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Night Gallery: Season Two | 
 enlarge | Directors: Allen Baron, Allen Reisner, Barry Shear, Boris Sagal, Daniel Haller
Actors: Diana Chesney, Floy Dean, Patty Duke, Virginia Mayo, James Mccallion
Studio: Universal Studios
Category: DVD
List Price: $59.98
Buy New: $37.85
You Save: $22.13 (37%)
New (33) Used (9) from $37.85
Rating:  18 reviews
Sales Rank: 1197
Format: Box Set, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Full Screen, Subtitled, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Number Of Items: 5
Running Time: 1120
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.6 x 1.1
MPN: MCAD61101070D
UPC: 025195009003
EAN: 0025195009003
ASIN: B001DXS4DI
Release Date: November 11, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 11/11/2008
Amazon.com
Submitted for your approval, the second season of Night Gallery, Rod Serling's atmospheric anthology series that more often than not was in the Zone. Each week, Serling, acting as "an undernourished Alfred Hitchcock," played the role of host and curator of "a palladium of art treasures that range from the kooky to the uncommon, from the bestial to the bizarre." Comprised of original works and short story adaptations, Night Gallery's palette had many colors: touched-by-an-angel fantasy (the holiday fable "The Messiah on Mott Street"); the macabre ("Green Fingers"); the darkly comic ("The Late Mr. Peddington"); and the haunting ("The Tune in Dan's Cafe," which spawned the surprise country hit, "If You Leave Me Tonight I'll Cry"). Night Gallery has long resided in The Twilight Zone's shadow, but great art demands a second, closer look. At its best, Gallery featured superb writing (Serling's body snatcher gem, "Deliveries in the Rear") and great performances (Orson Welles as the narrator of "Silent Snow, Secret Snow"), but it was also a director's showcase for moods and aesthetics. A series benchmark is the terrifying, "The Caterpillar," starring Laurence Harvey as a man who gets an earful of earwig. In addition to Harvey, Gallery featured a stellar roster of actors who did not ordinarily do television, including Edward G. Robinson ("Mott Street"), Patrick O'Neal and Kim Stanley ("A Fear of Spiders"), and Geraldine Page ("Stop Killing Me" and the classic, "The Sins of the Fathers"). It also featured familiar faces in atypical roles, such as Laugh-In's verrrry interesting Arte Johnson as a womanizing radio disc jockey in "Flip Side of Satan," Pat Boone as a callous father considering a very special school for his delinquent son in "The Academy," and Rudy Vallee as a committed doctor, or at least one who should be, in "Marmalade Wine." Comic vignettes and blackouts between offerings are more miss than hit (in one, Death, riding in a crowded elevator, chivalrously removes his skull in the presence of a female rider), but they are brief and can be easily skipped. Museum goers who like audio tours to enhance their appreciation of the exhibits will appreciate episode commentaries by Jim Benson and Scott Skelton, who literally wrote the book on the series (Rod Serling's Night Gallery: An After-Hours Tour, and Pan's Labyrinth and Hellboy director Guillermo Del Toro. A series retrospective and a featurette spotlighting the artist who created the Gallery paintings featured in each episode make this DVD set one that is suitable for framing. --Donald Liebenson Amazon.com
The second season of Night Gallery offers 22 more terror-filled tours for those "whose tastes in art run lean towards the bizarre," as host Rod Serling described its viewership; a wealth of extras spread across the set also makes this sophomore journey into darkness a worthwhile one for series devotees and TV horror fans in general. Though Serling was the face and frequent author of Night Gallery's episodes, his creative control over the series was fading by the second season (1971-1972); frequent clashes between Serling, the network and producer Jack Laird over the tone and direction of the show left the acclaimed television scribe feeling powerless over a series that used his Twilight Zone pedigree as its calling card. And while the hit-and-miss nature of the second season is unquestionable--episodes like "The Flip Side of Satan," "Professor Peabody's Last Lecture" and "Hell's Bells" are embarrassingly bad, as are Laird's short comic vignettes--but there are an equal number of terrific and memorable stories to be found in the set as well. Chief among them is the Serling-penned "The Caterpillar," a gruesome tale of revenge that stands as one of the most horrifying tales ever presented on television; Serling also provided the moving Christmas fable "The Messiah on Mott Street," which features one of Edward G. Robinson's last screen appearances, as well as "Class of '99" with Vincent Price and "The Academy," with a surprising and effective turn against type for Pat Boone. Other standouts include two H.P. Lovecraft adaptations, "Cool Air" and "Pickman's Model," and "Silent Snow, Secret Snow," which earns its chills from a combination of dreamlike visuals and narration by Orson Welles. For a show disregarded by critics and fans of Serling's early work (as well as by the man himself) the second season of Night Gallery offers more than its share of small-screen scares. Nearly all of the 22 episodes from Night Gallery's second season are contained in this five-disc set; two comic shorts, "Witches' Feast" and "Satisfaction Guaranteed," are missing or presented incomplete, respectively, though their absence has little to no impact on the set's value. Scott Skelton and Jim Benson, authors of the invaluable companion guide Rod Serling's Night Gallery: An After Hours Tour, provide a wealth of background information on the show in audio commentaries on three episodes, while director Guillermo Del Toro (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth) discusses the show's influence on his work in fascinating detail on three additional episodes. Revisiting The Gallery: A Look Back is a half-hour featurette that includes interviews with show contributors ranging from director John Badham and theme composer Gil Melle to actress Lindsay Wagner, while Art Gallery offers a glimpse at the show's evocative paintings with commentary by their creator, artist Tom Wright. A small battery of TV promos for the show round out the exemplary set, which should please fans who were disappointed by the lack of material in the first season presentation. --Paul Gaita
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| Customer Reviews: Read 13 more reviews...
Good things come to those who wait . . . August 8, 2008
54 out of 56 found this review helpful
For most fans of "Rod Serling's Night Gallery," season two is when the show really hit its stride with its kaleidoscopic mix of thoughtful Serling originals ("Class of '99," "Dr. Stringfellow's Rejuvenator," "The Messiah on Mott Street," "Lindemann's Catch," "Deliveries in the Rear") and vivid adaptations of classic horror fiction by Serling and others ("The Boy Who Predicted Earthquakes," "A Fear of Spiders," "Silent Snow, Secret Snow," "A Question of Fear," "Pickman's Model," "Cool Air," "Camera Obscura," "Green Fingers," "I'll Never Leave You--Ever," "The Sins of the Fathers," "The Caterpillar," and many more). Most of the series' best-remembered story segments are here in their original, uncut broadcast form; so are the critically reviled comic blackouts, which left a bad taste in the mouths of some and caused others to reject the series altogether. (On the plus side, they're fairly brief and generally restricted to the first half of the season. Those so inclined may, through the magic of DVD technology, skip over the offending vignettes.)
Universal has included some generous bonus features, including a 30-minute documentary, a menu of Tom Wright's superb paintings for the show (with commentary by the artist), and six episode commentaries: three by filmmaker Guillermo del Toro ("Hellboy II: The Golden Army," "Pan's Labyrinth"), throwing light on the series' influence, and three by Scott Skelton (me) and Jim Benson (co-authors of the series companion "Rod Serling's Night Gallery: An After-Hours Tour"), offering cultural and historical context and a general appreciation of the show. For the true believers (and lovers of the macabre), this release is a godsend.
The BEST Season, IMO, incredible stories brought to life by brilliant actors August 23, 2008
40 out of 42 found this review helpful
This season, is, IMO, the best of Night Gallery.
Virtually all of my favorite episodes reside in this collection, beginning with
The Academy,that is absolutely chilling and you find yourself shifting around in your chair wanting to be far away from it...the recalitrant son of the businessman who is having the guided tour, in hopes of improving his son's outlook, is in for a very different education.
I enjoyed The Diary primarily to watch the excellent performance by Patty Duke, reminiscent of her Neely O'Hara role in Valley of the Dolls. She does a great interpretation of a female you would never want to meet.
Camera Obscura is my number on all time favorite episode ever; Ross Martin and Rene Auberjenois are fabulous in their respective roles and the story is wonderful, Ross Martin is a collector par excellence and when he tries and fails to reform Auberjonois's greed in his zeal to collect his debts (by use of practices which can only be described as usury) from an impoverished friend of Martin's, Martin shows Auberjonois one last item in his collection: A camera obscura.
And last but not least of my favorites, The Caterpillar, starring Laurence Harvey and Joanna Pettit, when Harvey is so bedazzled by her beauty he schemes to get possession of her by any means available.
These shows represent the best of the best, and each one is a brilliant stand alone study of human (and sometimes inhuman) nature in all its forms. When I saw these episodes when they first came out, I was absolutely enthralled; I never missed a show and watched them every time they were on like it was the first time; never dreaming that someday they would all be available to watch as often as I wished in my own home. What a treat!!!
Season 2, Episode 1: The Boy who Predicted Earthquakes
Original Air Date: 15 September 1971
A young boy who can accurately foresee future events becomes a TV star.
Season 2, Episode 2: Miss Lovecraft Sent Me
Original Air Date: 15 September 1971
Sent from an agency for an overnight stay, a babysitter begins to think something is wrong when the father's reflection doesn't appear in a mirror and his unseen son sounds a lot like a wild dog.
Season 2, Episode 3: The Hand of Borgus Weems
Original Air Date: 15 September 1971
A man's hand is possessed and starts to exact revenge for the death of it's owner.
Season 2, Episode 4: Phantom of What Opera?
Original Air Date: 15 September 1971
Season 2, Episode 5: A Death in the Family
Original Air Date: 22 September 1971
Petty thief Doran is on the run from the law and hides out at the funeral home run by Mr. Jared Soames, an undertaker who has an unusual method of dealing with the loneliness in his life.
Season 2, Episode 6: The Merciful
Original Air Date: 22 September 1971
In this brief twist on Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado", a marital partner is cemented inside a small cubicle as part of a mercy killing.
Season 2, Episode 7: Class of '99
Original Air Date: 22 September 1971
The final is given at an unknown university that reveals more than just the knowledge of its students.
Season 2, Episode 8: Witches Feast
Original Air Date: ????
Season 2, Episode 9: Since Aunt Ada Came to Stay
Original Air Date: 29 September 1971
College professor Craig Lowell and his wife have recently opened their home to her aunt Ada Burn Quigley, but he suspects that she is not the sweet little old lady she appears to be.
Season 2, Episode 10: With Apologies to Mr. Hyde
Original Air Date: 29 September 1971
Doctor Jeckyl takes his potion with some unusual results.
Season 2, Episode 11: The Flip Side of Satan
Original Air Date: 29 September 1971
A callous disc jockey finds himself spinning platters at a hellish radio station.
Season 2, Episode 12: A Fear of Spiders
Original Air Date: 6 October 1971
Arachnophobic gourmet critic Justus Walters has no use for the clingy librarian who lives upstairs, until he discovers a tenacious spider in his kitchen sink and needs help to get rid of it.
Season 2, Episode 13: Junior
Original Air Date: 6 October 1971
A "black-out" vignette dealing with parents who have to decide which one gets out of bed in the middle of the night to feed their son.
Season 2, Episode 14: Marmalade Wine
Original Air Date: 6 October 1971
Roger Blacker gets caught in a cloudburst, is welcomed into the home of retired surgeon Dr. Francis Deeking, drinks excessively, and lies about his photographic achievements.
Season 2, Episode 15: The Academy
Original Air Date: 6 October 1971
A wealthy businessman is having trouble with his son, a delinquent who's constantly in trouble. He hears of a private school that specializes in "problem" children, and pays it a visit to determine if it's the kind of place that will straighten out his son.
Season 2, Episode 16: The Phantom Farmhouse
Original Air Date: 20 October 1971
Psychiatrist Joel Winter is questioned by the local sheriff when one of his patients is savagely murdered in the forest near the sanitarium where Winter is on staff.
Season 2, Episode 17: Silent Snow, Secret Snow
Original Air Date: 20 October 1971
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Hasleman are concerned when their young son Paul escapes from reality into a fantasy world full of snowy landscapes.
Season 2, Episode 18: A Question of Fear
Original Air Date: 27 October 1971
A mercenary is bet $15,000 that he cannot stay one night in a haunted house, a house that turned his companion's hair white in one night.
Season 2, Episode 19: The Devil Is Not Mocked
Original Air Date: 27 October 1971
The Nazi's plan to bring everyone under their domination throughout the Balkans during the early days of World War II including the master of a dark castle and his entire household.
Season 2, Episode 20: Midnight Never Ends
Original Air Date: 3 November 1971
A hitch-hiking Marine feels he has met the woman who picks him up before.
Season 2, Episode 21: Brenda
Original Air Date: 3 November 1971
A girl vacationing on an island comes across a creature that she befriends.
Season 2, Episode 22: The Diary
Original Air Date: 10 November 1971
A gossip columnist gets a gift of a diary in which the next day's events are described before they happen.
Season 2, Episode 23: A Matter of Semantics
Original Air Date: 10 November 1971
Dracula visits a blood bank with an unusual request.
Season 2, Episode 24: Big Surprise
Original Air Date: 10 November 1971
Mr. Hawkins is an elderly hermit feared by the children in the neighborhood. When three boys reluctantly pass his farmhouse on the way home from school, he offers them a big surprise if they visit nearby Miller's Field and do some digging.
Season 2, Episode 25: Professor Peabody's Last Lecture
Original Air Date: 10 November 1971
During one of his classroom lectures, college professor Peabody makes the mistake of dismissing pagan religious cults as childish superstitions.
Season 2, Episode 26: House - with Ghost
Original Air Date: 17 November 1971
In England an American with a nagging wife rents a house that comes with a stairwell ghost.
Season 2, Episode 27: A Midnight Visit to the Neighborhood Blood Bank
Original Air Date: 17 November 1971
A hungry vampire goes in search of a nocturnal nosh in a young woman's bedchamber.
Season 2, Episode 28: Dr. Stringfellow's Rejuvenator
Original Air Date: 17 November 1971
In the American desert circa 1880, "Doctor" Ernest Stringfellow survives by selling snake oil in the form of a medicinal tonic with dubious healing powers.
Season 2, Episode 29: Hell's Bells
Original Air Date: 17 November 1971
A hippie dies in an automobile accident and finds himself in hell. He wonders just how bad eternity in hell can be.
Season 2, Episode 30: The Dark Boy
Original Air Date: 24 November 1971
In 19th-century Montana, recently-widowed schoolteacher Judith Timm is visited by the specter of Joel Robb, a fourth grader who died two years earlier.
Season 2, Episode 31: Keep in Touch - We'll Think of Something
Original Air Date: 24 November 1971
Wealthy young housewife Claire Foster is a dead ringer for the attractive hitchhiker who pistol-whipped musician Erik Sutton and stole his car. But she steadfastly proclaims her innocence to him and to the police.
Season 2, Episode 32: Pickman's Model
Original Air Date: 1 December 1971
In 1890's Boston, art student Mavis Goldsmith has a desperate crush on her teacher Richard Upton Pickman and tries to learn why he is obsessed with painting rat-like ghouls. One night, she follows him home to learn more.
Season 2, Episode 33: The Dear Departed
Original Air Date: 1 December 1971
Con artist Mark Bennett and his bumbling accomplice Joe Casey run a successful spiritualist scam, until Mark falls for Joe's wife Angela.
Season 2, Episode 34: An Act of Chivalry
Original Air Date: 1 December 1971
When a woman enters an elevator, a ghoul is asked to remove his hat.
Season 2, Episode 35: Cool Air
Original Air Date: 8 December 1971
A Gothic love story about a woman and a man who lives in a refrigerated apartment.
Season 2, Episode 36: Camera Obscura
Original Air Date: 8 December 1971
A miserly banker finds himself trapped after viewing his client's strange optical device.
Season 2, Episode 37: Quoth the Raven
Original Air Date: 8 December 1971
Edgar Allen Poe can't even get the first line down on paper.
Season 2, Episode 38: The Messiah on Mott Street
Original Air Date: 15 December 1971
When his grandfather is ailing, a nine-year-old Jewish buy runs out looking for the Messiah. His grandfather said that he will appear big and black against the sky striking down their enemies. When he gets into trouble and is saved by a black man, he brings him home to his grandfather announcing that he had found him.
Season 2, Episode 39: The Painted Mirror
Original Air Date: 15 December 1971
Removing the paint from the glass of an antique mirror, an aged shop owner sees an alien landscape that is used in a plot to rid himself of his unwanted partner.
Season 2, Episode 40: The Different Ones
Original Air Date: 29 December 1971
In the 21st century, suburban widower Paul Koch is desperate to find a solution to his 17-year-old son Victor's facial deformity, but none seem to exist - on this planet.
Season 2, Episode 41: Tell David...
Original Air Date: 29 December 1971
Lost and asking for directions a woman gets a warning and possible glimpse into her own future.
Season 2, Episode 42: Logoda's Heads
Original Air Date: 29 December 1971
A man scours the African jungle for his missing brother and finds Logoda, a witch doctor whose "trophy room" contains the shrunken heads of defeated enemies.
Season 2, Episode 43: Green Fingers
Original Air Date: 5 January 1972
In the days before the Supreme Court's Kelo v. City of New London decision extending eminent domain rights to private business development, the owner of a construction company must resort to nefarious means to acquire the home of a little old lady in order to build a factory.
Season 2, Episode 44: The Funeral
Original Air Date: 5 January 1972
Greedy funeral director Morton Silkline balks at having to arrange a belated funeral for distinguished client Ludwig Asper, but Mr. Asper proves to be very convincing...
Season 2, Episode 45: The Tune in Dan's Cafe
Original Air Date: 5 January 1972
Season 2, Episode 46: Lindemann's Catch
Original Air Date: 12 January 1972
A fisherman who catches a mermaid longs to keep her, but wishes for her to be a real woman.
Season 2, Episode 47: A Feast of Blood
Original Air Date: 12 January 1972
Vain young beauty Sheila Gray is repulsed by Henry Mallory, the unattractive man who wants to marry her. But he's given her a gift - an unusual fur brooch that will not fall off Sheila's coat, no matter how much it is shaken.
Season 2, Episode 48: The Late Mr. Peddington
Original Air Date: 12 January 1972
A woman who is provided very little means from her husband's estate is shopping for the cheapest funeral she can find.
Season 2, Episode 49: The Miracle at Camafeo
Original Air Date: 19 January 1972
Instead of spending his insurance settlement on a medical solution to his paralyzed legs, he visits a Mexican Shrine and looks for a miracle.
Season 2, Episode 50: The Ghost of Sorworth Place
Original Air Date: 19 January 1972
Wandering through Scotland, American drifter Ralph Burke is instantly smitten with Ann Loring, a beautiful widow whose home Sorworth Place is haunted by a ghost.
Season 2, Episode 51: The Waiting Room
Original Air Date: 26 January 1972
The sins of unsavory gunfighter Samuel Dichter follow him into the afterlife.
Season 2, Episode 52: Last Rites for a Dead Druid
Original Air Date: 26 January 1972
Attorney Bruce Tarraday suffers nightmares after his wife Jennie visits an antique store and makes an impulse purchase of a life-size druid sorcerer statue that she claims resembles him.
Season 2, Episode 53: Deliveries in the Rear
Original Air Date: 9 February 1972
In 19th century New England, callous surgery instructor Dr. John Fletcher is unconcerned about where the local grave robbers obtain the dissection cadavers that they sell to him for his classroom lectures.
Season 2, Episode 54: Stop Killing Me
Original Air Date: 9 February 1972
Middle-aged housewife Frances Turchin confides in police sergeant Stanley Bevelow that her husband is trying to murder her.
Season 2, Episode 55: Dead Weight
Original Air Date: 9 February 1972
A bank robber desperate to leave the country doubts the credentials of Mr. Bullivant, an aging exporter with a reputation for complete customer satisfaction.
Season 2, Episode 56: I'll Never Leave You - Ever
Original Air Date: 16 February 1972
An adulteress tries to destroy her terminally ill husband Owen with the help of a local crone skilled in the black arts.
Season 2, Episode 57: There Aren't Any More MacBanes
Original Air Date: 16 February 1972
Arthur Porter is fed up with wasting his money supporting his eccentric nephew Andrew MacBane and threatens to cut him off, so Andrew turns to the occult to solve the problem.
Season 2, Episode 58: You Can't Get Help Like That Anymore
Original Air Date: 23 February 1972
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Fulton delight in the sadistic torture of their servants, but they may have met their match when a new robot maid, known as Model # 931, shows up at their home.
Season 2, Episode 59: The Sins of the Fathers
Original Air Date: 23 February 1972
Famine runs rampant in 19th century Wales, requiring terrified young Ian Evans to feast on the sins of deceased Mr. Craighill in order to feed himself and his parents.
Season 2, Episode 60: The Caterpillar
Original Air Date: 1 March 1972
A unscrupulous man who wants the beautiful wife of another colleague pays to have an "earwig" placed in the husband's ear. This insect will will tunnel through the victim's brain causing excruciating pain and certain death. His accomplice enters the wrong bedroom and places the insect in his employer's ear. After weeks of pain he miraculously survives, but his doctor tells him that his ordeal is not yet over.
Season 2, Episode 61: Little Girl Lost
Original Air Date: 1 March 1972
The government plays up to a genius' illusion that his dead daughter still lives so that he can finish his energy experiments even though his mind is still clouded.
Season 2, Episode 62: Satisfaction Guaranteed
Original Air Date: 22 September 1971
An employment service has a difficult time fulfilling a customer's request for staff.
The best season of Night Gallery August 24, 2008
12 out of 14 found this review helpful
Season Two of "Night Gallery" had some of its best episodes. I have seen these episodes in syndication a great deal - they have held up very well over time. However, even if I hadn't seen them in 37 years there are some episodes that I would still remember. In particular there is the excellent "The Caterpillar" with Lawrence Harvey as a man who covets another man's wife and decides to do away with the husband in a way untraceable by the authorities. An earwick - a small caterpillar native to the tropical area - left on the pillow of the man that will burrow through his brain. The question is - do you trust a total stranger to put the earwick on the right pillow? "A Question of Fear" has a pre-Airplane Leslie Nielsen playing a mercenary who accepts a bet to stay in a haunted house overnight. However, his host has a past grievance. "Tell David" has a young woman, unhappy with her life and feeling that her husband is being unfaithful, meeting her son decades in the future when she takes a long drive. She is both reassured and resigned to her own fate by what she learns. In "He ll's Bells" John Astin plays someone who recently died. He recalls paintings of Hades while waiting for his final judgement, and thinks that the afterlife down under will be quite exciting. The episode suggests that perhaps He ll is in the eye of the beholder. The following are the details on the extra features:
Disc 1:
Podcast Commentary: "A Fear of Spiders" with Authors and Night Gallery Historians Jim Benson and Scott Skelton
Podcast Commentary: "Junior" with Authors and Night Gallery Historians Jim Benson and Scott Skelton
Podcast Commentary: "Marmalade Wine" with Authors and Night Gallery Historians Jim Benson and Scott Skelton
Podcast Commentary: "The Academy" with Authors and Night Gallery Historians Jim Benson and Scott Skelton
Audio Commentary: "The Phantom Farmhouse" wtih Guillermo Del Toro
Audio Commentary: "Silent Snow, Secret Snow" wtih Guillermo Del Toro
Disc 2:
No extras for this disc were listed by the studio in their announcement
Disc 3:
Podcast Commentary: "Cool Air" with Authors and Night Gallery Historians Jim Benson and Scott Skelton
Podcast Commentary: "Camera Obscura" with Authors and Night Gallery Historians Jim Benson and Scott Skelton
Podcast Commentary: "Quoth the Raven" with Authors and Night Gallery Historians Jim Benson and Scott Skelton
Audio Commentary: "The Messi ah on Mott Street" wtih Guillermo Del Toro
Audio Commentary: "The Painted Mirror" wtih Guillermo Del Toro
Disc 4:
Podcast Commentary: "Lindemann's Catch" with Authors and Night Gallery Historians Jim Benson and Scott Skelton
Podcast Commentary: "The Late Mr. Peddington" with Authors and Night Gallery Historians Jim Benson and Scott Skelton
Podcast Commentary: "A Feast of Blood" with Authors and Night Gallery Historians Jim Benson and Scott Skelton
Disc 5:
Revisiting the Gallery: A Look Back
Art Gallery: The Paintings in "Rod Serling's Night Gallery"
NBC TV Promos
Audio Commentary: "The Caterpillar" with Guillermo Del Toro
Audio Commentary: "Little Girl Lost" with Guillermo Del Toro
The best season of "Night Gallery" also gets exceptional bonus features and has all the original music October 26, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
"Night Gallery" would often be dismissed by critics because it was the younger brother of "The Twilight Zone". That was unfair. Each series had its own unique flavor and sensibility. "Night Gallery" benefited from both Rod Serling (who hosted but didn't want to produce any longer due to how overwhelmed he was on "The Twilight Zone")and Jack Laird (who did produce the series). As Guillermo Del Toro ("Pan's Labrynith", "Hellboy") points out in one of his commentary tracks the unique blend of their tastes made "Night Gallery" a unique fantasy/horror show on TV. There's an odd perception that Serling didn't write many of the epsiodes as well. That's not ture. He wrote well over a third of them and wrote the introductory monologue for every single episode.
You'll note that "The Sixth Sense" isn't included here as part of the package and that's because that series was packaged with "Night Gallery" for syndication ONLY to flesh out the amount of episodes and make the series something that could be sold for syndication. Serling wrote new introductory pieces for these segments.
Image quality is extremely good although you must keep in mind this is a 30 plus year old show. There wer some minor compression artifacts but on the whole the series makes a smooth and nice transition to DVD. Colors are strong throughout and the mono soundtrack sounds extremely good with the music sounding quite nice as well (and since music WAS an important part of some episodes, this is important as well particularly on key episodes like "The Caterpillar" with Eddie Sauter's creepy atonal, percussive music score).
Universal deserves kudos for putting together this deluxe package for "Night Gallery" as do Scott Skelton and Jim Benson (co-authors of the definitive book on the series and Benson also hosts the website TV Time Machine--well worth checking out for his insightful interviews)for putting together such a comprehensive package. We get an excellent 30 minute documentary on the series featuring directors such as Jeannot Swarc (Serling's favorite director on the show), John Badham and others discussing the genesis and impact of the series, what Serling and Laird brought to the series as well as what it was like to work on the show. We also get an excellent featurette on Tom Wright's paintings for the show with Wright discussing his approach (he always tried to service the story but focused on the "feel" of the script itself). We also get an interactive gallery of about 33 surviving paintings from the show with Wright discussing the inspiration for each. Rounding out the extras are the original season one and season two promo reels. It should also be noted that the packaging states that "Satisfaction Guaranteed" and "Witches Feast" aren't included but"Satisfaction Guaranteed" was found in time to be included in this set (the packaging couldn't be revised in time to get this out). "Witches Feast" will be included in a third season set should this sell well because it was too late to be included here.
The six commentary tracks with three by Skelton and Benson discussing episodes 4 ("A Fear of Spiders", "Junior", Marmalade Wine", "The Academy"), 12 ("Cool Air"- where the duo point out a modern Universal services truck very clearly visible in the back window of a car in the episode "Cool Air" which is set in 1923-"Camera Obscura", "Quoth the Raven"), 16 ("Lindemann's Catch", "The Late Mr. Peddington", "A Feast of Blood")and director Del Toro on episodes 5 ("The Phantom Farmhouse", "Silent Snow, Secret Snow")13 ("The Messiah of Mott Street", "The Painted Mirror")and Del Toro's favorite episode--and mine--22 with "The Caterpillar" (and "Little Girl Lost" as the "B" episode as Del Toro refers to it).
Fans will want to snatch this up immediately and all I can say is that I am looking forward to season three in hope that Universal will spent as much time and effort on the extras as they did here on this excellent set. I hope to see "Witches Feast" as a bonus episode on the third season set and--for those fans who grew up watching this in syndication--perhaps Universal COULD include one or two episodes of "The Sixth Sense" (the two best episodes perhaps)along with Serling's introductions as part of that set. Highly recommended.
This is the season we've been waiting for! October 27, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Not much to add, to what the other reviewers had to say, but just to add my .02, this is the BEST season of one of the best horror/anthology shows of all time. If you're a Rod Serling fan, or a fan of the Twilight Zone in general, don't hesitate to order this wonderful show. I had never heard of this series before I caught an episode on cable one day, and I was instantly hooked. The tone, and style of this show have rarely been equalled. Excellent storytelling, photography, acting, direction, and most of all, Rod Serling's special touch make Night Gallery a winner.
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