User reviews

One of those Series that is very difficult to review as a whole, largely due to the vast degree in quality between the episodes, on the whole though I'd say I love Tales of the Unexpected, it's a unique series, one millions remember very fondly, for good reason.

I always preferred the introductions when Roald Dahl was sat in his chair, he added to the sense of Theatre in his own inimitable style.

Fair to say the earlier Series were a better standard then the later ones, at the end they became a little sad and repetitive. The 'twist' was always the best bit, and in the first few series, the twists were big.

Highlights include Lamb to the Slaughter, Fat Chance, The way up to Heaven and Royal Jelly, but it's fair to say that the out and out best episode of the entire Series, is the opener to the third run, The Flypaper, truly one of the nastiest, most horrifying pieces of television ever made, even to this day it's intensely disturbing.

Is that possibly the most iconic set of opening credits and music ever put together, instantly recognisable, impossible to forget, I wonder the mix of emotions that tune creates for people.

No wonder Tales ran for nine years, a great series. 8/10

Regardless of what some viewers may think, I had a great time watching this series as a young adult late in the evenings and before the station screening it closed for the night.

It was brilliantly written by the fabulous Mr Roald Dahl and the theme soundtrack was worth the wait for 'the Unexpected Tale' with a usually camp and fascinating end to unfold.

The series starred many budding and now household names from the British Theatre world and yes, the costumes, sets and furnishings were glam and stylish for the period when the world was a more innocent and romantic place to be.

I wish it could be screened again in Australia for older and even newer audiences to enjoy again; especially now that the 70's are hip and back!

I'd never heard of this series then one day a couple years back I noticed an episode on youtube and watched it. I enjoyed it and watched another. And another. And another. And another. And another. And.. well, you get my drift. It became like a bag of chips, you can't eat just one, your hand just keeps drifting into the bag almost without thinking when you finish one then pull out another and start on it. Eventually over about a week I'd watched all 112 (I think it was 112 total) episodes. I liked it enough to compile my own list of what I think the top 12 Tales of the Unexpected (TOTU) episodes are. They are:

The very best episode of this series is called:

"The Flypaper"

The remaining top 12 TOTU episodes are (in order):

(2) "Number Eight"

(3) "Wink Three Times"

(4) "The Open Window"

(5) "The Way Up To Heaven"

(6) "The Luncheon"

(7) "Bosom Friends"

(8) "Scrimshaw"

(9) "Nothing' Short of Highway Robbery"

(10) "Who's Got The Lady"

(11) "Back For Christmas"

(12) "The Landlady"

I have to give a shout-out to the episode titled "The Luncheon" (which I've ranked the 6th best episode of the series). When I first watched it I didn't catch all of it. I had to re watch it a couple times to realize how clever this particular episode really is.

And, really I should give a shout-out to all these great top 12 episodes. "Scrimshaw" is so so well done. "Bosom Friends" still makes me shudder with a different kind of squirmy horror, you'll see what I mean, "Nothing' Short of Highway Robbery" with its delightfully surprising ending, the fun of seeing it coming in "Back for Christmas", the creepyiness of "The Landlady", the smoothness and coolness of "Who's Got The Lady", the delightfully confusingness till the end of "The Open Window", how crazy the man is in "Number Eight", the psychological twistedness of "The Way Up To Heaven", and finally the delighfully something completely different in "Wink Three Times" that gives this episode cake its icing.

And now here is something regarding the remaining 100 episodes in the series, there was one thing I noticed about this series, and that is that clearly a full one half of the episodes, 50 percent or better of the episodes have one common theme unifying them, and that is that half of the episodes of this series feature marital strife in one form or another. This series seems to have mined that particular mine field repeatedly as it's go-to plot structure when choosing which stories to script and film for the series. Thats not a bad thing, but one does eventually get tired of watching Ma vs. Pa and Daddy fussing with Mommy and Honey Bunch rubbing Honey Do the wrong way over and over and over. In these days of marriage equality, if one had this series to study and nothing else to study in order to learn about human marriage, one might not think marriage was all that great.

Watch my top 12 TOTU episodes. I suggest you watch these top 12 episodes NOT in ranked order from the top of the list down to the bottom of the list or vice versa, instead watch them in the order they were originally broadcast and you will find its more enjoyable to watch the series mature and unfold in that much better way. So, watch them in this order:

The Landlady (1979) s1e5 - **The Landlady** Ranked #12 in the Top Twelve TOTU Episodes

The Way Up to Heaven (1979) s1e9 - **The Way Up To Heaven** Ranked #5 in the Top Twelve TOTU Episodes

Back for Christmas (1980) s2e14 - **Back For Christmas** Ranked #11 in the Top Twelve TOTU Episodes

The Flypaper (1980) s3e1 - **The Flypaper ** Ranked #1, Best Episode of the TOTU Series

Bosom Friends (1981) s4e14 - ** Bosom Friends** Ranked #7 in the Top Twelve TOTU Episodes

Who's Got the Lady? (1982) s5e17 - **Who's Got The Lady** Ranked #10 in the Top Twelve TOTU Episodes

The Luncheon (1983) s6e10 - ** The Luncheon** Ranked #6 in the Top Twelve TOTU Episodes

Number Eight (1984) s7e5 - **Number Eight** Ranked #2 in the Top Twelve TOTU Episodes

The Open Window (1984) s7e15 - **The Open Window** Ranked #4 in the Top Twelve TOTU Episodes

Nothing' Short of Highway Robbery (1985) s8e3 - Ranked #9 in the Top Twelve TOTU Episodes

Scrimshaw (1985) s8e4 - **Scrimshaw** Ranked #8 in the Top Twelve TOTU Episodes

Wink Three Times (1988) s9e6 - **Wink Three Times** Ranked #3 in the Top Twelve TOTU Episodes

You can find that list of mine here:

Tales of the Unexpected - The Top Twelve Episodes.

http://www.imdb.com/list/ls070141474/

Enjoy!

Having only discovered this series exists after finding the first two seasons on DVD at a local used bookstore, I took a chance and bought the first disc. The next day I returned to buy the rest, congratulating myself on stumbling across such a trove.

Like the short stories upon which they are based, the 'Tales of the Unexpected' focus on the consequences of duplicity, greed and other less-favourable traits so common throughout human kind. Little, if any, of the appeal is lost in translating these twisting tales from page to screen. The quality of the original material can be thanked for this but the talents of its legendary cast (Jose Ferrare, Joan Collins, Derek Jacobi, Brian Blessed, Cyril Cusack, etc, etc, etc) must also be acknowledged. The creative cinematography, evocative settings and careful casting also contributes to the series' eerie, expectant feel. The result of all this is a must-see for aficionados of speculative fiction as well as devotees of the author, who won't have to worry about his work being desecrated. He introduces each story himself, offering an evocative glimpse of the mind that

Dahl knew that for a short story to be effective, the reader must be made emotionally dependant on its outcome within the brief space allotted. Subsequently, his characters force a reaction from the reader; whether sympathy, affinity or disgust. Similarly, his plots generate a sense of unease in that you can sometimes guess a few different ways they might end but you're never sure until its done. Even then things often turn out to be worse than imagined. The episodes in 'Tales...' follow this rule religiously; superfluous dialogue is non-existent; a twitch of an eye carries the gravity of a soliloquy. The end result is that viewers find themselves inexorably drawn into the action and, at its conclusion, wonder how a half-an hour long program can resonate in the mind for long afterwards.

Some suggest that 'Tales...' is campy. I can't agree and am perplexed at the opinion. Camp to me triggers thoughts of 'The Benny Hill Show,' the Adam West-era 'Batman' or any other program that takes itself less than seriously. This series couldn't be farther from that genre. Admittedly, the opening credits are dated and were probably unimpressive even at the time, but the show itself is executed in the time-tested traditions that give British drama its fine reputation; its use of humour is sparing, satirical, focused and ghoulishly black. The tone, whether deadly serious or incongruously whimsical all serve to throw the ultimate conclusion into skin-raising contrast.

I think the 'Tales...' are consistently excellent but if I had to name my favourites...

The Man From the South - ironically, Rod Serling's 'Twilight Zone'adapted this tale for TV long before the author himself,

Royal Jelly - a beekeeper's obsession becomes his legacy,

Skin - the tattoo on his back offers a down & out man the chance of a new life

Galloping Foxley - drawn from Dahl's own school days, this story showcases a different type of terror(s)

The Hitchhiker - Cyril Cusack. Say no more.

Being a huge fan of anthology series, I'm always on the lookout for ones I haven't seen. I've had some hits (Twilight Zone, Night Gallery) and a few misses, (Thriller, most of Hammer House of Horror) but then I stumbled across Roald Dahl's 'Tales of the Unexpected'

Always being a short story, horror, and sci fi fan, I jumped at the chance to try some programs I had never seen. Having some familiarity with Roald Dahl's work, I was intrigued, having read that he was a cross between Alfred Hitchcock and O Henry. I sat back to enjoy the first story of the series, the fine, 'Man from the South' about a man who bets the little finger on his left hand that he can't light his lighter ten times in a row. Filmed on location in Jamaica, it is a very clever tale that sets the tone of future episodes. Now don't misunderstand, the episodes are not all 10's, but the majority are very, very good, including 'The Landlady', and 'The Flytrap' which is a CHILLER, all the while featuring a wonderful sense of storytelling along with some excellent actors, including Jose Ferrer, Joseph Cotten, and Joan Collins, to name but a few.

If you enjoy really well told tales that hold your attention and are genuinely entertaining, get the first two sets of this series, they really are a wonderful way to spend a few hours.

I was in my teens when these were originally on TV. I think they used to follow the ten o'clock news .... I'm sure I should have been asleep, a school night and all that. They are a bit like a time capsule, fascinating reminder of 40 years ago. Phone acting is totally different when tethered by that curly cord. Kitchens were a bit utilitarian and plates were patterned. Each episode is a standalone story with a twist at the end. So many episodes, it's funny when a familiar face pops up, trying to put the name to the face. having paid no heed to the titles at the start as we're all too busy dancing along with the Princesses Di look a like silhouette. Some episodes a better than others. Some acting is a bit iffy and please don't get me started on any attempts at special effects. I've set the box to record the series. I am enjoying a mini binge of 2 or 3 episodes at a time. I can't just watch one..... my attention begins to travel back to this century during a 3rd. Loving them, but I think you need to have been there.

The variety of the tales means that they can be watched back to back although some are more like "tales of the fairly obvious". Some big names appear which is a bit of a mystery for a seemingly cheaply made series, the big names perhaps cost so much that little was left over to create convincing sets for the indoor scenes. Entertaining when we can't go out very much. The music very often matches the on screen activities very well.

Tales of the Unexpected is an iconic series which lasted around 10 years starting in the late 1970s to the late 1980s. As you'd expect with any TV series, there are fantastic, classic episodes and some that aren't so great. Thankfully the great episodes outnumber the not so great quite significantly.

Originally, the series was meant to showcase the stories from Roald Dahl's books "Tales of the Unexpected" and "More Tales of the Unexpected". Each of these episodes were introduced by Dahl himself in a mock sitting room in front of a roaring fireplace. A short description of where the idea came from regarding the upcoming story then led to 25 minutes of television magic. Each story was meant to end with a twist. Although many did, some had a twist of not actually having a twist but a natural conclusion which you think could never go all the way but it does.

After Dahl's stories ran out, other similarly themed stories were used by well known authors such as Henry Slesar, Bert Salzman, Jeffrey Archer and many others. They didn't have the Dahl introduction and the name "Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected" was thus shortened to the familiar "Tales of the Unexpected".

Many big names have appeared in the show from Joan Collins, Peter Cushing, Stephanie Cole, Toyah Wilcox, John Mills, Telly Savalas and many, many more. Some early in their careers, others in their prime and some in the twilight.

So if you like a story with a twist ending, you can do far worse than check out this gem. When you hear Ron Grainer's fantastic theme tune starting up and the silhouetted lady dancing in the flames, you'll be gripped for 25 minutes. After that you'll hunger for your next fix of 'The Tales'.

My top 10?

1. The Eavesdropper 2. Would you Believe it? 3. Taste 4. The Tribute 5. The Flypaper 6. Shatterproof 7. The Way To Do It 8. Kindly Dig Your Grave 9. Never Speak Ill of the Dead 10. Down Among the Sheltering Palms

When surfing the channels on Saturday mornings I stumbled across a rerun of the series on Sky Arts. After half watching a few of the episodes I slowly got drawn in and I've ended up watching all 112 episodes. I was only a child/teenager when it was originally screened and my memory of it, from those years, was only really of the opening credits as it wasn't something I was particularly drawn to at that age.

However, I've enjoyed watching the series now I'm older. It brings back a lot of nostalgia from the 80's the decor, the fashions, the cars and of course those old phones! There's also a lot of famous and not so famous actors who've appeared in the series and there's some great performances in there.

There are some great episodes, good episodes, average ones and inevitably some poor ones given the longevity of the series. Some people have commented about the poor production values/low budget evident here and that's fair enough although this didn't detract from my enjoyment of the series, I felt in some episodes it gave them a sense of realism as the settings were usually very ordinary.

For what it's worth my top 12 episodes, with the best ranked 1 and so on are as follows:

1. The Flypaper 2. The Man from the South 3. Nothing Short of Highway Robbery 4. The Stinker 5. Mrs Bixby and the Colonel's Coat 6. A Harmless Vanity 7. Parson's Pleasure 8. Taste 9. Clerical Error 10. Number Eight 11. Light Fingers 12. Shatterproof.

Didn't see this when 1st broadcast but my best friend was always going on about the sexy dancer, having now just watched most of them in lockdown what a disappointment,I would say 90% are poor and none are classics I stopped watching the American ones they were so bad,but even some of the Dahl stories were shocking by todays standards the main enjoyment is seeing all the stars which it somehow maintained till the end but how it lasted 9 years is beyond me I can only assume the dancing lady and theme tune hypnotised a generation of men

It's an alright show. Similar to Twilight Zone or Alfred Hitchcock Presents. The theme song is enough to make you go nuts if you watch more than a few episodes in one sitting. Some stories are interesting... some aren't. Some stories are predictable and almost all are drawn out, given more time than they really need.

This old-fashioned British TV serial has a terrific atmosphere . The opening scene with the mysterious dancing woman,the skulls,gun and cards is quite impressive.The plot is strange:different actors play in every single episode which is based on a short story.Many of them are written by the well-known Roahld Dall.The episodes are called horror and triller but in fact there is nothing which can scare you.Yes , there are murders , secrets and twists in the tale,and sometimes a dreadful atmosphere but the violence and assassination are shown very stylish.There are episodes that are really interesting and the end is surprising : The Olderely World of Mr Appleby,Man From South,Edward the Conqueror and many others.Unfortunately there are also episodes which look naive and boring.The actors are excellent:many famous British stars act in this TV series.I must mention the music which is very good.

Tales of the Unexpected took the short stories created by Roald Dahl from the book of the same name and others and put them on the small screen. Later on, other writers would be used and Dahl would provide an introduction to each story. This introduction was eventually dropped in favour of a voice over.

The key to each story was in the ending which originally was usually totally unexpected. The content and the background to each storyline often involved murder, often without holding back some visualisation and this lead to it being broadcast late on Sunday evenings.

The series suffered from poor production quality. It is likely that the series was shot on video tape which is evident nowadays. The appearance of studio sets is apparent as there is a definite transition between the quality of lighting indoors and for shooting on location. Some of the stories were quite laboured as the introduction of the characters and initial plot creation were quick. This left a large gap of time until the unexpected outcome. The acting was sometimes slow with long pauses in an attempt to spin out time.

Despite it's faults, Tales of the Unexpected managed to attract well known names in asting for episodes and sustained an audience following for 8 years. The stories were varied in their creation and the eventual outcome but eventually the ending could be predicted. In 1988 the series was quitely axed and reruns can now be seen on digital channels in the UK.

If you can ignore the poor production, it is well worth seeing, even after all these years.

Roald Dahl really gave the morbid feel to Tales of the Unexpected, a series that in some ways laid the foundation for Inside No. 9 and Black Mirror. Anyway, the earlier episodes were top drawer stuff but still the later episodes were respectable.

I'd love a reboot please. If so I nominate acclaimed British actor Danny Dyer to be the host.

My younger self recalled having watched these short stories back in the 70's (80's) when they first aired. The recent re-runs have been a real treat, although owing to time, I have only been able to capture a small sample.

Each episode is a short story in its own right and the storylines vary across the psychological thriller / horror genres. All intriguing and rarely disappointing. Recent series such as; 'Inside Number 9' are close relatives and indeed more modern takes on this genre (also worthy of a watch). I guess I should also own up to the 'nostalgia' value of such a series. All in all a great watch from a master storyteller!

TV Series 1979-1988 25m 112 Episodes

A lot of quick programs were conceived by Jeffrey Archer, W. Somerset Maugham, and Roald Dahl. The series starts with introductions by Roald Dahl; later they just jump in without introduction.

Each short episode contains many famous actors of the time including Joan Collins, Ian Holm, John Mills, Leslie Caron, Derek Jacobi, Christopher Lee, Joan Hackett, and more. The timing is just around twenty minutes each and has the feel of a play. Not a misplaced word or scene as there is no time to elaborate. Yes, you may have seen similar and yes you can second guess, however it is the execution that will intrigue and entertain you.

I was amazed by this tv show, which reminds me ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS series. Anthology kind of show. But there is a scheme which came up to my mind and that have been very good to see. The scheme of bank robbers who, after the heist, run away in the waste land, frozen wasteland in deep winter, who are then lost in the wilderness at night, freezing to death, have no other choice to burn the bank notes they stole, to get a little warm around a fire. Yes, that scheme would have had its place here. Anyway, this show is separated in two categories; episode that need to be watched very closely, if not you miss the twist ending; and those where the twist is ONLY at the end, no matter the previous story telling. I recommend it.

The series itself was okay, although I suspect it was more famous for its title sequence than its actual content. Basically, Tales of the Unexpected was Roald Dahl's attempt at the Twilight Zone/Outer Limits - a screen adaptation of the eponymous short story collection. Having not read this book, I couldn't tell you how well the stories were adapted, although like the aforementioned TV shows, they sometimes involved an element of the supernatural and one of the characters usually getting their just deserts by the end. I've seen them described as campy, although I think mediocre would have been a better word to use. Most episodes are watchable and are of acceptable entertainment value, although some having pacing issues and the production quality certainly isn't up to today's standards.

If you're a fan of the Twilight Zone, this might be worth a look.

As the two prolific reviewers of individual episodes have mentioned, these tales are hugely variable. Some are excellent, the majority so-so, a few quite abysmal. I also counted ten, mostly early ones, which are re-makes of stories that appeared a couple of decades earlier in Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

It's a minority view but I don't think the most highly rated episode The Flypaper is all that brilliant. It has a shocking twist, but a middle aged man, either sinister or merely foolish, trying to chat up a barely teenaged girl hardly makes for scintillating dialogue. For my money the best one is the currently rated number 2, A Harmless Vanity. It starts slowly but the tension builds steadily towards the shattering denouement. Another attraction is that, with all due respect to Joan Collins, I'd give an award for most glamorous turn to Sheila Gish as a wronged wife.

One other I'd rate a 10 is The Stinker, great performances from Denholm Elliott and Joss Ackland. Then, a good 9, Clerical Error, with two very unlikely looking criminals. Others which I'd rate 8: Neck, Fat Chance, Taste, Vengeance is Mine, I'll be Seeing You, The Eavesdropper, Death Can Add, and Accidental Death. Two episodes, Stranger in Town and The Facts of Life, I liked because they are set in my favourite, beautiful city of Norwich.

There is also keen competition for worst episode. Sometimes something appears to be poorly rated partly because the main character is obnoxious, outrageous or absurd, although well delineated and the dialogue has some merit. I feel Have a Nice Death, with Simon Cadell as an outspoken misogynist author, comes into this category. It's not great but doesn't deserve to be, at the time of writing, the second worst rated. Currently more highly rated but considerably worse are A Glowing Future, Run Rabbit Run, Sauce for the Goose, The Open Window, and Scrimshaw. In my view the pre-eminent abysmal episode is The Best Policy, about a put upon bank clerk, physically unappealing and with the most horrible high pitched whining voice. Half an hour of housework would be more rewarding.

Using both UK & US actors, Roald Dahl wets the appetite of British audiences who yearn to have a British version of the US tv series 'The Twilight Zone'. Tales Of The Unexpected presents us with episodes consisting of a short 'Tale' that has an 'Unexpected' ending.

My Feb 2022 view is that most of these Tales have become boring & dated. They all seem to follow the same betrayal, deception & fraudulent storylines, with very little in the way of adventure, comedy, fantasy, inspirational, scientific or supernatural Tales. For me, the entertainment value has shifted from the Tales themselves, to watching the earlier works of the actors who are now deemed as 'celebrities'.

In the early seasons, the 'Tales' were based on the novels of Roald Dahl. However, he took a back seat when most of the stories being put forward, were based on the work of other writers - I guess such as Alfred Hitchcock - a Brit with both UK & US status - as much of the 'Tales' are the same or similar to the ever popular 'Hitchcock Presents' Series.

With 'Tales' of their own to tell now, you may recognise some of the names & faces of actors who started out as young or younger fledglings.

Andrew Ray Anthony Valentine Bernard Kay Cherie Lunghi David Cassidy David Suchet Dorothy Tutin Elaine Page Elizabeth Spriggs Frank Finley Frank Wylie Fulton Mackay Harry H. Corbett Hayley Mills James Aubrey Janet Leigh Jennie Linden Joan Collins John Alderton John Mills Kenneth Tigar Patricia Routledge Pauline Collins Peter Cushing Richard Johnson Susan George Susan Penhaligan Telly Savalas Tim Woodward Tom Bosley Toyah Wilcox Zoe Wannamaker.

This is the kind of show where you bring a bunch of friends to party over at night, no phones, no fast-forward, nothing, and just speculate, speculate, speculate. The first episode, (while obviously having some dialogue that is a little neutral ngl) every scene is intentional and Roald Dahl seems to know what he's doing really well. And heck, representation here is pretty robust for a show in the 80's, lines included and everything. Admittedly I haven't seen the show enough to critique the entire thing but it even holds up now in its own weird way in terms of concept.

Props to Roald Dahl and the team behind the production!