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To this day, Rod Serling’s sci-fi anthology series “The Twilight Zone” regularly tops lists of the best TV shows of all time. Serling and a team of some of the best science-fiction writers of the 1950s and 1960s conceived 156 short morality tales, usually with a supernatural bent, and in doing so changed the face of television. Science-fiction and horror were considered more commercially viable, inspiring new imitators and capturing the public’s attention. Serling also introduced a unique form of storytelling efficiency with “The Twilight Zone”, proving that an entire, closed morality tale could be concluded in just 25 minutes (or 51 minutes in the show’s fourth season). Is. Serling also took care to clearly have a moral to say in each episode, making “The Twilight Zone” a brilliant social commentary.
“The Twilight Zone” ran from 1959 to 1964, spanning 156 episodes over five seasons. The series entered syndication, and generations of children in the 1990s were able to re-watch older episodes. Some TV stations in the United States also hosted annual “Twilight Zone” marathons on Thanksgiving Day, making Serling’s series an institution. To this day, young people may talk about a creature on the wing of a plane or the fact that “To Serve Man” is a cookbook.
After “The Twilight Zone”, Serling struggled to score another hit. He made a short-lived western called “The Loner” in 1965, but it only lasted one season. In 1969, Serling wrote an international riff of “A Christmas Carol” titled “A Carol for Another Christmas”, starring Peter Sellers. That same year, Serling hosted the game show “Liar’s Club”, which he left after 21 episodes.
Serling’s grand return to anthology horror is well-remembered by fans, but experienced an extremely troubled production. Many fans of classic TV will be able to tell you all about “Night Gallery,” which debuted in 1969.
‘Night Gallery’ Was a Scarier Version of ‘The Twilight Zone’
“Night Gallery” was an interesting book-collection series. At the beginning of each episode, Serling would appear in a giant, wallless art gallery filled with macabre, horrifying paintings. Serling would walk around the museum after it closed, guiding visitors to the various pieces on display. He would then say that each painting was inspired by the gruesome story he was about to describe. Painting artist Thomas J. Wright and Jerry Gebr.
“Night Gallery” can be considered a spiritual sequel to “The Twilight Zone”, sharing a similar tone and telling equally intriguing stories. “Night Gallery” stood out for its focus on supernatural evil and its stunning color photography. Like “The Twilight Zone”, “Night Gallery” chose sci-fi magazines and literary anthologies to adapt stories, and the series included works by Richard Matheson, H.P. Lovecraft (including “Cool Air” and “Pickman Model”). TV versions of the stories were included. ), serious efforts. NBC wanted a deliberately macabre series, and Serling was happy to go along with it, as long as he could continue his tradition of writing morality and social commentary into his episodes.
Like “The Twilight Zone,” “Night Gallery” featured an impressive talent cast. The series provided some early directing gigs for the young Steven Spielberg, and actor John Astin directed a story, as did Leonard Nimoy. Jeannot Swark directed several episodes, as did future “Saturday Night Fever” director John Badham. Serling wrote most of the “Night Gallery” episodes. Guest stars included Vincent Price, Burgess Meredith, Stuart Whitman, Cameron Mitchell, Leslie Nielsen, John Saxon, Joan Crawford (in her final acting role), Orson Welles, Phyllis Diller, and dozens of others.
Rod Serling often clashed with his producer, Jack Laird.
“Night Gallery” was initially presented as a wheel show, i.e.: one of several shows that would rotate through the same weekly timeslot. The show shared its slot with “McCloud,” “The Psychiatrist,” and “San Francisco International Airport,” with all four shows bundled as “Four in One.” Because of this, the first season of “Night Gallery” only had six episodes.
However, trouble began as early as its second season. The show’s creator, Jack Laird, rejected many of Serling’s scripts and began to insist on inserting his own comedic interludes in between the horrific stories. Serling, in his biography, despised the so-called “blackout sketches”. “Rod Serling: His Life, Work, and Fiction,” That “I thought they distorted the formula of what we were trying to do.”night galleryI don’t think someone can show Edgar Allan Poe and then come back with Flip Wilson for 34 seconds. I don’t think they’re a good fit.” Of course, Flip Wilson was a famous comedian popular in the early 1970s.
During the show’s second season, Serling stepped down as executive producer to focus on writing full-time. Sadly, this reduced his creative control and the quality of “Night Gallery” began to deteriorate. By the third season, the series was reduced to a 30-minute format, and Laird began to emphasize less morality tales as they appeared in “The Twilight Zone”. There were also orders to adopt fewer European short stories and more American short stories. The series was canceled after its third season, which ran for 43 episodes.
However, the “Night Gallery” was not forgotten. In fact, it was so popular that it was parodied in the fourth Halloween special of “The Simpsons”. Spielberg also did not forget his roots and reused the title as “Night Ghoulery” for the “Tiny Toon Adventures” Halloween special he produced. “Night Gallery” doesn’t have the same cultural appeal as “The Twilight Zone,” but digging through the episodes will find some stories that are just as good, if not better. The series can be purchased on Prime Video,
