Thriller: The Complete ITV Television Series [DVD]
Category: DVD, TV series
Product description
![Thriller: The Complete ITV Television Series [DVD]](/img/thriller-series-1970s.jpg)
Created by Brian Clemens (the man who for many years helmed The Avengers, another enduring cult classic), this series was both hugely popular and critically acclaimed, not least because of its distinguished roll call of actors.
Robert Powell, Richard Todd, Nyree Dawn Porter, John Le Mesurier, Helen Mirren, Anton Diffring, Diane Cilento, Nigel Havers, Patrick Troughton, Jeremy Brett, Brian Blessed, Susan Hampshire, Diana Dors, Maureen Lipman and Dennis Waterman are just a few of the talented performers to have appeared in the series, and there are many other actors who went on to greater fame afterwards.
Product review
Thriller was one of the great must-see British television series of
the 1970s, originally broadcast on Saturday nights after the late evening
news. Compelling performances from some of Britain's finest screen actors made
this a sure-fire hit with the public, and the anthology concept ensured the
series never went stale.
The unrelated stories vary from fairly mundane murder mysteries to ingeniously constructed psycho-thrillers (mostly re-workings of Psycho and Les Diaboliques) and creepy satanic shockers of the Dennis Wheatley variety.
Although pretty tame by today's standards of horror, several episodes still manage to send a chill down the spine, and anyone who saw the series when it was first shown in the mid-1970s will get a frisson on hearing Laurie Johnson's deliciously sinister theme tune.
Impressive production standards were achieved across all six seasons of the series, the multi-camera approach to studio recording being used to achieve a high level of suspense and drama in many episodes (in particular the psycho-thriller par excellence File It Under Fear). The standard of writing varies greatly across the series, and whilst most episodes hold up remarkably well there are a few obvious duds. Few British television series of the 1970s managed to sustain this level of excellence over such a long run.
Episodes not to miss include: Someone at the Top of the Stairs, Nurse Will Make It Better, Death to Sister Mary, I'm the Girl He Wants to Kill, Sign It Death, The Crazy Kill and If it's a Man - Hang Up (which is also included in an extended version). This handsome package also comprises an interview with Brian Clemens and the alternative title sequences created for the American releases (most of which are unbelievably dreadful, more likely to provoke hysterical laughter than fear).
The packaging is acceptable but not brilliant, with eight disks each crammed into a pack which is about the size of a standard DVD case. Fortunately, the sound and picture quality is hard to fault, better than you would expect from a British television series of this era. If you're a fan of Les Diaboliques, you will love this series, a blood-stained jewel from the golden age of British television.
The unrelated stories vary from fairly mundane murder mysteries to ingeniously constructed psycho-thrillers (mostly re-workings of Psycho and Les Diaboliques) and creepy satanic shockers of the Dennis Wheatley variety.
Although pretty tame by today's standards of horror, several episodes still manage to send a chill down the spine, and anyone who saw the series when it was first shown in the mid-1970s will get a frisson on hearing Laurie Johnson's deliciously sinister theme tune.
Impressive production standards were achieved across all six seasons of the series, the multi-camera approach to studio recording being used to achieve a high level of suspense and drama in many episodes (in particular the psycho-thriller par excellence File It Under Fear). The standard of writing varies greatly across the series, and whilst most episodes hold up remarkably well there are a few obvious duds. Few British television series of the 1970s managed to sustain this level of excellence over such a long run.
Episodes not to miss include: Someone at the Top of the Stairs, Nurse Will Make It Better, Death to Sister Mary, I'm the Girl He Wants to Kill, Sign It Death, The Crazy Kill and If it's a Man - Hang Up (which is also included in an extended version). This handsome package also comprises an interview with Brian Clemens and the alternative title sequences created for the American releases (most of which are unbelievably dreadful, more likely to provoke hysterical laughter than fear).
The packaging is acceptable but not brilliant, with eight disks each crammed into a pack which is about the size of a standard DVD case. Fortunately, the sound and picture quality is hard to fault, better than you would expect from a British television series of this era. If you're a fan of Les Diaboliques, you will love this series, a blood-stained jewel from the golden age of British television.
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