Mystery and Imagination
| Mystery and Imagination | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Horror anthology |
| Starring | David Buck |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 24 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | ABC Television (Series 1—3) Thames Television (Series 4—5) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ITV |
| Original run | 29 January 1966 – 23 February 1970 |
Mystery and Imagination is a British television anthology series of classic horror and supernatural dramas. Five series were broadcast from 1966 to 1970 by ITV (ABC - Thames) and featured plays based on the works of well-known authors such as Robert Louis Stevenson, Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, M. R. James, and Edgar Allan Poe. Each episode of the first two ABC series starred David Buck as Richard Beckett. Originally a character from Sheridan Le Fanu's story 'The Flying Dragon', Beckett was made the central character of the series, taking the roles of various characters from the original stories. (The first two series, although transmitted as two separate runs, were made as a single production block.)
Contents |
[edit] Episodes
[edit] Series 1
| # | Title | Story | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Lost Stradivarius" | J. Meade Falkner | January 29, 1966 |
| 2 | "The Body Snatcher" | Robert Louis Stevenson | February 5, 1966 |
| 3 | "The Fall of the House of Usher" | Edgar Allan Poe | February 12, 1966 |
| 4 | "The Open Door" | Margaret Oliphant | February 19, 1966 |
| 5 | "The Tractate Middoth" | M. R. James | February 26, 1966 |
| 6 | "Lost Hearts" | M. R. James | March 5, 1966 |
| 7 | "The Canterville Ghost" | Oscar Wilde | March 12, 1966 |
[edit] Series 2
| # | Title | Story | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | "Room 13" | M. R. James | October 22, 1966 |
| 9 | "The Beckoning Shadow" | Charlotte Riddell | October 29, 1966 |
| 10 | "The Flying Dragon" | Sheridan Le Fanu | November 5, 1966 |
| 11 | "Carmilla" | Sheridan Le Fanu | November 12, 1966 |
| 12 | "The Phantom Lover" | Vernon Lee | November 19, 1966 |
[edit] Series 3
| # | Title | Story | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | "Casting the Runes" | M. R. James | March 22, 1968 |
| 14 | "The Listener" | Algernon Blackwood | March 30, 1968 |
| 15 | "A Place of One's Own" | Osbert Sitwell | April 6, 1968 |
| 16 | "The Devil's Piper" | Walter Scott | April 13, 1968 |
| 17 | "The Tell-Tale Heart" | Edgar Allan Poe | June 22, 1968 |
| 18 | "Feet Foremost" | L. P. Hartley | June 29, 1968 |
[edit] Series 4
| # | Title | Story | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | "Uncle Silas" | Sheridan Le Fanu | November 4, 1968 |
| 20 | "Frankenstein" | Mary Shelley | November 11, 1968 |
| 21 | "Dracula" | Bram Stoker | November 18, 1968 |
[edit] Series 5
| # | Title | Story | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | "The Suicide Club" | Robert Louis Stevenson | February 9, 1970 |
| 23 | "Sweeney Todd" | George Dibdin-Pitt | February 16, 1970 |
| 24 | "The Curse of the Mummy" | Bram Stoker | February 23, 1970 |
[edit] Archive status
Only the teleplays 'The Fall of the House of Usher' and 'The Open Door', from the ABC series (series 1 to 3) exist in the archives. Both these episodes appear in the first series. All the teleplays of the second and the third series are not known to exist. All of the Thames episodes (series 4 and 5) also survive in the archives. A brief clip from the teleplay 'Casting the Runes' (from series 3) also exists.
[edit] DVD release
Network DVD has released all eight remaining episodes on a four disc set along with the surviving clips of 'Casting the Runes'.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ "Mystery and Imagination". Network DVD. http://www.networkdvd.net/product_info.php?products_id=866. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
- Wheatley, Helen. Gothic Television (Manchester University Press 2006) p36 ff.
- Thumim, Janet; Helen Wheatley. "Mystery and Imagination: Anatomy of a Gothic Anthology Series". Small Screens, Big Ideas: Television in the 1950s. I.B.Tauris. pp. 165–179. ISBN 1860646832. http://books.google.com/books?id=RxBJC2U5oRoC&pg=PA165.
