Tales of the Unexpected is a British anthology series which aired between 1979 and 1988. Introduced by author Roald Dahl many of the episodes were based on his own stories. Most of the episodes are very macabre and have a twist ending.The earlier seasons are the best but there are excellent episodes to be found across all nine years. The Landlady (season 1)would have made a terrific Twilight Zone episode. The Flypaper (season 3)is one of the best episodes and I'd say it may well be the darkest. I'd say this episode has even more relevance today and should be shown to children to warn them not to trust strangers, no matter how harmless the person seems.

I'd never heard of this series then one day a couple years back I noticed an episode on youtube and watched it. I enjoyed it and watched another. And another. And another. And another. And another. And.. well, you get my drift. It became like a bag of chips, you can't eat just one, your hand just keeps drifting into the bag almost without thinking when you finish one then pull out another and start on it. Eventually over about a week I'd watched all 112 (I think it was 112 total) episodes. I liked it enough to compile my own list of what I think the top 12 Tales of the Unexpected (TOTU) episodes are. They are:The very best episode of this series is called:"The Flypaper"The remaining top 12 TOTU episodes are (in order):(2) "Number Eight"(3) "Wink Three Times"(4) "The Open Window"(5) "The Way Up To Heaven"(6) "The Luncheon"(7) "Bosom Friends"(8) "Scrimshaw"(9) "Nothing' Short of Highway Robbery"(10) "Who's Got The Lady"(11) "Back For Christmas"(12) "The Landlady"I have to give a shout-out to the episode titled "The Luncheon" (which I've ranked the 6th best episode of the series). When I first watched it I didn't catch all of it. I had to re watch it a couple times to realize how clever this particular episode really is. And, really I should give a shout-out to all these great top 12 episodes. "Scrimshaw" is so so well done. "Bosom Friends" still makes me shudder with a different kind of squirmy horror, you'll see what I mean, "Nothing' Short of Highway Robbery" with its delightfully surprising ending, the fun of seeing it coming in "Back for Christmas", the creepyiness of "The Landlady", the smoothness and coolness of "Who's Got The Lady", the delightfully confusingness till the end of "The Open Window", how crazy the man is in "Number Eight", the psychological twistedness of "The Way Up To Heaven", and finally the delighfully something completely different in "Wink Three Times" that gives this episode cake its icing.And now here is something regarding the remaining 100 episodes in the series, there was one thing I noticed about this series, and that is that clearly a full one half of the episodes, 50 percent or better of the episodes have one common theme unifying them, and that is that half of the episodes of this series feature marital strife in one form or another. This series seems to have mined that particular mine field repeatedly as it's go-to plot structure when choosing which stories to script and film for the series. Thats not a bad thing, but one does eventually get tired of watching Ma vs. Pa and Daddy fussing with Mommy and Honey Bunch rubbing Honey Do the wrong way over and over and over. In these days of marriage equality, if one had this series to study and nothing else to study in order to learn about human marriage, one might not think marriage was all that great. Watch my top 12 TOTU episodes. I suggest you watch these top 12 episodes NOT in ranked order from the top of the list down to the bottom of the list or vice versa, instead watch them in the order they were originally broadcast and you will find its more enjoyable to watch the series mature and unfold in that much better way. So, watch them in this order:The Landlady (1979) s1e5 - **The Landlady** Ranked #12 in the Top Twelve TOTU EpisodesThe Way Up to Heaven (1979) s1e9 - **The Way Up To Heaven** Ranked #5 in the Top Twelve TOTU EpisodesBack for Christmas (1980) s2e14 - **Back For Christmas** Ranked #11 in the Top Twelve TOTU EpisodesThe Flypaper (1980) s3e1 - **The Flypaper ** Ranked #1, Best Episode of the TOTU SeriesBosom Friends (1981) s4e14 - ** Bosom Friends** Ranked #7 in the Top Twelve TOTU EpisodesWho's Got the Lady? (1982) s5e17 - **Who's Got The Lady** Ranked #10 in the Top Twelve TOTU EpisodesThe Luncheon (1983) s6e10 - ** The Luncheon** Ranked #6 in the Top Twelve TOTU EpisodesNumber Eight (1984) s7e5 - **Number Eight** Ranked #2 in the Top Twelve TOTU EpisodesThe Open Window (1984) s7e15 - **The Open Window** Ranked #4 in the Top Twelve TOTU EpisodesNothing' Short of Highway Robbery (1985) s8e3 - Ranked #9 in the Top Twelve TOTU EpisodesScrimshaw (1985) s8e4 - **Scrimshaw** Ranked #8 in the Top Twelve TOTU EpisodesWink Three Times (1988) s9e6 - **Wink Three Times** Ranked #3 in the Top Twelve TOTU EpisodesYou can find that list of mine here:Tales of the Unexpected - The Top Twelve Episodes.http://www.imdb.com/list/ls070141474/Enjoy!

Having only discovered this series exists after finding the first two seasons on DVD at a local used bookstore, I took a chance and bought the first disc. The next day I returned to buy the rest, congratulating myself on stumbling across such a trove.Like the short stories upon which they are based, the 'Tales of the Unexpected' focus on the consequences of duplicity, greed and other less-favourable traits so common throughout human kind. Little, if any, of the appeal is lost in translating these twisting tales from page to screen. The quality of the original material can be thanked for this but the talents of its legendary cast (Jose Ferrare, Joan Collins, Derek Jacobi, Brian Blessed, Cyril Cusack, etc, etc, etc) must also be acknowledged. The creative cinematography, evocative settings and careful casting also contributes to the series' eerie, expectant feel. The result of all this is a must-see for aficionados of speculative fiction as well as devotees of the author, who won't have to worry about his work being desecrated. He introduces each story himself, offering an evocative glimpse of the mind that Dahl knew that for a short story to be effective, the reader must be made emotionally dependant on its outcome within the brief space allotted. Subsequently, his characters force a reaction from the reader; whether sympathy, affinity or disgust. Similarly, his plots generate a sense of unease in that you can sometimes guess a few different ways they might end but you're never sure until its done. Even then things often turn out to be worse than imagined. The episodes in 'Tales...' follow this rule religiously; superfluous dialogue is non-existent; a twitch of an eye carries the gravity of a soliloquy. The end result is that viewers find themselves inexorably drawn into the action and, at its conclusion, wonder how a half-an hour long program can resonate in the mind for long afterwards.Some suggest that 'Tales...' is campy. I can't agree and am perplexed at the opinion. Camp to me triggers thoughts of 'The Benny Hill Show,' the Adam West-era 'Batman' or any other program that takes itself less than seriously. This series couldn't be farther from that genre. Admittedly, the opening credits are dated and were probably unimpressive even at the time, but the show itself is executed in the time-tested traditions that give British drama its fine reputation; its use of humour is sparing, satirical, focused and ghoulishly black. The tone, whether deadly serious or incongruously whimsical all serve to throw the ultimate conclusion into skin-raising contrast.I think the 'Tales...' are consistently excellent but if I had to name my favourites... The Man From the South - ironically, Rod Serling's 'Twilight Zone'adapted this tale for TV long before the author himself, Royal Jelly - a beekeeper's obsession becomes his legacy, Skin - the tattoo on his back offers a down & out man the chance of a new life Galloping Foxley - drawn from Dahl's own school days, this story showcases a different type of terror(s) The Hitchhiker - Cyril Cusack. Say no more.

This old-fashioned British TV serial has a terrific atmosphere . The opening scene with the mysterious dancing woman,the skulls,gun and cards is quite impressive.The plot is strange:different actors play in every single episode which is based on a short story.Many of them are written by the well-known Roahld Dall.The episodes are called horror and triller but in fact there is nothing which can scare you.Yes , there are murders , secrets and twists in the tale,and sometimes a dreadful atmosphere but the violence and assassination are shown very stylish.There are episodes that are really interesting and the end is surprising : The Olderely World of Mr Appleby,Man From South,Edward the Conqueror and many others.Unfortunately there are also episodes which look naive and boring.The actors are excellent:many famous British stars act in this TV series.I must mention the music which is very good.