Tales of the Unexpected:Set 1

Here is a boxed set of four DVDs that is a real treat. Back in 1979 and 1980, British television watchers were treated to an anthology show called "Tales of the Unexpected." It was hosted by writer Roald Dahl and featured some of Britain's top stars in 25-minute tales with twist endings, very much in the tradition of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "The Twilight Zone." Indeed, one or two of these stories were also shown on the Hitchcock series.

Now Acorn Media has released "Tales of the Unexpected, Set 1" which includes the complete first two seasons. In all, we have 25 tales, 21 of which are by Dahl. (He might be more familiar as the author of "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory" that appeared with a similar title as a fantasy film.)

Along the way, you will enjoy sterling performances by such notables as John Mills, Derek Jacobi, Joan Collins (in a stunning double role), John Gielgud, Julie Harris, Joseph Cotten, and Elaine Stritch. Some of the tales are fantastic ("The Landlady," "Royal Jelly"), some grisly ("Back for Christmas"), some charming ("The Umbrella Man"), and some just a tad disappointing at the end ("The Man at the Top").

Still, I greatly enjoyed the 625 minutes of running time, and you will too. The special features are some production notes, cast filmographies of the stars, and a Roald Dahl biography.

I remember watching these, as a high school student, syndicated in North Carolina back in 1979 or the early 1980's and really enjoying them. I've always wanted to see more of these and re-watch the few I did catch way back then. The stories were quite worthy of the Alfred Hitchcock tradition and are better than the later "new" "Hitchcock" series that premiered in 1985. The "snake-in-the-bed" episode was the most suspenseful television show I've ever seen and even scarier than the classic black & white Hitchcock episode. Just when you thought it was safe to crawl under the covers...

These 25 tales are based on stories written by Roald Dahl, excepting four: Fat Chance (Robert Bloch), Back for Christmas (John Collier), The Orderly World of Mr. Appleby (Stanley Ellin), and The Man at the Top (Edward D. Hoch). Each tale requires one-plus minutes of introductory credits and 23 minutes of story, totaling 600 minutes. Favorably, there are no supernatural elements. Rather, the tales concern stupidity, hate, murder, adultery, larceny, infidelity, greed, deception, revenge, cunning, cheating, delusions, narcissism, and misunderstandings (is there anything else?) in which Dahl sometimes exhibits flashes of brilliance.

This reviewer assigned each tale a rating, ranging from zero (one such) to five stars. The resulting average rating was 2.68 stars. The six tales comprising the four 5-star entries: (Man From the South, Neck, Hitch Hiker, and Umbrella Man); and the two 4-star entries: (Taste and Back for Christmas); would nicely fill one DVD, well worth a quarter of the total price of this collection. The seven 3-star tales: (Lamb to the Slaughter, Edward the Conqueror, Skin, Galloping Foxley, Poison, Depart in Peace, and Genesis & Catastrophe) would fill another DVD; again, at a quarter of the total price, this would be a reasonable buy. The remaining twelve tales are a waste of time and money, lacking any merit whatever.

Principal actors with very good performances (some appearing more than once) include Michael Aldridge, Peter Bowles, Joan Collins, Joseph Cotton, Cyril Cusack, Jose Ferrer, John Gielgud, Julie Harris, Wendy Hiller, Derek Jacobi, John Mills, Ron Moody, Sian Phillips, Anthony Steel, Elaine Stritch, Rod Taylor, and Jack Weston.

Acorn Media packages this set nicely, with each of the four DVDs being contained in its own (thick style) keep-case. (Why doesn't everyone adopt those sleek, thin-style keep-cases? Think of the shelf space saved!) Each DVD has a nicely executed picture and filmography of its major cast members (worth exactly .32 stars). Color picture quality is very satisfying. The mono sound is adequate. This "Set 1" of DVDs comprises the 25 episodes of Seasons 1 and 2, implying that Seasons 3 and 4 will be forthcoming. Prospective buyers, be advised: You WILL find half of these disappointing.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 14 reviews  3.7 out of 5 stars