I remember watching this on TV when it was first broadcast,and it was spellbinding. The plot twisted and turned, at times it was impossible to make out what was happening. Then, at the end, it all became blindingly clear. The ending was brilliant as well, making it one of the best mystery programmes I've ever seen. I just wish that I could somehow have the chance to see it again!
Armchair Thriller (TV Series)
Dying Day: Part 1: Mr. Skipling is Sentenced to Death (1980)
User Reviews
Review this title6 Reviews
It started with a tape.
Sleepin_Dragon16 March 2020
Mr Skipling a man of order and routine overhears a plot to kill him, a recording in a pub where he hears two men say that Wednesday the 28th of February will be the day he'll be killed, he listens to it repeatedly, and gets a Policeman to hear for himself, only the two voices have gone.
Ian McKellen is truly wonderful as Mr Skipling. It's one of the best, one of the most memorable, just who on Earth was that strange man on the train that seemed to set events in motion, and just how on Earth did those voices manage to disappear.
Great storytelling, no wonder the scores are high for this one, it's fantastic, 9/10.
Ian McKellen is truly wonderful as Mr Skipling. It's one of the best, one of the most memorable, just who on Earth was that strange man on the train that seemed to set events in motion, and just how on Earth did those voices manage to disappear.
Great storytelling, no wonder the scores are high for this one, it's fantastic, 9/10.
This is one of the five most skillfully crafted mysteries I have ever seen.
jetwimp28 May 2002
Through the years, I have sought out uncommonly interesting mysteries, those is which it is not only uncertain WHO did it, but WHAT was done. This mystery is one of the very best of the species, I defy anyone to sort out what happened until, at the end, everything falls into place like an exquisitely crafted puzzle. My congrats to the writer. I wonder why more mysteries can't be this skillfully plotted.
Ian McKellen Is Brilliant
drednm9 December 2016
Finally found this wonderful mystery, remembering it from television more than 35 years ago. Story centers on a possibly paranoid man (Ian McKellen) who's ordinary life comes unraveled when a bizarre man accosts him on a commuter train, leaves behind a tape, and disappears.
Once he gets home and listens to the tape, he is astonished to hear his name mentioned. He plays and replays the tape and pieces together a conversation in which two men seem to be planning to murder him on February 28. But when he takes the tape to the police he finds that the conversation has been erased, leaving only the background noise of a pub.
Did he imagine it? Who would want to kill him? And why February 28? He reaches out to various people but no one will believe him. Then the bizarre man with the tape seems to have been killed. Then another man. Still, no one will believe him. He becomes more and more agitated, and the police seem to think he's responsible for the killings.
McKellen is marvelous as the mousy little clerk who gets wrapped up in a mystery no one can solve. He's so totally ordinary, no one can fathom why anyone would bother killing him. The ending is a real killer.
Once he gets home and listens to the tape, he is astonished to hear his name mentioned. He plays and replays the tape and pieces together a conversation in which two men seem to be planning to murder him on February 28. But when he takes the tape to the police he finds that the conversation has been erased, leaving only the background noise of a pub.
Did he imagine it? Who would want to kill him? And why February 28? He reaches out to various people but no one will believe him. Then the bizarre man with the tape seems to have been killed. Then another man. Still, no one will believe him. He becomes more and more agitated, and the police seem to think he's responsible for the killings.
McKellen is marvelous as the mousy little clerk who gets wrapped up in a mystery no one can solve. He's so totally ordinary, no one can fathom why anyone would bother killing him. The ending is a real killer.
The Absolute Best
kathleentreat9 May 2021
What Happened To Ian McKellen ?
Theo Robertson23 August 2004
Warning: Spoilers
DYING DAY is another story from ITV`s ARMCHAIR THRILLER series . It revolves around a gentleman called Anthony Skipling ( Played by Ian McKellen - No I don`t know what became of his acting career either ) who befriends a man on a train . This man is a total anorak who likes to record sounds of nature " Badgers farting . Fascinating " . Mr Anorak gets off the train at the station . Moments later there`s a tapping on the train window and Mr Skipling turns to see Mr Anorak clawing at the window with his eyes gouged out
!!!!! MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD !!!!
Mr Anorak leaves behind an audio tape which Skipling plays only to find out that there`s a murder plot involved . He goes to the police to inform them of a murder at the train station but the police investigation finds no evidence of this . Worse when Skipling plays the audio tape to the detectives the murder plot has been erased . Another character is introduced into the story ( Sorry but I forgot what his name was ) who seems to be stalking Skipling who over the course of the 4 half hour episodes is becoming more and more insane . In the final episode Skipling snaps and pushes his supposed stalker under a train .
I don`t know why I typed in major spoilers ahead because it becomes fairly obvious as to where DYING DAY is heading early on . It turns out Mr Anorak isn`t actually dead and has used his " murder " and audio tape to make Skipling appear as a deluded man in order to kill the man who is " stalking " Mr Skipling with the story ending with Skipling in a lunatic asylum talking to camera . It`s very contrived just like all the other stories under the ARMCHAIR THRILLER banner and is probably only worth seeing if you`re interested in watching Sir Ian Mckellen when he had to slum it as an actor
!!!!! MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD !!!!
Mr Anorak leaves behind an audio tape which Skipling plays only to find out that there`s a murder plot involved . He goes to the police to inform them of a murder at the train station but the police investigation finds no evidence of this . Worse when Skipling plays the audio tape to the detectives the murder plot has been erased . Another character is introduced into the story ( Sorry but I forgot what his name was ) who seems to be stalking Skipling who over the course of the 4 half hour episodes is becoming more and more insane . In the final episode Skipling snaps and pushes his supposed stalker under a train .
I don`t know why I typed in major spoilers ahead because it becomes fairly obvious as to where DYING DAY is heading early on . It turns out Mr Anorak isn`t actually dead and has used his " murder " and audio tape to make Skipling appear as a deluded man in order to kill the man who is " stalking " Mr Skipling with the story ending with Skipling in a lunatic asylum talking to camera . It`s very contrived just like all the other stories under the ARMCHAIR THRILLER banner and is probably only worth seeing if you`re interested in watching Sir Ian Mckellen when he had to slum it as an actor
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