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--Tales of the Unexpected on DVD supplied from the USA
The DVDs listed below are all Region 1 (i.e. for playing in the USA or Canada) and supplied from the USA: www.Amazon.com
Please click here for details of Tales of The Unexpected (Region 2) for playing in UK, Europe, Japan, South Africa and Middle East and supplied from the UK.
These short, stand-alone dramas (running time: approx 25 minutes each) are very useful for developing listening comprehension and vocabulary. Rating these dramas would vary from person to person, and I have collated the comments of different reviewers in attributing star ratings ***** = (high or perfect) and * = (low or far from perfect).
Tales of The Unexpected was a popular series, which ran for nearly ten years on UK TV between March 1979 and May 1988, numbering 122 episodes. Many of these are adapted from Roald Dahl's short stories. By today's standards, the episodes contain relatively mild elements of romance, violence & / or criminality, but remain amusing to watch. The '25-minute' duration means that the TV versions of the stories confine themselves to a simple plot, though this is possibly an advantage when using the dramas for language learning.
Most of the episodes are strong on narrative and situation. Common everyday situations can still occur within crime dramas, which several of the episodes are. I used them fairly regularly in the 1980s and 90s in my general EFL teaching - I would recommend that they are used at 'good intermediate' to 'advanced' levels on General EFL Courses (age group 16+ to adults). To extract the maximum value, it is advisable to prepare a printed handout, which can include a list of the characters and their roles, a brief introduction to the narrative (you will find useful summaries on the DVD packages), a list of vocabulary items likely to cause comprehension difficulties, and a range of questions - for checking literal comprehension, for inviting interpretation and for eliciting discussion on the themes (moral questions?) introduced in each drama.
--Set 1
DVD Region 1 Tales of the Unexpected Set 1---------$35.99 for all episodes 001 to 025
series 1 and 2
001 The Man From the South****
002 Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat****
003 William and Mary***
004 Lamb to the Slaughter***
005 The Landlady***
006 Neck**
007 Edward the Conqueror***
008 A Dip in the Pool***
009 The Way Up to Heaven**
010 Royal Jelly**
011 Skin***
012 Galloping Foxley***
013 The Hitchhiker*****
014 Poison***
015 Fat Chance***
016 Taste***
017 My Lady Love, My Dove*
018 Georgy Porgy***
019 Depart in Peace***
0 20 The Umbrella Man*****
021 Genesis and Catastrophe*
022 Mr. Botibol's First Love*
023 Back for Christmas****
024 The Orderly World of Mr. Appleby***
025 The Man at the Top**
--Set 2
DVD Region 1 Tales of the Unexpected Set 2---------$34.99 for all episodes 026 to 051
series 3 and 4
026 The Flypaper****
027 A Picture of a Place****
028 Proof of Guilt***
029 Vengeance is Mine Inc.****
030 A Girl Can't Always Have Everything****
031 Parson's Pleasure****
032 The Stinker****
033 I'll be Seeing You****
034 The Party****
035 Would you Believe it?***
036 Vicious Circle***
037 The Boy Who Talked with Animals**
038 The Best of Everything*****
039 A Woman's Help***
040 Shatterproof****
041 The Sound Machine***
042 Never Speak Ill of the Dead****
043 The Best Policy***
044 The Last Bottle in the World***
045 Kindly Dig Your Grave***
046 Completely Foolproof***
047 There's One Born Every Minute****
048 Bosom Friends****
049 A Glowing Future***
050 The Way to Do it****
051 Hijack****
-- Set 3
DVD Region 1 Tales of the Unexpected Set 3---------$34.99 for episodes 052 to 073, and 077
series 5 and some of series 6
052 Blue Marigold***
053 The Eavesdropper*****
054 Operation Safecrack***
055 Run, Rabbit, Run***
056 Stranger in Town*****
057 The Moles*****
058 Decoy*****
059 Pattern of Guilt*****
060 A Harmless Vanity*****
061 Death Can Add*****
062 Light Fingers*****
063 Death in the Morning*****
064 What Have you Been up to Lately?***
065 The Absence of Emily
066 In the Bag
067 A Man with a Fortune
068 Who's Got the Lady?
069 The Skeleton Key
070 A Passing Opportunity
071 The Memory Man***
072 A Sad Loss
073 Clerical Error***
077 The Vorpal Blade****
--Set 4
DVD Region 1 Tales of the Unexpected Set 4---------$34.99 for twenty of the 38 remaining episodes
more episodes from series 6, selected episodes from series 7, and all episodes from series 9
078 The Wrong 'Un***
079 The Luncheon ***
080 The Tribute***
081 Hit and Run****
085 The Best Chess Player in the World****
087 Have a Nice Death**
089 The Last of the Midnight Gardeners****
095 Accidental Death****
096 The Reconciliation***
097 The Mugger
103 Skeleton in the Cupboard****
104 The Colonel's Lady****
105 The Surgeon****
106 The Verger*****
107 The Facts of Life
108 Wink Three Times****
109 The Dead Don't Steal
110 The Finger of Suspicion***
111 A Time to Die**
112 Mr. Know-All****
The above DVDs are all Region 1 (i.e. for playing in the USA or Canada) and supplied from the USA: www.Amazon.com
Please click here for details of Tales of The Unexpected (Region 2) for playing in UK, Europe, Japan, South Africa and Middle East and supplied from the UK.
HOME PAGE | Ted Power's recommendations for published materials supplied from the UK.