Night Gallery, The Caterpillar 4/4

[liw213]

This has got to be the most hard-hitting ending I have ever seen of the Night Gallery series!

[TheSkylur44]

Harvey was a superb actor and showed a wide range of emotions depending on the part; anyone who doubts this needs to see the original Manchurian Candidate.

[Bobofet241]

It doesn't get much better than this,still a remarkable work of entertainment and a moral to it.Utterly superb acting.

[ILovjadakis]

wowwwwwwwww

[DrPepperAndSteak]

Many... many eggs.

[vivapanama731]

Damm pussy, he's always screaming like a bitch !

[baraxor]

The guy who screwed up sounds like Tony Robinson's Baldrick

[cbalsz]

@baraxor you just ruined this for me



[myrtlebox]

Sad story that he died less than 2 yrs after this (aged 45). His daughter Domino Harvey died at 35 from a drug OD. Her father was bisexual and she was a Lesbian. I only point this out as yet another data-point that sexuality is inherited and NOT learned. I have family members with similar dispositions.

There is a continuum of human sexuality. It is NOT a choice, it IS a gene.

Be who you are, not who people think you should be.

[violetichigo1999]

@myrtlebox Very well said.

[rshighfill]

@myrtlebox- It's neither. There has been nobody to find such a gene. However there have been people to find demonic spirits that cause it. So it could be picked up, and it could also be inherited. The same as a drug addiction, which when started by someone in the family line seems to be passed down from generation to generation. but what has that to do with the show

[carlsetzer]

My ears are hurting just listening to his description.

[jwphx1962]

Laurence Harvey died two years after this was filmed. Of stomach cancer. So, he must have relived the agony of the earwig all over again.

[9theAwfulbet]

Dang it! It was well acted a cinematized, but I knew the ending already since they talk about it in So I Married An Axe Murderer

[rem2267]

Perfection!

[TheDeepEynde]

This is an incredible piece of acting. Just incredible. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time at the mere anticipation of what words were going to be next. Brilliant.

[ronparel]

i never forgot this episode, i was 10 years old in 1972, when i and my sisters watched this. we couldn't stop talking about it afterwards. it's still the creepiest, hard to forget horror story for me

[9bahai9]

I haven't seen this episode since 1970. But I still remember it well. It horrified me. I once had an argument with a friend who insisted that earwigs can do this. I said, no they can't he got furious with me saying I thought I knew everything. We looked it up in the dictionary and it said the earwig is believed erroneously to enter a person's ear.

[IH8Monkeys]

damn the luck

[mylove481]

I love this ending. Bastard got what he deserved.

[MissMael]

@mylove481 Harsh ending nevertheless, of course if I were him I would have shot myself.

[1pt21jigawatt]

It was much creepier when I was younger.

[flyingscience]

On a whim I looked this up , I have barely remembered it .I couldnt forget the ending though . Those last few seconds have been with me for decades . Just like "its a cook book " . Classic endings from Serling .

[Sutterjack]

As Hannibal Lector says in "Hannibal"--"The brain itself feels no pain at all, if that concerns you Clarice"----I guess this is why they can do brain surgery while the patient is awake---it this true?

[babajaga39]

he wasn't cold and calculated at all... his voice has a lot of suppressed emotions, full of love and anger. it can be heard in his every role.

[MissMael]

@babajaga39 Is that something you see as a good thing or bad thing? I just couldn't tell from just your writing.

After watching some other older film starring him I don't think he always sounded like that but he has played a lot of angered characters. I uploaded 'I Am A Camera' because it shows him as a different character.

[babajaga39]

@MissMael thank you for mentioning i am camera, i saw it and i liked it...

[TheDeepEynde]

@babajaga39 bravo!

[battlestarmarc]

night gallery rocks !!!!

1 of the star trek movies ripped off this idea.

[colliric]

@battlestarmarc

you dare question KAHHHHNNNNN(or for that matter Star Trek 11 as well!)!

[shoegooguru]

Man do i remember this one from when I was a kid! We had earwigs in AZ and I killed every one I ever saw!!!! it is a myth i know...but did not know that then.

[stripesthebird]

I don't have to worry about those things. I put up with freezing cold and snow for 6 months of the year, but I don't have to put up with those things.

[SURFUR]

How did they know of Macy's plan? Did Robinson tell them? Macy seems too collected after such an ordeal. He should be more of a mess.

[RanRightRealty]

Among the best psycho thrills out there. This also could have influenced the Alien scenes of being infected and begging for death. Remember? Kill meeeee. Now, ryoushii is correct on the brain post, but consider the mental, emotional and psychological pain. After while, an ordinary itch turns into "it s moving in my brain" and you go nuts from the thought of it. You even imagine it moving. Having paid the price to see his wrong, he now has to suffer again thus being denied the chance to repent.

[ryoushii]

Actually, what's funny about this episode is that the brain in fact has NO sensory receptors, that is, the brain cannot feel pain directly. You could have a hundred of those things crawling on your brain and you wouldn't feel a thing.

On the other hand, they probably would cause brain damage and seizures and so on.

[quantafunk]

shuuuuuuuuut up! this ep was freekin awsome, yo.

[HomicidalAxe]

"it was a female earwig and a female lays eggs"

[MariaGarcia281]

why is every1 so intimidated by his voice? I'll take that anyday over a monotone higher-pitched softy

[elliotcarroll]

I don't get the big deal about the end...just shoot yourself

[illiniev1]

Never plot against someone because

the results could backfire on you LMAO!

[jferkfjkj]

Harvey was a miscast. To play someone who's survived an earwig attack, one must put emotion, and passion into the words they speak. I saw very little in the concluding scene, as well as the duration of the episode. If anyone else did this episode such as Dirk Borgarde or Alan Bates, I would've applauded, but not here

[MissMael]

This seems to be the main complaint about Harvey no matter what film he's in. I do like his cold calculated style of speech, I can relate to his act of distance and no remorse. His harsh almost emotionless voice fits with the word he utters.

[jferkfjkj]

The thing with Laurence Harvey, is that in every role he's ever done in many capacities, he has the same dragging bass voice, and that never changed in the duration of his career

[MrWrshpldr]

Interesting comments on a cast that is probably all dead. Shows then were not supposed to be the epitome of acting, just watch random episodes of any show from this era and see that. Any more emotion in his character would be unrealistic anyway.

[DrPepperAndSteak]

@MissMael I concur. He is perfect for any stoic role, and is accordingly incapable of any real emotion.

[MissMael]

@DrPepperAndSteak Well, he played Romeo so utterly naive and love sick that I felt even stronger for slapping that character than other times I read/watched that story.

[Equilibrium2037]

I like this episode, what bothers me is they didn't give the character painkillers to make his time easier.

[starlight4482]

@Equilibrium2037 What painkillers? They are in blinking Borneo a blinking long time ago.

[moviepal01]

Laurence Harvey was in fact dieing of stomach cancer when this was shot. It really was painful for him at this time and he turned in a brava performance.

[MissMael]

What bugs me is that they didn't kill him out of mercy.

[BohemeMistress]

i think that was partly cuz he tried to kill the husband guy!

[oceansdoor]

It "bugs" ya, does it? lol

[MissMael]

Lol, yeah.

[mmmbad]

@MissMael This is one of those episodes where you can almost imagine what happens "after the ending". He probably kills himself rather than go through that hell again.  This is one of my favorite episodes. I really enjoyed all the actors/actresses.

[ciavazzaro]

I could not hope this end to the worst of my enemies !!

The ending really gives me the creeps despite that im not anymore too young !

[daveevegas]

I love horror but the concept "even if fictional" of one of these little bastards eating at my brain really has me close to puking!1

[thx291]

Actually there are no nerves within the brain itself that register pain. So if a bug did get into your ear it would hurt initially as it ate through your eardrum but once it got into the brain you wouldn't feel it at all.

Though you'd still probably slip into a coma and die.

[Adventurestud]

1. The Cemetary

2. The Doll

3. A Big Surprise

4. The Caterpillar

5. Green Fingers

Those are my top five NG episodes. What are yours?

[GingerAutie]

1. Silent Snow, Secret Snow (but in the version from 1966)

2. The Cemetary

3. She'll be company for you

4. Fright night

5. The Hand of Borgus Weems

but I haven't seen all of them jet, but most.

[TVFREAKMAN]

@Adventurestud

Here are my fave NG episodes

1. The Dead Man

2. The Caterpillar

3. Cool Air

4. Pickman's Model

5. The one where Ross Martin is tormented by the fatther (Burl Ives) of a woman he murdered.----can't remember the title of it.

[candygirl2200]

I can't believe I guessed the end. Okay, I will calm down. Loved it! Thanks for the posting.

[906087]

I looked it up and found out that there is an earwig, but it can't do this to you, rest assured. But this is still a good story. It was so terrifying of a concept that I just had to see if it was real or not.

[perjus]

Talk about excruciating pain. Sheeesh!

[watermelontaichi]

that was probably the most horrified show i ever watched. they don't need any bloody scene whatsoever, just the thought and the imagination of that scary scenario is scary enough.

[MelanieLouM]

That what you get for coveting another man's wife, I guess! ^_^

[ninelivecat]

Prefer Twilight Zone

[jackiemickie]

smoooooooth

[westy406]

Out of all the night gallery episodes it was this one that I remembered vividly. The last time I saw this was when I was 12 ,and it scared me shitless. They don`t write these like they used to!!!!

[anyviolet]

DItto, total ditto. Think I was like 12 too. Had a few good nightmares over this one. Yikes!

[wick801]

I agree with an earlier comment in saying this series used to scare the shit out of me. I lived in kind of a scary house as it was, even though i had trouble getting to sleep i could't resist to watch this show! As to the earwigs ,they are nasty but relatively harmless little buggers! I was outdoors at a friends bbq . After it was over we went inside,putting the chairs in the kitchen. We had a few brews and he went into the kitch,and there were earwigs spewing out from the legs of the chairs!

[sincereradical]

It wouldn't rain like that all the time..lol Holy shit, I feel an itching inn myy earrr!! Oh Gooood. arggr.

[mikedrummonds]

If you want to experience terror beyond immagination, type in Earwig on wikipedia, take a look at one of these little fuckers and imagine it crawling through your brain.

[antimatterXXXIII]

Earwigs are as harmless as fruit flies. They do not get inside your ear, and should one be placed there, nothing would come of it.

Now, there is a kind of tiny catfish that can lodge itself inside your penis. Search away and watch where you swim!

[mikedrummonds]

I actually knew that it's not medically possible for this scenario to occur. I'm just saying the sheer thought of a fucking earwig in your head is preitty upsetting. Same as the notion of a cockroach or a spider crawling around inside your brain. I dont think anyone could dispute that it's a preitty fucked up thought, regardless of how implausible it may be. And I will now definately look out for that catfish.

[Adventurestud]

Very fucked up indeed. A gnat once flew into my ear and wiggled around for about an hour. That was uncomfortable!

[freelancenlnn]

Oh-Oh lord. I think I`m gonna heave.

[Teflon65]

What can I say that hasn't already been said? Reading about this episode in Marc Scott Zicree's "The Twilight Zone Companion" (which also touched on The Night Gallery a bit) I learned that the brain itself has no feeling, and here I've read that the bug couldn't get into the brain. Terror over, I appreciate this episode because it has Laurence Harvey, and the teleplay was by Rod Serling. Relax, kiddies, it's just a TV show: A very good TV show!

[Seadweller262]

This episode influenced the Ceti eel scene in Star Trek II.

[Teflon65]

I can believe that.

[dannysallstarjoint]

This Night Gallery episode is more disturbing and twisted now than when I first saw it as a child. My skin crawled (not my ears).

[JoyGrenade]

Best twist ending ever.

[thorneel]

Watching (so I married an axe murderer) last night brought this show back to mind. Two fantastic shows.

[Adventurestud]

Ah hah hah hah hah hah. Son-of-a-b#$%@ deserved it.

[AmusedChild]

I guessed it! Heh, heh, heh, serves him right!

[pan1689]

how many of you picked at your ears after watching this

[chgochgo]

"It was a female and the female lays eggs..." DAMN

[Jal8919536]

The pain you see the guy going through is genuine, since the actor was actually going through cancer at the time that would take his life the year after, he momentarily stopped taking his pain medication to get this scene just right.

[JoyGrenade]

Really? I didn't know that.

[Realgamecock]

Awesome ending. Definite twist.

I stumbled upon this story from Night Gallery while googling for 'velvet ants' and I thank MissMael for the youtube.

[romagman]

I remember this as a kid. This really flip me out.Great Story line and the acting was amazing. Truly well done.

[lovliestbrown5]

great story!!!!!!

[12119999]

you're a weakling! that desperate man had it coming...I would wish that death on all my enemies ^_^. rod serling rest in peace...

another awesome episode.

your shows will always be remembered...

[mikedrummonds]

I know he's an asshole but holly shit,surviving that ordeal only to have a hundred of those little fuckers hatch in youre brain, I wouldnt wish that on my worst enemy.

[cocklicklad]

If anyone is interested I had read about insects entering people's ears which does happen on occasion but the bone seperating the ear canal from the brain would be impenetrable by any insect. The worst that could happen is infection and usually placing drops of mineral oil in your ear will suffocate the insect almost instantly. The short story this episode was adapted from was written in the early 1900's though and in the original it was a jealous husband trying to murder his wife's suitor.

[LuvvyDuck]

Yeah, I read that thing about earwigs and other insects and the "ear canal" thing. I was SO relieved!! I had never seen this eppie before but read about it---after that, I killed EVERY earwig I came across! :P

[huehnerfuss]

I too saw this as a kid. I remember going to school the next day, and my whole 5th grade class was talking about it! Every one watched Night Gallery (if their parents let them) back then. I have never forgotten this episode. It stands out more than all the rest! Thanks!

[gyrate4]

Laurence Harvey was a great actor!

[kurtjk01]

I saw this as a child . . . freaked me out more intensely than Night of the Living Dead (which I first saw at the same age). Still one of my favorite horror stories. And, yeah, EspanolBot, he'd be deaf, but then they would've had to write out all the information instead of using dialogue . . . call it artistic license.

[mferg240]

i am going to use earplugs from now on when i go to sleep!

[EspanolBot]

Wouldn't he technically be deaf now?

[1ballerina]

Thank you for posting!!

[dealius]

thanks for the memories

[romagman]

What a totally Flip Out and well acted script.

Laurance Harvey was brill in this one. For years even today. I on occasion thought about this episode. And I saw it posted. Thanks !!

[romagman]

I remember this as a kid, totally fip out !!

[jms6959]

that is a great story!

[districtline]

Absolutely one of my favourite NG episodes; the under rated Laurence Harvey was brill ... watching him in agony, I could almost feel that little bugger in my own head.

[sheracj]

My parents watched this when I was a little kid- maybe 6?- and I guess they didn't realize it was scary enough that I should have been made to leave the room. These images terrified me for a long long time after that.

[narthic]

Oh my! Wow! I bet you were scared of Earwigs something awefull!!!

[Lucdaddy]

Thanks for posting, I've always want to see this episode but it was before my time. Modern television needs a Rod Serling.