Supernatural

BBC4 have been showing a handful of episodes of this long-lost supernatural anthology series from 1977, so here are my thoughts on individual episodes: VIKTORIA - the weakest story thus far, but not without a certain atmosphere. This is a family-based tale focused around a creepy life-sized doll and the strange girl who owns it. The story is worthy of note in featuring both Judy Cornwell (KEEPING UP APPEARANCES) and Lewis Fiander (DR JEKYLL AND SISTER HYDE) in strong roles as housekeeper and husband respectively, and an intricate little, character-focused storyline filled with twists and turns. It's not particularly frightening or stand out-ish, but it is creepy so that counts for something

NIGHT OF THE MARIONETTES - TV favourite Gordon Jackson stars as a scholar hot on the trail of Mary Shelley who falls foul of the strange proprietor of a roadside inn and his lifesize creations. The actress who plays the possessed daughter went on to become THE WOMAN IN BLACK in the long-lost '80s adaptation of that novel. This one is weird rather than scary, although it has some memorably weird highlights.

DORABELLA - the last of the series is also my favourite, thus far. It's a vampire story in which a couple of youthful men are the victims for a change; the gender reversal brings back fond memories of the likes of VAMPYRES and DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS. This episode is quite remarkable for the way in which it builds a rich Gothic atmosphere and a sense of dread which go hand-in-hand throughout. It's visually beautiful, full of stunning imagery like jet-black carriages, desolate beaches and of course the expected creepy castles. All in all a great twist on the vampire legend.

Absolutely brilliant old BBC TV. This is the BBC during it's height, Golden Age Doctor Who, I Claudius, the M.R. James ghost stories, and it should be much more widely known. It features perhaps the creme de la creme of British acting talent at the time (Jeremy Brett, Billie Whitelaw, Robert Hardy, Denholm Elliott, Gordon Jackson - oh the cast is to die for!). Such was the talent avaliable at that time that each and every one of the main cast elevate the whole seriese far above what otherwise could have been fairly standard pop-horror, producing a real weight of gravitas and experience to the roles. The stories too however, are brilliant, I struggle really to pin point the best of the bunch, as I love them all. I have a certain soft spot for lurid, Victorianna-esque Gothic horror, I'm a sucker for it, so I'd probably like any of it. But "Night of the Marionettes" is especially good, due to the stark, amazing theatrical vivid quality to it with the genuinely unsettling marionette puppet show, shot on film as well, giving it a great, grimy, raw quality. I love also the two partner, "Countess Ilona" and "The Werewolf Reunion", largely because of the amazing cast surrounding it. A sordid collection of aristocratic monsters, Charles Kay playing a sneering snob who is little more than a grotesque sex pest, the other (played by Ian Hendry) an nihilistic war profiteer who booms his majestic voice across the hall espousing his beautiful misanthropic poetry, denouncing everything from religious faith to humanitarianism to peace, in between chuckling and stuffing his face perpetually with food. To the stuffy and uptight politician (Edward Hardwicke) a man so seemingly inhuman and robotic he feels more like an extension of the cold, glassy monocle he polishes repeatedly. Along with the foppish pianist played by Hugo Hoffman, they each get a gruesomely delicious fate, and it sparkles watching these actors, the peak of British acting talent bounce of one another, each unique in their personalities and personal philosophies, yet each acting like a kind of reflection of one another, all representatives of the casual culture of distain for humanity and disregard for women that marks this Prussian culture of aristocratic degeneracy and back stabbing grubby reactionarism.

Jeremy Brett too deserves special praise in "Mr. Nightingale". The story itself is very peculiar, yet he absolutely shines, doing what he would later master as Sherlock Holmes, every line shot out of his mouth like bullets from a Gatling gun, his teeth baring, his eyes bulging. He's just brilliant in how bizarre and malignant he can be.

The writing is also superb. It's very, very mid 70s BBC (anyone who watches Doctor Who or I, Claudius at the time will know exactly what I mean). Lots of harsh looking video, flare bulbs from bright lights, small sets like theatre, minimal camera movements, static shots of one or two actors. But I have to say It's brilliant for this series, the often highly loquacious dialogue being allowed to simply flow from the brilliant actors hired, allowing the poetic nature of it to drive the story. Atmosphere and tension and personal drama are at the forefront, not special effects (which, knowing the quality of some of that at the time, was probably wise).

It's a lost gem in my opinion, and should be far more widely known. I regularly rewatch it with a smile on my face, delighted by the weird cast of ghouls who come to recite their stories, diverse in their range and setting (and even period).

This one was extra hard to get but eventually I did get my hands on clear complete set of this show....But it was well worth it...

Too bad it got cancelled early and was ahead of its time.

I highly recommend the following eps: 2. & 3. Werewolf Reunion and Countess Ilona: an excellent ep. with excellent acting especially from Billie Whitelaw. Interesting that the werewolf is not really shown fully but this adds to the flavour.

7. Night of the Marionettes: Gordon Jackson is just excellent in this ep.(he is just an excellent actor). An interesting twist on the Frankenstein story.

8. Dorabella: Dare I say probably the best ep. of the bunch. Excellent acting, story, atmosphere make this an original vampire tale and a very excellent twist ending.

Robert Muller's "Supernatural" stands alongside Lawrence Gordon Clark's "A Ghost Story at Christmas" and Nigel Kneale's "Beasts" as the best of 1970s UK horror/thriller TV. Smart, sophisticated, with lapidary casting and exquisitely produced on what would now be considered tiny budgets, its teleplays are like Hammer horrors for discerning adults. The centerpiece of the series is the two-part "Countess Ilona" and "The Werewolf Reunion," features a bravura role for Muller's wife Billie Whitelaw, but they're all worth a look.

The richly Gothic sounding organ music of Poulenc set to images of gargoyles tells you what kind of series this is. The sort they don't make any more. "Supernatural" is a series for people who may enjoy reading old Gothic horror short stories or the original novels "Dracula" and "Frankenstein". Not for those who like today's style of horror movie. Beneath the horror fantasy "Supernatural" may as well be called "Unnatural" as it focuses on Victorian sexual repression almost as much as it pays homage to Mary Shelley, Sheridan Le Fanu etc.

A little peaceful time to yourself is essential if you really want to escape into this slow building wordy world of sinister misty nights. Join the Club of the Damned,or at least damned good actors achieving mixed results. Two episodes are much too peculiar and addled (like "Mr Nightingale" - ear-trumpets and all - too boring). "Mr Nightingale" and the one with Denholm Elliot would make the M.R. James "Ghost Stories For Chritmas" look modern and sexy. However Billie Whitelaw is so beautiful, elegant and lethal in the two-parter "Countess Ilona" and "Werewolf Reunion"."Night of the Marionettes" is worth seeing with Gordon Jackson and Pauline Moran on the trail of Mary Shelley(in which Sdyney Bromley, the little actor who whees up the wall as the Porter in Polanski's MacBeth, adds to the tone). You'll be trying to place the mysterious looking actor Vladek Sheybal too - ("From Russia With Love").

"Dorabella" is another atmospheric piece of escapism before bedtime. If you have a lot of patience!

There are some nice twists regarding some of the storytellers.

Join the club.