Rod Serling created and hosted The Twilight Zone. When the CBS program went off the air in 1965, the writers and directors went to a new CBS series to be called Wild Wild West and Rod Serling went to other projects, including narration for Jacques Cousteau tv broadcasts. When Wild Wild West left the air in 1970, Rod Serling was ready to try something new. Night Gallery would be similar to The Twilight Zone, with episodes tending more toward horror and the macabre. But there were still episodes with elements of mystery-suspense, fantasy and science fiction (in one episode, Mission Control hears astronauts scream after feverishly working on something. The camera pulls back to see what it was: a giant mousetrap).
The episodes were originally 1 hour long, consisting of 2 or 3 main stories (each represented by a wierd painting or sculpture in the night gallery), and various shorts. Serling hated the humorous shorts, which were added at NBC's insistence to compete with the higher-rated tv series "Love American Style" (which still shows occasionally over on TV Land channel), and were nonetheless popular with fans. The Sci-Fi channel has the half-hour version of reruns, which each consist of a main story and a short, as well as episodes of "The Psychiatrist" retitled with Night Gallery credits. For a collection of paintings used in the Night Gallery (and comments on the Psychiatrist episodes), check out: www.nightgallery.net, an unofficial website. Night Gallery originally aired 12-16-70 to 8-12-73. In addition to people from the original Twilight Zone series, Rod Serling also used a former actor-turned-director from the recently cancelled Star Trek tv series, Leonard Nimoy (Spock), and a new kid who was directing Columbo episodes named Steven Spielberg. Nimoy says of his directing debut there, "It was theatrical, adventurous & unpredictable." Starting on 2-11-73, Jack Webb (creator of Dragnet and Project UFO tv series) also tried a series on NBC to complement Night Gallery called "Escape," a suspense anthology that originated on radio, but it only lasted 4 episodes.
For a complete description of the 1969 pilot movie, click here The scripts for some Twilight Zone and Night Gallery episodes that were never done have been filmed recently. One was "A Town Has Turned To Dust," (1998, see video below) based on a true story from the 1950s or 60s, in which a black man was lynched for whistling at a white woman. Serling changed it to a story set in the old West, but the network still refused to let him film it back then.
He also wrote the first draft of the movie script for Planet of the Apes (so that's why the camera pulls back right at the end to show what Charlton Heston sees on the beach...)
No episodes are scheduled on national TV or cable this month. Previous Night Gallery episodes (until 2004) Previous year's broadcasts
"Call out the giants and the werewolves and the spirits of those trees who are on our side. Call the ghouls, and the boggles, the ogres, and the minotaurs. Call the cruels, the hags, the spectres, and the people of the toadstools." If you like Lord Of The Rings or Star Wars, check out The Chronicles of Narnia...Aslan is on the move
Rod Sterling es el inusual presentador de esta serie de antología que reune un interesante conjunto de macabras historias, que cuenta con dramatizaciones tan reales que lo harán saltar de su asiento. GALERIA NOCTURNA (with photos)
* * * * *
Join Rod Serling for his "other" classic anthology series, concentrating on the macabre, the supernatural, and other stories of horror. For Twilight Zone broadcast listings, go to The Twilight Zone
Some of the movies & tv series of Rod Serling are available, but none of the Night Gallery episodes so far: Entire seasons of Twilight Zone are available on DVD
Night Gallery - Season 1 was also available from Amazon.com (these are the original hour-long episodes, not the cut-down 30-minute ones)
Town Has Turned to Dust (1998)
In the Presence of Mine Enemies (1997)
Encounter With the Unknown (1975)
UFO's: It Has Begun (1973)
Assault on a Queen (1966)
Seven Days in May (1964)
Requiem for a Heavyweight (1956)
Rod Serling: Submitted For Your Approval (1998) Night Gallery (1969)
(Rod Serling intro & parting comments, on the beach)
The Painted Mirror (Zsa Zsa Gabor)
Fright Night (Stuart Whitman)
Even Heroes Have A Night Gallery
Professor Peabody's Last Lecture
Entire episode: House-With Ghost/Hell's Bells
Entire seasons of Twilight Zone and Night Gallery are also available on DVD
To leave a message for The Devil, click here, and a demon will be with you shortly.
EPISODE GUIDE (by story segments)
Pilot episode/movie in 3 segments - 1969:
1. 8 Nov 69 The Cemetery / Eyes / The Monster Who Wanted to be a Fisherman
Season 1 - 1970 - 71 segments (50 min episodes)
1. 16 Dec 70 The Dead Man
2. 16 Dec 70 The Housekeeper
3. 23 Dec 70 Room with a View
4. 23 Dec 70 The Little Black Bag
5. 23 Dec 70 The Nature of the Enemy
6. 30 Dec 70 The House
7. 30 Dec 70 Certain Shadows on the Wall
8. 6 Jan 71 Make Me Laugh
9. 6 Jan 71 Clean Kills and Other Trophies
10. 13 Jan 71 Pamela's Voice
11. 13 Jan 71 Lone Survivor
12. 13 Jan 71 The Doll
13. 20 Jan 71 The Last Laurel
14. 20 Jan 71 They're Tearing Down Tim Riley's Bar
Season 2 - 1971 - 72 segments (50 min episodes)
1. 15 Sep 71 The Boy Who Predicted Earthquakes
2. 15 Sep 71 Miss Lovecraft Sent Me
3. 15 Sep 71 The Hand of Borgus Weems
4. 15 Sep 71 The Phantom of What Opera?
5. 22 Sep 71 A Death in the Family
6. 22 Sep 71 The Merciful (Imogene Coca)
7. 22 Sep 71 The Class of '99 (Vincent Price)
8. 22 Sep 71 Witches' Feast (Victor Buono)
9. 29 Sep 71 Since Aunt Ada Came to Stay
10. 29 Sep 71 With Apologies to Mr. Hyde (Adam West)
11. 29 Sep 71 The Flip Side of Satan (Arte Johnson)
12. 6 Oct 71 A Fear of Spiders
13. 6 Oct 71 Junior (Wally Cox has a big baby)
14. 6 Oct 71 Marmalade Wine (Rudy Vallee doesn't like to lose visitors)
15. 6 Oct 71 The Academy (spare the rod, spoil the child...Pat Boone)
16. 20 Oct 71 The Phantom Farmhouse
17. 20 Oct 71 Silent Snow, Secret Snow
18. 27 Oct 71 A Question of Fear (what's in the basement?)
19. 27 Oct 71 The Devil is Not Mocked (Nazis invade Transylvania)
20. 3 Nov 71 Midnight Never Ends
21. 3 Nov 71 Brenda
22. Not Screened Die Now, Pay Later
23. 10 Nov 71 The Diary
24. 10 Nov 71 A Matter of Semantics
25. 10 Nov 71 The Big Surprise
26. 10 Nov 71 Professor Peabody's Last Lecture
27. 17 Nov 71 House- With Ghost
28. 17 Nov 71 Midnight Visit to the Neighborhood Blood Bank
29. 17 Nov 71 Dr. Stringfellow's Rejuvenator
30. 17 Nov 71 Hell's Bells
31. 24 Nov 71 The Dark Boy
32. 24 Nov 71 Keep in Touch- We'll Think of Something
33. 1 Dec 71 Pickman's Model
34. 1 Dec 71 The Dear Departed
35. 1 Dec 71 An Act of Chivalry
36. 8 Dec 71 Cool Air
37. 8 Dec 71 Camera Obscura
38. 8 Dec 71 Quoth the Raven
39. 15 Dec 71 The Messiah on Mott Street
40. 15 Dec 71 The Painted Mirror
41. 29 Dec 71 The Different Ones
42. 29 Dec 71 Tell David...
43. 29 Dec 71 Logoda's Heads
44. 5 Jan 72 The Funeral
45. 5 Jan 72 The Tune in Dan's Cafe
46. 5 Jan 72 Green Fingers
47. Room for One Less
48. 12 Jan 72 Lindemann's Catch
49. 12 Jan 72 A Feast of Blood
50. 12 Jan 72 The Late Mr. Peddington
51. 19 Jan 72 The Miracle at Camefeo
52. 19 Jan 72 The Ghost of Sorworth Place
53. 26 Jan 72 The Waiting Room
54. 26 Jan 72 Last Rites for a Dead Druid
55. 9 Feb 72 Deliveries in the Rear
56. 9 Feb 72 Stop Killing Me
57. 9 Feb 72 Dead Weight
58. 16 Feb 72 I'll Never Leave You- Ever
59. 16 Feb 72 There Aren't Any More MacBanes
60. 23 Feb 72 You Can't Get Help Like That Anymore
61. 23 Feb 72 The Sins of the Fathers
62. 1 Mar 72 The Caterpillar
63. 1 Mar 72 Little Girl Lost
64. 22 Mar 72 Satisfaction Guaranteed
65. 22 Mar 72 Smile Please
Season 3 - 1972 - 73 segments (25 min episodes)
1. 24 Sep 72 The Return of the Sorcerer (Vincent Price & Bill Bixby)
2. 1 Oct 72 The Girl with the Hungry Eyes
3. 22 Oct 72 Rare Objects
4. 29 Oct 72 Spectre in Tap Shoes
5. 12 Nov 72 You Can Come Up Now, Mrs. Millikan / Smile, Please
6. 19 Nov 72 The Other Way Out
7. 10 Dec 72 Fright Night
8. 17 Dec 72 Finnegan's Flight
9. 24 Dec 72 She'll Be Company for You
10. 7 Jan 73 The Ring with the Red Velvet Ropes
11. 14 Jan 73 Something in the Woodwork
12. 4 Mar 73 Death on a Barge
13. 13 May 73 Whisper
14. 20 May 73 The Doll of Death
15. 27 May 73 Hatred Unto Death
16. 27 May 73 How to Cure the Common Vampire
* Conceived as an updating of the "Twilight Zone" concept, Serling reportedly began planning the series soon after "Twilight Zone" was cancelled in 1964.
* Two segments, and possibly a third, were directed by a young Steven Spielberg. According to the book, "Rod Serling's Night Gallery: An After Hours Tour", Spielberg was scheduled to direct the 1971 vignette "A Matter of Semantics" starring Cesar Romero. Those involved with the production are unclear in their memory as to whether Spielberg actually directed the piece, which was ultimately credited to Jack Laird. At least one actor involved in the 2-minute mini-episode recalls a director who more closely fits Spielberg's description than Laird's.
* Artist Tom Wright did all of the paintings shown on Night Gallery.
* Sculptors Logan Elston and Phil Bandierle did all of the Night Gallery sculptures.
* Beginning with the second season, and despite Serling's objections, the producers began to insert brief 1-3 minute "blackout comedy" sketches in between main segments of some episodes, usually when an episode was running short. The merits of these brief vignettes remain controversial among "Night Gallery" fans to this day.
A few episodes of Night Gallery have been posted for free in the SYFY.com Drive-in
Rod Serling created and hosted The Twilight Zone. When the CBS program went off the air in 1965, the writers and directors went to a new CBS series to be called Wild Wild West and Rod Serling went to other projects, including narration for Jacques Cousteau tv broadcasts. When Wild Wild West left the air in 1970, Rod Serling was ready to try something new. Night Gallery would be similar to The Twilight Zone, with episodes tending more toward horror and the macabre. But there were still episodes with elements of mystery-suspense, fantasy and science fiction (in one episode, Mission Control hears astronauts scream after feverishly working on something. The camera pulls back to see what it was: a giant mousetrap).
The episodes were originally 1 hour long, consisting of 2 or 3 main stories (each represented by a wierd painting or sculpture in the night gallery), and various shorts. Serling hated the humorous shorts, which were added at NBC's insistence to compete with the higher-rated tv series "Love American Style" (which still shows occasionally over on TV Land channel), and were nonetheless popular with fans. The Sci-Fi channel has the half-hour version of reruns, which each consist of a main story and a short, as well as episodes of "The Psychiatrist" retitled with Night Gallery credits. For a collection of paintings used in the Night Gallery (and comments on the Psychiatrist episodes), check out: www.nightgallery.net, an unofficial website. Night Gallery originally aired 12-16-70 to 8-12-73. In addition to people from the original Twilight Zone series, Rod Serling also used a former actor-turned-director from the recently cancelled Star Trek tv series, Leonard Nimoy (Spock), and a new kid who was directing Columbo episodes named Steven Spielberg. Nimoy says of his directing debut there, "It was theatrical, adventurous & unpredictable." Starting on 2-11-73, Jack Webb (creator of Dragnet and Project UFO tv series) also tried a series on NBC to complement Night Gallery called "Escape," a suspense anthology that originated on radio, but it only lasted 4 episodes.
Join Rod Serling for his "other" classic anthology series, concentrating on the macabre, the supernatural, and other stories of horror. For Twilight Zone broadcast listings, go to The Twilight Zone
are available on DVD
