TV Heaven
CHILLER: TOBY
TV Heaven Viewing Room
Sunday 15 June, 1.00pm
Dir. Bob Mahoney
GB 1995 60 mins (no cert)
Martin Clunes, Serena Gordon
Ray and Louise Knight lose their unborn baby, Toby, following a car accident. Louise soon believes that she is pregnant again and nine months later goes into labour, despite the fact that all tests prove that there is no baby. Soon Louise is being haunted by crying from the nursery… Produced for Yorkshire Television by Lawrence Gordon Clarke – special guest at last year’s FFW – this series of thrillers certainly lived up to its collective title.
FRANKENSTEIN
TV Heaven Viewing Room
Sunday 15 June, 3.00pm
Dir. James Ormerod
GB 1984 90 mins (YTV)
Robert Powell, Carrie Fisher, David Warner,
John Gielgud, Terence Alexander, Susan
Wooldridge, Michael Cochrane
An eclectic cast, understated performances and excellent direction bring this Yorkshire Television adaptation of Mary Shelley’s gothic horror classic to vivid life. With a slightly different ending to the original novel this is otherwise a fairly faithful translation of the original tale of love, loss and immortality.
THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS (Pt. 1)
TV Heaven Viewing Room
Saturday 14 June, 2.00pm
Dir. Ken Hannam
GB 1981 30 mins (no cert)
John Duttine, Emma Relph, Maurice Colbourne
Britain is at the mercy of carnivorous plants with a taste for rotting, human flesh in this excellent BBC adaptation of John Wyndham's novel. The struggles of everyday survivors and the moral and practical problems they face are at the heart of the drama; should they fight or flee? How can society be rebuilt and to whose ideals?
OMNIBUS: SCHALCKEN THE PAINTER
TV Heaven Viewing Room
Friday 13 June, 3.00pm
Dir. Leslie Megahey
GB 1979 70 mins (no cert)
Jeremy Clyde, Maurice Denham, Cheryl
Kennedy, John Justin
A young 17th century painter forsakes love for ambition, but discovers that there is a terrible price to pay when the woman he loves disappears after marrying a mysterious suitor. The horror that Schalcken uncovers haunts him, and his paintings, forever. Fans have been campaigning for a DVD release of this rarely repeated play, but in the meantime this is a fantastic opportunity to see one of the most chilling BBC television productions ever made.
Special thanks to our TV Heaven partners for
their kind support of the Fantastic Films
Weekend:
BBC Television, Harlech Television,
Yorkshire Television. All copyright images used
with permission.
CHILDREN OF THE STONES (Ep. 1: INTO THE CIRCLE)
TV Heaven Viewing Room
Sunday 15 June, 2.00pm
Dir. Peter Graham Scott
GB 1977 30 mins (no cert)
Iain Cuthbertson, Gareth Thomas, Freddie Jones, Peter Demin
Scientist Adam Brake and his son Matthew move to the quiet village of Millbury to study the 4,000-year-old stone circle that surrounds it. But the stones hold an ancient power that is being used to control the villagers. Hearst Argyle Television produced some excellent children’s dramas in the 1970s and Children of the Stones is one of the best remembered.
THE NIGHTMARE MAN (Pt. 1)
TV Heaven Viewing Room
Friday 13 June, 2.00pm
Dir. Douglas Camfield
GB 1981 30 mins (no cert)
James Warwick, Celia Imrie, Maurice Roëves,
Tom Watson
The gruesome discovery of mutilated corpses on a remote Scottish island sparks terror in the local community. The only suspect is a halfglimpsed, monstrous figure caught on film by one of the victims. Based on David Wiltshire’s 1978 novel, Child of Vodyanoi, this gripping BBC horror/sci-fi series was described by viewers and critics alike as one of the most frightening television drama series they had seen for years when it was first broadcast in 1981.
COUNT DRACULA (Pt. 1)
TV Heaven Viewing Room
Friday 13 June, 1.00pm
Dir. Philip Saville
GB 1977 70 mins (no cert)
Louis Jourdan, Frank Finlay, Susan Penhaligon
Of all the adaptations of Bram Stoker’s horror classic, this BBC Masterpiece Theatre mini series from 1977 ranks among the most faithful. French actor Louis Jourdan stars as a steely and sensuous Count while Frank Finlay plays his nemesis, Van Helsing.
MAELSTROM (Ep. 2)
TV Heaven Viewing Room
Saturday 14 June, 1.00pm
Dir. Michael J. Bird
GB 1985 50 mins (no cert)
Tusse Silberg, David Beames, Trevor Baxter
A young woman inherits property in Sweden from an entrepreneur she’s never met. When she arrives at the house she is thrust into a tale of intrigue surrounding her benefactor’s family and the island she now owns. Snail-paced and boasting a ‘fine’ array of ‘80s fashions, this BBC thriller provides enough unintentional humour to keep viewers entertained until a genuinely sinister collection of dolls makes an appearance.
Z FOR ZACHARIAH
TV Heaven Viewing Room
Saturday 14 June, 3.00pm
Dir. Anthony Garner
GB 1984 120 mins (no cert)
Anthony Andrews, Pippa Hinchley
Britain has been decimated by a nuclear attack and the only place left untouched is a remote Welsh valley. When a solitary local girl is joined by the sole male survivor the marooned pair struggle to live with one another in isolation. Based on the popular novel by Robert C. O’ Brien, Z For Zachariah was one of the last plays written for the BBC’s renowned Play For Today strand and looks at a global terror through a very personal drama.