R.I.P. rod serling