Fulvue Drive-In.com
Current Reviews
In Stores Soon
 
In Stores Now
 
DVD Reviews, SACD Reviews Essays Interviews Contact Us Meet the Staff
An Explanation of Our Rating System Search  
Category:    Home > Reviews > Thriller > Horror > Science Fiction > Anthology > British TV > Tales Of The Unexpected - Season One & Two

Roald Dahl’s Tales Of The Unexpected – Set One:

Season One & Season Two

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: C-     Episodes: A-

 

 

A wise man believes only in lies, trusts only in the absurd, and learns to expect, the unexpected…

 

So began each episode of a new British anthology show in the late 1970s when it hit American television.  Ron Grainer’s theme song quickly followed.  A light would turn on the various features of the faces of wooden horses in a carousel as each line was read, then when the theme kicked in, the horses would suddenly be on their ever-circling journey to nowhere.  So were the opening credits in the American copies of this series.

 

With only the original and slightly racier British credits in tow, the greatest anthology series in British TV history has stunningly, shockingly, and amazingly arrived on DVD.  Acorn Media has issued Roald Dahl’s Tales Of The Unexpected in a four-DVD set that covers all the episodes hosted by Dahl himself!  The series would run eleven seasons, but he was there for the first two and was writer of just about all of them, save five shows.  Eventually, it was called Tales Of The Unexpected with Roald Dahl before Dahl’s name was dropped altogether and John Houseman took over as host of stories most not written by Dahl.

 

Produced on PAL-format analog videotape, this is the most literate anthology series in the Horror/Thriller genre since Rod Serling’s original Twilight Zone and it has the writing, stars and crew to back it up.  It is also one of the all-time classics of British TV.  Expanding on the episodes as listed in their correct order over the four DVDs and their cases, the original broadcast dates have been added:

 

Season One/DVD One

 

1)     The Man From The South (March 24, 1979/adapted from Dahl’s story by Kevin Goldstein-Jackson; Directed by Michael Tuchner) - Excellent retelling of previously filmed story about rich old man Carlos (Jose Ferrer) who makes a bizarre bet with young vacationer Tommy (Michael Ontkean) that he can win a new Jaguar car if he can light a butane lighter several times in a row.  He loses a finger if he loses the bet.

2)     Mrs. Bixby & The Colonel’s Coat (March 31, 1979/from Dahl’s story by Ronald Harwood; Dir.: Simon Langton) – Terrific moral tale of twists and trust as the title characters are having an affair.  When The Colonel (Richard Greene) gives Mrs. Bixby (Julie Harris) an expensive fur as a parting gift to end their affair, she puts it in a pawnshop, purposely not putting her name or contact information on the voucher.  Wait until she tries to reclaim it.

3)     William & Mary (April 7, 1979/from Dahl’s story by Harwood; Dir.: Donald McWhinnie) – In a good “simple-twist” show, Mary (Elaine Stritch) has been driven crazy by her control freak husband William (Jimmy Mac) for decades, but the drive to be in control al the time helps lead to an early death.  Mary discovers that he has gone out of his way to keep his brain alive, a dark secret that is about to be sprung on her unsuspectingly.

4)     Lamb To The Slaughter (April 14, 1979/from Dahl’s story by Robin Chapman; Dir.: John Davies) – Another excellent retelling of Dahl classic about a wife (Susan George) who comes up with a perfect way to cook up her policeman husband’s murder; one his fellow officers may miss.

5)     The Landlady (April 21, 1979/from Dahl’s story by Chapman; Dir.: Herbert Wise) – Sad, disturbing tale of young traveler (Leonard Preston) who checks into a bed & breakfast he has heard about, then finds out from the guest book that the previous guests never checked out.  He hides this from the title character (Siobhan McKenna) who may know more than she is saying.

6)     Neck (April 28, 1979/from Dahl’s story by Chapman; Dir.: Christopher Miles) – Classic episode about rich prima donna (Joan Collins in great form) who is married, yet sleeps around on her husband openly.  A new artwork arrives, as do some guests (including perennial character actor great Peter Bowles) and when Lady Natalia (Collins) gets her head stuck in it, even the butler (Sir John Gielgud) starts brainstorming on ways to release her.

7)     Edward The Conqueror (May 5, 1979/from Dahl’s story by Harwood; Dir.: Rodney Bennett) – Very entertaining pairing of Joseph Cotton and Wendy Hiller as couple who find themselves in conflict when a cat shows up.  He is annoyed; she thinks it is the reincarnation of Franz Liszt!

DVD Two

8)     A Dip In The Pool (May 12, 1979/from Dahl’s story by Harwood; Dir.: Michael Tuchner) - Silly-but-amusing gambling romp at sea with Jack Weston as William Botiboi (who returns in episode 22 below) who gambles the house, or is that the ship, that the sea-going vessel cannot reach a given destination.  He bases this on the weather, so when that changes all the sudden, he has to find an “alternative” that will allow him to win.

9)     The Way Up To Heaven (May 19, 1979/ from Dahl’s story by Harwood; Dir.: Simon Langton) - A woman (Julie Harris) has a really serious problem with being late, exasperated by her demanding husband (Roland Culver) keeps getting in the way of her punctuality.  When she is running late, she gets wildly nervous, but the two opposite intents are soon due for an unavoidable collision.

Season Two

10)  Royal Jelly (March 1, 1980/ from Dahl’s story by Chapman; Dir.: Herbert Wise) – A beekeeper with an amazing ability to handle bees without the usual nets extracts the valuable title substance with ease, but his wife (Susan George) is more concerned about their newborn child, who seems sick and is not putting on weight.  Unknown to her, he (Timothy West) is about to apply his profession to childcare.

11)  Skin (March 8, 1980/from Dahl’s story by Chapman; Dir.: Herbert Wise) – A homeless man is going nowhere, when someone with a small fortune interested in art discovers that a brilliant artwork has been tattooed to his back.  A deal is made that will allow the homeless Driloi (Derek Jacobi) to have a better life in exchange for the art, but it is not the deal he thinks it is.

12)  Galloping Foxley (March 15, 1980/from Dahl’s story by Harwood; Dir.: Claude Whatham) – A sadistic boarding school bully and the young boy he beat all the time meet decades later in life on a train with….  Jonathan Scott-Taylor, who was the title character in the underrated 1978 sequel Damien – Omen 2 fame is the young sadist.  The twist is that this is a flashback as the victim as an old man thinks he has run into the bully decades later on a train and is ready to confront him.

13)  The Hitch-Hiker (March 22, 1980/from Dahl’s story by Chapman; Dir.: Alastair Reid) – Amusing, smart tale of kind driver (Rod Taylor) who loves his new car so much, he cannot stop riding it all over the place.  Then he picks up a man in need of a ride (Cyril Cusack) and he finds out that there are some things that move fast that he cannot control.

DVD Three

14)  Poison (March 29, 1980/from Dahl’s story by Chapman; Dir.: Graham Evans) – Mixed story about a former alcoholic (Andrew Ray) who has decided to go on vacation in India and turn over a new leaf.  Suddenly, there is a deadly snake in his room with venom so poisonous, and it is hard to tell where exactly it is.  Can his friends (Judy Geeson, Anthony Steel) save him?

15)  Fat Chance (April 6, 1980/from Robert Bloch’s story by Denis Cannan; Dir.: John Gorrie) – A pharmacist (John Castle) who has recently taken up acting on stage wants to get rid of his overweight wife (Miriam Margolyes) so he can run away with his mistress (Sheila Gish) and does not think she would agree to a divorce.  The way he decides to do her in seems surefire, but is it?

16)  Taste (April 12, 1980/from Dahl’s story by Harwood; Dir.: Alastair Reed) – The great Ron Moody plays maniacal wine taste expert and writer Richard Pratt, who is also a bit of a jerk.  When he takes on a challenge to identify a special bottle, the bet he makes is unethical, but his challenger (Antony Carrick) agrees.  His daughter’s hand in marriage is up for grabs, without her consent, and she sees him as a masher.

17)  My Lady Love, My Dove (April 19, 1980/from Dahl’s story by Harwood; Dir.: Herbert Wise) – A rich couple bored with their lives who like to play cards (Elaine Stritch, Shane Rimmer) decide to mix things up when they decide to wiretap the guest room so they can listen in after the card game.  Unbeknownst to them, the other couple (Lisa Eichhorn, Douglas Lambert) is hiding few surprises of their own.

18)  Georgy Porgy (April 26, 1980/from Dahl’s story by Chapman; Dir.: Graham Evans) – Unusual installment that may bridge Dahl’s children and adult literature as a Reverend (John Alderton) suffers form a return of the repressed as he can no longer hold back the issues at hand that have given him lifelong problems with women.  Joan Collins is back in a duel role.

19)  Depart In Peace (May 3, 1980/from Dahl’s story by Harwood; Dir.: Alan Gibson) – Lionel (Joseph Cotton) is so busy focusing on art, that he is about to have his life undermined by a tug-of-war between two women, the kind that could leave many casualties.  An odd, interesting installment.

20)  The Umbrella Man (May 10, 1980/from Dahl’s story by Harwood; Dir.: Claude Whatham) – Terrific tale about a mysterious man (John Mills in the title role) who keeps selling umbrellas like if they are the last one he owns so he can get home.  Many clever ins and outs here.

DVD Four

21)  Genesis & Catastrophe (May 17, 1980/teleplay by Roald Dahl & Ronald Harwood; Dir.: Herbert Wise) – In April 1889, a woman has already given birth to three dead children in a row, and the fourth time will give charm a bad name.  Based on a true story.

22)  Mr. Botibol’s First Love (May 24, 1980/from Dahl’s story by Kevin Goldstein-Jackson; Dir.: John Gorrie) – Sequel to episode 8 above has the title character (a returning Jack Weston) showing another grandiose side.  Realizing he has never had any luck, solid success or legacy, he dreams of being the world’s best at something… anything!  When he meets the beautiful, wonderful Irene and they share a love of music, things start to look up again.  A wise reflection on loneliness and the kind of deep denial many will go to in avoiding it.

23)  Back For Christmas (May 31, 1980/teleplay by Denis Cannan from the story by John Collier; Dir.: Giles Foster) – A doctor (Richard Johnson) dismayed at his marriage decides to get rid of his wife, bury her six feet under, then start a new life.  He goes to elaborate lengths to cover his crime, but will her (or her parts) stay buried deeply enough?

24)  The Orderly World Of Mr. Appleby (June 7, 1980/teleplay by Robin Chapman from the story by Stanley Ellis; Dir.: John Gorrie) – The title character (Robert Lang) runs an antiques shop and is a widow three times over.  All his wives were rich, so when wealthy Martha Applegate (Elizabeth Spriggs) walks into his store prior to opening up its new location, he may have wife number four in his sights.  However, he is in for a surprise of his own.

25)  The Man At The Top (June 14, 1980/teleplay by Denis Cannan adapted from the story by Edward D. Hoch; Dir.: Claude Whatham) – A young man (Peter Firth) lands up killing for money to help a hooker friend, who tells him to go to a wealthy magnate to get him on an outgoing ship so the police never find him.  The man owes her a favor, but can he find the man in time?

 

 

It has been over a quarter-century since I had last seen these shows, as only some later episodes managed to come out on a VHS tape that was in print very briefly.  It was shocking how incredibly well they all held up, all the great forgotten twists, the expert pacing, the ability to be dark and how politically incorrect all of it was before we knew of such a perpetuated fraud.  Dahl waited for years and years, after many offers, before accepting the deal to do this series.  Even he could not have known how exceptionally well this would have all turned out.  The writers are all great, the casts exceptional, the production values pretty decent for a series Angola Television bet the house on.  It was their greatest success and its arrival on DVD is one of the events of the year not enough people can hear about.

 

The full frame color PAL image is usually fine for its age, though some later shows have some minor resolution problems, particularly noticed in Dahl’s opening presentations.  Otherwise, these look good and certainly better than when originally broadcast.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 is also clear for the most part, reminding one of the kind of high quality such sound we usually get from Acorn or even A&E/New Video in matters of British TV.  The original monophonic sound has been nicely boosted into a simple, but effective stereo mix throughout.  That makes the presentation a true pleasure.  Occasionally, some of the audio has a slight warping to it, but these moments are rare and do not last long.  I am personally ecstatic the shows have survived in such great shape as is.  Extras include paragraph-long descriptions on each episode before you decide to play them, biographies of many of the actors on each DVD their episode appears on and text on the making of the series (production notes) and the release of this DVD set release on DVD 1.

 

Recently, Image Entertainment decided to start reissuing the original Rod Serling Twilight Zone in new much-needed digital High Definition transfers under the title Twilight Zone – The Definitive Collection, but then they will not look as good as when they are released in a legitimate High Definition format.  For Roald Dahl’s Tales Of The Unexpected, High Definition will only reveal so much more detail, as well as more of the limits of he PAL tapes.  That is why you are better off getting this set first than Twilight Zone as you are less likely to need to repurchase this British classic again.  If you do not even own Twilight Zone to begin with, you are still better off starting with this and being among the first to see one of the greatest TV series of all time as it finally arrives in America again.

 

For Acorn’s next Tales Of The Unexpected set, Seasons Three through Five would fit just about as easily on four DVDs as these first two seasons did here, so we hope to see that as the next box offering.  We would also suggest a bonus of the original carousel opening credits minus text and if possible, information on the vinyl 33 1/3 rpm record of a compilation soundtrack under the Roald Dahl’s Tales Of The Unexpected name and logo that featured the many TV theme songs of the great Ron Grainer.  Either way, the next set will have John Houseman taking over as host and we can’t wait for that.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo


Marketplace


 
 Copyright © MMIII through MMX fulvuedrive-in.com