User Reviews

The first story dropped a hint on where it might go when Moira (Lois Nettleton) promised two spring lambs to the old witch (Peggy Webber) in exchange for a means by which to get rid of her ailing husband (Royal Dano). She never delivered those lambs, did she? I thought there might have been some consequences there. And maybe there was, because things didn't end so favorably for Moira, after attempting to eliminate old Owen by placing a voodoo doll in the fireplace and then throwing it in a river. You always have to watch that first step whenever you're about to do something unseemly. In her case, Moira badly slipped up.

'There Aren't Any More McBanes' features Joel Grey as a perpetual college student unwilling to take a job, even if it means inheriting his Uncle Arthur's (Howard Duff) millions. Gee, he could have gotten a no show job someplace just to placate the guy, but instead, decided to prevail upon an ancient curse in an old ancestor's diary. In exchange for an early termination for the Uncle, the curse calls for the sacrifice of two friends as well, and it's a bit too late to call back the events already set in motion. You know, it's funny, but I had a good look at the messenger boy who delivered a telegram to one of the unfortunate friends of Andy McBane (Grey), and never gave it a second thought. That was Mark Hamill without his light saber.

In this segment, adapted by Alvin Sapinsley from the Stephen Hall short story By One, By Two, and By Three, Elie Green and Mickey Standish, recent Bard College graduates, arrive to find their dorm mate Andrew MacBane (Joel Grey) in yet another argument with his uncle, Arthur Porter (Howard Duff, husband to actress and director Ida Lupino) over Andrew's studies of witchcraft and the occult, which Porter sees as wasteful of Andrew's time and Porter's money. Andrew hasn't graduated yet despite his being older than Elie and Mickey due to his studies of witchcraft and the occult, and to top it all off, hasn't found a suitable job, which displeases Porter no end. As he leaves, Porter informs Andrew that if he doesn't find a job in 6 months, Porter will disinherit him. Andrew isn't concerned, devoting his energies to finding the 10 missing pages of his ancestor, 17th century sage Jedidiah MacBane, who was rumored to be able to kill from long distances without leaving home. He did in his worst enemy, his best friend, and his best friend's wife in this way. Then something did Jedidiah in. Andrew is anxious to find the 10 missing pages from Jedidiah's diary to find out what the thing was that did Jedidiah in, and how he summoned forth the thing to do in those 3 people. After 6 months pass, Porter arrives to inform Andrew that 5 minutes after 10 in the morning when the bank opens the next day, he will cut Andrew off. As Porter leaves, Andrew says "zap", and a shadowy red eyed figure kills Porter on campus, facilitating Andrew's inheritance of Porter's finances. When Elie and Mickey visit Andrew at his ancestral home, they notice him burning some papers in the fireplace, and also hear a growling outside the door, which prompts them to ask if Andrew is keeping a dog as a pet. After a while, Elie receives a telegram from Andrew begging him to warn Mickey that his life is in danger, but when Elie does so, he's informed that Mickey has been killed by a leopard, and is menaced by something evil at his apartment. After the danger has passed, Elie visits Andrew, who admits that he'd found the missing pages of Jedidiah's diary and used the spell on the first page to summon forth the same demon that Jedidiah did, using it to get rid of his uncle, then Andrew found out from reading the other 9 pages that it's a jealously loyal servant demanding to be given victims regardless of whether they are friend or foe, and he, like Jedidiah, can't get rid of the demon except to deny it victims. Andrew also admits that after he got rid of his uncle, he gave Mickey to the demon after initially refusing to do so, then the demon attempted to get Elie, only stopping after Andrew called it back. Andrew then says that after him, there aren't any more MacBanes after the demon is destroyed, and the demon bursts in to try to get Elie, but Andrew gets in its way, dying in the process, which kills the demon, just as when Jedidiah did it, leaving a pile of ashes next to Andrew's corpse. Spoiler alert: When he adapted Hall's tale, Sapinsley moved its setting from Cambridge University and the wilds of Scotland to Bard College and New England almost 3 centuries after the Salem Witchcraft Trials.

"I'll Never Leave You - Ever" - Passionate adulteress Moira (superbly played by Lois Nettleton) uses witchcraft to get rid of her sickly husband Owen (the aways excellent Royal Dano). Director Daniel Haller adroitly crafts a potently brooding gloom-doom mood and makes the most out of the fog-shrouded main set. John Saxon lends sturdy support as Moira's lover Ianto while Peggy Webster is memorably grotesque as a hideous old crone. The strong downbeat ending packs a jolting punch.

"There Ain't Any More MacBanes" - Freeloading perpetual college student Andrew MacBane (a fine performance by Joel Grey) summons up a demon to take care of his wealthy uncle Arthur Porter (Howard Duff in top huffy form) after Porter threatens to cut off Andrew's trust fund. Compact and compelling tale boasts a genuinely scary growling red-eyed monster along with a satisfying harsh comeuppance for deadbeat rotter Andrew. Look fast for Mark Hamill in a small role as a messenger.

There aren't many episodes left in season 2 of Night Gallery. With each new installment, I feel a pang of sadness, as only one season remains.

"I'll Never Leave You - Ever" was directed by Daniel Haller and written by Jack Laird from a story by Rene Morris. It starts in the middle of lovemaking between Moragh (Lois Nettleton) and Ianto (John Saxon) and we quickly learn that she's married to a dying man, Owen (Royal Dano), and the two wish that he would just take that turn for the worse so they could finally be together.

As she returns home, we can feel both her guilt and her disgust at the man she once loved slowly succumbing to illness. I don't know if you can blame her for going to an old woman (Peggy Webber) and receives a doll that she can use to destroy her husband once and for all.

As you can imagine, nothing goes according to plan.

I loved that Laird actually concentrated on making an actually eerie story instead of a joke. Wow - it feels like more than one episode now that I've said something nice about him.

"There Aren't Any More MacBanes" was directed by John Newland and written by Alvin Sapinsley from the story "By One, by Two and by Three" by Stephen Hall.

Bard College is celebrating graduation, which includes Elie Green (Darrell Larson), Mickey Standish (Barry Higgins) and - if he can pass his classes and earn his Master's in Philosophy - Andrew MacBane (Joel Grey). Yet it may never happen, as the man paying his way, his Uncle Arthur (Howard Duff) is frustrated by his progress. He finally delivers a new rule: Andrew must find a job within six months or be completely cut off, not just for his stipend but for his inheritance.

Yet Andrew doesn't care. He's more concerned with discovering the ten pages that are missing from the spellbook of his ancestor Jedediah MacBane, who died after using a spell to murder his worst enemy, his best friend and his best friend's wife - yes, three people, all at the same time - centuries ago. The friends laugh about this and plan to meet in six months.

As you can figure, Andrew doesn't have a job in six months. Instead, his uncle soon is torn to pieces by something that seems like a wild animal. Mickey dies next as he works in Africa. And now, the creature is coming for Elie and, as you may have surmised, Andrew.

The messenger who delivers the letter for Elie? Mark Hamill.

This one has some real tension but the final reveal is laughable when it should terrify.

This is one of the few episodes I've seen where Rod Serling hostd and didn't write anything. The stories are fine, but this show should be better than just simply good. It aspires to be great at times and when it just coasts, it feels like a waste.