Tales Of The Unexpected: Trailer, certificate and where to watch
Roald Dahl introduces these adaptations of his twisted tales
Year: 1979-1988
Certificate: 15
Between 1979 and 1988, 112 of these twisted tales were produced for ITV. Sinister and often darkly comic, these morality plays were nearly always purely about people, rather than using science or magic - despite the supernatural suggestion that sat in those memorable opening credits with the dancing and the flames. And that somehow made them all the scarier.
Many were based on stories by Roald Dahl and he would introduce them, like Rod Serling in The Twilight Zone, and a parade of familiar - often, very familiar - actors starred in the stories themselves. We'll pick two highlights for you to sample as examples. Neck (series one, episode six) features Joan Collins as a wandering wife and John Gielgud as a watchful butler, while the brilliantly unsettling Skin (series two, episode two) stars Derek Jacobi as a tattooist who makes a fateful decision. That one feels daring even today, so imagine how it felt in 1980. (Nine series)
