In my opinion, the two most memorable TOTU episodes were: 1) The Landlady and 2) The Flypaper. The reason was its twisted and unusual horror element.
Out of curiosity, I would like to know what your most memorable episode(s)were and the reasons why???
I agree with you. I also like DEATH IN THE MORNING because of its eerie atmosphere! Don't miss it!
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She was a nut.
She killed people who stayed with her (the names that Billy remembers as being famous for the same thing were more than likely that they disappeared.) She killed them with cyanide in the tea (the almond flavor/smell.) And then she stuffed Billy like one would stuff a deer head...
And she waiting for anyone else she deems a worthy trophy...
...I can't forget the last scene when she enters the guests' bedroom and her two stuffed guests are "resting" in their beds like wax statues.. brrrr....the actress playing the Landlady was really great.. Siobhan McKenna, if I'm not wrong.
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If I may say so myself, "The Memory Man" was quite amusing. I saw it for the first time on DVD recently and must admit that it has held up quite well considering it was from 1983. The lead character actor just did a superb job!
share'neck' for me as well is an amazingly memorable episode, as well as "the flypaper" the whole entire story was amazing. it was such a brilliant twist.
shareI was fairly young when I watched but I always remember these:
- A woman who killed her husband with a frozen chop then fed it to the cops.
- A man who had to convince his family that plants were talking to him.
- A baby nearly dying at birth then being christened Adolf Hitler.
- A man who made bets versus cutting off his opponents fingers.
Lovely vague memories!
K.
- I've seen things you people wouldn't believe -
Haven't got around to seeing the DVD yet, but the episodes that really stick in my mind from watching them as a schoolboy are the one where the guy jumps off a cruise ship, the royal jelly one and one where a guy can hear garden roses screaming when his neighbours are trimming them with clippers. Terrified me that did!
sharei have just bought the second series and didnt remember any of the episodes, my childhood memories are of just two scenes, one is of a man who kills people with a bayonet type thing attached to an umbrella , and the other is of a girl who gets picked up in a car or chased by some scary chap, manages to escape only to find herself seeking refuge in a home which turns out to be the family home of the baddie...........anyone else remember this or did i drop a little too much acid ? also what other scary programs were around in this era ? please help
share"A man who made bets versus cutting off his opponents fingers"
This sounds a lot like the Tales from the Crypt episode "Cutting Cards" starring Lance Henriksen.
Plus the Adolf Hitler episode you mentioned reminds me of one from the new Twilight Zone.
Could it be you're mistaken, or maybe both of these were meant as remakes/homages of TOTU episodes?
-Goodnight, mother of six!
-Goodnight, father of two!
Definitely TOTU! I actually saw a repeat of the Hitler one just the other day by coincidence, 25 years on :)
K.
- I've seen things you people wouldn't believe -
"A man who made bets versus cutting off his opponents fingers" ^^
That was Series 1 episode 'The Man from the South' featuring Jose Ferrer.
"A baby nearly dying at birth then being christened Adolf Hitler."
Yes, that one's "Genesis And Catatrophe" from the second season of TOTU! My favourites? Although it wasn't one of the horror ones, I always liked "Galloping Foxley", the one that took some inspiration from the unpleasant side of Dahl's own schooldays. I like "Taste" a lot - the "I'll bet my daughter on this bottle of wine" one - although like a lot of the TV adaptations it tries to top the original story and lets itself down a bit. (E.G. - "Royal Jelly", the story, ends with the father just smiling at his wife about how they "mustn't let our little queen catch cold" - the TV version has to over-egg this with a scream from the baby - echoed! - bees buzzing on the soundtrack, and the picture zooming off into the void.) In the case of "Taste", the story ends with the cheated mark moving angrily towards the wine expert who's tried to con him - we never do find out how it resolves. In the telly version, he simply pours the wine over the expert's head in an awful "comedy" moment that only lacks a trumpet going "wah-wah-wah-wahhhhhh". But overall, it's a series that I have a lot of fondness for.
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Its called the man from the south, and it was the first TOTU episode.
The man bets a car if the guy can light his lighter 10 times in a row.
Ugh - Im going insane - wasn't there an episode where - and I vaguely remember - people were being taken to hell in a truck? I know I saw this. Help !
shareMy favourite is Parson's Pleasure.
A parson has a hobby that involves travelling around the countryside looking for bargain items of furniture. He finds a Chippendale at an old farm and talks the price down by telling the farmer, "It's really only good for firewood."
Of course, when the parson returns to collect the item it has been cut up for firewood.
I haven't had a chance to see any TOTU episodes, but in school we've been reading 'Lamb to the Slaughter', the one where the woman kills her husband with a leg of lamb and the other police eat it.
LLLLIKE A GLOVE!
If you are in the UK, they are being repeated on ITV3 after midnight.
shareThe ones I remember the most from my childhood were all wine-related! The one with the last, most expensive bottle of wine in the world and the one with the pompous wine taster who bet he could name a wine in exchange for the host's daughter.
I also remember one about a very strange man who was some kind of confidence trickster. I'm sure the episode was a 'Mr ****' or the character was called that. Before anyone mentions 'Umbrella Man', it's not that episode.
One I don't remember originally being shown but viewed a few years ago on the DVD boxed set they released starred Peter Davidson and Liza Goddard. I don't recall the name of the episode but the story is great!
Edit:
I just remembered the one starring Nigel Havers as an archaeologist who finds a fantastic and perfect ancient statue and tries to smuggle it out of the country of origin. A true classic!
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The Man from the South - the very first episode I think.
shareI loved 'Death Will Add' - good acting and a devastating ending!
shareWhen I look back during my teens and recall seeing TOTU the episode called 'Royal Jelly' comes to mind; probably because I recall discussing it with friends in the school playground.
In recent times the two that really like are 'The Landlady' and 'Lighet Fingers'
Royal Jelly! Man, I remember seeing that as a young kid and being freaked out by it even though I was too young to fully comprehend what was happening, watched it again recently and it's still scary as hell! Also the amazing Flypaper and one that always stuck in my head but I don't remember the name of, about a guy with a full back tattoo that was the last work of a world renowned painter. Oh, and the one in which Joan Collins got her head stuck in a sculpture outdoors....
"Hot lesbian witches!"
The one with the back tattoo is called "Skin," and the one w/Joan Collins is called "Neck" Both short stories were written by the masterful Roald Dahl. Both are a very good read as well.
shareTwo stick in my memory. I think one of them was called "A Stranger Comes to Town" with Derek Jacobi & Clive Swift in which the former disguises himself and visits the latter to get revenge on him for helping him to get sent to prison. The other was "Lamb to the Slaughter".
shareThe only episode I remember seeing as a kid:
A man murders his wife, chops her to bits in the bathtub, buries her in the garden and leaves the country. Then the twist is that while he's relaxing abroad, he gets a phone call from an old friend who has bought the house and says he's about to dig up and renovate the garden.
Does anyone know the episode title, please?
(It might even be an episode of Armchair Thriller, but I'm 90% sure its TOTU.)
That one is called "Back for Christmas." It's a very good one. If you liked that version, there's one from Alfred Hitchcock Pesents, starring the very amusing John Williams. It operates on a similar premises,and is Also called "Back for Christmas." It may be on YouTube now, so check it out! =D
shareMy favourites are the earlier ones, based on the Dahl stories, notably 'Lamb to the Slaughter', one of the cleverest murder stories ever written. 'The Flypaper' is excellent but it leaves a nasty taste. Many of the American-made episodes seemed to lose the same bite.
shareFly paper is horrifying !
And so awfully memorable !