Bizarre, bizarre

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!

one evening my dad made me sit down and watch this show with the family and i thought what rubbish it seemed! however once i watched one episode i was hooked! ok so the storylines are silly but they are surprsingly entertaining. unfortunately granarda plus have stopped showing them!

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.

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.

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.