I remember in quite surprisingly clear detail the opening story of this series 'Rachel in Danger', considering I saw it last 44 years ago and I was only six years old. I recalled the little girl, her dad being stabbed in the back of the neck, the villainous imposter, the question 'but why did he take his glasses off?' and the ending in the park which made me forever think plasticene was a potentially fatal substance. Aside from this, the opening credits with the sofa and shadow with the scary hands was etched in my mind, along with the moody theme tune. I also recalled an episode set in a night-time park where a dog vanishes in a bush and another with a nun running in a field in the dead of night. So, with these indelible images in my head, it only seemed right to revisit this series and relive those moments and see what else Armchair Thriller had to offer.
Well, the truth of the matter is that my overall assessment is pretty mixed. Those early episodes were certainly interesting to revisit again on account of my childhood memories but they were often more ropey than I expected, which is something that could be levelled at the series as a whole. At its best, it could be very impressive television though, such as the standout for me 'Quiet as a Nun' which was very eerie and creepy on several occasions, with a nicely atmospheric soundtrack and setting. Mostly though, the stories were a little too routine, although they did occasionally offer genuine surprise, such as the seriously nihilistic ending to 'A Dog's Ransom', which reconfigured what had been a fairly messily told story up to that point. I don't think the series format was honestly to its advantage, with stories running for either four or six instalments. This resulted in the material being stretched out to breaking point quite often and resulting it quite a bit of tedium. Some stories did have arresting elements, even if they didn't add up to much by the end such as the weird scenes in a swimming pool in 'The Girl Who Walked Quickly', the sinister scene on the train in 'Dying Day' or the super creepy killer in 'The Chelsea Murders'. On the whole though, Armchair Thriller was probably a better idea than overall execution and I can't help but think it could have benefitted from a little bit more imagination in the story-lines - it was crying out for a bit more focus on horror and the supernatural I felt. Its worth a watch though and some of it is very good but at other times it can be a bit of a slog.
Well, the truth of the matter is that my overall assessment is pretty mixed. Those early episodes were certainly interesting to revisit again on account of my childhood memories but they were often more ropey than I expected, which is something that could be levelled at the series as a whole. At its best, it could be very impressive television though, such as the standout for me 'Quiet as a Nun' which was very eerie and creepy on several occasions, with a nicely atmospheric soundtrack and setting. Mostly though, the stories were a little too routine, although they did occasionally offer genuine surprise, such as the seriously nihilistic ending to 'A Dog's Ransom', which reconfigured what had been a fairly messily told story up to that point. I don't think the series format was honestly to its advantage, with stories running for either four or six instalments. This resulted in the material being stretched out to breaking point quite often and resulting it quite a bit of tedium. Some stories did have arresting elements, even if they didn't add up to much by the end such as the weird scenes in a swimming pool in 'The Girl Who Walked Quickly', the sinister scene on the train in 'Dying Day' or the super creepy killer in 'The Chelsea Murders'. On the whole though, Armchair Thriller was probably a better idea than overall execution and I can't help but think it could have benefitted from a little bit more imagination in the story-lines - it was crying out for a bit more focus on horror and the supernatural I felt. Its worth a watch though and some of it is very good but at other times it can be a bit of a slog.