MovieChat Forums > Night Gallery (1969) Discussion > Never thought I would say this...

Never thought I would say this...

posted 9 years ago by Aqua_Fresca
15 replies | jump to latest

I'm a huge fan of the Twilight Zone and had never seen any episodes of Night Galley prior to now, so when I heard about it I was eager to see what this second iteration of Rod Serling's imagination had to offer.

I'm only 3 episodes into the first season and have seen about 10 different stories if you count the pilot, and I can't say I'm too terribly impressed. Most of them have done nothing for me. They're boring, sloppy and lacking in the atmosphere Serling brought to TZ. I didn't mind the pilot, though it didn't blow me away either, and while I hate giving up on a show this early, what I've seen so far isn't inspiring me to push forward.

Could some of you recommend some of the series' more well-known, most popular episodes?

[–] Jennie_Portrait 9 years ago

I agree with you. For the most part, Night Gallery is inferior to the Twilight Zone.

These are the ones I think are good.

- The pilot for the series featured the three strongest stories The Cemetery, Eyes, and the Escape Route. Each one is excellent. I love the one with Roddy McDowell. It is a shame the series didn't live up to the pilot.
-"Tell David"- my own favorite because it involves time travel.
-"the Different ones"- but it is a little predicable
-"Silent Snow, Secret Snow"
-"A Fear of Spiders"
-"Deliveries in the Rear"
___________________________________
Never say never...

[–] a_l_i_e_n 9 years ago

"Pickman's Model"

"The Boy Who Predicted Earthquakes"

"Lindemann's Catch"

"The Other Way Out"

"Whisper"

"Big Surprise"

"Brenda"

"The Doll"

and most people (including Serling) seem to feel that "They're Tearing Down Tim Reiley's Bar" is thematically most like the kind of morality plays that were more prevalent on "The Twilight Zone".

[–] emking-75596 9 years ago

Yes you are correct I am also watching them in the hope of just 1 or 2 great episodes like the TZ!...but as a sterling fan I feel I must continue just for the fact that's it's Rod Sterling!

[–] Vic_Hitler 8 years ago

As "a fan" you should know his name is Rod Serling.

Not Sterling.

[–] emking-75596 8 years ago

Wow I stand corrected I never really looked at the spelling of his name, I just wrote it like it sounds. Thanks

[–] amyghost 9 years ago

Another Lovecraft adaptation, 'Cool Air', is also quite good (and I'd rate it as pretty atmospheric); only the rather amateurishly icky as opposed to scary final shot hurts the ending.

[–] Tresix 9 years ago

The thing anout "NG" as opposed to "TZ" is that "NG" wasn't trying to teach any sort of lessons. It was pure entertainment. Some other good ones are "There Aren't Any More MacBanes", "The Funeral", "Hell's Bells". "The Class of '99" is another that's probably closer in tone to "TZ".

Annoying the world since 1960!

[–] bobn425 9 years ago

A horror story alright. A total piece of junk that
trashed Rod Serling's brilliant writing career.
Totally boring and incoherent stories with no production values.
The whole point of The Twilight Zone was to show ordinary
people in extraordinary circumstances.
Everything about this series is exactly the opposite and
that includes the irritating and unmemorable background
music that was so much a part of TZ.
I realize that they were not trying to recreate the original
series which had run out of gas by its last season but
this monstrosity even standing on its own has
nothing to offer.

[–] amyghost 9 years ago

It's not a great series overall, and certainly Serling took no pride in it, but I wouldn't trash it as having no worthwhile episodes whatsoever; and there's little point in trying to maintain that TZ didn't have its share of misfires, some of which were even penned by Serling himself. Overall, yes, TZ is inarguably the better series, but NG did come up with a few that have passed into TV-horror legend.

[–] mwesley-200-580249 9 years ago

That is the best episode by far,beautifully directed by Jeannot Swzarc.

[–] bron-tay 9 years ago

The funny ones are the best. There's a bizarre episode with Rudy Vallee and Robert Morse called "Marmalade Wine" that's pretty freaky. "Stop Killing Me" and "Green Fingers" were fun.

~~~~~~~
Please put some dashes above your sig line so I won't think it's part of your dumb post.

[–] [email protected] 8 years ago

One of my favorite funny installments is "Dead Weight", where Jack Albertson runs a little business in providing passage out of the country for lowlife desperate customers. Well, I thought it was funny.

[–] clfigueroa 9 years ago

It's because Serling was only an occasional contributor to the show and didnt have the control he did on the Twilight Zone. He fought with the producer a lot about the quality of a lot of the episodes.

[–] esor-2 8 years ago

I love watching The Messiah on Mott Street, and Silent Snow secret Snow on Christmas Day! Also The Sixth Sense episodes with Gary Collins are kinda Creepy!

[–] tommary1962 8 years ago

Very peculiar comment. The pilot film is equal to the best TZ programs (and many of those are inferior despite the show's reputation). If the pilot escaped your attention, you should give the entire series a miss.

Boring??? Sloppy??? Lacking in atmosphere?????

Sorry, sounds like bad taste to me. While I have to say that from series two onwards, MANY of the shows are not what they might have been. But no one has ever accused the show of lacking atmosphere or being sloppy or boring. Quite the opposite in fact.