I've written about television anthology shows before, but reminding everyone that they can enjoy one of the best TV shows of the 70's free of charge from their local library branch seems worthwhile. Sometimes you're in the mood for a good novel, or a long story told over multiple television episodes or multiple seasons. And then occasionally you want something bite-sized - or, the October appropriate 'fun-sized' - which is why you'll grab a collection of short stories. Or an anthology show!

While Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone featured tales that mostly stuck to sci-fi concepts with intermittent fantasy and horror blends, his follow-up series aimed to deliver scarier fare and dark humor. The gallery of the title is Serling's moodily-lit abode in the introduction to each episode, in which the 'curator' highlights several works of art (usually paintings) as lead-ins to the episode's several tales. One of the great things about these types of shows is the huge number of actors that can be featured over several seasons. Among the many talented but lesser-known players, famous faces like Ossie Davis, Roddy McDowall, Joan Crawford, Burgess Meredith, Vincent Price, and Leslie Nielsen showed up in various stories. Additionally, some of the best weird fiction short story writers of the 20th century had their work adapted. If you've ever enjoyed stories by Joan Aiken, H.P. Lovecraft, Richard Matheson, Margaret St. Clair, or Fritz Leiber Jr., you'll likely find something to appreciate here.

Rod Serling made sure to inject as much social commentary as he reasonably could into this series, as he had successfully done with Zone. And while the scare-factor is considerably lighter than TV fare today, the somewhat dated effects and dusty atmosphere add up to an antiquated delight. Anthology television shows have a long history, and not all of them have the same level of quality or longevity. Just don't make the mistake of letting your familiarity only go as far as Black Mirror or the recent iteration of Creepshow. If any one person can be associated with this style of TV and what it can do, it's Serling, and his Twilight Zone chaser is worth checking out.