As big a fan as I was of Rod Serling's 'Twilight Zone', I couldn't figure out why I'd never run across 'Night Gallery' until I looked at the original air dates for the series. 1969 was my first year in college and I didn't have a whole lot of time for television, although weekly viewings of 'All in the Family' and 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour' was a must.
So it's not many TV series that start out with an episode numbered zero, I thought that was the limited purview of super-hero comic books. I guess having this run as a TV movie pilot before the actual series began was the reason for the odd numbering here on IMDb. There are enough reviews on this board talking about the individual chapter plays, so I'll confine my remarks to other observations while I watched the stories.
For starters, considering the casting involved I'd say 'Holy cow'!, how did Serling and company come up with the payroll required for the talent involved in this show? Starting at the top you've got Joan Crawford, Ossie Davis, Richard Kiley, Roddy McDowall, Barry Sullivan and Sam Jaffe heading the various segments. Not to mention the guys who probably came cheap like Tom Bosley who was still doing guest appearances in TV shows of the era. And wait, can this be right - Steven Spielberg directing the second segment titled 'Eyes"! That was the Joan Crawford piece, talk about coming a long way!
I enjoyed all the entries here with 'The Cemetery' probably being my favorite. The twist ending managed to have it's own twist ending if you know what I mean, something that Serling achieved every now and then with the Twilight Zone series. I wasn't surprised that there was a story like 'The Escape Route' in the mix. Serling dealt with World War II and the Nazis more than once during his earlier series run. 'The Escape Route' was somewhat similar to the Zone's third season episode titled 'Death-Heads Revisited', in which a former concentration camp officer is rendered insane for the brutality with which he treated his prisoners. Crucifying Gruppenfuerher Helmut Arndt/Josef Strobe was a fitting end for a former madman.
So with this pilot episode out of the way I'll be looking forward to the rest of stories in the series. I like the concept involved, spinning tales out of paintings hanging in an art gallery curated by host Rod Serling. Serling didn't waste any time commenting on the trio of stories first presented here. When it was all over, he simply said "Good Evening". Good enough for me.
So it's not many TV series that start out with an episode numbered zero, I thought that was the limited purview of super-hero comic books. I guess having this run as a TV movie pilot before the actual series began was the reason for the odd numbering here on IMDb. There are enough reviews on this board talking about the individual chapter plays, so I'll confine my remarks to other observations while I watched the stories.
For starters, considering the casting involved I'd say 'Holy cow'!, how did Serling and company come up with the payroll required for the talent involved in this show? Starting at the top you've got Joan Crawford, Ossie Davis, Richard Kiley, Roddy McDowall, Barry Sullivan and Sam Jaffe heading the various segments. Not to mention the guys who probably came cheap like Tom Bosley who was still doing guest appearances in TV shows of the era. And wait, can this be right - Steven Spielberg directing the second segment titled 'Eyes"! That was the Joan Crawford piece, talk about coming a long way!
I enjoyed all the entries here with 'The Cemetery' probably being my favorite. The twist ending managed to have it's own twist ending if you know what I mean, something that Serling achieved every now and then with the Twilight Zone series. I wasn't surprised that there was a story like 'The Escape Route' in the mix. Serling dealt with World War II and the Nazis more than once during his earlier series run. 'The Escape Route' was somewhat similar to the Zone's third season episode titled 'Death-Heads Revisited', in which a former concentration camp officer is rendered insane for the brutality with which he treated his prisoners. Crucifying Gruppenfuerher Helmut Arndt/Josef Strobe was a fitting end for a former madman.
So with this pilot episode out of the way I'll be looking forward to the rest of stories in the series. I like the concept involved, spinning tales out of paintings hanging in an art gallery curated by host Rod Serling. Serling didn't waste any time commenting on the trio of stories first presented here. When it was all over, he simply said "Good Evening". Good enough for me.