Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

Night Gallery: Season One Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 21, 2021

"Night Gallery: Season One" (1969-1971) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include new program with Craig Beam as well as multiple new audio commentaries for the original pilot and six episodes. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

A medical case from the year 2098? What is going on here?

It is impossible to separate Night Gallery from The Twilight Zone series because their format and stylistic identity are shaped up by the same person, Rod Serling. It is true that the original content in Night Gallery is quite a bit darker, but its flexibility is extremely similar, often even identical to that of the original content from The Twilight Zone. Indeed, just a few edits as well as a quick color fix can quite easily make some of the episodes from Night Gallery perfect for The Twilight Zone. This is Serling’s classic modus operandi, folks.

This two-disc set features the pilot as well as the six episodes of Season One, with Serling’s original introductions. The pilot aired on November 8, 1969, while the final episode of Season One premiered on January 20, 1971.

Despite the unifying darker quality of the content the stories that are being told are actually very, very unique. My favorite is “The Little Black Bag”, starring Burgess Meredith and Chill Wills. It begins in the year 2098 where an administrator reports that a time-traveling expedition has lost a medical case with all sorts of advanced instruments and electronic gadgets in the present, which is the 1970s. While trying to get drunk with a bottle of cheap wine two bums (Meredith and Wills) discover the case in a trash can and soon after the former, who is a disgraced physician, begins performing miracles in the local shelter where they reside. Inspired by his success, the physician then begins to dream big, but his partner brings back down to earth. The segment is directed by Jeannot Szwarc.

In “Room with a View”, Joseph Wiseman is a very wealthy but very ill man who has discovered that his much younger wife is having an affair and decided to punish her. He does it after he tricks his young and hopelessly naïve maid (Diane Keaton) to catch her future husband in a compromising situation with the cheating wife. The segment is directed by Jerrold Freedman.

One of the strangest segments is “The Nature of the Enemy”. Joseph Campanella plays a NASA scientist who during a live feed with an astronaut on Mars makes a groundbreaking discovery, which then quickly turns quite hilarious as well. The segment is directed by Allen Reisner.

In “Make Me Laugh”, a disillusioned stand-up comedian and an overworked miracle worker (Godfrey Cambridge, Tom Bosley) meet in a lousy bar and strike an odd deal that has a profound impact on their careers and lives. This segment is directed by Steven Spielberg.

In “The Dead Man”, a prominent physician reveals to a colleague (Carl Betz and Jeff Corey) that he is using an advanced form of psychosis to control the vital bodily functions of a very handsome patient. However, during a supposedly safe demonstration something goes terribly wrong and the handsome patient becomes unresponsive. The segment is directed by Douglas Heyes.

While the overall quality of the content is very good, the overall quality of the direction occasionally drops a bit. It is usually when it becomes obvious that the man behind the camera is trying to move quickly to finish the segment on time. Some sporadic rough editing choices exacerbate this disparity even more. This is where the superiority of the original content from The Twilight Zone becomes indisputable, though it has to be underscored again that Night Gallery enters a new territory so the opportunities to impress in the same consistent manner are not the same.

*The release offers the original broadcast versions of the six episodes from Season One. Some of the key differences between the broadcast versions and syndicated versions are highlighted by critic Craig Beam in an excellent new program that is included on the release.

Night Gallery: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Night Gallery: Season One arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The two-hour pilot and six episodes have been remastered in 2K, so they do look quite nice. However, I think that there are some minor yet noticeable fluctuations that affect the overall quality of the content. To be clear, these are not the type of fluctuations that you need to worry about. Rather, they tend to reveal the age of the original materials (interpositives) that were accessed because there are some inherited limitations as well as some very light wear. For example, the pilot reveals minor density fluctuations and some extremely light fading, which is why delineation and depth are not optimal. In darker areas on the pilot and the six episodes you will notice shaky shadow detail as well. All of the content tends to look slightly softer than it should too, though this is a common limitation when some older positives are used to create new masters without an in-depth restoration work. Color balance is very good. However, this is another area where minor adjustments can be made, with the darker areas typically revealing the most obvious spots where nuances should look even better. Image stability is good. So, even though there is room for some meaningful improvements, I think that Night Gallery: Season One has a nice organic appearance on Blu-ray. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Night Gallery: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I did not encounter any anomalies to report in our review. However, on the pilot and a few segments occasionally the audio becomes a bit too thin. To be perfectly clear, it is never obviously shaky, but I think that there might be some room for small enhancements. The rest is great. The dialog is always easy to follow and the music sounds as good as it should.

Night Gallery: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

BLU-RAY DISC ONE

• Commentary One - audio commentary for the pilot recorded by screenwriter and critic Gary Gerani.

• Commentary Two - audio commentary for "The Dead Man" and "The Housekeeper" by Night Gallery authors and historians Jim Benson and Scott Skelton.

• Commentary Three - audio commentary for "Room with a View", "The Little Black Bag", and "The Nature of the Enemy" by Jim Benson and Scott Skelton.

BLU-RAY DISC TWO

• Commentary One - audio commentary for "The House" and "Certain Shadows on the Wall" by critic Tim Lucas.

• Commentary Two - audio commentary for "The House" and "Certain Shadows on the Wall" by critic Amanda Reyes.

• Commentary Three - audio commentary for "Make Me Laugh" and "Clean Kills and Other Trophies" by filmmaker and critic Constantine Nasr and Night Gallery book publisher Taylor L. White.

• Commentary Four - audio commentary for "Pamela's Voice", "Lone Survivor", and "The Doll" by critic Kim Newman and writer and editor Stephen Jones.

• Commentary Five - audio commentary for "They're Tearing Down Tim Riley's Bar" and "The Last Laurel" by critic Craig Beam.

• The Syndication Conundrum: Part One - in this new program, critic Craig Beam discusses the complex history of Night Gallery and the series' presentation, publicity and reception over the years. In English, not subtitled. (59 min).

• Leaflet - a season guide with short descriptions of the original pilot and each segment from Season One.

Night Gallery: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you approach Night Gallery expecting that it would match the quality of The Twilight Zone because of Rod Serling's crucial involvement with both, I have to speculate that you are setting yourself up for disappointment. The flexibility of the content in Night Gallery is very similar, and this is where Serling's touch is instantly recognizable, but its overall quality is different. There are a lot of unique reasons for the discrepancy, and the most important one is that Night Gallery enters a completely different territory where the opportunities to impress are different as well. I enjoyed Season One, but I thought that some of its segments were quite a bit stronger than the rest. Still, this release is a very fine addition to Kino Lorber's Blu-ray catalog. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.