Night Gallery - She'll Be Company for You

It was cool seeing Leonard Nimoy on Night Gallery but this episode, titled “She’ll Be Company for You”, didn’t captivate me all that much personally. His character, Henry Auden, is finally widowed from a highly-dependent invalid who demanded much from him. Her death seems to have made him free but Henry finds that her constantly ringing bell still seems to rattle off in his mind even though she’s not technically around anymore. The dead wife’s best friend, Barbara Morgan (Lorraine Gary; Jaws (1975)), leaves behind her pet cat to keep Henry company but the feline turns out to be more of a nuisance than anything else. Eventually Henry is hearing the bell, experiencing sounds of a snarling lion, and seeing the cat in various forms. He cannot rest, constantly reminded of the invalid’s presence, unable to stay at home due to the damned cat. And Barbara clearly knows a lot more than she might be letting on, her mischievous face and tone sending off vibes that perhaps indicate ill intentions, having reasoned that Henry wasn’t faithful and is glad his wife is dead. Though Henry tries to move her off the scent, a later scene reveals that he was indeed having an affair with his office secretary, June (Kathryn Hays). June apparently isn’t willing to carry on a relationship with Henry now that his wife is dead…she lets him know in no subtle tones that he never was fully committed to her and so attempts now will not be met with embrace. I thought the exchanges between Henry and Barbara were just odd, but it does seem that was properly intentional…she doesn’t want him to have it easy while he hopes to eventually dust off his feet and move on. So the battle of wills eventually is lost as Henry concedes, as the ending shows defeat, blood pooled on the carpet near the bed, the cat licking away as Barbara returns from an Italy vacation to collect her pet. The house torn apart, windows shattered, plants and outside green torn asunder by Henry’s machete hunting the godforsaken cat—“Satan’s familiar” according to host, Rod Serling—and Henry unable to totally be set free from the memory of his wife. He would never truly be free. He wanted and wanted, according to June, but never to give. But oh, he does give at the end!

I thoroughly enjoyed this episode’s opening introduction by Serling. Didn’t care for the episode after it, but still it was cool to see Nimoy so young and fly in his open collar and rolled up sleeve suits, dapper and chill. Serling’s monologue on the gallery of horrors, how those who attend the Night Gallery are a particular brood, just always brings out a grin from me. We are a unique patronage, those of us who visit Serling’s (and Laird’s) Night Gallery. 2/5