Details

Stories from writers such as Roald Dahl and Somerset Maughan are brought to life in the spine-chilling Tales Of The Unexpected: The Complete Series, a 19-disc DVD release by Network out on 6th October 2008.

Sinister and with a touch of the macabre Tales of the Unexpected holds, at its heart, a core of black humour that makes each story both compelling and surprising, with a twist in each tale that delighted audiences throughout the country. Although Roald Dahl is best known for his children's books, his most famous and sinister adult creation was Tales of the Unexpected. Adapting works from Dahl himself, Patricia Highsmith, Ruth Rendell and a host of other celebrated writers, this highly acclaimed series ran for an impressive nine years from its first transmission on ITV in 1979.

Its iconic title sequence and haunting theme tune (from prolific TV composer Ron Grainer) ensured that Tales of the Unexpected was memorable viewing. The series attracted an astonishing array of guest stars: Oscar winners Sir John Gielgud and José Ferrer, Ian Holm, Joan Collins, Sir John Mills, Peter Bowles, Derek Jacobi, Sian Phillips, Denholm Elliott, Zoe Wanamaker, Joss Ackland and Brian Blessed are just a few of the names to feature in its illustrious cast. Sometimes gory, but always surprising, the stories all have a twist to entertain and, more often than not, shock the viewer.

This set contains every episode of Tales of the Unexpected, originally transmitted between 1979 and 1988.

Tales of the Unexpected - Series 1

  • Man from the South
  • Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat
  • William and Mary
  • Lamb to the Slaughter
  • The Landlady
  • Neck
  • Edward the Conqueror
  • A Dip in the Pool
  • The Way Up To Heaven

Tales of the Unexpected - Series 2

  • Royal Jelly
  • Skin
  • Galloping
  • The Hitch-Hiker
  • Poison
  • Fat Chance
  • Taste
  • My Ladylove - My Dove
  • Georgy Porgy
  • Depart in Peace
  • The Umbrella Man
  • Genesis and Catastrophe
  • Mr. Botibol's First Love
  • Back for Christmas
  • The Orderly World of Mr. Appleby
  • Man at the Top

Tales of the Unexpected - Series 3

  • The Flypaper
  • A Picture of a Place
  • Proof of Guilt
  • Vengeance is Mine Inc.
  • A Girl Who Can't Always Have Everything
  • Parson's Pleasure
  • The Stinker
  • I'll Be Seeing You
  • The Party

Tales of the Unexpected - Series 4

  • Would You Believe It?
  • Vicious Circle
  • The Boy Who Talked With Animals
  • The Best of Everything
  • A Woman's Help
  • Shatterproof
  • The Sound Machine
  • Never Speak Ill of the Dead
  • The Best Policy
  • The Last Bottle in the World
  • Kindly Dig Your Grave
  • Completely Foolproof
  • There's One Born Every Minute
  • Bosom Friends
  • A Glowing Future
  • The Way to Do It
  • Hijack

Tales of the Unexpected - Series 5

  • Blue Marigold
  • The Eavesdropper
  • Operation Safecrack
  • Run, Rabbit, Run
  • Stranger in Town
  • The Moles
  • Decoy
  • Pattern of Guilt
  • A Harmless Vanity
  • Death Can Add
  • Light Fingers
  • Death in the Morning
  • What Have You Been Up To Lately?
  • The Absence of Emily
  • In the
  • A Man With a Fortune
  • Who's Got the Lady?
  • The Skeleton Key

Tales of the Unexpected - Series 6

  • A Passing Opportunity
  • The Memory Man
  • A Sad Loss
  • Clerical Error
  • Heir Presumptuous
  • Where's Your Sense of Humour?
  • Down Among the Sheltering Palms
  • The Vorpal Blade
  • The Wrong 'Un
  • The Luncheon
  • The Tribute
  • Youth from Vienna
  • Hit and Run
  • Turn of the Tide

Tales of the Unexpected - Series 7

  • The Dirty Detail
  • The Best Chess Player in the World
  • Proxy
  • Have a Nice Death
  • Number Eight
  • The Last of the Midnight Gardeners
  • The Gift of Beauty
  • Wet Saturday
  • Sauce for the Goose
  • Bird of Prey
  • I Like it here in Wilmington
  • Accidental Death
  • The Reconciliation
  • The Open Window
  • People Don't Do Such Things
  • The Mugger
  • In the Cards
  • Nothin'
  • Short of Highway
  • Scrimshaw
  • Skeleton in the Cupboard

Tales of the Unexpected - Series 8

  • The Colonel's Lady
  • The Surgeon
  • The Verger
  • The Facts of Life
  • Wink Three Times
  • The Dead Don't Steal
  • The Finger of Suspicion
  • Time to Die
  • Mr Know-All