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
