Monday 15 February 2016

338 Armchair Thriller


First  viewed : 21  February  1978

This  show  was  made  by  Thames  TV  and  was  shown  twice-weekly  on  Tuesdays  and  Thursdays. The  first  series  comprised  five  completely  separate  stories  adapted  from  previously  published  work  and  split  into  four  or  six  episodes.

The  first  one  was  Rachel  in  Danger , about  a  shy  intelligent  Scottish  girl  who  takes  the  train  to  London for  a  short  stay  with  a  father  she  hasn't  seen  since  she  was  a  toddler  and  who  normally  works  in  South  America. Unfortunately  he's  been  followed  over  by  a  friend  Juan   (  played  by  the  very  busy  Stephen  Grief  of  Blake's  7  and  Citizen  Smith  fame )  who  promptly  murders  him  to  steal  his  identity  for  a  terrorist  operation  and  isn't  expecting  company. What  follows  is  just  a  little  contrived  but  eminently  watchable, in  fact  seeing  it  again,  it's  better  than  I  remembered.  The  girl,  Della  Low,  isn't  much  cop  and  looks  suspiciously  like  she's  reading  from  cue  cards  held  above  her  co-stars'  shoulders  but  it's  still  pretty  gripping  thanks  to  excellent  performances  from  Grief  and  his  terrifying  Japanese  accomplice  Aiyako  ( Eiko   Nakamura ) a  study  in  icy  fanaticism. Struan  Rodger  pops  up  again  as  another  of  the  terrorists  though  I  didn't  recognise  him  as  the  guy  from  Joe  and  the  Sheep  Rustlers.

That  one  was  in  four  parts , the  next  one  "A  Dog's  Ransom",  was  in  six  and  was  adapted  from  a  Patricia  Highsmith  novel.  It  starts  with  the  kidnapping  of  a  poodle  from  a  middle  class  couple  by  an  unsavoury  and  resentful  Polish  immigrant  who  demands  a  ransom. We  know  by  the  end  of  the  first  episode  that  he's  killed  the  dog  but  that's  not  the  point. The  police  are  not  that  interested  apart  from  a  smart  young  detective  who  investigates  the  case  in  his  own  time  and  brings  a  heap  of  trouble  on  himself  and  his  girlfriend. If  I  recall  correctly  she  gets  sent  thirty  chocolate  coins  except  it's  not  exactly  chocolate  under  the  wrappers. Matters  escalate  to   a  very  grim  conclusion, topped  off  with  an  ironic  final  scene  of  the  couple  happily  playing  with  a  replacement  dog . However  there  wasn't  enough  action  for  some  of  my  peers  at  school  who  decried  it  as  slow  and  boring  and  I  fear  I  may  have  listened  to  them  because  none  of  the  subsequent  stories  ring  any  bells.  In  fact,  judged  on  the  first  two  stories , the  subject  matter  is   remarkably  dark  for  a  pre-watershed  show  and  the  fact  they  had  to  pull  a  few  punches  in  its  presentation  shouldn't  have  put  anyone  off.  


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