Night Gallery: Season Two, Episode Six

Night Gallery 2.6

First aired 27 October 1971

Overall rating: 6/10

Preceding episode Night Gallery 2.5
Following episode Night Gallery 2.7, coming soon-ish

The Halloween episode, so we'd think by its date, features traditional horror fare, with its haunted house and its vampires. The narratives themselves are also a little traditional, and while the first has some fun tossing in some twists among its standard tropes, the second is predictable and flat.

In neither segment does Rod Serling dip his writing talents.

A Question of Fear

Directed by Jack Laird
Written by Theodore J. Flicker from the short story by Bryan Lewis
Starring Leslie Nielsen, Fritz Weaver
Rating: 7/10

"The World is divided between those with courage and those without."

Colonel Dennis Malloy has no patience for the weak. Having lived through countless battles, facing death head-on and having killed men with his bare hands, he considers himself to be the epitome of bravery. The wealthy Dr. Mazi, on the other hand, isn't ashamed to share his tale of a haunted house experience that turned his hair white overnight. When Malloy ridicules Mazi at their club, the doctor bets the colonel ten thousand dollars that he cannot stay at that house, which Mazi still owns, for one whole night without feeling fear. The colonel accepts, partly for the money and partly because it would've otherwise been a pointless and very short episode.

Malloy arrives at the house and searches its rooms. There are thick spiderwebs housing large spiders, candles that blow out by themselves, maniacal laughing bright and glittery ghost heads, spontaneously dripping blood, fiery piano-playing uniformed figures, a strange streaky substance in the basement... a whole mess of things. Malloy remains level-headed and only a little jumpy, discovering soon enough that the strange occurrences are manufactured. But why would Mazi spend so much money for such an elaborate gag, he wonders. Malloy comes across a clean and tidy bedroom with a lit fireplace and a comfortable bed, and gratefully settles down for the night after cutting the electrical chord he finds underneath the bed. In bed a cage wraps around him as a swinging blade descends toward his neck. Afraid at first, he calls out to Mazi knowing the other wouldn't commit cold-blooded murder, and the blade stops.

[Spoilers] The following morning Malloy awakens refreshed, and finds breakfast waiting in the kitchen, as well as a monitor on which Mazi appears, his hair no longer white. An elaborate gag indeed, and Malloy has proven himself brave without comparison. But Mazi has something else under his sleeve, involving that slimy streak we encountered earlier in the basement. He convinces Malloy there is a horrible creature in the basement, and the colonel blows his brains out, after which Mazi announces that it was all a lie. The end.

Somewhat disappointing on one level, perhaps, as there is a certain anticlimactic quality to Mazi's final announcement. Yet this is a battle between two strong characters, and the real point being addressed here is that the doctor defeats the colonel, as he has frightened the eternal survivor Malloy to such an extreme that he takes his own life. There is a lack of satisfaction in that Malloy will never know he was tricked, though by taking his life he is admitting defeat. In addition, Malloy is outed as a horrible tyrant and war-time murderer by Mazi, so that this not a case of an arrogant man getting more than he deserves, but a murderer being dealt with outside the confines of the law.

An enjoyable and suspenseful little play, it is also highly watchable with the pairing of Leslie Nielsen and Fritz Weaver. Some of the props don't quite work, as with Malloy's obviously fake eyepatch, the rubber spider dangling on the spiderweb that Malloy first tears asunder, and the mechanical dummy piano player who is obviously a real man. While these do add a certain charm to the 1970s set, they really could have done away with that silly and pointless disco ghost head.

Leslie Nielsen does a surprisingly good job as the crusty colonel, though the role was likely imagined for a slightly older actor with more military experience. I won't list Nielsen's anthology history as he's appeared in nearly everything, including both Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, as well as Naked City, Thriller and several episodes of Tales of Tomorrow and Suspense (1949). This is Nielsen's second of two appearances on Night Gallery; he was in the first season segment "The Phantom of What?" Surprisingly Nielsen never appeared on The Twilight Zone, though his presence was implied in many episodes since the show re-used several props built for Nielsen's big screen adventure, Forbidden Planet. Fritz Weaver is very well cast as the methodical and utterly wealthy Dr. Mazi. Like Nielsen he has appeared in numerous anthology series, including two for Tales from the Darkside: "Inside the Closet" (1.7) "Comet Watch" (2.13). Unlike Nielsen he appeared in two The Twilight Zone episodes, both of them remarkable: "Third from the Sun" (1.14) and "The Obsolete Man" (2.29). Both actors appear in different segments of the enjoyable 1982 anthology movie Creepshow.

The Devil is Not Mocked

Directed by Gene R. Kearney
Written by Gene R. Kearney from the short story by Manly Wade Wellman
Starring Francis Lederer and Helmut Dantine

Rating: 4/10

A Nazi commander leads his troops to rest and food at a tiny isolated village. General von Grunn wants more than food though, as he is convinced that the village is home to a dangerous resistance group. Our host, Dracula, along with his servants, are kind and passive toward the visiting Nazis, and remain overly hospitable as the clock's hand is approaching midnight.

I found this episode drab and predictable. The narrative frame of Dracula years later (in 1971, I presume) telling the tale to his grandson, adds little to the teleplay. Essentially produced so that Francis Lederer can reprise his role as Dracula from the 1958 movie, The Return of Dracula, which though a commercial failure upon its release, was by 1971 elevated to cult status by horror enthusiasts. This was Lederer's final screen role, according to IMDb.

Austrian actor Helmut Dantine was an active anti-Nazi activist whose parents perished in a concentration camp. Though Austrian he portrayed many fascist Nazis throughout his career. He is best known as the naive young gambler in Casablanca, and has appeared in many early anthology series.

Unthology No. 1 (2010)

Unthology No. 1, edited by Robin Jones and Ashley Stokes, Unthank Books, 2010.


Unthank Books webpage
Unthology 1 at Goodreads


For this week's Friday's Forgotten Books, please visit Todd Mason's blog instead.

More of a neglected book than a forgotten one, this anthology, the first in an annual series, was released under the radar, which is truly a shame as it features some fine writing and more variety than we normally come across in similar publications.

The editors over at Unthank Books kindly asked me to review some of their publications, and I broke a streak of declining such requests by happily accepting. (A footnote to handling review requests was posted here.) The first two unthologies came to my door in a single envelope, and excited as I get receiving books in the mail, I tore the envelope open... actually that's not quite right. I was at home heading out to get work done in a coffee shop, needing a change of setting with a deadline looming not far ahead, and nabbed the package from the mailbox on the way out. At the coffee shop I sank into a cozy chair with a cup of dark coffee, and rather than plunge toward meeting my deadline I opened the envelope and admired the two books. I liked the paper feel--no glossy plastic here--and the colourful and detailed front cover. I would gladly place them on my too organized shelf dedicated to my nicer literary journals/periodicals (yes I have such a thing), but half-way through the volume I had an accident with a mug of coffee and sadly destroyed the cover. The pages are mostly fine but the cover is utterly mangled, warped beyond recognition. I felt terribly, even though it's "only a book," especially since I take good care of such volumes, and don't normally leave the house with them.

But I digress...

Unthank Books is a small press located in the UK that focuses on alternative, non-commercial fiction and non-fiction. They specialize in daring, experimental writing, as displayed on their home page and as discussed in the unthology's brief introduction. We need daring, unconventional short fiction, the editors are claiming, and I totally agree, particularly because most high profile journals prefer to play it safe and publish standard, semi-marketable mainstream fare. (I say "semi-marketable" because terribly few literary periodicals are straightforwardly marketable.) "Unthology is an attempt to reverse this trend," the introduction states; the trend of essentially marginalizing and constraining the short story, a form that once was a common portion of the publisher's agenda. The mainstream public, according to J. G. Ballard, has lost the gift of reading short fiction. I'm not sure if the ability to properly read short fiction is a gift but more of a practiced aptitude. I wouldn't like to call my own abilities a gift, but rather something I've developed through study and practice. ("Gift" does sound nicer, though.)

I do wonder why there are two novel extracts in a book promoting the standards of the short form, but then again Unthology has "no agenda," no limitations on theme, form or length. I'm glad there is no agenda, since the two excerpts are surprisingly among my favourite selections in the volume.

Unthology is certainly different. Unlike most periodicals or anthologies, this volume contains a wide range of styles among its seventeen selections. On one hand this offers a great reading challenge, as our minds must get accustomed to each individual story. Many periodicals like the über popular Glimmer Train don't offer this challenge, each story so similar that the brain is set to monotone mode and the reader might as well have picked up a novel. On the other hand this variety offers a risk, since human tastes vary and each reader will likely encounter two or three stories they are not particularly fond of. Personally I didn't dislike any of the stories here, but there were a few that just didn't grip me, though each was well written. My two favourite entries are those by Viccy Adams and Ashley Stokes, but others that stand out for me are those by Mischa Hiller, Laura Stimson, Sherilyn Connelly, Sarah Dobbs and Tessa West.


extract from "Doing it by the Book" by Viccy Adams. 7/10

I don't always read excerpts. In fact, I'm pretty mixed about the concept. I find sometimes it's merely a form of advertisement rather than a valued piece of writing that manages to stand alone. "Doing it by the Book" stands strong on its own, that I'm actually surprised it's part of a longer project. (I tried to learn more about the project and understand it was part of Adams's dissertation, but haven't been able to figure out much about the project itself. You can visit Dr. Adams's website here.)

Our narrator hero is riding home on a train. He's got his coat, his book and his nice red suitcase with him. He takes a moment to step into the train's washroom and when he returns his entire life has been turned upside down. There is a man sitting in his seat, with his coat and his book and his nice red suitcase, and suddenly our narrator's life has become suspect. As we follow this amnesiac and possibly schizophrenic man across several hours of losing himself, we witness a systematic breakdown of a rational civilized individual, and discover, sometimes abruptly and at times subtly, that this seemingly stable narrator is a downtrodden, coldly violent and deluded individual. There is desperation mixed with a strange form of sincerity and the ridiculous that is reminiscent of Knut Hamsun's Hunger. The ending was, as expected from an excerpt, not too satisfying and a little too much like a punch-line.

Very well written, with an appropriately cold and precise prose, I would be interested in reading the work in its entirety.

"Write or Die" by Sandra Jensen. 5/10

A teenage girl's confession over killing a man reveals the dark side of a rural working community. The narrative is at times amusing and there is quite a bit of suspense, but the side-tracking and repetition of what's going on down in that cellar, writing that confession while the men with guns are upstairs, served as unfortunate interruptions, removing me from the narrator's story as soon as I've managed to settle in. With shades of Equus.

There is an inherent problem with the idea that an uneducated country person trying to piece together a comprehensive written narrative. Some words are misspelled and there are obvious typos, but most sentences are well crafted, properly subordinated and really, there just ain't enuff errerers for som 1 who ain't ever used a typewriter before, or even barely written anything more complex than a grocery list. It's written as though speech is being transcribed, and would have worked better had it been transcribed speech, a recorder rather than a typewriter. Besides, I don't believe anyone, even an expert typist, can piece together such a "fession" in ten minutes. Of course I'm being nit-picky, but the logic itches at the back of my hed as i reed the storie nowin n relity da ritin and typps ud mak et al unredble.

"The Burning" by Mischa Hiller. 7/10

I reviewed Hiller's story "Room 307" from All These Little Worlds (The Fiction Desk, 2011). Though both that and "The Burning" deal with burdened, crumbling relationships, they are utterly different. I liked "Room 307," but I like "The Burning" even more.

The tension in this short piece is incredibly thick, beginning with the immediate action as Jack breaks Helen's concentration reading the paper when he places his key in the front door. Told through Helen's point of view, every action and every detail is fraught with layers of complexity, from Jack's selection of the chipped tea mug to his sighing and not turning on the lights. A successful biological stem cell researcher, Jack is evidently more involved in his research than in his marriage. Stem cell research is broad and can involve many facets of science, from saving endangered species to research into cancer and other diseases. It is Jack's cold statement, as delivered through Helen's thoughts, that he does not want any children that makes me think his work deals with cloning. But of course this is my own invention.

It is the awarding of a prize and the letter invitation from Stockholm that sits between them like a lump of lead, and acts as a kind of deus ex machina to hurl us to the final act of burning and an almost resolution. What we learn is that Helen herself is troubled internally, troubles that are aggravated by Jack rather than caused by him. A solid story burning for a second read.

"The Latvian Motorcycle Princess" by C. D. Rose. 5/10

A character sketch of a Latvian motorcyclist passing through the UK town of Thetford. Fairly well written but not gripping as it lacks a bit of direction. And lacking direction when on a motorbike can be dangerous.

"Turtle" by Melinda Moore. 6/10

A little girl in the town of Milford Haven is curious about death. Living by a funeral parlour feeds that curiosity, as does the fact that there have been an unusual number of deaths these last few weeks, and an increasing number of flies. "Turtle" is a subtle story that deals not with death but with neglect and consequence. And yes, there is a turtle in the story, though briefly, which kept reminding me of Lonesome George.

"Herringbone" by James Carter. 5/10

A short, playful piece about herrings. Sort of. Also about a person with paranoid delusions. Well enough written but this one didn't grip me either.

"Post Day" by Laura Stimson. 6/10

Frances is bored on post day, the day her mom sits drinking wine and opening her mail. A tight and interesting short sketch of a broken family through the point of view of a little girl. Unlike the previous two stories I found this one vivid, evocative and even gripping. Interestingly, this one as well as "Turtle" features a girl wondering who she will stay with if her parent dies.

I've read of editors complaining of stories written in present tense, first person. Apparently there are too many being written these days, so it's a kind of trend that, from what one major editor told me, is more conscious of its voice than the story being told. "Post Day" is a fine example of how a first person present tense story should be employed. The story, for one thing, has no finish and no sense of a finish, as Frances and the reader are caught in time, faced with an impression. In fact, the story acts less like a story and very much like a painting.

"Waiting Room" by Martin Pond. 6/10

A boy is seated in a waiting room, waiting for the test all boys his age must write. We are in the near future, and overpopulation has forced the state to implement a test to attack the problem. I am being vague, since the story is told through the boy's point of view, and the narrative relies on irony as the reader slowly learns the tragedy of what is really going on in this world, while the boy sits patiently to write that all important test.

Another first person present tense story, it actually relies much on the past tense to tell its tale.

"The Mall" by Deborah Arnander. 6/10

A woman walks through church grounds where she sees, through the window, a childhood friend's mother. The incident triggers a series of reflections on this friend and the tragedy that made up their relationship. A strong story, well written.

"The Last Dog and Pony Show" by Sherilyn Connelly. 6/10

A clingy transsexual joins a dog and pony show to be near his/her girlfriend, deciding to take on the role of a cat since she feels attuned to the feline instincts for solitude and self-preservation. Told through the point of view of the cat wanna-be, the narrator is annoying with his/her clingy needs, yet manages nonetheless to garner sympathy from the reader. The narrative is funny and the emotions genuine, the story is a pleasure to read. There are some unfortunate obvious typos in the text, and while there might have been typos in earlier parts of the book, I didn't notice them.

"Extract from The Lemonade Girl" by Sarah Dobbs. 7/10

Married to a loving wife and father to two children, Michael's world faces potential tension when his ex-girlfriend, presumably dead, might be trying to get in touch with him. Unlike the previous excerpt, this one does not hold up as an individual story, so I can't comment too much as it sits in the middle of the anthology unfinished. I did, however, enjoy these opening ten pages, and am impressed with Dobbs's ability to capture the male voice (though there is perhaps too much focus on his... but I digress). Some humour and quite a bit of suspense, I do hope the novel gets published.

"Impilo" by Jenni Fagan. 5/10

This surreal tale of severed limbs and strange relationships is well written, but unfortunately its characters don't stand out as we're introduced to too much gore before we get the chance to properly meet them. I did find myself getting unexpectedly pulled into the story, but by then I was already on the last page.

"Dick's Life" by Maggie Ling. 5/10

A middle-aged man in crisis mode reflects on past expectations, being "trapped" in marriage, his mentally disabled daughter, aging wife and notions of guilt. The story lulls during its mid-point, particularly as the narrator wallows in self-pity, but is bookended by a good opening and last couple of pages.

"Parallax" by Tessa West. 7/10

A woman has the opportunity to apply for an ideal position, a position that would require a move. When her husband is less than supportive, downright dismissive of the career opportunity, the woman wonders at his extreme reaction and wonders if she is ever less than supportive toward him. This is pretty much all the story contains, along with a near climactic deus ex machina, and yet the piece works well on several levels. Structurally we are presented with a series of terms borrowed from photography, a passion of the husband's, and these terms expose (pun intended) the nature of not just the relationship, but how people view different aspects of their lives. The story appears so slight that it can easily be overlooked, and yet its quietness is what gives it so much strength. My personal favourite of the shorter pieces.

(Sorry Green Lantern fans, but this has nothing to do with that Parallax.)

"The Soul of Cinema" by Karen Whiteson. 6/10

Like the previous "Parallax," this story enlightens its thematic elements by contrasting them with appropriate cinematic concepts (cinema in place of photography, a related though younger art form). Here the concepts come across as part of a lecture at a film conference, and are played against the narrator's thoughts on a gossiping colleague. Whereas the previous story was more concerned with theme, "The Soul of Cinema" is more conscious of language, and there are some fine turns of phrase, some well structured sentences that manage to eke out a bit of humour.

"A Short Story about a Short Film" by Ashley Stokes. 7/10

"A Short Story about a Short Film" is a great example of how a structurally different story can be both entertaining and act a proper medium for its thematic content. Outwardly the story is bland, as it can be summed up as a pretentious and insecure young filmmaker struggling with his obsession with his ex-girlfriend, and through that obsession achieves an important moment of self discovery. Yet there is depth in the unity between narrative and structure. The story is a screenplay of a short film inset with a series of footnotes. The short film emulates the great shorter films of mid-century Eastern Europe, while the footnotes are by the filmmaker as he has pieced together his own kind of director's commentary, and uses that commentary to reveal the behind the scenes drama amid the filming of the short. The idea of introducing footnotes is not original, but this is likely the first time I've read a story in which the footnotes act as extras on a DVD, a concept which I like since I'm a sucker for good extras. Overall it's well presented, particularly as the story manages to create various layers and connections between the short film and the self-indulgent love story, making it engaging and often funny.

Our filmmaker Stasi Lloyd is not very likeable. He is weak and self-interested, obsessed with film and with his former girlfriend-cum-former lead in his debut film, Kaliningrad. What begins as a pretentious undergraduate film project of a pretend totalitarian society replete with its spies, its mysterious women and its relentless clacking typewriters, not to mention vodka and onions, the little film turns out to be little more than a dramatic love triangle, emulating real-life behind-the-scene events. The entire thing is ridiculous, but in a funny, engaging and even thought-provoking way. There are a myriad themes interconnecting the fantasy of film and of the real-life drama, as love and lust are secretive, even persecuted (by a jealous third party), and the real life director becomes the shady spy of his own film, sneaking into his former lover's parents property, taking the entire film crew to the vicinity as an excuse to be there in the first place. The dark film society he portrays is illustrative of his own dark, guarded nature; he tries to rationalize the situation by being removed and understanding, but is essentially driven by a stronger form, that of raw emotion, so that the melodrama of life is so much greater than that of film. And what is it all for, since like the film, life too is short. I was surprised, though pleasantly, that the narrator gains some insight through these straining experiences.

The story is perhaps a little too long.

Which got me thinking about the title. Certainly it's about a short film, but technically it's a novelette, so it should be titled "A Novelette about a Short Film." But it's not about a short film, particularly since the film's ending is changed due to life's influence. In many ways the city embodies both the film and the filmmaker's final transformation, so I thought a good title would be "Kaliningrad with Footnotes." Though that sounds more like a painting than a film.

"Bleach" by Michael Baker. 6/10

A visually hallucinatory narrative about a paranoid delusional man, possibly schizophrenic. The zaniness of the narrative is fun at first, but I grew quickly tired of it as the story seemed to lack direction. It does improve with a healthy dose of morbidity just when a sense of hope is creeping in, but I would have preferred it had it begun a little sooner.

Night Gallery: Season Two, Episode Five

Night Gallery 2.5

First Aired 20 October 1971

Overall Rating: 7/10

A review of episode 2.4
A review of episode 2.6 (coming soon)

Episode 2.5 features only two dramatic segments and no silly comedy, which is probably the show's best possible format. But this episode's real strength is its second segment, a brilliant little film which features Orson Welles narrating Gene Kearney's adaptation of Conrad Aiken's "Silent Snow, Secret Snow." A better first segment could have transformed this episode into perhaps the strongest of the series, but alas, the generic supernatural tale of ghosts and werewolves is much too generic.

The episode presents us with an interesting David Carradine connection, which isn't surprising for an actor with so many roles over so many decades.. The actor appears in "The Phantom Farmhouse" segment, yet has ties with two actors in the "Silent Snow, Secret Snow." Radames Pera appeared alongside Carradine in the popular series Kung Fu, while Lonny Chapman appeared alongside the actor Carradine's first of two The Alfred Hitchcock Hour episode, "Ten Minuntes from Now." Meanwhile, David McCallum, the lead in "The Phantom Farmhouse," was a lead on the popular series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., in which his "Phantom" co-star Linda Marsh and Jason Wingreen from "Silent Snow, Secret Snow" both guest-starred, the latter in four different episodes.

The Phantom Farmhouse

Directed by Jeannot Szwarc
Written by Halsted Welles from a short story by Seabury Quinn
Starring David McCallum, Linda Marsh, David Carradine, Trina Parks, Ivor Francis, Ford Rainey

Rating: 5/10

At an isolated psychiatric institution, psychiatrist Joel Winter (David McCallum) gets involved with a fantastic tale of ghostly werewolves. After one of his patients is found torn to pieces, Winter discovers that rebellious patient Gideon (David Carradine) had sent the dead man to a set of ruins once belonging to a farmhouse. On his way to investigate, Winter finds the farmhouse erect, and moreover he finds it occupied by a young woman named Mildred Squire (Linda Marsh) and her two parents. Love and lychanthropy are eventually brought to an end through Mildred's self sacrifice and the help of the Good Book.

A standard tale, not too interesting or original, highly predictable, yet nonetheless well shot. There is an interesting visual contrast between colourful artificial sets and the sparsely forested dusty brown landscape of the institution and farmhouse. Unfortunately the supernatural aspect of the ghost-cum-werewolf tale is muddled, as we're not too sure whether we're watching a ghost tale or a werewolf tale. Moulding the two sub-genres is fine, only here it appears that these werewolves are made ghosts simply to allow the writers an easy resolution. The resolution is simplistic, tossing in a bible for good measure, so I suppose the exorcism reveals the creatures to be more ghost than werewolf. Along the way there is little suspense, and the protagonist is essentially a passive and impotent fella, who does little other than swoon over Mildred and do everything she tells him without an inkling of thought. But I guess that's true love, Hollywood style.

Mildred's long index finger (for werewolves in human form have an index finger longer than the middle) is ridiculous, since at first she is obviously bending her middle finger to make it appear shorter. Later, from a distance, the longer finger is clearly a fake, and the top knuckle unbendable, so that when even the middle knuckle bends the upper one remain impossibly straight. On the other hand the werewolf attack sequence is well edited, so that the cute pups actually do somewhat resemble ferocious rabid dogs (not exactly werewolves, who should be considerably larger, traditionally speaking).

Directed by Night Gallery regular Jeannot Szwarc. Glaswegian David McCallum who is good in the role of Winter. Best known for long stints on The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and NCIS, McCallum also appeared in several top-notch movies including The Great Escape. He hasn't figured much on anthology series, though he was in two episodes of the original The Outer Limits ("The Sixth Finger" & "The Forms of Things Unknown"), the 1980s Alfred Hitchcock Presents ("Murder Party") as well as in the second The Outer Limits ("Feasibility Study"). Linda Marsh was a secondary television actress who did guest star alongside McCallum on an episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E.. Most notable cast member is the recently departed David Carradine. Familiar to many through countless roles, the eldest and most familiar of the Carradine brothers did appear twice on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour ("Ten Minutes from Now" & "Thou Still Unravished Bride"), and even on the terrible Spielberg produced Amazing Stories ("Thanksgiving"). Trina Parks is best known as the first African American Bond girl, in Diamonds Are Forever (1971).

Silent Snow, Secret Snow

Directed by Gene R. Kearney
Written by Gene R. Kearney from the short story by Conrad Aiken
Starring the voice of Orson Welles, along with the bodies & voices of Radames Pera, Lonny Chapman, Lisabeth Hush, Jason Wingreen, Frances Spanier

Rating: 8/10

"Silent Snow, Secret Snow" is a little masterpiece of a film that depicts a young boy's withdrawal from the world, essentially his descent into an unnamed illness, perhaps schizophrenia, autism or asperger's. The segment is a reworking of a fabulous short film Kearney produced five years earlier, in 1966, only now with an actual budget. This version is almost as good as the original, with a few stronger points, and while I'd like to compare the two pieces, I'll refrain since this is a review of the Night Gallery teleplay.

One major coup managed by Night Gallery producers is nabbing the iconic Orson Welles to perform the narration. His tone and intonation are always excellent, and here Aiken's poetic prose flows beautifully off Welles's articulate tongue. Kearney's adaptation of Aiken's text is strong, and cleans up some of the rougher phrases from his earlier short film. The Aiken/Kearney prose is properly enhanced by the nice visuals; I particularly like the postman sequences. There is nothing visually fancy, but a nice set, good use of colour and light as well as strong support from a fitting musical score. A must-see which gets even better as I think about it.

Adding to the technical aspects of the play there are some nice thematic touches. We watch a boy's world getting smaller and smaller, a reality contrasted by both a wider world as well as a narrower one, so the boy appears to have a choice between the two. He is learning geography in school, grasping ideas of the wide expansive world around us, and yet he carries with him a small snow globe, as though his own personal world is encapsulated in the tiniest of universes imaginable.

Kearney was one of the regular writer-directors on Night Gallery, producing a mix in work quality. The great Orson Welles needs no introduction, and hasn't appeared in any other notable anthology series. The boy Paul is played by Radames Pera who will go on to star alongside David Carradine in the successful series Kung Fu. The father is played by recognizable versatile character actor Lonny Chapman, who has appeared in numerous 1950s and 1960s anthology series, as well as Suspense (1950s) Naked City, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour ("Ten Minutes from Now") and Suspense (1960s). The mother is portrayed by Lisbeth Hush, who also appeared on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour ("Annabel"). Jason Wingreen who plays the doctor has a long series of anthology credits, including three appearances on each of The Twilight Zone ("A Stop at Willoughby," "The Midnight Sun," "The Bard") and The Outer Limits ("O.B.I.T.," "The Special One," "Expanding Human").

Night Gallery: Season Two, Episode Four

Night Gallery 2.4

First aired 6 October 1971

Overall rating 7/10

Previous episode 2.3 is here.
Following episode 2.5 is now here.

Episode 2.4 features three segments along with one terrible comedic sketch. Each of the segments are good, though none are outstanding. None are original teleplays but based on short stories by Elizabeth Walter, Joan Aiken and David Ely respectively. It appears that Mr. Rod Serling was a fan of the Christine Bernard edited Fontana anthologies, since all three of these stories were included in the first three books of the popular series, The Fontana Book of Great Horror Stories. These Fontana books included mainly reprints with a few originals, and Walter's "The Spider" was among the originals, first published in the second volume (1967). Joan Aiken's "Marmalade Wine" was reprinted in the first (1966), and David Ely's "The Academy" was included in the third (1968), a book I read back in my teens in the 1980s, introducing me to the fine series. All but "Marmalade Wine" were adapted by Serling, and though the producers of Night Gallery tried to keep Serling at a distance, he likely had a say in the stories adapted for the actual segments.


A Fear of Spiders
Directed by John Astin
Written by Rod Serling from a short story "The Spider" by Elizabeth Walter
Starring Patrick O'Neal, Kim Stanley and Tom Pedi

Rating: 7/10

Elizabeth Walter, "The Spider"

• The 2nd Fontana Book of Great Horror Stories, ed. Christine Bernard, Fontana, 1967. pp. 9-34
• The Sin-Eater and Other Stories, Harvil, 1967; NY: Sten & Day, 1968

Food and design columnist Justus Walters is an arrogant and self-interested bachelor who has a deathly fear of spiders. He cruelly tosses aside the advances of his romantically inclined upstairs neighbour Elizabeth Croft, but when he sees large spiders in his apartment, he quickly seeks out her company. This getting what he deserves (and more) story is predictable, sure, but it's well crafted and a pleasure to watch.

What is great about "A Fear of Spiders" is that there are hardly any spiders to be seen. What few spiders there are might not even be there, but exist in Justus's overwrought imagination. Our columnist is a fussy and compulsive man. Everything in his apartment is in its proper place and when he works he must have absolute silence, so that even a dripping faucet is too much for him to bear. When he deals with the drip he wipes the sink with a cloth, implying that the water sitting there would also drive him to distraction. Everything must be in its proper place. "I have three columns to write!" he yells at Elizabeth when she comes to his door, but it's likely he'd find distraction even when none is around. The fear of spiders acts as a manifestation for his fear of people, and he treats everyone around him with blunt cruelty, expecting to be left alone and in control of his environment. The building maintenance man appears in a small part to show that it is not only Elizabeth who Justus looks down upon, but pretty everyone other than himself.


If you were paying attention you might have noticed that the main characters' names are borrowed from those of the short story author: Elizabeth Walter broken into Justus Walters and Elizabeth Croft. Both Patrick O'Neal and Kim Stanley do a great job in their roles, and both work well with Serling's wordy yet playful script. Like many of his generation, character actor O'Neal has appeared in many anthology series, including each of the four excellent series The Twilight Zone, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Naked City and The Outer Limits. Stanley was primarily a stage actress and an great choice for the role, and though she hasn't appeared in many screen projects she has had many memorable roles, including the narration for To Kill a Mockingbird.

Some good directing and editing, including a smart decision to show the big spider for only an instant. I admit I jumped a little when I saw it even though it's clearly a large teddy spider. Director veteran and prolific actor John Astin, who directed three segments of Night Gallery ("The House," "A Fear of Spiders," "The Dark Boy") and starred in three as well ("Pamela's Voice," second episode coming up, "The Girl with the Hungry Eyes").


Junior
Directed by Theodore J. Flicker
Written by Gene R. Kearney
Starring Wally Cox and Barbara Flicker

Rating: 1/10

These second season comedic sketches seem to get worse with each episode. In this one a couple is asleep as we hear a child's voice calling out to daddy for a glass of water. Daddy looks over to mommy who says, "He's your child," so daddy gets out of bed and brings Junior a glass of water. The child turns out to be Dr. Frankenstein's monster lying in a partially assembled crib, or one of those cribs that can extend into a bed. Junior thanks daddy and then, as the camera closes in for a close-up of the classic Frankenstein monster make-up, Junior pours the water over his forehead. This, I think, we're supposed to find funny, which leads me to think that Jack Laird considered his audience to be made up of dimwitted folk with poor attention spans.

Absolutely awful.

The role of the father is played by versatile actor Wally Cox. Unknown Barbara Flicker is likely related to director Theodore J. Flicker, co-creator of the wonderful Barney Miller.

Marmalade Wine

Directed by Jerrold Freedman
Written by Jerrold Freedman from the short story by Joan Aiken
Starring Robert Morse and Rudy Vallee

Rating: 7/10

Joan Aiken, "Marmalade Wine"

• Suspense, September 1958
• Horror Stories, ed. Syd Bentlif, Mayflower, 1965. pp. 119-126
• The Fontana Book of Great Horror Stories, ed. Christine Bernard, London: Fontana, 1966. 213-221
• The Windscreen Weepers and Other Tales of Horror and Suspense, Gollancz, 1969
• The Tenth Pan Book of Horror Stories, Herbert van Thal, London: Pan, 1969. pp. 217-224
• The Green Flash and Other Stories of Horror, Suspense and Fantasy, Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1971
• A Bundle of Nerves, London: Gollancz, March 1976
• Stories of Terror, ed. John L. Foster, Ward Lock, 1982. pp. 19-26
• The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women, eds. A. Susan Williams, Richard Glyn Jones, London: Viking, May 1995. pp. 124-131

Based on a short story by Joan Aiken, daughter of Conrad Aiken, "Marmalade Wine" is a simple tongue-in-cheek tale of coincidences with a surprise ending. The story was well conceived by writer director Jerrold Freedman (assuming he was behind the filming concept). Photographer Roger Blacker is caught in the middle of nowhere in the middle of a rainstorm, and is brought into the dry home of Dr. Francis Deeking. The two men chat over some home brewed marmalade wine, and we learn that Blacker has the knack of accurately predicting the future, while famous surgeon Dr. Deeking recently moved out here away from civilization because... but Blacker can't seem to recall exactly why, though it's been in the news.

The story is not remarkable nor terribly memorable, but the episode is pieced together with some odd humour and minimalist sets that make it a pleasure to watch. The actors appear clown-like in their roles, with exaggerated movements and facial features. We first encounter Blacker as he's stumbling along a forest path, slippery with rain, fumbling and tumbling until Deeking appears above through a window. The set is minimalist, shot in a studio with a black backdrop and resembling something put together quickly for a high school play, with white cut-out trees that re-appear continuously as Blacker is running, reminiscent of The Flintstones assembly belt backdrops. The interior of Deeking's home is just as minimalist, with walls borders yet no walls and simple white furnishings. There is no pretense here as crew and actors are having fun with the staging, and we can even see Deeking through the wall before he comes through the door. All of this adds a sense of story-book surrealism, so we accept huge coincidences and obvious dialogue such as Blacker wondering aloud: "Now what was it recently read about Dr. Deeking? It was in all the papers."

Written and directed by Jerrold Freedman, who was behind the camera for six Night Gallery segments, including the good "Room with a View" and the bad "The Flip Side of Satan" (the others I haven't yet reviewed). Blacker is played by Robert Morse, currently on Mad Men but previously appeared on twice on Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Naked City, Tales of the Unexpected and the 1980s The Twilight Zone. Established entertainer Rudy Vallee's was primarily a musician and bandleader, and though he's appeared in many notable films and series, is best known for his musical contributions.

The Academy

Directed by Jeff Corey
Written by Rod Serling from the short story by David Ely
Starring Leif Erickson, Pat Boone, Larry Linville and Ed Call

Rating: 6/10

David Ely, "The Academy"

• Playboy, June 1965.  p. 113 
• The Best American Short Stories 1966, eds. Martha Foley, David Burnett, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1966
• The Playboy Book of Horror and the Supernatural, eds. of Playboy, Chicago: Playboy Press, 1967
• The Third Fontana Book of Great Horror Stories, ed. Christine Bernard, London: Fontana, May 1968. pp. 54-63
• Weird Show, eds of Playboy [Ray Russell], Chicago: Playboy Press, 1971. pp. 125-136
• Fantasy: The Literature of the Marvellous, Leo P. Russell, McGraw-Hill, 1974. pp. 204-211
• Rod Serling's Night Gallery Reader, eds. Carol Serling, Charles G. Waugh, Martin H. Greenberg, Dembner Books, 1987
• Nursery Crimes, eds. Stefan Dziemianowicz, Robert Weinberg, Martin H. Greenberg, Barnes & Noble Books, June 1993

Mr. Holston visits the director of the academy thinking it is a good place for his troubled and troublesome son. Holston is a busy man, a single father, whose son seems to be a bit of a problem child. The academy, on the other hand, is a military-style institution where discipline and respect for authority are integral daily rituals. Yet as Holston receives a tour of the facilities it appears that the cadets are a little older than he'd expected.

David Ely's "The Academy" is a difficult story to pull off, and yet Night Gallery manages to produce a good (though not excellent) adaptation. In his script Serling removes an integral level of irony by making Holston aware of what is going on, and conspiring nonetheless against the better interests of his son. Not only does this make the story possible for a televised adaptation since we must actually see the cadets, it also adds a commentary on the values of modern man, as we would rather pay to have our problems hidden away than be burdened by them amid our busy professional lives. Even if this problem is our very own child. Serling could have had the cadets appear hidden, as the medical staff were left in the dark throughout the memorable The Twilight Zone episode "Eye of the Beholder," but here, in full daytime colour, it would appear far too obvious and cheap.

Author David Ely's most anthologized story, he is best known for his novel Seconds which was filmed by John Frankenheimer in 1966. Holston is played by singer-songwriter Pat Boone, while the director is portrayed by long-time character actor Leif Erickson, who is to reappear in season three of Night Gallery for the episode "Something in the Woodwork." Erickson has been in a number of great films, while on television he's appeared primarily in westerns. He was featured in numerous dramatic anthology programs in the 1950s, as well as four times in Climax!, once in Alfred Hitchcock Presents ("The Equalizer") and twice on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour ("Consider Her Ways" and "The Monkey's Paw: A Retelling"). Oddly, unlike many of his contemporaries and many established actors who have had a turn on Night Gallery, he did not appear in Naked City. You might also recognize, in a small part as Cadet Sloane, Larry Linville, best known as Major Frank Burns on the once extremely popular M*A*S*H.

Night Gallery: Season Two, Episode Three

Night Gallery 2.3

First aired 29 September 1971

Overall rating: 5/10

Preceding episode review: Night Gallery 2.2
Following episode review Night Gallery 2.4.

It appears to be a requisite for anthology series to include at least one episode featuring a witch and one featuring a devil. Night Gallery meets those two requisites in this single episode. Perhaps it's because the setting for both stories is familiar, the episode was overall quite disappointing. It is also the first episode of season two that features no teleplays either written or adapted by Rod Serling.

Thankfully this episode has only a single comedic sketch, but one is plenty since it's downright awful, and features yet another embarrassing moment in the career of Adam West.

Notable in Serling's introduction is that he refers to himself as "an undernourished Alfred Hitchcock."

Since Aunt Ada Came to Stay

Directed by William Hale
Written by Alvin Sapinsley from the short story "The Witch" by A. E. van Vogt
Starring James Farentino, Michele Lee, Jonathan Harris, Jeanette Nolan

Rating: 6/10

This witchin' tale with the cozy title is a standard story of a centuries-old witch who, in the guise of one Aunt Ada, is attempting to take over the body of her young niece Joanna Lowell in order to maintain her longevity. Husband Craig senses some kind of evil plot from the start, and investigates this Ada person. Though he's a staunch disbeliever without the proper social graces to even feign interest in colleague Nicholas Porteus's studies of the occult, he quickly learns to believe in witchcraft. Only problem is, his flaky wife just dotes on the old hag.

Standard fare indeed, but it is well pieced together and manages to be entertaining. Sure there is some silliness with those flowers and the spells and pentagrams, but the sets are nice as is the 1970s tv quality cinematography with some nice framing and camera angles. Witch sounds seem to be borrowed from Doctor Who which transforms drama into comedy, and that multiplicity sequence comes across as a bit of a joke rather than a form of dramatic tension. Helping to rescue the episode is none other than Jeanette Nolan in the role of the Aunt Ada imposter, who is simultaneously charming and yet clearly a witch.

The ending, which I won't and don't need to reveal, is obvious from the start. Whether the witch succeeds or not, however, can go either way, but by then we stop caring. One problem is the role of niece Joanna Lowell, who is so simple and agreeable while not believing a word of husband Craig's outlandish accusations. Simple-headed indeed, she is written as a trope rather than a character, and though not actress Michele Lee's fault, she is quite annoying. James Farentino as Craig Lowell, who pieces together what this witchy woman wants, is pretty good, even though he spends much of the segment dripping with water, whether it be sweat or rain. Convenient isn't it how every day is a gorgeous example of summer in the suburbs, but that one day when the witch's plans are to come to fruition we are inundated with torrential showers. Moreover, the fact that a university physics class is held at midnight is just a little hard to accept, for of course that is the witching hour and television must conform to the wants of their spells.

The wonderful Jeanette Nolan has appeared in countless projects in both film and television, and her roles in anthology series include many 1950s dramas, as well as four episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, two for the original The Twilight Zone, and one each for Naked City and Climax! She was also the wonderful Miss Wattle in Night Gallery's first episode segment "The Housekeeper." Moreover, she was the voice of Norman Bate's mother in the fabulous Psycho. James Farentino has also had a long enduring career, including two appearances on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour and one on Naked City. He will reappear in a season three episode of Night Gallery, "The Girl with the Hungry Eyes." Michele Lee is best known for her role in Knots Landing, while Jonathan Harris who plays Lowell's helpful occultist colleague is best known for the series Lost in Space and The Third Man, and has also appeared in two episodes of The Twilight Zone.


With Apologies to Mr. Hyde
Directed by Jeannot Szwarc
Written by Jack Laird
Starring Adam West

Rating: 1/10

Another terrible sketch brought to you by the pen of show's producer Jack Laird. Having already pillaged the works of Bram Stoker, Gaston Leroux and Edgar Allen Poe, he is now ransacking the oeuvre of Robert Louis Stevenson. A well-dressed man (could this be Dr. Jekyll?) is tasting a potion while a shrunken and filthy man named Igor watches on. The good doctor makes faces, growls a bit, then looking really angry and slightly deformed, complains about the amount of vermouth. The End.

Not only is the skit not funny, former Bruce Wayne and Batman actor Adam West is pretty bad, as is everything else about the two minute interlude. It makes no sense that there is another person mixing Jekyll's potion since he always worked alone, and naming the little helper Igor, that generic name for a mad scientist's aide, comes across as lacking invention. "Apologies to Mr. Hyde" indeed, and apologies to Mr. Serling, Mr. Stevenson, and everyone in the audience.

The Flip Side of Satan

Directed by Jerrold Freedman
Written by Malcolm Marmorstein and Gerald Sanford, from a story by Hal Dresner
Starring Arte Johnson

Rating: 4/10

Sleazy disc jockey J. J. Wilson arrives at an isolated broadcast station for a new gig. Too hip for 1971, Wilson is puzzled by the funeral-like music he is forced to play, and by the fact that this station broadcasts only from midnight to six in the morning. In the studio he makes some calls and we learn he is a sleaze, which is not surprising. Indeed the situation is much too clear to the viewer within minutes: he is broadcasting from hell. Being an amoral dude as well as a disc jockey, you know.

Unexciting and not too creative. It also doesn't make sense that when Wilson arrives at the station it is broad daylight, yet he tells us minutes later that it's midnight. Tales from the Darkside did a better, similar effort with the episode "The Devil's Advocate" (episode 2.7) with Jerry Stiller. Comedian Arte Johnson is fine in the role of J. J. Wilson; it's the lack of creativity that drags this one down. Johnson has also appeared in both The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

Night Gallery: Season Two, Episode Two

Night Gallery: Season 2, Episode 1

First aired 22 September 1971

Overall rating /10

Please see here for Episode 2.1.
Please stay tuned for Episode 2.3


Similar to the previous episode, this one delivers one excellent segment alongside a good segment, as well as two weak comedic skits. Two versions of episode two have seen air time: the original ending with the skit "Witches Feast" and another with "Satisfaction Guaranteed." The second version replaced the former during the episode's rerun on 22 March 1972. The version I watched is from the Season Two DVD and contains the second skit; I will add "Witches Feast" when I've had a chance to watch it.

With the exception of the second comedic skit, each segment of this episode was directed by Jeannot Szwarc, who directed and continues to direct episodes for several television series, including many more for Night Gallery. He was also behind the camera for some disasters during the 1980s, such as Supergirl, Santa Claus: The Movie, and Jaws 2.

Death in the Family

• Directed by Jeannot Szwarc
• Written by Rod Serling from a short story by Miriam Allen DeFord
• Starring E. G. Marshall, Desi Arnaz Jr., James Sikking, John Evans, William Elliott, Bud Walls

Rating: 6/10

• DeFord, Miriam Allen, "A Death in the Family," Dude, November 1961
• reprinted, Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Stories That Scared Even Me, ed. Robert Arthur, NY: Random House, 1967

Lonely and sentimental middle-aged funeral parlour director Jared Soames is saddened by the arrival of the corpse of an eighty-one year-old man who has no mourners, no flowers, but only a hundred dollars' worth of state funding reserved for its neglected citizens. It is clear from the start that Soames has somewhat alternative ideas for this particularly body.

In the meantime a young, uncared for recently escaped murderer finds his way to Soames's cozy parlour-home, and Soames, caring as always for the neglected, decides to help him out. The denouement is less than surprising, but the segment is nonetheless a pleasure to watch thanks to E. G. Marshall's wonderful performance as Soames, alongside a great set and a few good camera angles. Unfortunately some of the corpses are obviously breathing and even moving, nodding their heads as though concurring with Soames's twisted ideas. Weak also is the poor choice or music. Parlour music, if you will.

E. G. Marshall is unfortunately not too well remembered, despite numerous memorable roles, including juror four in 12 Angry Men and nearly stealing the show as Upson Pratt in Creepshow. He made a good living actively appearing on most major (and some minor) anthology series in the 1950s, with several appearances throughout many popular dramas and mysteries, and appeared in both the original and the 1980s remake of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Desi Arnaz Jr., not a great actor but a better theatre aficionado, is just okay in his role as escaped convict Doran. Character actor James B. Sikking is quite good in a small part; he's best known for his role in the revolutionary Hill Street Blues, and has appeared twice in the original The Outer Limits. There is also a small part for Noam Pitlik, longtime television director who was behind many episodes of the great Barney Miller.


The Merciful

• Directed by Jeannot Szwarc
• Written by Jack Laird from a story by Charles L. Sweeny jr
• Starring Imogene Coca and King Donovan

Rating: 4/10

While the first two comedic segments (from episode 2.1) borrowed from Bram Stoker and Gaston Leroux, this one tears a page from Edgar Allan Poe. An elderly man is seated silently but agonizingly in a chair while his dear elderly wife is erecting a brick wall between them. She is trying to comfort him, telling him that it is for the best, that it will put an end to the constant pain, death will be swift and not to worry, but think only of the good times. The punchline is evident from the start since there is only one possibility. Still, I will not give it away.

The wife is played by comedic screen legend Imogene Coca, who I loved watching as a kid during the mid-1980s in reruns of Your Show of Shows on some public station. Coca also appeared on anthology series throughout the 1950s, as well as on Wide World of Mystery and Monsters. Husband King Donovan is long-time comedic and dramatic actor, not well remembered despite a long career and being an all-around entertainer.

Class of '99

• Directed by Jeannot Szwarc
• Written by Rod Serling
• Starring Vincent Price, Brandon De Wilde, Randolph Mantooth, Frank Hotchkiss, Hilly Hicks, Suzanne Cohane, Barbara Shannon, some others

Rating: 8/10

In the future, year '99, a university class gathers for their final oral examination. The stern and cold professor selects randomly from the group, asking questions that must be answered immediately, and the students are graded on the spot. First we begin with propulsion, but soon move into what is considered the most important of subjects: the behavioural sciences.

As with much of Serling's scripts, the message supersedes the story. There is a surprise ending which is delivered not for a shock finish, but revealed three quarters from the ending, and though not completely surprising I nonetheless could not predict it accurately. Yet it is not the ending which is surprising, but that Serling managed to convey ideas about human nature in such a blatant and effective way. He points directly to some of our prejudiced notions, particularly racism and classicism, in a way he would not have been able to during the run of The Twilight Zone. But the 1970s are not the 1950s, and ideas regarding controversy has changed. Serling's script is solid, and even the questioning of propulsion and Newtonian physics is fraught with tension. Vincent Price adds a good deal to the teleplay as the professor, cold and scientific in his approach, and passionate in his utter disgust at displays of deviance. Price manages to use his voice to great effect, with its firm and commanding tone.

What is fascinating too, if we were to look beyond the thesis on the dark nature of twentieth century societal norms, is that in this future year of '99 (whether 1999, 2099 or 2999, it is cleverly not made clear), there is no desire to make the world a better place, but only to maintain the status quo among us mortals. Humanity is to be preserved and bot bettered, so that our evolution comes to a halt. The additional concept within this idea is simply that human nature does not evolve, that this class of future '99 is made up of the same or at least similar prejudices that formed the behavioural aspects of all the previous classes of '99, regardless of century. Why bother bettering society when it has proved time and time again that it cannot evolve.

Aside from the inimitable Vincent Price in his first of two appearances in Night Gallery, the episode features Brandon De Wilde, who is best remembered as Joey in Shane.


Satisfaction Guaranteed

• Directed by Jeannot Szwarc
• Written by Jack Laird
• Starring Victor Buono and Cathleen Cordell

Rating: 1/10

As noted above, "Satisfaction Guaranteed" was not the original skit that first aired in episode 2.2. That slot belonged to "Witches Feast." It appeared instead during a rerun of the episode on 22 March, 1972.

A wealthy man seeks the perfect candidate at an employment agency that carries the motto "Satisfaction Guaranteed." The cast is less than subtle in their roles, which does not help this downright terrible and embarrassing little skit.

Victor Buono is best known for comedic and villainous roles, and appeared twice on Thriller. Cathleen Cordell appeared in The Alfred Hitchcock Hour as well as Night Gallery's opening episode "Dead Man/The Housekeeper," as Miss Beamish in the second segment.

Night Gallery: Season Two, Episode One

Season 2, Episode 1

First aired 15 September 1971
Overall rating: 7/10

For an overview of Night Gallery and its pilot, please visit here.
For reviews of season one, please enter here.
For the following episode, please stay tuned.

Season Two of Night Gallery changes its unique anthology set-up to overall weakening effect. The first season allowed for as many segments as fit into its one-hour time slot, depending on the length of each. The thing is it didn't matter how long each segment was; there was no need to split the show into two clearly blocked half-hour segments. An episode could feature two or three segments, and the length of each segment could vary from ten minutes to forty minutes. Season two, however, introduced brief comical sequences which Serling himself opposed. It is unfortunate that the studio wouldn't allow Serling more control over the show, since clearly he still had a lot of creative ideas to work with, as proven by the series exceptional pilot and the overall strength of its first season. The comic sequences introduced in season two are downright embarrassing, many written by the show's producer, Jack Laird. The message sent to the viewer is that that the producers and the network didn't take such fantasies seriously, that the age of The Twilight Zone was a bygone age, and audiences were dumb and easily amused. Who needs serious, thought-provoking television when simple, formulaic anecdotes with silly ideas and tired punchlines were so readily available.

In the season's opening episode we have two serious teleplays, one deeply thought-provoking and the other more of a classic supernatural mystery. These were alongside two brief an forgettable comedies.

The  Boy Who Predicted Earthquakes

• Directed by John Badham
• Written by Rod Serling from a short story by Margaret St. Clair
• Starring Michael Constantine, Clint Howard, Bernie Kopell, Ellen Weston and William Hanes

Rating 8/10

• Margaret St. Clair, "The Boy Who Could Work Miracles," Maclean's 1950
• _____________, "The Boy Who Could Work Miracles," Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Stories Not for the Nervous,  NY: Random House, 1965

"I wanna tell you about tomorrow." Eleven year-old Herbie Bittman has a special talent: he can predict up to forty-eight hours into the future, and so far all of his predictions have been accurate. Herbie wants to share his predictions with the world, and manages to gain a spot on a local television station where he becomes quite popular with viewers. But it's difficult for someone so young to have access to all this knowledge, especially when the predictions become tragic. Herbie, however, proves to be mature and compassionate at all times, even when he must air his final prediction.

"The Boy Who Predicted Earthquakes" is a powerful little play. It starts off with surly station manager Mr. Wellman ridiculing Herbie as well as his own assistant Mr. Reed for booking him. The first half of the episode is driven primarily by Mr. Wellman, but Herbie takes over for the last chapter. Though the final prediction is shocking, the story focuses mainly on how an eleven year-old can carry the weight of such an unusual ability, and wonders at the stress he must be suffering. Clint Howard does a fantastic job at playing Herbie. He is certainly just a boy on one level, but carries with him a marvellous level of youthful maturity and conscientiousness, and it's this characterization that lifts the episode to greater heights. Michael Constantine is just as good as Mr. Wellman, who in contrast carries the weight of running a struggling television station. Wellman's world is on a roller coaster, initially plunging as his station is suffering and unable to discover new talented commentators, and quickly shooting skyward when Herbie charms the nation while in his studio. There is a near plunge as Herbie refuses to go on air during that final shooting, an important ratings week for the station.

This is where Rod Serling's excellent teleplay works some real wonders. Well scripted from start to finish, Serling is all over the screenplay, from overly dramatic yet well characterized monologues, to contrasts between sympathetic characters and the arrogant. When Wellman is trying to convince Herbie to do the show, he is telling him that countless fans are relying on him, that they shouldn't be disappointed and wonder why Herbie is not on air that night. Essentially the public should not feel afraid. In Herbie's mind Wellman is right, but for less selfish reasons. Clearly Herbie has seen some kind of horrible disaster, worse than the earthquakes and sunken submarines he's already predicted, and he takes Wellman's wisdom to heart, agreeing to go live and doing his best in an abstract way to comfort viewers and ensure that they not be afraid.

Serling also brings in University professor Dr. Peterson (Ellen Weston) to counteract Mr. Wellman's hard-lined approach. She is sympathetic and understanding, a maternal figure, and the only one who tries to understand Herbie's talent, while being also the only one besides the boy's caring grandfather Mr. Godwin (William Hansen) who best understands the strain these predictions must be affecting the boy. The superb clincher at the ending reveals that the boy proves he can deal with the strain better than adults around him.

Along with the great acting and an excellent script, we have some creative technical staff. Throughout the opening sequences in the studio we catch glimpses of Herbie in the background and through various monitors. We catch our first glimpses of both Herbie and Wellman momentarily during the first studio pan, before they're even introduced to us. Continuity between what we see happening, what is projected on camera through various monitors around the studio, often behind the actual action is surprisingly accurate. The sound and voice recording is also superb, so that wherever Herbie appears onscreen his voice always matches his lips. There are also some nice colour effects, particularly at the end. A great technical achievement all-around, and I'm impressed the producers went for something so tricky for a twenty-minute teleplay.

Staff notes: Director John Badham will go on to direct five more Night Gallery segments, as well as popular successful films such as Saturday Night Fever, Blue Thunder and Stakeout; Michael Constantine has appeared in numerous television shows, including anthology series such as Naked City, The Twilight Zone, the original The Outer Limits, and Darkroom, as well as many films; Clint Howard is Ron Howard's younger brother, and has also appeared in various roles across television and film, including the later The Outer Limits, as well as several Star Trek series, including the original in the popular episode "The Corbomite Maneuver"; Mr. Reed is played by Bernie Kopell who is best remembered as Doctor Adam Bricker on The Love Boat, and has appeared on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, and starred with Michael Constantine in Room 222; Ellen Weston appeared in Kolchak: The Night Stalker's "The Devil's Platform"; William Hansen appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Naked City.

Miss Lovecraft Sent Me

• Directed by Gene R. Kearney
  
• Written by Jack Laird
• Starring Joseph Campanella and Sue Lyon

Rating 2/10

The first comedic intermission and by far the worst from episode one. Dracula meets 1971 as a hip bubblegum cracking and radio toting chick shows up for a babysitting gig at the count's house. She was sent by a Miss Lovecraft, clearly a nod to Mr. Howard Phillips Lovecraft, who had little to do with vampires. Joseph Campanella appears as a very obvious Dracula, down to the rolling of the Rs. Comedic lines such a "We are always back at sunrise" are not even remotely funny. I am strangely glad they chose not to kill the girl, seen below unable to see the vampire's shadow.

Poorly written by series producer Jack Laird. Campanella has been on Naked City, Suspense and The Invaders. Pretty Sue Lyon was the original Lolita.

The Hand of Borgus Weems

• Directed by John Meredyth Lucas
  
• Written by Alvin Sapinsley, from the short story "The Other Hand" by George Langelaan
  
• Starring George Maharis, Ray Milland, Joan Huntington, Peter Mamakos, Robert F. Hoy, William Mims

Rating 6/10

"Arise my avenger, out from my bones."

Peter Lacland (George Maharis) appears in surgeon Archibald Ravadon's (Ray Milland) office demanding that he remove his right hand. When finally removed and Lacland is calmer, he explains his strange story. He has recently moved into town as part of his company's business venture, and soon finds that his right hand has developed independence. Moreover, that hand is trying to get him to commit murder. It phones a man and makes Lacland say into the phone the name Borgus Weems. When the man appears the hand tries to kills him. Later it forces a steering wheel to run over a lawyer, and later still to buy a gun to kill a woman Lacland has just met and fallen in love with. The good doctor Ravadon helps Lacland investigate the mystery, and the entire tale falls into the category of a classic supernatural mystery. Not bad by any stretch, it is certainly not as inventive and original as the episode's opening segment. The acting is fine but not stellar, though the editing is quite good, as we get flashes of Lacland's hand and other scenes at different moments, and this repetition actually enhances the suspense. Add to this some good music.

The single unbelievable aspect of this episode (even if you're willing to believe a dead man can take over the right hand of the living) is Lacland convincing Ravadon to surgically remove his hand. Just because he displays some desperation by bashing his hand with a paperweight? I think the point is that the doctor realizes it would be safer for him to remove the hand than allow Lacland to try to destroy it. This does not quite come across.

Director John Meredyth Lucas has worked throughout television as director and scriptwriter, most notably for the original Star Trek. He directed four segments of Night Gallery, including season one's first episode segment "The Housekeeper." Maharis is best known for his lead role in Route 66, though he's also been in four episodes of Naked City and several early dramatic anthology series. Milland was already a major film star by the time television drama reached his peak in the 1950s, though he did appear a few times on General Electric Theater, in a Robert Bloch story for The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, and later in Columbo. He's best known performances are his Academy Award winning role in Billy Wilder's The Lost Weekend, and his spectacularly charming performance in Alfred Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder.

Phantom of What Opera?

• Directed by Gene R. Kearney
• Written by Gene R. Kearney
• Starring Leslie Nielsen and Mary Ann Beck

Rating 4/10

The second comedic interlude is not as terrible as the first. Here the phantom brings his sopranic beauty to his underground lair, monologues his desire and intentions, until that final completely expected denouement. (If she's just like him, why did she fight so much at first?)

The great character actor Leslie Nielsen is good in the role, an actor who has appeared in most major early anthology series (some of which have been reviewed on Casual Debris). Mary Ann Beck does not appear to have had much of a screen career.