Night Gallery: Season 3 [DVD]

Although often unfavourably compared to Rod Serling's 'The Twilight Zone' I feel that 'Night Gallery' should be judged on it's own merits. While the first 2 seasons had tales with variable running times, this final season, which was originally broadcast in 1972/73 has a more settled 25-minute story format, (with just a couple of short vignettes) with the stories being of variable quality. The horror elements are often psychological, while sometimes achieving an effective level of creepiness. Occasionally the stories are a little offbeat with a slight tongue in-cheek feel. In spite of the relatively short running times, some of these anthology style tales unravel at a relaxed pace, and are well directed with some good performances. While stylistically very much of their time, some of the scripts are intelligent.The standouts for me include 'Rare Objects' in which a threatened hoodlum (played by Mickey Rooney) is desperate to find sanctuary - but at what cost?. 'Finnegan's Flight' sees stir-crazy prison lifer, Charlie Finnegan (Burgess Meredith) placed under hypnosis, the power of suggestion leads to a sequence of bizarre and unsettling incidents. As I've already mentioned, the quality of the stories does vary (with season 2 remaining my favourite overall) but on the whole I feel this final season is worthy of 4 stars. The Technicolor prints used for this release are generally very good. With English subtitles. After an unsuccessful attempt to play this Region 1 release on a Region 2 player I can confirm that a multi region or R1 player will be required.The extras include the 'lost episode' which includes the tales/short vignettes - DIE NOW, PAY LATER. ROOM FOR ONE LESS. LITTLE GIRL LOST and the missing instalment from season 2 - WITCHES' FEAST.An audio commentary on the episode 'Return of The Sorcerer' is provided by Night Gallery historians Scott Skelton and Jim Benson.The inside of the DVD case features an episode synopsis which I have included below....*RETURN OF THE SORCERER....A translator must read between the lines when a troubled sorcerer hires him to solve the enigma of a strange Arabic text.Starring Vincent Price, Bill Bixby and Tisha Sterling.*THE GIRL WITH THE HUNGRY EYES....A photographer discovers that true beauty masks a sinister secret when he disregards his gorgeous model's warning and follows her after a photo shoot.Starring James Farentino, John Astin and Joanna Pettet.*RARE OBJECTS....A racketeer in hiding faces a difficult choice when he must decide if he's willing to pay the ultimate price for safety.Starring Mickey Rooney, Raymond Massey and Fay Spain.*SPECTRE IN TAP-SHOES....An antique dealer returns home to find her twin's dead body, but the deceased sibling refuses to rest in peace when the living one tries to sell their mutual home.Starring Sandra Dee, Dane Clark and Christopher Connelly.*YOU CAN COME UP NOW, MRS. MILLIKAN/SMILE PLEASE....After a series of failed experiments, a frustrated inventor turns to his devoted wife to risk her life for his next idea. And in the accompanying vignette, a vampire makes his mark in a curious fashion.Starring Ozzie Nelson, Harriet Hilliard and Lindsay Wagner.*THE OTHER WAY OUT....A successful businessman receives blackmail letters tying him to the death of a go-go dancer and discovers that the writer of the missives lives in an isolated house miles from civilisation.Starring Burl Ives and Ross Martin.*FRIGHT NIGHT....A writer and his wife unlock a world of trouble when they dare to open a sealed trunk in the spooky farmhouse they recently inherited.Starring Stuart Whitman, Barbara Anderson and Ellen Corby.*FINNEGAN'S FLIGHT....A prisoner serving a life sentence finds escape when he allows his cellmate to hypnotise him, but bizarre events soon begin to take place during the trances.Starring Burgess Meredith, Cameron Mitchell and Barry Sullivan.*SHE'LL BE COMPANY FOR YOU....When a recent widower shows too much interest in his secretary, a friend of his late wife sends him her cat to be a companion...and a four-legged spy.Starring Leonard Nimoy, Lorraine Gary and Kathryn Hays.*THE RING WITH THE RED VELVET ROPES....The heavyweight champion of the world is haunted by the ghost of his former opponent, who challenges him to one more battle in a strange setting somewhere beyond the grave.Starring Gary Lockwood, Joan Van Ark and Chuck Connors.*SOMETHING IN THE WOODWORK....A rejected wife has many troubles: she drinks too much, she still tries to control her former husband and she believes that a man who was killed in her home is now a ghost in the attic.Starring Geraldine Page and Leif Erickson.*DEATH ON A BARGE....A dockworker falls in love with a mysterious girl who lives on a barge, and his jilted lover soon regrets her decision to confront her rival.Starring Lesley Ann Warren and Lou Antonio.*WHISPER....A young American couple find peace and tranquillity in an old English country house...until the woman begins to hear the voices of the dead.Starring Dean Stockwell, Sally Field and Kent Smith.*THE DOLL OF DEATH....An Englishman living in the British West Indies at the turn of the century turns to voodoo for help when the beautiful local girl he was engaged to marry runs off with a local suitor.Starring Susan Strasberg and Alejandro Rey.*HATRED UNTO DEATH/HOW TO CURE THE COMMON VAMPIRE....A captured gorilla disrupts the marital harmony between two anthropologists. And in the accompanying vignette, two men stalk a vampire.Starring Steve Forrest, Dina Merrill and Fernando Lamas.

Night Gallery Season 3 is a strange collection with many episodes of cult stories with horror and suspense. 15 episodes with great actors!!! Top class actors such as: Vincent Price, Mickey Rooney, Leonard Nimoy, Raymond Massey, James Farentino, Sally Field, Alejandro Rey and Barry Atwater that, gave amazing performances!!! A must have for the collectors and Tv viewers that followed Rod Serling's great televison series of Horror and suspense and fantasy, science fiction and supernatural drama!!!

As much as I like The Twilight Zone, I was always more a fan of The Night Gallery for its horror and supernatural leanings - not to mention all the gaudy early 70s sights and sounds. It used to be shown late at night in my region when I was a teenager, so it's good to finally be able to own the show and to get to see some of the episodes that I missed first time around.

Great delivery service and fantastic tales. Some better than others, some highly disturbing 40+ years on.If you enjoyed the Twilight Zone, you'll be mesmerised by the Night Gallery

Love the series BUT FELT CHEATED ON THE COST. Not really value for money but we all need to have the set complete. Just wish they did try to rip us off at the end by making it same cost as the other box sets.

Very honest seller recommended

I have been waiting for this dvd set to be released for uk dvd players, so pleased with them.

I enjoyed season one and I am enjoying season three, despite the many reviews that cite this as the weaker series. I look forward to season two.