Hollywood Q&A

Q: There was a great TV show in the ‘70s titled “Night Gallery.” Is it available anywhere streaming or on DVD?

A: There are currently a few options for viewing “Night Gallery,” and even more reasons to do so.

There’s a complete-series DVD boxed set available that collects all three seasons of the classic horror anthology, which aired on NBC from 1970 to 1973 (plus a featurelength pilot that aired in late 1969). The box seems to be available from most DVD retailers, so you can pick your favorite vendor.

As for streaming, as usual it depends whether you’re watching from the U.S. or not. If you are, it’s available through Amazon Prime and on NBC.com. It’s not available on any of the Canadian services, though.

If you’ve never seen it, “Night Gallery” is an essential view for fans of classic TV horror. An anthology series not unlike “The Twilight Zone,” it’s also presented by that show’s legendary host, Rod Serling, but with a bigger lean towards the macabre.

If you’ve already seen it, especially if you watched it in its first run, it’s well worth a rewatch. In a review of the DVD set published in 2016, the U.K.’s Guardian newspaper said it contains “some of the best TV ever.”

As with many anthology shows, it’s also fun to rewatch to play “spot the celebrity.” Spooky anthology shows were a big deal at the time, thanks in large part to Serling’s other show, “The Twilight Zone,” and so “Night Gallery” drew a number of already-famous guest stars such as film legends Joan Crawford (“What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?,” 1962) and Orson Welles (“Citizen Kane,” 1941), to name a couple.

Viewed today, it’s also fun to see the faces of those who would only become famous later. Mark Hamill appears in one, years before becoming famous as Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars franchise. And Diane Keaton appears in a 1970 episode, a couple of years before her breakout turn in “The Godfather” (1972).

There’s one famous name involved who you won’t be able to spot, though: a young director by the name of Steven Spielberg was behind the camera for two Season 1 episodes, five years before he became a household name with “Jaws” in 1975.

Q: Has Jeopardy ever ended in a tie? What do they do to determine a winner?

A: The rules have actually changed. Once upon a time, a tie meant two returning champions in the next episode. But where’s the drama in that?

To jazz it up, the show looked to the world of sports and chose to introduce a sudden-death tiebreaker question into regular games. The first time this was used in a regular game was in 2018.

“The tiebreaker was first introduced in tournaments,” the official Jeopardy.com website says. “The judges felt that a tiebreaker yielding one winner kept the gameplay brisk and competitive,” and the tiebreaker was later expanded beyond tournament play “to bring that same level of competition to the regular games.”

Pacing and tension were the key factors, of course, but the producers were certainly also influenced by more obvious concerns — such as the fact that crowning two returning champions meant giving away two prizes as well. A tiebreaker means only one person gets to keep their winnings.

Q: Isn’t the guy who plays Amy’s dad on “Superstore” the same guy who played her dad on “Ugly Betty”?

A: Well, Amy from “Superstore” wasn’t a character on “Ugly Betty,” but I see what you mean, and you’re right.

America Ferrera plays Amy on “Superstore” and played the titular Betty on “Ugly Betty” — and Tony Plana played her dad on both.

It was a fun nod to “Betty” heads when he first showed up in Season 2. It’s easy to forget in hindsight, but “Ugly Betty” was a TV phenomenon when it ran from 2006 to 2010, and surely a lot of people first started watching “Superstore” to see Ferrera in a sitcom again. Seeing her reunited with her TV dad was an extra gift to those fans.

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