Night Visions

Ever since "The Twilight Zone" chilled and thrilled viewers with weird and suspenseful stories, television has rarely been without an anthology series of incredible tales. "Night Visions," which runs to the macabre and includes regular doses of violence, is the latest in this time-honored tradition.

The series is the creation of Billy Brown and Dan Angel, exec producers who also wrote the two vignettes that comprise the pilot episode. Their work is full of hairpin plot turns and spooky situations, many of which produce the video equivalent of an unexpected "boo" from a closet door that springs open. Those looking for Rod Serling-style irony or, for that matter, anything more profound than a collection of scary moments, will have to keep looking.

The first half of the opener, "The Passenger List," features Aidan Quinn as Jeremy Ball, an airline disaster investigator who is first on the scene at a grisly plane crash with no survivors. As the investigation continues, it becomes clear that something is peculiar about Ball, who seems to have a personal stake in the inquiry.

The second half, "Bokor," is a tale about med students (Jason London and Samantha Mathis) doing lab work on a cadaver, but not just any cadaver. This one, apparently, was the body of a voodoo priest who, according to legend, can return from the dead if a tattoo on his forehead is disturbed. Coincidentally, that's where the first incision is to be made. Though heavy on gore, this story absolutely defies any attempt at predicting the ending.

In general, "Night Visions" manages to avoid the moron dilemma, a common pitfall of horror tales. The moron dilemma is a story that never would have occurred if the main character had not acted like an imbecile. Of the first four vignettes, only the third, "Dead Air" -- about an arrogant disc jockey on the graveyard shift -- is guilty of manufacturing terror by having a character do things that make no sense at all.

Actor-musician Henry Rollins, the show's host, makes remarks about each episode that are briefer than a Lil' Kim award-show outfit and far less revealing. He could easily be replaced by an offstage announcer.

After back-to-back episodes tonight, "Night Visions" will continue in its regular time period at 9 p.m. Thursdays.

NIGHT VISIONS
FOX
An Angel/Brown Production
in association with Warner Bros. Television
Executive producers/writers/creators: Billy Brown, Dan Angel
Co-executive producers: Steven Aspis, Naren Shankar
Producers: Tracey Jeffrey, Robert Petrovicz
Co-producers: Erin Maher, Kay Reindl, Drew Matich
Consulting producers: Jim Leonard, Yves Simoneau
Directors: Yves Simoneau, Keith Gordon
Directors of photography: Danny Nowak, Andreas Poulsson
Production designers: Ian Thomas, Lance King
Editors: Michael Ornstein, Michael Ruscio
Music: George S. Clinton
Set decorators: Linda Vipond, K.J. Johnson
Art directors: Roxanne Methot, Richard Cook
Casting: John Levey, Anthony Sepulveda, Michelle Allen
Host: Henry Rollins
Cast: Aidan Quinn, Kelly Rutherford, Paul Guilfoyle, Troy Evans, Blu Mankuma, Emily Holmes, Julie Patzwald, Patricia Drake, Samantha Mathis, Ben Bass, Kim Hawthorne, Jason London, Denis Simpson
Airdate: Thursday, July 12, 8-10 p.m.