Remembering Rod Serling’s Night Gallery

Set in a shadowy museum of the outré, Night Gallery (NBC, 1970-1973) was a highly diverse anthology television series featuring tales in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction vein—all of which were introduced by a dark and disturbing collection of canvases unveiled by the museum’s “curator,” series host and creator Rod Serling (The Twilight Zone). The show blended thoughtful original dramas written by Serling himself with adaptations of classic genre material, including short stories by the likes of H.P. Lovecraft, Fritz Leiber, Conrad Aiken and Richard Matheson. The variety of material in Night Gallery brought with it a variety of tone, from the deadly serious to the tongue-in-cheek, stretching the television anthology concept to its very limits. Like The Twilight Zone, each segment of Night Gallery featured a dazzling array of guest stars from the worlds of film and television, as well as contributions from such promising young directors as John Badham and Steven Spielberg. Unlike Twilight Zone, the series was fraught with tension behind the scenes, including an ongoing conflict between creator Serling and producer Jack Laird over the direction of Night Gallery that would ultimately find Serling on the outside looking in.

Frankie and I paid tribute to Night Gallery along with Jim Benson, co-author of Rod Serling’s Night Gallery: An After-Hours Tour, a comprehensive look at this classic series that also serves as an abject reminder of how network television sometimes works. Jim was also a consultant on the upcoming Night Gallery: Season Two DVD package, which features commentary by Oscar nominated director Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labrynth). If you’re a fan of Rod Serling, but missed our conversation, we invite you to listen to our archive, which is now available on our archives page at www.tvconfidential.net. 

Ed Robertson
Co-Host, TV CONFIDENTIAL
Every other Tuesday at 10:30pm ET, 7:30pm PT
Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org
www.tvconfidential.net
blog.tvconfidential.net
Also available as a podcast via iTunes

Ron Howard’s Call to Action

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/cc65ed650d/ron-howards-call-to-action-from-ron-howard-and-henry-winkler

Tommy Smothers gets his due, forty years later

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/22/DD5013G5AT.DTL

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour: What’s really funny is what the censors didn’t catch

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/22/DDGQ13L1F3.DTL&type=entertainment

Spotlight: Rod Serling’s Night Gallery: This Week on TV CONFIDENTIAL

Night Gallery, Rod Serling’s offbeat follow-up to The Twilight Zone, will be in the spotlight this week on TV CONFIDENTIAL, Tuesday, Oct. 21 beginning at 10:30pm ET, 7:30pm PT on Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org. 

Set in a shadowy museum of the outré, Night Gallery (NBC, 1970-1973) was a highly diverse anthology series featuring tales in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction vein—all of which were introduced by a dark and disturbing collection of canvases unveiled by the museum’s “curator,” series host and creator Rod Serling. Bolstering Serling’s thoughtful original dramas were adaptations of classic genre material, including short stories by such dark-fantasy luminaries as H. P. Lovecraft, Fritz Leiber, Conrad Aiken and Richard Matheson. The variety of material in Night Gallery brought with it a variety of tone, from the deadly serious to the tongue-in-cheek, stretching the television anthology concept to its very limits. Like The Twilight Zone, each segment of Night Gallery featured a dazzling array of guest stars from the worlds of film and television, as well as contributions from such promising young directors as John Badham and Steven Spielberg. Unlike Twilight Zone, the series was fraught with tension behind the scenes, including an ongoing conflict between creator Serling and producer Jack Laird over the direction of Night Gallery that would ultimately find Serling on the outside looking in. 

Join Frankie Montiforte and me as we remember Night Gallery along with Jim Benson, co-author of Night Gallery: An After-Hours Tour and a consultant on the upcoming Night Gallery: Season Two DVD package. If you’re a fan of Rod Serling, if you have a favorite episode of Night Gallery, we invite you to join our conversation this Tuesday, Oct. 21 beginning at 10:30pm ET, 7:30pm PT on KSAV.org. Phone number is (800) 407-KSAV (5728), email address is talk@tvconfidential.net.Ed Robertson
Co-Host, TV CONFIDENTIAL
Every other Tuesday at

10:30pm ET, 7:30pm PT
Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org
www.tvconfidential.net
blog.tvconfidential.net
Also available as a podcast via iTunes

Listen to our interview with Kim Darby and Paul Green on the career of Pete Duel, now available on the archives pages at www.tvconfidential.net

Top 10 scariest made-for-TV movies

These are according to Jerry Arthur of www.TechRepublic.com:

http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/geekend/?p=1537

While he is off a bit on his facts–it was not Barry Diller who created The ABC Movie of the Week, but in fact Roy Huggins–we are in agreement with some of his choices, particularly When Michael Calls (No. 10), Trilogy of Terror (No. 5), The Night Stalker (No. 4) and Duel (No. 2)… all of which we’ve discussed on our program, of course, along with author David Deal.

Ed Robertson
Co-Host, TV Confidential
Every other Tuesday at 10:30pm ET, 7:30pm PT
Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org
www.tvconfidential.net
blog.tvconfidential.net
Also available as a podcast via iTunes

Remembering Pete Duel: This Week on TV CONFIDENTIAL

The life and career of actor Pete Duel will be the subject this week on TV CONFIDENTIAL, Tuesday, Oct. 7 beginning at 10:30pm ET, 7:30pm PT on Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org.

Best known for playing amiable outlaw Hannibal Heyes in the short-lived but long remembered comic Western Alias Smith and Jones (ABC, 1971-1973), Pete Duel led an unpredictable and often tumultuous life that ended suddenly on Dec. 31, 1971, when he took his life at the height of his success. Join Frankie Montiforte and me, along with our guests Paul Green, author of Pete Duel: A Biography, and Emmy and Golden Globe nominated actress Kim Darby, one of Duel’s closest friends, as we remember the life of this talented yet troubled young actor. We’ll talk about Duel’s many roles in film and television, including Alias Smith and Jones, Love on a Rooftop, Generation (the 1969 movie in which he co-starred with Darby and David Janssen), plus a whole lot more.   

If you’re a fan of Pete Duel, if you have a favorite memory or favorite role of his, we invite you to join our conversation this Tuesday, Oct. 7 beginning at 10:30pm ET, 7:30pm PT on KSAV.org. Phone number is (800) 407-KSAV (5728), email address is talk@tvconfidential.net.

Ed Robertson
Co-Host, TV CONFIDENTIAL
Every other Tuesday at 10:30pm ET, 7:30pm PT
Share-a-Vision Radio, KSAV.org
www.tvconfidential.net
blog.tvconfidential.net
Also available as a podcast via iTunes