A Fear of Spiders/Junior/Marmalade Wine/The Academy

My summary line can be viewed as having a double meaning, as both protagonists cause our main character, Justus Walters, to go borderline insane. Walters is played brilliantly by Patrick O'Neal, an actor whom I feel deserved more accolades over the years, but I digress. The segment starts with a rather creepy painting, as Mr. Serling informs us of "arachnophobia", something Justus happens to have. The other two guest stars both give fine performances, so let's give a shout out to Kim Stanley and Tom Pedi(who?); anyway, they were both very enjoyable. I actually enjoyed this episode better than I did a few years ago, when I poked fun at the large spider, but it looked less fake this time around; in fact, I wish they showed more of the hairy thing, but leaving more to the imagination is also a good thing. Let me also mention that actor John Astin directed this segment. The ending could've been handled a bit better though, and that detracts from this segment somewhat, but overall, it was done rather well. It's not in my top episodes for Night Gallery, but give it a view if you get the chance to watch it.

This was one of the quirkier short segments of the controversial series, and it starred Rudy Vallee and Robert Morse as doctor and photographer, respectively. The abode of Dr. Deeking(Vallee)looked like it was suspended in air and/or outer space, and I did enjoy that atmosphere, even though it looked totally fake, but it still worked for me. Robert Morse's character was Roger Blacker, and he was both a photographer and an accidental foreseer, as certain things he mentioned to Deeking came to fruition, like the horses and the stock market. I'm not sure why he said these things to the doctor, and even though he later admits that he just made these predictions up, they still rang true. I believe he stumbled upon Deeker's dwelling in order to photograph or interview him, but their conversations were strange, as was this episode. Deeker serves Blacker a few glasses of marmalade wine to get him drunk, and after he finally passes out, he wakes up in bed by himself. The next few lines uttered are weird indeed, as Deeker informs his guest that his predictions rang true and made him lots of money, even though Blacker didn't intend for this to happen. After this discussion ends, Blacker tries to get out of bed, but can't move, as he thinks his new boots are tied too tight. The real reason why Blacker can't move is that Deeker liked the man's predictions so much, he decided to amputate Blacker's feet so that he's stuck in bed, and it's funny the way Deeker informs him. I would recommend this mainly because it's both weird and original, and it's not too long to be that boring.

I remember this show from when I was a child. At the time, all I remembered was being scared to death. :) As an adult, I'm more impressed with the great storytelling and artful direction. I once had arachnophobia and therefore this episode stuck out in my mind from childhood. But even when I saw it back then, I had an appreciation for the relationship dynamics between the female and male lead. And that's really the magic of Night Gallery - being able to scare you but still having a solid story to do it with. I wish that today's TV shows and movies would take a hint from Night Gallery. It's OK to have CGI (which wasn't available back when Night Gallery was done) but don't get so caught up in it that the story suffers (or is nonexistent). Thank goodness for hulu.com. Maybe some television executive will revive this series at some time in the future or at least learn from its craftsmanship. You can't beat a good story.

"Marmalade Wine" a two person teleplay introduces us to a weary hiker caught in a rainstorm and a friendly country doctor who offers the young man refuge in the storm, only to have a truly grisly ulterior motive. The sets are really threadbare, (Not sure if that was the intention or not) but the acting is good. The doctor is very creepy and really adds to the suspense here. The ending is a stomach churning revelation which is great. When you put yourself in theyoung man's shoes, you almost feel faint.

If you've seen the Twilight Zone episode entitled "The Howling Man" you'll see a few similarities. A man who with an evil secret figure in both stories. A fun and shocking episode.

This was a very broad set of stories. After the first three I gave it a "6" rating. Changed to an "8" after watching Rod Serling's spine chilling adaptation of The Academy. I wonder who it was exactly that tapped Pat Boone for this role? Genius. Like all of Serling's work it's precise, no words are wasted. What a talent! I only recently got the series on disk, not having seen them since they originally aired. So there were many I missed, many I didn't recall. All have been wonderful to revisit. Don't let the bright blue sky and spotless building fool you. The Academy is pure horror; brilliantly acted by Boone.