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Good things come to those who wait . . .,
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.
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|The BEST Season, IMO, incredible stories brought to life by brilliant actors,
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…
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|The best season of Night Gallery,
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
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