Night Gallery on DVD (MERGED THREAD) (1 Viewer)

[Paul_Scott]

the fans of Star Trek aren't getting remasterd eps either.
we can always hope universal comes around and lets Del Torro have a hand at producing the second/third seasons (maybe then the 'bonus' epsiode can be "...Tim Riley's Bar" with the Serling audio commentary included)

but the first season has to sell before anything more can happen.
gotta cross that long bridge first...

 

[Scott Skelton]

Agreed. The silly blackouts notwithstanding, the second season is when "Gallery" really hit its stride with its weird combination of stories: adaptations of classic horror fiction and Serling's thoughtful originals. The Lovecraft adaptations, "Cool Air" and "Pickman's Model," are Top Ten segments, plus "The Boy Who Predicted Earthquakes," "A Death in the Family," "Class of '99," "Since Aunt Ada Came to Stay," "A Fear of Spiders," "Marmalade Wine," "The Phantom Farmhouse," "Silent Snow, Secret Snow," "A Question of Fear," "The Devil Is Not Mocked," "Brenda," "Dr. Stringfellow's Rejuvenator," "Camera Obscura," "The Messiah on Mott Street" (tapping into Serling's Jewish roots with a story about a visitation by the Angel of Death), "Green Fingers," "The Tune in Dan's Cafe," "Lindemann's Catch," "A Feast of Blood," "Last Rites for a Dead Druid," "Deliveries in the Rear," "Dead Weight," "I'll Never Leave You--Ever," the Lovecraftian "There Aren't Any More MacBanes," the gag-inducing "Sins of the Fathers," and one of the most chilling tales ever produced for network TV, "The Caterpillar" (which Stephen King claims even gave HIM the willies). So cross your fingers . . .

 

[Eric Paddon]

I'm up to Disc 2 now and while it's fascinating to really discover the series for the first time in-depth I have a major complaint with how the current Universal intro is forced on us when loading the disc and is then placed at the beginning of EVERY episode. To have to hear that 20 second musical logo that many times is just ridiculous (and didn't Night Gallery have a traditional Universal logo and close at the end of its credits originally? If so, they're not to be found here).

 

[Louis_P]

I received it in the mail today! Watched bits and pieces of the 1st dvd.The image is very good but sometimes there's specs of dirt.It's comparable in image to Knight Rider/Battlestar Galactica.For a show this old I don't mind it.Go ahead and buy this.Also I only bought this for $26.99 at futureshp.ca when they 1st listed it on their site.It's around $60 canadian for real

 

[Paul_Scott]

i was just going thru some boxes of old vhs tapes that i would figure i'd clear out- and i found the Night Gallerys i taped off of Sci-Fi channel about 5 or 6 yrs back.

whats funny/odd is that the first half of each tape is an early episode of Dallas and the second 1/2 is NG
shame all the NGs look to be second season eps otherwise i could toss all these out after i come home from BB, in one swoop .

Gord has his review of the set up.
his review of the video quality reminds me a lot of the way Battlestar Galactica looks- and that was remastered for the set (or so they claimed in their promos for it).

at many points in that show they will cut from one shot that looks pristine to another that looks artifacted and grainy- and whats odd is that this can be entirely within the same scene- Close up fine, cut to the establishing shot which looks awful, then cut back to a close up of another character and the image looks perfect again.

weird.

 

[Eric Paddon]

I have to disagree quite vigorously with Gord's description of "They're Tearing Down Tim Riley's Bar" as a "waste of time." This is the best episode in the entire set other than the pilot film, and one of the best examples of Serling's writing, plus strong performances from William Windom and Diane Baker.

 

[Paul_Scott]

yeah i would agree with you Eric about the quality of that teleplay.

i find it very affecting (i'm usually prone to nostalgia anyway and have been since i was a kid) opinion is opinion, and Gord is certainly entitled to his, but my eyebrows did arch when i read that.
one problem might have been expectation- that's the least horror themed story in the whole series probably- even for TZ it might be too mild/sensitive.
and it comes along right at the end of the first season.

on the other hand, there are episodes i would call 'useless' and worse, grating- Hells Bells is one and Pamelas Voice (both with John Astin, coincidently) is another.
the latter in particular i find really annoying and obvious.
i'll probably just skip it altogether when i get the set.

 

[Randy Gray]

Is "They're Tearing Down Riley's Bar" the one with the Jerry Wallace song "If You Leave Me Tonight I'll Cry"?
Even though I was very young at the time I remember that the episode actually spurred interest in the song and the song started to get a fair amount of airplay on the radio as a result of it being included in Night Gallery. Just a bit of trivia that I've kept stored away in a section of my brain

Randy

 

[Scott Skelton]

i find it very affecting (i'm usually prone to nostalgia anyway and have been since i was a kid) opinion is opinion, and Gord is certainly entitled to his, but my eyebrows did arch when i read that.
one problem might have been expectation- that's the least horror themed story in the whole series probably- even for TZ it might be too mild/sensitive.
and it comes along right at the end of the first season.>>

I occasionally talk to folks who "don't get" the Tim Riley's Bar episode, and I think it has a lot to do with expectation, as you say. Serling's original intention for "Gallery" was to investigate horror and the uncanny in the same way he investigated sci-fi and fantasy on "TZone"--thoughtfully, cerebrally, and not every show was intended to be a walk through the graveyard--and in its brief first season almost all the scripts were Serling's, so it had more of that look. In the second season, producer Jack Laird shaped it more to his vision, which was to adapt classic horror fiction with occasional originals by Rod. In Season Two, it was still a crazy-quilt of highly diverse tales, but less of the Zone-like Riley-style and more focused on the horror genre. Most people remember "Gallery's" 2nd season over its first, and "Tim Riley," for those who weren't there to see it at its debut, can come as a bit of a disappointing shock. They expect Randy Lane to be afraid of ghosts, not want them to stay around.
At any rate, I also thought Gord was off the mark. Say what you want about the segment's execution, but that script was among Serling's most personal and powerful, at least in my book.

 

[Scott Skelton]

Is "They're Tearing Down Riley's Bar" the one with the Jerry Wallace song "If You Leave Me Tonight I'll Cry"?>>

No, that was "The Tune in Dan's Cafe," one from the second season.

 

[Randy Gray]

Thanks Scott. I remember that episode I just couldn't remember the title.

Randy

 

[Gord Lacey]

Glad I could spark some discussion. You're right, I probably didn't "get" the point of the story, and it seemed quite different from the other stories. I added a line in the review to reflect that.

Gord

 

[Eric Paddon]

THe story is best understood in the context of several Twilight Zone episodes Serling wrote, specifically "Walking Distance" which deals with the same theme and "A Stop At Willoughby" (one could probably add "The Trouble With Templeton"). If someone is a TZ buff, then it's a lot easy to understand the "point" of "They're Tearing Down Tim Riley's Bar."

 

[Dane Marvin]

Having not seen "Tim Riley's..." myself, I can't possibly comment on it in depth, but if it anything like some of Serling's more subtle stories from the TZ (such as "The Silence", which contains no fantastical elements whatsoever, but still fits perfectly into the series), I'm sure I'd like it. I couldn't believe it when I read that Gord hasn't seen much of the original TZ series but has seen a lot from the '80s and 2002 series.

You must be waiting for the season sets from Image, Gord. Otherwise: what are you waiting for? You're letting some of the best TV in history pass you by.

 

[Gord Lacey]

I love what I've seen of the original Twilight Zone, but Image hasn't done the show justice with their releases of random episodes. I almost picked up the 5 box sets, but held off (which turned out to be good!). I remember seeing a few episodes while visiting my grandparents as a kid (we didn't get it where I live) and being so scared I had a hard time sleeping. I can't wait to see the season sets they are working on!

Gord

 

[BradD]

Gord

You are in for an unbelievable ride. I think this series will stand the test of time better than any other series. Anyone from anywhere can appreciate it.

 

[Scott Skelton]

You are in for an unbelievable ride. I think this series will stand the test of time better than any other series. Anyone from anywhere can appreciate it.>>

I find it instructive to compare a series with others of its period, to place it in some sort of cultural context. When you look around the TV landscape in 1959, you can't find much of anything that isn't safe, staid, Eisenhower-era drama and comedy ... except Zone. It must have blown people's minds back then--the bizarre twists, the wild speculations, and the critique-of-society allegories that were really too close to home. Sci-fi/fantasy was still a ghettoized art form back then; few took it seriously. I think TZone turned the tide for the genre by creating drama sporting the direct influence of writers like Bradbury, Heinlein, Sturgeon, and Finney, then introducing it to cookie-cutter suburbia. Talk about the New Frontier.

 

[Gord Lacey]

One episode I remember had people in a round room, with no door. They finally sent the army man over the edge, and then there's a shot of a toy on the floor and this little boy comes over and says, "How's you get out of there?" and puts it back in the pail. I think I was 10 or 11, and that made me wonder if we're all just toys in someone's room. FREAKED me out!

Gord

 

[Eric Paddon]

Interestingly Gord, that Army man (put back by a little girl actually) was none other than William Windom of "They're Tearing Down Tim Riley's Bar" which you've succeeded in generating much discussion about.

 

[Craig Beam]

Gord, the episode you're referring to is "Five Characters In Search Of An Exit," from the third season of The Twilight Zone. An absolute classic. Probably in my top 20 favorites, out of all 156 episodes.