[boogie woogie]

I love this anthology series from the Eighties. While the production values and scripts left a lot to be desired on sum of the episodes, there are a few gems in there.
The one that has always remained with me has to be 'The Flypaper.' It is a genuinely chilling story and was quite avant garde in it's daring and horrifying twist at the end. The look of hopelessness on young Sylvia's face tells it all as she realises that she is ensnared in the flypaper of a twisted couple. The production values on this episode are remarkably good in comparison to some of the others, as it has a cinematic feel to it. The script is very tight and well constructed.

I've often thought that a modern day revival would be fantastic. However, given the viewing tastes of today's audience I'm not sure if there'd be a place for such a show.

What TOTU episodes stand out for you?

[Glenn A]

I liked the one about the man who fed royal jelly to his family and turned into a bee. I didn't see that many TBH, but the few I saw I really enjoyed.

[Kapellmeister]

Royal Jelly, when the baby is a giant wasp larva
The Verger, an unassuming man makes millions!

The Road Dahl original stories are often brilliant!

[CABLEDUDE]

The Landlady is a piece of brilliance, but my favourite is Lamb to the Slaughter, closely followed by the one with the fur coat.

[Almira G]

Lamb to the Slaughter

The Flypaper

[Phoenix Lazarus]

Originally Posted by CABLEDUDE

The Landlady is a piece of brilliance.

Was that the one that was the adaption of the Roald Dahl story, with a young man stopping at a guesthouse, and reading the names of two other men in the guestbook-names which he seems to recognise? If so, yes I like that-although I preferred the written story, which I find more subtly chilling because its hints just let you deduce what is coming, whereas the TV episode actually spells it out.

Apart from that one, I also liked the one with Derek Jacobi who turns up in a town portraying himself as a friendly, child-like eccentric and amateur magician. He calls himself Columbus, but really is somebody else, and is secretly on a mission of revenge....

[grumpyscot]

One where a murder was committed by a woman hitting her husband with a leg of frozen lamb. She then cooked it, and offered lamb sandwiches to all the police staff at her home.

[ardmajell55]

Originally Posted by boogie woogie

I love this anthology series from the Eighties. While the production values and scripts left a lot to be desired on sum of the episodes, there are a few gems in there.

Originally Posted by boogie woogie

The one that has always remained with me has to be 'The Flypaper.' It is a genuinely chilling story and was quite avant garde in it's daring and horrifying twist at the end. The look of hopelessness on young Sylvia's face tells it all as she realises that she is ensnared in the flypaper of a twisted couple. The production values on this episode are remarkably good in comparison to some of the others, as it has a cinematic feel to it. The script is very tight and well constructed.

I've often thought that a modern day revival would be fantastic. However, given the viewing tastes of today's audience I'm not sure if there'd be a place for such a show.

What TOTU episodes stand out for you?

I thought TOTU was on in the late 70s, anyway, I didn't see that many of them but I do recall watching the episode called 'The Verger' which wasn't by Roald Dahl, but W Somerset maughan, if I'm not mistaken. He became a successful owner of a chain of cafes after having been sacked from his job as the church verger..

[Almira G]

Originally Posted by grumpyscot

One where a murder was committed by a woman hitting her husband with a leg of frozen lamb. She then cooked it, and offered lamb sandwiches to all the police staff at her home.

Lamb to the Slaughter

[Lillith]

I re-watched The Flypaper on Youtube recently as I have never forgotten how much the original frightened me. I was horrified to find that I actually fancied the villain. Must seek professional help.

[tomfoolery1]

Originally Posted by ardmajell55

[b]

I thought TOTU was on in the late 70s, anyway, I didn't see that many of them but I do recall watching the episode called 'The Verger' which wasn't by Roald Dahl, but W Somerset maughan, if I'm not mistaken. He became a successful owner of a chain of cafes after having been sacked from his job as the church verger..

It started in 1979 and ran until 1988.

It was unusual for Anglia to provide drama to the network and I think they must have had some dosh from the US as there were quite a few stories obviously filmed by US crews with US actors in the US and the very first episode was filmed entirely on location in Jamaica - not something a piddly little company like Anglia could usually afford on its own.

I think I only ever watched the first couple of series when they were on and lost interest when they were no longer Dahl stories.

However , I just picked up the Complete boxset with 112 episodes on 19 discs for about £40.

I always remember Lamb to the Slaughter which is the next one I'm due to view.

Thought the Elaine Stritch episode with the brain in a bowl was absolute cack.
When it ended I just felt I'd wasted 25 minutes .

As is common when Network release a show on dvd thats had plenty of airplay they've got modern tv masters so the original Anglia jingle at the start is missing and the end cap has been replaced by the "triangle" logo instead of the one that should be there.

[Kapellmeister]

Originally Posted by tomfoolery1

Thought the Elaine Stritch episode with the brain in a bowl was absolute cack.

The short story is very good though!

I remember The Landlady one too. And wasn't there one with someone betting their finger on whether they could make a lighter ignite three times?

[sculptor]

Quite a few of the episodes were remakes of stories done on 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents'.

It's interesting to compare them.

[Crystalline22]

Georgy Porgy

the one with Joan Collins and John Alderton, plus a rabbit

There was one about a man with an umbrella as well

[Radiomaniac]

Originally Posted by Glenn A

I liked the one about the man who fed royal jelly to his family and turned into a bee. I didn't see that many TBH, but the few I saw I really enjoyed.

Bzzzzzzzzz.......that was brilliant - starred Timothy West, if I remember correctly.

[Drew_M]

The episodes I liked and remember most were all from the first two series when nearly all of the stories were co-written by RD. He only co-wrote four stories in the remaining seven series.

My favourite ones were Lamb to the Slaughter (with Susan George - who didn't like her back then!(?)), The Landlady (both Series 1) and Royal Jelly (series 2).

I remember buying two paperback TV tie-in volumes of the early stories, nicely presented in respective red & mauve covers with the silhouetted dancer from the titles.

[diary_room]

Does anyone know of a website that tells you the full stories from all the shows?

Wikipedia has the basic plot summaries but I would love to read all the twists and endings!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...ected_episodes

[tomfoolery1]

Originally Posted by Kapellmeister

The short story is very good though!

I remember The Landlady one too. And wasn't there one with someone betting their finger on whether they could make a lighter ignite three times?

Lighting the lighter 10 times in a row was the very first episode - Man From the South

[tomfoolery1]

Originally Posted by diary_room

Does anyone know of a website that tells you the full stories from all the shows?

Wikipedia has the basic plot summaries but I would love to read all the twists and endings!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...ected_episodes

I doubt any website will review the show by telling you the whole stories from start to finish.
Clearly if you want to know all that then buy the dvd's or read the books of the Dahl stories.

[up to the vocal]

Without a doubt an episose where Sian Phililips played a part where her body was in the bath. Brilliant.

[Phoenix Lazarus]

I liked the one where a man meets his former school bully, now a successful businessman, and agrees to work for him.

Also, the one about the husband of the authoress, who becomes obsessed with rumours that a love affair she narrates in her new book is a disguised description of real affair she has had. It had a very subtle, poignant ending, rather than the shock ending that characterised some of the others.

[rfonzo]

'Hijack' from series five starring Dennis Quilley. The acting is excellent and the twist in the plot is exemptional. As previously mentioned 'The Flypaper' is very 'chilling.' The whole series was brilliant in all fairness. A unique piece of British television of its time. It is a shame TV is not like that anymore.

[Aneechik]

I'd say the Flypaper too. When I saw it as a child, I used to imagine ways she could have escaped, I doubt she did though. They probably wouldn't put something like that on TV now (with the exception of late night repeats), which I think is a shame.

I also remember a hilariously gruesome episode where a man murdered his wife and cut her body up in the bath, one where an old woman fell off a ladder or something, the one where Joan Collins gets her head cut off, one with a woman killing her lodgers and then stuffing them, and a later episode in which a man finds he can record the voices of trees.

The Flypaper was the best of he bunch though, most of them had terrible production values and were often funny rather than shocking or scary.

[Jequila]

I loved Tales of the Unexpected.

Someone in the 80s told me I reminded them of that dancey woman at the start wafting her arms about; the same shape and hairdo an' all. Oh how I wish I looked like that now. Oh age, how thou hast been cruel to mineself.

[Styker]

It was a brilliant series in general and they should bring it back. I enjoyed most of them a lot, think the ones I didn't enjoy is about 3.