Tales of the Unexpected Roald Dahl and aired for nine seasons on ITV from 1979 to 1988 . Every episode of series one, eight episodes of series two, and one episode of series three were based on short stories by Roald Dahl collected in the books Tales of the Unexpected , Kiss Kiss , and Someone Like You .
The series was made by Anglia Television for ITV with interior scenes recorded at their Norwich studios, whilst location filming mainly occurred across East Anglia. The theme music for the series was written by composer Ron Grainer.
Although many of Dahl's stories are left open to the reader's interpretation, the television series usually provided a generally accepted conclusion. This is exemplified in the story "The Landlady", the written version of which only hints at character Billy's fate, while the televised adaptation has a more resolved conclusion.
Later episodes were set in different locations outside the United Kingdom, with many being made in the United States.
Episodes [ ] Season One [ ] Season Two [ ]
Episode
Title
Airdate
2x1
Royal Jelly March 1st , 1980
2x2
Skin March 8th , 1980
2x3
Galloping Foxley March 15th , 1980
2x4
The Hitch-Hiker March 22nd , 1980
2x5
Poison March 29th , 1980
2x6
Fat Chance April 5th , 1980
2x7
Taste April 12th , 1980
2x8
My Lady Love, My Dove April 19th , 1980
2x9
Georgy Porgy April 26th , 1980
2x10
Depart in Peace May 3rd , 1980
2x11
The Umbrella Man May 10th , 1980
2x12
Genesis & Catastrophe May 17th , 1980
2x13
Mr. Botibol's First Love May 24th , 1980
2x14
Back for Christmas May 31st , 1980
2x15
The Orderly World of Mr. Appleby June 7th , 1980
2x16
The Man at the Top June 14th , 1980
Season Three [ ] Season Four [ ]
Episode
Title
Airdate
4x01
Would You Believe It? April 5th , 1981
4x02
Vicious Circle April 12th , 1981
4x03
The Boy Who Talked With Animals April 19th , 1981
4x04
The Best of Everything April 26th , 1981
4x05
A Woman's Help May 3rd , 1981
4x06
Shatterproof May 10th , 1981
4x07
The Sound Machine May 17th , 1981
4x08
Never Speak Ill of the Dead May 24th , 1981
4x09
The Best Policy May 31st , 1981
4x10
The Last Bottle in the World June 7th , 1981
4x11
Kindly Dig Your Own Grave June 14th , 1981
4x12
Completely Foolproof June 21st , 1981
4x13
There's One Born Every Minute July 5th , 1981
4x14
Bosom Friends July 12th , 1981
4x15
A Glowing Future July 19th , 1981
4x16
The Way to Do It July 26th , 1981
4x17
Hijack December 26th , 1981
Season Five [ ]
Episode
Title
Airdate
5x1
Blue Marigold April 25th , 1982
5x2
The Eavesdropper May 2nd , 1982
5x3
Operation Safecrack May 9th , 1982
5x4
Run, Rabbit, Run May 16th , 1982
5x5
Stranger in Town May 23rd , 1982
5x6
The Moles May 30th , 1982
5x7
Decoy June 6th , 1982
5x8
Pattern of Guilt June 13th , 1982
5x9
A Harmless Vanity June 20th , 1982
5x10
Death Can Add June 27th , 1982
5x11
Light Fingers July 4th , 1982
5x12
Death in the Morning July 11th , 1982
5x13
What Have You Been Up to Lately? July 18th , 1982
5x14
The Absence of Emily July 25th , 1982
5x15
In the Bag August 1st , 1982
5x16
A Man With a Fortune August 8th , 1982
5x17
Who's Got the Lady? August 15th , 1982
5x18
The Skeleton Key August 22nd , 1982
Season Six [ ]
Episode
Title
Airdate
6x1
A Passing Opportunity April 9th , 1983
6x2
The Memory Man April 16th , 1983
6x3
A Sad Loss April 23rd , 1983
6x4
Clerical Error April 30th , 1983
6x5
Heir Presumptuous May 7th , 1983
6x6
Where's Your Sense of Humour? May 14th , 1983
6x7
Down Among the Sheltering Palms May 21st , 1983
6x8
The Vorpal Blade May 28th , 1983
6x9
The Wrong 'Un June 11th , 1983
6x10
The Luncheon June 18th , 1983
6x11
The Tribute June 25th , 1983
6x12
Hit and Run May 10th , 1983
6x13
Youth from Vienna July 2nd , 1983
6x14
The Turn of the Tide September 3rd , 1983
Season Seven [ ]
Episode
Title
Airdate
7x1
The Dirty Detail May 12th , 1984
7x2
The Best Chess Player in the World May 19th , 1984
7x3
Proxy May 26th , 1984
7x4
Have a Nice Death June 2nd , 1984
7x5
Number Eight June 9th , 1984
7x6
The Last of the Midnight Gardeners June 16th , 1984
7x7
The Gift of Beauty June 30th , 1984
7x8
Wet Saturday July 7th , 1984
7x9
Sauce for the Goose July 21st , 1984
7x10
Bird of Prey August 4th , 1984
7x11
I Like It Here in Wilmington November 8th , 1984
7x12
Accidental Death August 19th , 1984
7x13
The Reconciliation September 16th , 1984
7x14
The Mugger October 14th , 1984
7x15
The Open Window October 21st , 1984
Season Eight [ ] Season Nine [ ]
Episode
Title
Airdate
9x1
Skeleton in the Cupboard December 18th , 1987
9x2
The Colonel's Lady January 8th , 1988
9x3
The Surgeon January 15th , 1988
9x4
The Verger January 22nd , 1988
9x5
The Facts of Life January 29th , 1988
9x6
Wink Three Times April 22nd , 1988
9x7
The Dead Don't Steal April 29th , 1988
9x8
The Finger of Suspicion April 29th , 1988
9x9
A Time to Die May 6th , 1988
9x10
Mr. Know-All May 13th , 1988
Notes & Trivia [ ] Roald Dahl introduced most of his own stories himself, giving short monologues explaining what inspired him to write them. See also [ ] External Links [ ] 