Tales of the Unexpected

Information

British Television Program produced from 1979-84
What Dahl Did: hosted program during first two seasons and provided his short stories for adaptation
Please note: While there are 112 episodes of this program, Dahl was only involved with 33 of them as a writer or host. Only those episodes are detailed on this site.
All Program Information
- General Details
- Crew
- Episode 1.1: “Man From the South”
  - Originally aired on March 24, 1979
  - Episode Information
- Episode 1.2: “Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel’s Coat”
  - Originally aired on March 31, 1979
  - Episode Information
- Episode 1.3: “William and Mary”
  - Originally aired on April 7, 1979
  - Episode Information
- Episode 1.4: “Lamb to the Slaughter”
  - Originally aired on April 14, 1979
  - Episode Information
- Episode 1.5: “The Landlady”
  - Originally aired on April 21, 1979
  - Episode information
- Episode 1.6: “Neck”
  - Originally aired on April 28, 1979
  - Episode Information
- Episode 1.7: “Edward the Conquerer”
  - Originally aired on May 5, 1979
  - Episode Information
- Episode 1.8: “A Dip in the Pool”
  - Originally aired on May 12, 1979
  - Episode Information
- Episode 1.9: “The Way Up to Heaven”
  - Originally aired on May 19, 1979
  - Episode Information
- Episode 2.1: “Royal Jelly”
  - Originally aired on March 1, 1980
  - Episode Information
- Episode 2.2: “Skin”
  - Originally aired on March 8, 1980
  - Episode Information
- Episode 2.3: “Galloping Foxley”
  - Originally aired on March 15, 1980
  - Episode Information
- Episode 2.4: “The Hitch-Hiker”
  - Originally aired on March 22, 1980
  - Episode Information
- Episode 2.5: “Poison”
  - Originally aired on March 29, 1980
  - Episode Information
- Episode 2.6: “Fat Chance”
  - Originally aired on April 5, 1980
  - Episode Information
- Episode 2.7: “Taste”
  - Originally aired on April 12, 1980
  - Episode Information
- Episode 2.8: “My Lady Love, My Dove”
  - Originally aird on April 19, 1980
  - Episode Information
- Episode 2.9: “Georgy Porgy”
  - Originally aired on April 26, 1980
  - Episode Information
- Episode 2.10: “Depart in Peace”
  - Originally aired on May 3, 1980
  - Episode Information
- Episode 2.11: “The Umbrella Man”
  - Originally aired on May 10, 1980
  - Episode Information
- Episode 2.12: “Genesis and Catastrophe”
  - Originally aired on May 17, 1980
  - Episode Information
- Episode 2.13: “Mr. Botibol’s First Love”
  - Originally aired on May 24, 1980
  - Episode Information
- Episode 2.14: “Back for Christmas”
  - Originally aired on May 31, 1980
  - Episode Information
- Episode 2.15: “The Orderly World of Mr. Appleby”
  - Originally aired on June 7, 1980
  - Episode Information
- Episode 2.16: “The Man at the Top”
  - Originally aired on June 14, 1980
  - Episode Information
- Episode 3.1: “The Flypaper”
  - Originally aired on August 9, 1980
  - Episode Information
- Episode 3.2: “A Picture of a Place”
  - Originally aired on August 16, 1980
  - Episode Information
- Episode 3.4: “Vengeance Is Mine Inc.”
  - Originally aired on August 30, 1980
  - Episode Information
- Episode 3.6: “Parson’s Pleasure”
  - Originally aired in 1980
  - Episode Information
- Episode 4.3: “The Boy Who Talked With Animals”
  - Original aired on April 19, 1981
  - Episode Information
- Episode 4.7: “The Sound Machine”
  - Original aired on May 17, 1981
  - Episode Information
- Episode 9.3: “The Surgeon”
  - Original aired on January 15, 1988
  - Episode Information

Buy this program:

Description

A British anthology series featuring tales of horror, mystery and suspense. Most episodes featured a twist ending, and many of them were based on short stories by well-known writer Roald Dahl, who also served as the show’s host during its first two seasons.

Dahl’s First Introduction:

Dahl’s introductory words to “Man From the South”, which was the first episode:

“I ought to warn you, if you haven’t read any of my stories, that you may be a little disturbed by some of the things that happen in them. When I’m writing a short story, I’m haunted by the thought that I’ve got to hold the reader’s attention for literally every second, otherwise I’m dead. The one you’re going to see now is the first of a series based on stories that have taken me thirty-five years to write. I find them difficult to do well, so I work slowly. About two a year. This one was filmed in its real setting: Jamaica. I hope you like it.”

Reviews

“Fingering” by Richard Ingrams from the April 7, 1979 issue of The Spectator (UK) (read online)
- Note: this review accuses BBC presenter Ronald Harwood of providing favourable reviews and promotion for the program, which he was involved in adapting. This resulted in letters to the editor, a retraction (of sorts) by Ingrams, and a subsequent rebuttal by a BBC producer.

Opening Titles and Closing Credits

Fun Stuff

Press Release from Anglia Television
“I Love 1980” television program (aired on January 13, 2001 on BBC2)
Elsewhere on the web:
- Tales of the Unexpected TV Series Episode Guide
- Roald Dahl: Tales of the Unexpected

Articles

“A Cat and Mouse Interview with Roald Dahl” – interview by Nicholas Leahy from October 1980 issue of Starburst Magazine
“Tales of the Unexpected!” – article by Tony Crawley from May 1979 issue of Starburst Magazine
Fangoria Magazine #3 – “Roald Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected” by Bob Martin
- Scan courtesy of Geoff Kessell. Thanks Geoff!
- Text

: Page 1

: Page 2

: Page 3

: Roald Dahl

: “The Landlady”

: “Neck”

: “Royal Jelly”

: “Man From the South”

: “William and Mary”

: “Skin”

DVD Covers

: Set 1

: Set 2

: Set 3

: Set 4

: Set 1

: Set 2

: Complete Series

: 10 Disc Set

Soundtrack Album Covers

Note: This album consists of many selections from composter Ron Grainer’s work, but the only track from Tales of the Unexpected is the theme!

Grainer notes: “The theme for the series is a cheekily innocent counterpoint to Roald’s wicked sense of humour.”

: Front

: Back

Terry Fisk, a blogger and Grainer aficionado, emailed me and mentioned that other Grainer fans have been trying for years to get a full Tales soundtrack released. He also mentioned an intriguing bit of trivia:

Earlier this year an unconfirmed research tipoff said that Ron Grainer wrote a musical with Ned Sherrin and Caryl Brahms based on the “Kiss Kiss” book around 1965 but eventually abandoned it and recycled the melodies for other projects like “Comes The Time” their 1966 Eurovision song entry sung by Kenneth McKeller.