Night Gallery: Season Two (Blu-ray Review)

• Reviewed by: Tim Salmons
• Review Date: Aug 08, 2022
• Format: Blu-ray Disc
• 

Director

Various

Release Date(s)

1971-1972 (July 26, 2022)

Studio(s)

Universal Television/NBC (Kino Lorber Studio Classics)

• Film/Program Grade: B+
• Video Grade: A-
• Audio Grade: B+
• Extras Grade: A+
• Overall Grade: A+

Review

While Rod Serling will forever be remembered in the eternal zeitgeist as the creator, co-writer, and host of The Twilight Zone, many of his other projects tend to be overlooked to a certain degree. Devoted fans of one of his finest follow-ups, Night Gallery, spent a number of years watching the syndicated versions of the show prior to it being restored to its original length in the late 1990s and early 2000s on both VHS and DVD. Trimmed down and expanded using alternate footage to meet those syndication standards, this macabre-focused anthology series has rarely been seen on TV in its full form since its original broadcast.

The premise revolves around Rod Serling once again performing introductory hosting duties, taking us on a journey through various paintings, each with a story attached to them. Episodes in their original broadcast length featured two to three, or even four, segments, all involving supernatural elements. Whereas The Twilight Zone was in black and white and had more of a science fiction bent, Night Gallery was shot in color with horror and thriller elements. In Tales from the Crypt fashion, many of the segments revolved around characters getting their comeuppance, or having a change of heart. Vampires, ghosts, and witches were much of its primary emphasis, though some of the episodes also managed to pull off touching stories about people down on their luck.

Night Gallery resumed after its brief six-episode first season with a whopping twenty-two episodes in its second season. Returning directors included Jeannot Szwarc, John Badham, Jeff Corey, and Don Taylor, adding in Gene Kearney, Theodore J. Flicker, and William Hale, among others. In front of the camera, a much broader range of TV and film actors were brought in, which included Vincent Price, Leslie Nielsen, Joseph Campanella, Sue Lyon, Clint Howard, Ray Milland, Orson Welles, David Carradine, Carl Reiner, Victor Buono, E.G. Marshall, Lindsay Wagner, Cesar Romero, Adam West, John Saxon, Mark Hamill, Cameron Mitchell, David McCallum, Sandra Dee, Steve Lawrence, Rene Auberjonois, Cloris Leachman, Edward G. Robinson, Yaphet Kotto, and Barbara Steele, among many, many others.

Fan favorite segments from the show’s second season include The Caterpillar, which features Laurence Harvey as a man who plots to kill his romantic rival; The Messiah on Mott Street, which features Edward G. Robinson as poor man on the brink of his death who hopes to stay alive for his grandson; Cool Air, which features Barbara Rush as a young lady who falls in love with a man who must remain in a cold state; The Painted Mirror, which features Arthur O'Connell as an antique dealer who uses a magic mirror to get rid of his business partner (Zsa Zsa Gabor); A Question of Fear, which features Leslie Nielsen as a mercenary who’s paid a large sum of money to spend the night in a haunted house; You Can't Get Help like That Anymore, which features Cloris Leachman and Broderick Crawford as a couple whose robot servant goes a bit out of control, and many other great segments. There’s too many to choose from this time around as the show’s second season is truly the cream of the crop.

Like all anthology shows, the quality of each segment and the preference point of the viewer is the determining factor in the success of Night Gallery’s entertainment value. The show can be rather compelling for the most part with excellent writing and memorable performances, and the majority of the segments are satisfying. Some of those segments are more enjoyable and effective than others, but more importantly, there’s plenty of good choices to be had.

Night Gallery was shot by various cinematographers on 35 mm film, finished photochemically, and presented on television in the aspect ratio of 1.33:1. Kino Lorber Studio Classics brings the second season to Blu-ray for the first time with new 2K masters of every episode from their interpositives. The Blu-ray release of the first season was a little uneven in terms of quality, but the second season is much more fine-tuned, meaning that the surviving elements are in much better condition with minor flaws. Grain is a bit more solid and there’s less crush and leftover damage on display, obviously besting the second season’s standard definition counterparts. The color palette is often rich, even vibrant, with good contrast. By and large, the show makes the jump to high definition with mostly pleasing results, and with healthy encodes, it gets the most out of them.

Audio for the show is presented in English 2.0 mono DTS-HD Master Audio with optional English subtitles. It’s a little more evenly-tempered with good support for dialogue and score, even with minor sibilance and distortion from time to time. It’s relatively narrow, but clean and problem-free.

The 5-Disc Blu-ray release of Night Gallery: Season Two sits in a blue amaray case with new artwork and a 4-page insert detailing each episode and segment. The following episodes and extras are included on each disc:

DISC ONE (EPISODES 1-5)

1. The Boy Who Predicted Earthquakes/Miss Lovecraft Sent Me/The Hand of Borgus Weems/Phantom of What Opera? (51:07)
2. Death in the Family/The Merciful/Class of ‘99/Satisfaction Guaranteed (50:54)
3. Since Aunt Ada Came to Stay/With Apologies to Mr. Hyde/The Flip-Side of Satan (50:56)
4. A Fear of Spiders/Junior/Marmalade Wine/The Academy (50:56)
5. The Phantom Farmhouse/Silent Snow, Secret Snow (50:49)

• Audio Commentary on The Boy Who Predicted Earthquakes/Miss Lovecraft Sent Me/The Hand of Borgus Weems/Phantom of What Opera? by Craig Beam
• Audio Commentary on Death in the Family/The Merciful/Class of ‘99/Satisfaction Guaranteed by Scott Skelton and Jim Benson
• Audio Commentary on Death in the Family/The Merciful/Class of ‘99/Satisfaction Guaranteed by Dr. Reba Wissner
• Audio Commentary on Since Aunt Ada Came to Stay/With Apologies to Mr. Hyde/The Flip-Side of Satan by Jim Benson and Scott Skelton
• Audio Commentary on Since Aunt Ada Came to Stay/With Apologies to Mr. Hyde/The Flip-Side of Satan by Dr. Reba Wissner
• Audio Commentary on A Fear of Spiders/Junior/Marmalade Wine/The Academy by Jim Benson and Scott Skelton
• Audio Commentary on The Phantom Farmhouse/Silent Snow, Secret Snow by Guillermo del Toro
• Audio Commentary on The Phantom Farmhouse/Silent Snow, Secret Snow by Gary Gerani
• TV Spots (HD – 4 in all – 4:26)

DISC TWO (EPISODES 6-10)

1. A Question of Fear/The Devil Is Not Mocked (51:05)
2. Midnight Never Ends/Brenda (50:55)
3. The Diary/A Matter of Semantics/Big Surprise/Professor Peabody’s Last Lecture (50:58)
4. House – With Ghost/A Midnight Visit to the Neighborhood Blood Bank/Dr. Stringfellow’s Rejuvenator/Hell’s Bells (50:55)
5. The Dark Boy/Keep in Touch – We’ll Think of Something (50:58)

• Audio Commentary on A Question of Fear/The Devil Is Not Mocked by Kim Newman and Stephen Jones
• Audio Commentary on Midnight Never Ends/Brenda by Jim Benson and Laurie Prange
• Audio Commentary on Midnight Never Ends/Brenda by Amanda Reyes
• Audio Commentary on The Diary/A Matter of Semantics/Big Surprise/Professor Peabody’s Last Lecture by Jim Benson and Scott Skelton
• Audio Commentary on House – With Ghost/A Midnight Visit to the Neighborhood Blood Bank/Dr. Stringfellow’s Rejuvenator/Hell’s Bells by Jim Benson and Scott Skelton
• Audio Commentary on The Dark Boy/Keep in Touch – We’ll Think of Something by Amanda Reyes
• TV Spots (HD – 5 in all – 5:21)

DISC THREE (EPISODES 11-15)

1. Pickman’s Model/The Dear Departed/An Act of Chivalry (51:08)
2. Cool Air/Camera Obscura/Quoth the Raven (50:46)
3. The Messiah on Mott Street/The Painted Mirror (50:56)
4. The Different Ones/Tell David.../Logoda’s Heads (50:56)
5. Green Fingers/The Funeral/The Tune in Dan’s Cafe (51:15)

• Audio Commentary on Pickman’s Model/The Dear Departed/An Act of Chivalry by Louise Sorel, Jim Benson, and Scott Skelton
• Audio Commentary on Pickman’s Model/The Dear Departed/An Act of Chivalry by Gary Gerani
• Audio Commentary on Cool Air/Camera Obscura/Quoth the Raven by Mark Dawidziak, John Badham, and Gary Gerani
• Audio Commentary on Cool Air/Camera Obscura/Quoth the Raven by Kim Newman and Stephen Jones
• Audio Commentary on Cool Air/Camera Obscura/Quoth the Raven by Jim Benson and Scott Skelton
• Audio Commentary on The Messiah on Mott Street/The Painted Mirror by Guillermo del Toro
• Audio Commentary on The Different Ones/Tell David.../Logoda’s Heads by Craig Beam
• Audio Commentary on Green Fingers/The Funeral/The Tune in Dan’s Cafe by John Badham and Scott Skelton
• TV Spots (HD – 3 in all – 3:23)

DISC FOUR (EPISODES 16-20)

1. Lindemann’s Catch/The Late Mr. Peddington/A Feast of Blood (51:07)
2. The Miracle at Camafeo/The Ghost of Sorworth Place (50:56)
3. The Waiting Room/Last Rites for a Dead Druid (50:54)
4. Deliveries in the Rear/Stop Killing Me/Dead Weight (50:56)
5. I’ll Never Leave You – Ever/There Aren’t Any More MacBanes (50:56)

• Audio Commentary on Lindemann’s Catch/The Late Mr. Peddington/A Feast of Blood by Jim Benson and Scott Skelton
• Audio Commentary on The Miracle at Camafeo/The Ghost of Sorworth Place by Jim Benson and Scott Skelton
• Audio Commentary on The Waiting Room/Last Rites for a Dead Druid by David J. Schow
• Audio Commentary on Deliveries in the Rear/Stop Killing Me/Dead Weight by Jim Benson and Scott Skelton
• Audio Commentary on I’ll Never Leave You – Ever/There Aren’t Any More MacBanes by David J. Schow
• TV Spots (HD – 5 in all – 5:22)

DISC FIVE (EPISODES 21-22 & LOST TALES FROM SEASON 2)

1. The Sins of the Fathers/You Can’t Get Help Like That Anymore (51:09)
2. The Caterpillar/Little Girl Lost (50:59)
3. Lost Tales from Season 2: Die Now, Pay Later/Room for One Less/Witches’ Feast/Little Girl Lost (42:52)

• Audio Commentary on The Sins of the Fathers/You Can’t Get Help Like That Anymore by Tim Lucas
• Audio Commentary on The Sins of the Fathers/You Can’t Get Help Like That Anymore by Scott Skelton
• Audio Commentary on The Caterpillar/Little Girl Lost by Guillermo del Toro
• Audio Commentary on Lost Tales from Season 2 by Jim Benson and Scott Skelton
• TV Spots (HD – 2 in all – 2:10)
• The Syndication Conundrum: Night Gallery’s Horrific Second Life in Reruns Part Two (66:33)
• Revisiting the Gallery – A Look Back (SD – 29:57)
• Art Gallery: The Paintings (SD – 3:27)
• NBC TV Promos (SD – 2 in all – 1:43)
• DVD Easter Egg (HD – :41)

Lost Tales from Season 2 is a treasure trove as it features segments that didn’t quite make it to the original broadcast (a couple of which were included on the Universal Pictures DVD release of the third season). Little Girl Lost is an extended version of the same segment that actually aired, but with several minutes put back in that were trimmed for time. All of these segments appear to be sourced mostly from the original camera negative as they’re surprisingly high quality. All of them are grouped together like a lost episode of the show, featuring introductions by Rod Serling, and integrating a commercial bumper in between segments.

Six of the commentaries were recorded for the Universal Pictures DVD release of the second season, including three by Jim Benson and Scott Skelton, and three by Guillermo del Toro. The rest are new additions and all are jam-packed with information about each episode, the show, and its creators. They feature the likes of film critics and authors Tim Lucas, David J. Schow, Amanda Reyes, and Kim Newman, among others. All are worth your time. On board as well is film historian Craig Beam, who also provides the second part of The Syndication Conundrum. It not only details the fate of the show when it was cut up and re-purposed for syndication (which still airs to this day), but it also shows a full side-by-side comparison of the episode A Question of Fear, giving viewers a crystal clear idea of just how much damage was done to the quality of the show and the performances. Next are a few DVD carryovers, including Revisiting the Gallery, which speaks to a number of people who worked on the show; Art Gallery, which features artist Tom Wright discussing his paintings for the show; a set of NBC promos (the rest are spread out as TV spots across the other discs); and an Easter egg, which offers a brief outtake from Rod Serling’s intros for the show, as well as a couple of raw opening credits opticals.

Kino Lorber’s treatment of Night Gallery not only offers the show in better quality than ever seen before, but adds a bevy of valuable bonus materials to dig through. Although Blu-ray releases of all three seasons are planned, one does have to wonder if a fourth set could be produced that offers the syndicated versions of the show just for posterity, especially since Rod Serling filmed new introductions for those versions. Regardless, it’s just wonderful to have the original broadcast versions in such high quality. Highly recommended.

- Tim Salmons

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