Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen...to the Night Gallery...

[King_Crimson]

Was "Night Gallery" better than "Twilight Zone"? That's a tough one to answer...but the pilot for "Night Gallery" entitled "Trilogy of Terror" was truly a masterpiece! Rod Serling was indeed a genius and far, far ahead of his time. He would be standing in a dimly lit "art museum", surrounded by paintings and would head towards one while saying "tonight we offer for your viewing pleasure.........and start to describe the portrait as the show then kicked in! Ah...for the old days! http://www.rodserling.com/default.htm
:scared:

[Hand]

1. Hard call...

But I'd say that the hour-long format Twilight Zone was the best of all. I remember that first episode scared the pants off me!

BTW, Rod Serling's kids went to the same primary school I did, and he was around the school a lot for holiday events, PTA, etc. Really nice guy, totally unpretentious and vital. He was also tiny--about 5 foot 4 or so. How he ever made into the paratroopers is beyond me.

Here's to ya, Rod! Thanks for the memories!

:toast:

[King_Crimson]

2. Right on Hand...

one episode of "Night Gallery" was called "The Caterpillar". That one scared the beejezus outta me...and I used to think I was fearless! Heres the link to the episode...and others http://www.nightgallery.net/index.html?title.html&0 :scared:

[King_Crimson]

3. Seems Mr. Serling was also politically active...

in the Democratic Party.
<snip>
Serling's social activism also took the form of writing letters to newspaper editors. In one poignant example Serling responded to Dr. Max Rafferty, a religious conservative educator, who had a weekly column in the Los Angeles Times. On October 10, 1966 Rafferty's column addressed social reform and claimed that humanity's problems were not the responsibility of society but of the individual. The article's theme is well expressed in Rafferty's statement, "I don't feel guilty about crime in our cities because I'm not committing any."
Serling's incensed response was published five days later. In it he rebuked Dr. Rafferty with his words, "The good doctor had best take his Bible in hand and discover what is the compassion of faith, the selflessness of worship and the charity of Christ" and concluded by saying, "Dr. Rafferty, take note of what the ghost of Jacob Marley said to Ebeneezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. 'Mankind! Cries the ghost, was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forebearance, and benevolence, were...all...my...business.'"

more...
http://www.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/rodserling.html

And BRAVO Mr. Serling...in 1966 he campaigned for incumbent Pat Brown against Ronald Reagan in the California gubernatorial race!



:kick:

[nuxvomica]

4. The best one was "Silent Snow, Secret Snow"

Orson Welles narrating a straightforward rendition of Conrad Aiken's haunting short story. That was the most memorable but atypical of Night Gallery, though. I especially liked the episodes that dealt with the Cthulhu mythos.

I guess whether you prefer NG or TZ depends on whether you like supernatural fantasy or sci-fi. I think both were exceptional examples of their respective TV genres.

[Blue-Jay]

5. Toss up.

Night Gallery was creepier and scarier, but Twilight Zone was smarter and more ironic.