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Re-conception of Rod Serling's "Night Gallery" series in the works (horror community) - Printable Version

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Re-conception of Rod Serling's "Night Gallery" series in the works (horror community) - C C - Dec 8, 2018

A reboot of the horror anthology series by the producer of Teen Wolf and the producer of Midnight, Texas. Apparently it'll be on the Syfy channel in the US. That's Space in Canada; check the Syfy Universal list for other countries (should be called "Syfy" in the UK and Australia).

Reimagining of a Rod Serling classic: "Night Gallery, which ran on NBC from 1969-73 on NBC, was Serling’s supernatural/horror follow-up to [...] The Twilight Zone. Serling was the host of Night Gallery, appearing in an art gallery setting to introduce each segment of an episode by unveiling a painting that illustrated the story. [21-year-old Steven Spielberg got his first professional directing job on the show.] *Night Gallery* has influenced top genre filmmakers including Oscar winner Guillermo del Toro, who called watching "The Doll" episode of the anthology series he saw as a child the most scared he’s ever been. [Video of the "The Doll" episode]


The irony of it being a source of inspiration for these folk is that Rod Serling himself had bitterly and roundaboutly disowned the series by its final season. Even though he had formulated and promoted the idea of the show to NBC, Jack Laird was the actual executive with final say in everything (routinely editing screenplays, especially their endings). He "hated Serling's, downbeat, moralistic material". The latter had a history of disguising social commentary and intellectual reflections behind a facade of scifi/fantasy back in Twilight Zone days, as well as westerns like The Loner.

Serling chose genres which roamed about in offbeat contexts and other eras so as to evade the usual "do not perturb the sentimentality and socio-political sensibilities of the viewing audience" approach of ratings & mainstream-tropes fixated TV managers. ("People want escapism, not subtle lectures and opinions!"). Gradually Night Gallery's production deteriorated further into a wholesale 'creativity by committee'.

After Serling's death, relatives lamented in interviews that *Night Gallery* was an immense step down in quality for him. The frustrations and clashes with producers over its direction and tone reinvigorating his chain-smoking and contributing to an early death.

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RE: Re-conception of Rod Serling's "Night Gallery" series in the works (horror community) - Magical Realist - Dec 8, 2018

I can't wait! I was haunted many a night watching Night Gallery as a kid.