The Evidence

Let's begin with the bare facts. Night Gallery is no Twilight Zone. It's not even a decent Outer Limits. When it comes to the category of great sci-fi/horror made exclusively for series television, it barely compares with One Step Beyond or Thriller! It's more like Tales from the Crypt, or syndicated spasms like Monsters or Friday the 13th, the Series. This is not to say that Night Gallery was all that bad; it was merely poorly developed. And those of you ready to lay blame at the feet of one Rod Serling, certified scriptwriting genius, need to check your charges at the door. Though he name is attached to many of the episodes here and he acted as announcer and narrator for the show, this is not Rod Serling's Night Gallery (no matter what Season Three called itself). No, there is another name lurking among the credits, a Universal Studios know-it-all who decided to dump one of the pioneers of broadcast television like so many worn-out black and white sets and fashion this near fiasco in his own ridiculous image. Rumor and report has it that producer Jack Laird pulled a Roddenberry on almost everything connected with Gallery: He made the important creative decisions, countermanded other authority and even rewrote Serling's own stories. The look of desperation on Rod's face as he reads some of the ridiculous lines he is given is more than genuine. Though he was happy to be back in front of the camera as a master of ceremonies, having to spew some of the nonsense concocted made the task that much more disingenuous.

Now, don't get the wrong idea. Perhaps 55% of what is offered on Night Gallery: The Complete First Season is salvageable. And for those with fond memories of the series, you're recollection will be reawakened to some genuinely creepy and cleverly crafted moments. But when Night Gallery lays an egg, it spreads its sulphorous stink all over the TV screen. The differences between Serling's previous pinnacle, The Twilight Zone, and the meandering, pedestrian Gallery are instantly recognizable. Night Gallery is an anthology, a mixture of several stories of differing lengths strung together under the museum of the macabre premise (the paintings themselves are occasionally more memorable than the stories they invoke). Zone merely told a single, sensational story over the course of 24 minutes. Also, Serling had strict creative control over Zone, something sorely lacking in Gallery's gala of goofiness. How else would you explain some of the surreal juxtapositions in tone and storytelling offered in this box set? A single episode can swing wildly from sentimental supernatural shtick to Love, American Style black outs. And thanks to the divergent running times, segments overstay their welcome while others seem to be cut off at the narrative knees. This wildly uneven quality makes a trip through this muddled museum a true treasure hunt. You have to pick through some pretty weak efforts to get to the gems.

To determine if Night Gallery is worth you're DVD attention span, it is necessary to look at each story individually, as each tries its best to gel into something special. But it is also from such a singular approach that Night Gallery reveals many of its flaws, illustrating that there were more than just a couple of concrete problems that plagued the series. We being with the show that started it all:

Disc One:

Pilot Episode:
"Cemetery"—A no-good nephew inherits his uncle's estate, only to learn that certain acts of greed have supernatural consequences.
The first story in the Night Gallery is a doozy. Roddy McDowell (as spoiled nephew Jeremy) and Ossie Davis (as the delightfully named Osmond Portifoy) chew up the scenery with real relish as the battle for an estate goes ghost-al. The modifying picture motif is incredibly effective and the ending has just the right amount of supernatural justice to satisfy even the most jaded fright fan. Score: 90

"Eyes"—A wealthy blind woman wants to see, and pays to have the healthy eyes of a gambler transplanted in place of hers.
This episode is famous for two reasons. It marked one of the initial forays into filmmaking for the young Steven Spielberg and starred the demented diva Joan Crawford herself. Both acquit themselves admirably here, even if Steve employs a few too many fancy camera tricks to tell his tale. While the resolution is rather obvious (what time was the surgery scheduled for…and why?), the entire tale is told with dignity, grace, and incredible style. Score: 88

"The Escape Route"—A Nazi war criminal, hiding in South America, hopes to avoid capture by projecting himself into a serene museum painting.
Your enjoyment of this final story in the pilot presentation will all depend on how well you buy into the premise of astral projection and out of body experiences. Richard Kiley's war criminal character seems to have the ability to "impose" himself physically into works of art, and if you follow this fantasy, what happens in the end will be more than gratifying. Expertly helmed by Barry Shear (with some nice artistic flourishes), this tale ends Night Gallery's best triptych with a powerful punch. Score: 89

• Episode 1:
"The Dead Man"—a doctor trains a hypochondriac to replicate any illness. But when he tries to cheat death, the consequences are unearthly.
Here is where the trouble begins. "The Dead Man" is a perfect example of what is wrong with most of Night Gallery as aseries. The premise here is interesting, and the examples we see of it in action help to solidify the shocks. But when it turns out that we are dealing with extramarital affairs, jealous spouses, and simmering vendettas, the material turns hackneyed. With an ending that goes on for far too long and a resolution that is telegraphed ten minutes before it happens, this is one of the reasons why Gallery is not more fondly remembered. Score: 75

"The Housekeeper"—Hoping to find a psychological substitute for his shrewish wife, a scientist has his eyes set on a kindly old housekeeper for a personality transplant.
Strike Two! For sheer stupidity, this installment of Gallery has few betters. Larry Hagman, playing a peculiar, perverted dandy, spends far too much time sweet-talking Jeanette Nolan (looking incredibly goofy in a bad makeup job) into accepting her plight as a paid player in Larry's lunatic idea. Every character, from the shrewish wife to the elderly idiot, is a cliché, and nothing here works. Even the ending is odd and out of place. Score: 55

• Episode 2:
"Room with a View"—A sickly man uses his nurse to catch, and deal with, his wife's infidelity.
More or less a dirty joke using a sinister, instead of salacious, angle, this tale of adultery and revenge is typical of Night Gallery's mediocre modus operandi. While a very young Diane Keaton is on hand to Annie Hall up the place, the rest of the story is routine, and a little ridiculous. Score: 65

"The Little Black Bag"—A skid row bum who used to be a doctor discovers a medical kit from the future with the power to cure all diseases.
Finally, Night Gallery stumbles upon a success. Burgess Meredith, famous for many a memorable turn in Serling's standard bearer—AKA The Twilight Zone—is here playing a homeless healer who finds a high-tech physician's case from the future, an object that will offer up some manner of redemption for the fallen fellow. With Chill Wills along for the method acting ride (some of the gestures and faces this guy delivers during the course of the story are scarier than anything offered during Gallery's three-year run), this story sings with sentimentality and heart while it lurches a little in the sci-fi department. Well acted and nearly fully realized, this is an example of Night Gallery at its best. Score: 90

"The Nature of the Enemy"—NASA is puzzled by the disappearance and destruction of several of its Moon missions…until it sees the reason behind the mayhem.
Okay, who thought this was a good idea? Someone needs to fess up, even from beyond the grave, right now. This outer space stupidity about a failed lunar mission and the ridiculous reason for its malfunction is lamentably bad. Retarded bad. Orca bad. A complete waste of time and effort. Score: 30

Disc Two:

• Episode 3:
"The House"—a young lady, recovering in a sanitarium, is haunted by visions of a house she's never seen, and a ghost who constantly calls on her.
One of the main complaints leveled at Night Gallery was that it failed to deliver on the potential of many of its paranormal premises, almost as if the writers would paint themselves into a corner and then quit, having no real way of getting out. "The House" is an example of a very engaging story that goes "pfftt" when it should have offered a body blow. Joanna Pettet is compelling as the young woman haunted by very realistic dreams, but with such a somber start, the ending needed to be something special or the suspense was wasted. Sadly, that's the case here. Score: 75

"Certain Shadows on the Wall"—When the sickly matriarch of a miscreant family finally dies, she leaves a "reminder" of her passing on the parlor wall.
With a cast that includes Agnes Moorehead, Grayson Hall, Louis Hayward, and Rachel Roberts as a bitter, bickering family, "Certain Shadows on the Wall" should be better than it is. Actually, whenever the bitter rival relatives are at the center of the narrative, the sequence sparkles with some real repartee. But the ghostly image upon the wall really doesn't add up to anything major, and the menace is never imminent. As with much of Night Gallery, there was a lot of potential here, but as usual, it is wasted or never fully developed. Score: 79

• Episode 4:
"Make Me Laugh"—A comic convinces a swami to grant him one wish: to make everything he says irresistibly funny.
Spielberg is again behind the lens as Godfrey Cambridge (as the failed jokester) and Tom Bosley (as his less than enthusiastic agent) play out a rather routine "be careful what you wish for" formula. While Cambridge is great, terrifically over the top, and theatrical, the rest of the cast, including an underused Jackie Vernon as the swami, seem to be going through the motions. The future Mr. Blockbuster's direction is solid, but the story is hampered by a rather rote ending. Still, up until the time it fizzles, it's fairly good. Score: 83

"Clean Kills and Other Trophies"—Before awarding his son a huge trust fund, a big game hunter wants the boy to kill something, no matter the consequences.
Raymond Massey, looking pissed off and pained, gives a dynamic performance as a man obsessed with hunting. Too bad this old school Hollywood ham doesn't have more to work with here. Based on the set up—and the characters fixation with trophies—the comeuppance is clear, and no matter how much he argues or insists, a modern audience just will not buy the idea of killing wild animals as a right of passage. As a result, we get a bravura acting job lost in a sea of senselessness. Score: 70

• Episode 5:
"Pamela's Voice"—A henpecked husband hopes that his wife's recent death will silence her shrill tongue…until he hears her wailing from beyond the grave.
If you crossed The Vault of Horror with Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, you'd get some idea of how this relatively short shocker plays out. Serling's standard verbal gymnastics are in fine form here, so much so that you have a hard time believing that the characters here—played by stars John Astin and Phyllis Diller—could possibly have such a stellar vocabulary. Still, both actors are excellent and the pay-off, while pat, is still satisfying. Score: 80

"Lone Survivor"—A ship picks up a man floating in a lifeboat who claims he was onboard the Titanic when it sank.
"Lone Survivor" is an excellent example of how the minimal scope of television can actually aid an epic story. The idea of a "Flying Dutchman" (a phantom ship or captain) that forewarns of potential disaster is ripe for exploration and this story does an excellent job of realizing it fully. Each twist is well considered and the narrative never cheats. The plot delivers on its promise and the performances are pitch-perfect. Score: 86

"The Doll"—A Victorian general, just back from India, learns that his niece has been sent a very unusual gift: a doll with a deadly purpose.
The success or failure of the "killer toy" archetype relies solely on how creepy and/or menacing the trinket really is. Thankfully, the doll at the center of this story is one ugly and evil looking mamma-jamma and her appearances make this episode very disturbing. While it is occasionally too talky for its own good, and Henry Silva is not very convincing as a revenge-minded West Indian, the sequence is still sensational. Score: 89

Disc Three:

• Episode 6:
"They're Tearing Down Tim Riley's Bar"—A broken businessman learns that his favorite haunt is being torn down, just as his life is also falling apart.
Rod Serling was famous for his late '50s/early '60s Playhouse 90 powerhouses like Requiem for a Heavyweight, The Comedian, and Patterns. "They're Tearing Down Tim Riley's Bar" is a perfect companion piece to those earlier explorations of men at the end of their rope. William Windom is exceptional as an utterly defeated man, lost and lonely in a world he no longer connects with. Similar to explorations of the past made famous during the run of The Twilight Zone, this is near perfect TV drama. It almost makes up for the mediocrity elsewhere in this set. Only the ending is a tad too upbeat. Score: 92

"The Last Laurel"—A decathlon champion learns a more "psychic" way to move about after being paralyzed in an accident.
Jack Cassidy grimaces his way through a rather dull story about a jealous track star struck down and unable to move. Naturally, as with most Gallery stories, adultery is in the air. Frankly, this episode is really terrible. The premise is poor, the execution is awkward and the finale is idiotic. Score: 40

In addition to the full first season, Universal has, oddly, decided to toss on some "bonus" episodes, perhaps to pad out the third disc's running time. In any case, since the value of the set can also be claimed against these supplementary shows, they should be reviewed as well. We therefore start with:

• Bonus Episode: Season 2, #14
"The Diary"—An abrasive gossip columnist receives a mysterious diary as a present, a journal that seems to suggest future events in its pages.
Patty Duke is dynamic in a rabid, ridiculous performance as a blousy yellow journalist who seeks to destroy the celebrities she slanders. Unlike most episodes of Night Gallery, this is one story that would have benefited from a broader scope and longer internal timeline. Events occur too rapidly to register and, before we know it, we are on to the ending, which takes a while to develop its punch. Still, this is a solid installment of the show and well worth viewing. Score: 85

"A Matter of Semantics"—Dracula arrives at the local blood bank. Hijinks ensue.
Utter crap. As insulting as this show can possible get. Score: 10

"Big Surprise"—A group of young boys meet up with a grizzled old hermit, who promises them a big surprise if they dig near an old oak tree.
Like a stupid children's joke that suggests one thing, but really is just a bogus diversion, "Big Surprise" is neither and doesn't really work as a segment of Night Gallery. What the point of this exercise in delayed dopiness was is anyone's guess. While the buildup is sufficiently solid, the resolution is inane. Score: 35

"Professor Peabody's Last Lecture"—Braving blasphemy, a college professor peruses the incantations in the Necronomicon, with "interesting" results.
It's a tough call on this mostly monologue installment. Since the story is basically a teacher at a lectern, barking out quasi-Satanic bullspit, the performance makes or breaks the program. And with classic comedian Carl Reiner at the helm, you figure you're in for some supreme silliness. Well, Reiner is actually very realistic as the overblown orator, but one can't help feeling like they're watching Alan Brady on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The closing shot is either brilliant, baffling, or belly laugh inducing, depending on your tastes. Score: 65

• Bonus Episode: Season 3, #29
"The Return of the Sorcerer"—A translator is hired by a practicing warlock to decipher an ancient text and determine its secrets.
Between Bill Bixby and Vincent Price, this episode of Night Gallery is at least well acted. And when we finally learn what is lurking in the corridor, making all that unearthly din, the reveal is ridiculously rich. But parts of this plot don't make that much sense. The story is all suggestion and supposition, without a real clear intention behind its various eccentricities, and lacks true logical flow. While the result can be more convoluted than creepy, this is still one of the series's better installments. Score: 82

• Bonus Episode: Season 3, #41
"Whisper"—A young girl is tormented by ghosts, all of whom at one time or another overtake her physical body to do their supernatural bidding.
Featuring a pre-Sybil turn by Sally Field as a gal who "takes on" the personalities of certain spirits to finish their business on Earth, "Whisper" is a great premise, poorly handled. Part of the problem is Dean Stockwell's insistence on addressing the camera. There is no need to break the fourth wall here (it's never really rationalized) and his comments are like bad haiku written by overly sensitive high school theater majors. Still, Fields acting really sells the idea and the final act she commits is rather touching. Score: 75

Never quite achieving the classic status it so desperately strives for, Night Gallery is a tired take on horror, with only a few glimmers of gold within its Gothic game plan. The main issue with the series is its incredibly inconsistent writing. As stated before, though Serling's name appears on a great many of the manuscripts here, you can tell when producer Laird has laid his hokey hands on something. Suddenly the poetic insights so crucial to Rod's literary skill become hackneyed and obvious. Since Laird wrote only one episode on this box set—"Professor Peabody's Last Lecture"—it is hard to understand his style, yet when you compare said show to other installments, the telltale interferences grow quite clearly. In addition, unaltered Serling is also observable (the Pilot shows, "Tim Riley's Bar") and when all is said and one, it's this meddling unpredictability that constantly robs the show of its structural sanity.

Another palpable problem with Night Gallery is its over-reliance on delivering a trick ending, O. Henry style, with each and every episode. When one looks back at the truly successful stories in Season One ("Tim Riley's Bar," "The Little Black Bag," "The Doll"), they don't really contain a certified twist, that Sixth Sense variety revelation that reconfigures everything we've seen before. But scattered throughout the rest of the stories on this box set are far too many segments seemingly crafted from the perplexing ploy backwards. It's clear that the writers thought that all the audience really wanted was a good final jaw-dropper, a piece of legitimate literary legerdemain, forget how the plot even got them there. The result is a feeling of complete incongruous; the strident stench of product making two incomplete and divergent passes through the formulaic typewriter.

But when compared to the vast majority of horror/sci-fi follies that shuttled across TV screens in the '60s and '70s, Night Gallery has a certain undeniable pedigree that keeps it afloat. The "Pilot" material aside, many of the installments here lack the impact of really memorable entertainment and it's hard to envision anyone thinking that the half-baked "boo's" tossed in as being any better or more memorable than the "it was all a dream" dynamic from the Bobby Ewing/Dallas disaster. Someone approaching Night Gallery as a curiosity or as a completist will perhaps fall in love with the little things—the early '70s style, the calm and deliberate pace, the attention to detail—that help the show survive. And there are several stories that indeed sweep you away on waves of imagination and/or suspense (even if they fail to pay off when the credits roll). As a final stab at yet another version of series television glory, Night Gallery was not a very good curtain call for the multi-talented Rod Serling. For as much greatness as he created prior to his opening up this supernatural showroom, there are those who will never forgive him for letting them on (and down) for three, unfulfilling seasons. There was so much promise in the premise, so much talent in the wings that for Night Gallery to feel like such a failure is something of an anomaly. But anyone picking up this box set will quickly realize the sad reasons why.

As many issues as one may have with the actual content of Night Gallery, they will be sure to find equal fault with the scattershot technical aspects to this digital release. Having failed to remaster the episodes presented here in any discernable manner (the shows did go through a minor restoration in 1990), we are treated to dirty, scratched transfers that lack depth or detail. The color correction is middling to fair and the 1.33:1 full screen image is usually filled with blemishes and dust. But the most noticeable flaw comes at or near every commercial break. Suddenly, without warning, the picture begins to deteriorate as pigments desaturate and the elements fog. Any studio wishing to preserve their product for posterity would have found a way to remove those distracting degradations before releasing these DVDs. Don't get the wrong impression—Night Gallery looks better than it has in years, especially for a show pushing 35. But Universal should have taken more time with this set, dedicating themselves to delivering the best possible sound and vision. At least the flat, pedestrian aural attributes have a rational explanation: There is not much that can be done with Dolby Digital Mono. While the voices are clear and the dialogue direct, the musical underpinning is lacking in atmosphere.

Another issue with this presentation is the lack of extras. Certainly, Universal will argue that the two hours of additional episodes more than makes up for a lack of "normal" DVD bonus features. But the cable movie network, The Mystery Channel (part of the Starz/Encore collection of genre-specific offerings), runs Night Gallery every weeknight and even produced a documentary on the show. So why is that material not included here? Why not a few essays, or even a filmography for the show? Each episode screen has a description of the stories offered (sometimes complete with unforgivable spoilers), but so much more could have been done with the packaging. Like the introduction of television series on VHS back in the mid-'80s, this is bare bones, "give the people what they want, only" marketing at its most distressing. Night Gallery, for many, is a fond memory of early '70s frights. For Universal to toss it off like another second-hand series ripe for a digital dollar draw is spiteful, to both fans and the inquisitive alike.

Case Number 05372

Night Gallery: The Complete First Season

All Rise...

Editor's Note

The Charge

Opening Statement

Facts of the Case

The Evidence

The Rebuttal Witnesses

Closing Statement

The Verdict

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