User reviews

I've always liked this episode. I thought the young Clint Howard was wonderful in it. I especially liked the eerie way they showed several views of him when he gives his big prediction. The strange music they played as well as the several camera shots of his head added a real dimension of fear to the proceedings. The look on Bernie Kopell's face as he listens to Herbie's odd prediction still makes my palms sweat. It's as if Kopell's character is thinking "What the **** IS he talking about?" The ending is startling and jarring to me even after several viewings. I wish some sort of good anthology like "Night Gallery" would return to television, but I guess it's from a bygone era. This is a good story, well directed and acted.

'The Boy Who Predicted Earthquakes' - Clint Howard plays Herbie Bittman, a young boy who can predict future events, so long as there is a future to predict... Highly effective story with a knockout ending.

'Miss Lovecraft Sent Me' - Foolish waste of time, and not funny either.

'The Hand Of Borgus Weems' - A man believes that his hand is no longer his own, and will go to extreme lengths to get rid of it... Unoriginal but interesting tale has a good cast(like Ray Milland) at least.

'Phantom Of What Opera?' - Leslie Nielsen plays the phantom carrying off his reluctant love who has a secret herself... Hilarious segment may be the only one of its kind to work, but Nielsen's heavy mask breathing and surprise reveal make it a treat.

I was never all that impressed by Night Gallery, but this one episode stands out.

A TV network executive auditions an odd act - a young, nerdy boy who proceeds to make prognostications. The exec dismisses the whole thing as a flaky waste of time until both predictions come true the next morning.

What first seemed a parlor act becomes a hit show as the kid's predictions prove consistently accurate.

Then, one day, he refuses to do the show. Facing imminent showtime, everyone's at wit's end, even threatening him with legal action if he doesn't fulfill his contract and make his daily predictions.

The young boy relents, and foretells a seemingly utopian tomorrow.

After the show, the befuddled executive asks for an explanation, only to learn why the complete truth is too terrifying to reveal.

Episode One from Season Two contains four segments.

The first "The Boy Who Predicted Earthquakes" stars Clint Howard as a young boy who grows to fame due to the fact he can predict future occurrences. Earthquakes , people gone missing being discovered, etc. one day however he predicts something dark, and lets just put it like Serling so greatly quotes it in the opening sometime predicting the future isn't a gift as much as a nightmare. Interesting segment with a dark conclusion.

The second "Miss Lovecraft Sent Me" is the first of a series of comedic shorts that producer Jack Laird decided to put in the series. It has a babysitter going to a castle to watch the unseen child of a vampire couple. She's a little slow, but, finally gets that shes not watching anything human. Decent time waster.

The third "The Hand of Borgus Weems" has a desperate man seeking help from a surgeon when he finds one of his hands has developed a murderous mind of its own. He recounts his past history as the hand attempts to assault several people he came in contact with all with one connection. Fun creepy possession segment with a nice conclusion, probably my favorite of the bunch.

The fourth "Phantom of What Opera?" is yet another comedic sketch, this time centering around the famed phantom character. This time he discovers a twist to the beautiful young lady he's kidnapped. It's actually kinda amusing.

Overall good episode book ended by two good long stories.

'The Boy Who Predicted Earthquakes'. An appealing, 12-year-old Clint Howard plays Herbie Bittman, a child with an uncanny knack for making accurate predictions. This ability makes him a TV star, but one day he just doesn't want to say anything. And the reason why is chilling. Well acted by all concerned (William Hansen plays Herbies' grandfather, Michael Constantine the highly agitated, skeptical network boss, Bernie Kopell his employee), this was scripted by Rod Serling himself, based on a story by Margaret St. Clair. An excellent way to open the episode. Directed by John Badham ("Saturday Night Fever", "WarGames", etc.). Clints' father, character actor Rance Howard, plays a cameraman; Constantine briefly watches the 1932 horror classic "Island of Lost Souls" in a screening room.

'Miss Lovecraft Sent Me'. Sue "Lolita" Lyon plays an airhead babysitter sent to look after the offspring of a man (an admittedly amusing Joseph Campanella) who is clearly a vampire. Short and NOT sweet at all, this is worthless stuff: all setup, and zero payoff. Written by 'Night Gallery' producer Jack Laird, who hopefully stayed away from a typewriter after this, and directed by TV veteran Gene R. Kearney.

'The Hand of Borgus Weems'. George Maharis is cast as Peter Lacland, who begins to fear that he is no longer in control of his own right hand; he believes it to be possessed. And it IS, in what is a pretty standard tale of vengeance from beyond the grave. Peter desperately turns to a surgeon (a superb Ray Milland) for help; he wants the surgeon to sever the offending body part. While this is rather familiar stuff (scripted by Alvin Sapinsley, based on a tale by George Langelaan of "The Fly" fame), the cast is strong, and the many close-up shots of the possessed hand are amusing. It's all worth it just for the twist ending. Directed by John Meredyth Lucas ('Mannix', 'Star Trek', etc.)

'Phantom of What Opera?' Leslie Nielsen is fun as a theatrical "Phantom" abducting a sweet ingenue (Mary Ann Beck) and holding her prisoner. Again, it is the twist ending (a hilarious one, in this case) that makes this very short segment work.

Seven out of 10.

"The Boy Who Predicted Earthquakes" finds young Clint Howard (that's right, Opie's little brother) playing little boy who has a gift. Once he becomes knowledgeable in a subject, he can see into the near future and predict what will happen. Soon he is exploited, having his own television show where over a hundred things he says comes true. One day he hesitates and asks to go home. If we all could have his compassion. A nice little episode with the usual network bad guys.

"The Hand of Borgus Weems" (Serling liked these odd names) features the handsome George Maharis as a man who has lost control of his right hand. It acts in such murderous ways that he asks it be amputated. Ray Milland, a surgeon, wants to call in a psychiatrist and Maharis insists he is sane. Finally, in desperation, he picks up a heavy statuette and crushes his hand, requiring it be taken off. Somehow the people he has chosen to assault have something in common and that is the gist of the story.

"Miss Lovecraft Sent Me" is not worth the two minutes it takes. A baby sitter, played by Sue Lyon (Lolita) chews gum and vapidly looks around a mansion, run be an obvious vampire. Unfortunately, nothing worthwhile happens. I know who H. P. Lovecraft was. What does the name have to do with anything.

"Phantom of What Opera" is equally lacking in anything fresh. We've seen this a hundred times. I guess the regular episodes just didn't fill up the whole hour.

Season 2 has these silly little 4 minute sketches. From what I've read Rod Serling hated these because they don't fit the tone of the show at all but he was told to include them. I'm with Serling on this one. They're terrible.

The other two stories are both well performed, well executed and the production is top notch as always on Night Gallery. But they are also very predictable. I'm not saying I could predict every detail of them but it was obvious where, more or less, these stories were going to end. In both cases I never had any doubt and in both cases I was right.

Still worth seeing. Every episode has been worth seeing so far.

Clint Howard has made a career out of playing oddball characters; even as a kid, there was something strange about the way he looked, which made him perfect for the Night Gallery. In the first story of this episode, he plays Herbie Bittman, a young lad who has the ability to predict the future, a talent that makes him a television sensation. But Herbie's gift isn't always a blessing.

The fact that young Herbie is so unsettling makes me wonder whether Serling intended to suggest that the child is somehow making his predictions come true, albeit subconsciously, a bit like that kid in Twilight Zone classic It's a Good Life.

The second segment is just a couple of minutes long, a silly bit of kitsch that is pure filler. A babysitter arrives at a home where the father is a vampire and the child is a monster.

The third tale is the best. The story might not be all that original -- the right hand of Peter Lacland (George Maharis) becomes possessed by the vengeful spirit of a murder victim -- but Ray Milland is excellent as Dr. Ravadon, the man who surgically removes Lacland's right hand, and who finally realises, to his horror, that his patient isn't as crazy as he sounds.

The last story is another inconsequential piece of nonsense, Leslie Nielsen playing The Phantom of the Opera, who unexpectedly finds his soulmate. It's not quite as bad as the vampire story, but it still feels like its only purpose is to pad out the run time.