Thriller S1 Comp

I have not seen this DVD set, but I thought I would inform everyone since the listing details are minimal, that this is the English television series Thriller that came out in the early 70's, and not the Karloff Thriller that came out in the early 60's.

Seeing so many 5-star ratings, this reviewer is reminded of the Los Angeles area movie critic some years back on TV who, with a 10-star-maximum rating system, rated so many average movies highly that he had no room left when something better came along, hence resorting to superlatives like "10-plus stars" or even "11 stars." In a 5-star-maximum rating context, 3.5 stars seem reasonable for this package: These episodes have mostly pretty good plots with excellent acting throughout, though in this much screen-time one must expect an occasional plot-hole.

These ten 61-to-67 minute episodes (totaling about 655 minutes, plus 2-3 minutes of Clemons' introduction for each episode) are each divided into three 20+ minute parts (DVD chapters) separated by breaks (e.g. "End of Part 1" ... "Part 2"...):

1. Lady Killer - 3 stars; A marriage set-up and murder-for-money scam, with a Hitchcock-ian twist.

2. Possession - 3 stars; Creepy old mansion; bodies in the basement; psychotic finger-snapping, whistling murderer; and a medium with supernatural powers.

3. Someone at the Top of the Stairs - 3 stars; An apartment "too good to be true;" two "marvelous" and "pretty, pretty girls"; steepled index fingers; and supernatural, satanic evil.

4. An Echo of Theresa - 2.5 stars; Mind-altering dual-personality deja-vu ghosts are triggered by the London Times and 20-year-old espionage activities. The ending is marred by Dinsdale Landen's (as Mathew "Earp") over-the-top melodramatics, ending an interesting episode with a farce. Re-edited into 1973 British TV movie "Anatomy of Terror." Minor sound glitches occur at 33 minutes.

5. The Colour of Blood - 3 stars; Convoluted plot with a red carnation killer on the loose, mistaken identities, trains, depots, befuddled police, missing 40,000 pounds, and two isolated mansions.

6. Murder in Mind - 3.5 stars - A murder already done, or still coming up? That the lady is a cowering, weeping wimp detracts!

7. A Place to Die - 3.5 stars - Dr. Nelson and wife Tessa (a very sweet Alexandra Hay) take over apparently idyllic country community medical practice. But all is not as seems with lots of limping about on bandaged feet and canes; the mysterious death of predecessor Dr. Sharp; mysterious disappearances of young blonde girls; strange gifts of fetishes, flower and herb bouquets; garlic cloves; crucifix; effigy doll; talk of a full moon coinciding with "Lady Day;" and "the expected one."

8. File It under Fear - 3.5 stars - Near classic murder mystery. Scene: the public library; there's Liz Morris, the 29-year-old prudish librarian who lives at home with her mother; George Bailey, the assistant librarian who feels denigrated and humiliated by women; Mr. Stubbs, the library's "lounge lizard;" Airman Sgt. Jerry Masters who checks-out murder mysteries and moves mysteriously about; and Steve, the lodger staying with Liz and her mother. Then there are the serial murders of fair young girls over the past 10 months "down by the canal" and starting shortly after Steve got estranged from his wife.

9. The Eyes Have It - 1.5 stars. Gunmen stage their assassination lookout at a home for blind students along the parade route. After living there who knows how long, the students only just discover the dumb waiter by an errant breeze? (Come on now!). Then there's the ditzy, naive girl sent out for rescue. It's rabbits-out-of the-hat time on this one. Guess every such series has to have one clunker.

10. Spell of Evil - 3.0 stars; Supernatural succubus witchcraft, with a few motive plot holes but a memorable performance from Diane Cilento.

BTW, this reviewer did not see "Bob Hoskins, Patrick Magee, Helen Mirren, Hayley Mills and Stephen Rea" in any of these episodes; maybe in Season 2? The DVDs are nicely packaged in four thin-style keep-cases, contained in one slip-case. TV picture is fine, sound occasionally muffled. Episode average: 2.95 stars. Add .55 stars for the (typically British) acting excellence and superior packaging.

Thriller is a unique and ultimate collection of heart stopping,

pulse-pounding,spine-chilling tv series and episodes ever made

for tv. Each episode of Thriller is razor-sharp stories full of

suspense,some are supernatural.In Thriller you will find the

macabre,the menacing and nail-biting tension and more.

Each episodes has top international stars and guest stars

making of Thriller one of the best tv series produced in the

U.K. The creator of the serie Brian Clemens has won the Edgar

Allan Poe Award for the best television thriller. Do not

miss the chance to have great viewing.Lovers of mystery,

suspense and horror will enjoy Thriller a quality anthology

series which will bring exciting hours of viewing.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 20 reviews  4.0 out of 5 stars