Review Beasts (1976)

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
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Beasts is a 1976 British television series. Written by Nigel Kneale, it is an anthology of six self-contained episodes that feature the recurring theme of bestial horror. The series was made by ATV for the ITV Network.


Episodes

# Title Original air date

1
"Special Offer" 16 October 1976
Pauline Quirke stars as a shop assistant whose unrequited love for her manager prompts a paranormal revenge.

2 "During Barty's Party" 23 October 1976
Starring Anthony Bate, a middle-class couple's life becomes overturned by rats.

3 "Buddyboy" 30 October 1976
Featuring Martin Shaw and a disused aquarium haunted by the spirit of a dolphin.

4 "Baby" 6 November 1976
Starring Simon MacCorkindale as a newlywed whose wife's pregnancy falls foul of ancient witchcraft.

5 "What Big Eyes" 13 November 1976
Features Michael Kitchen as an RSPCA inspector investigating a man (Patrick Magee) who is trying to turn himself into a wolf.

6 "The Dummy" 20 November 1976
Shows the psychological effect on an actor (Bernard Horsfall) who regularly plays a monster in horror films.

DVD release

The series was released on DVD by Network DVD in 2006. This set also included a similarly themed TV play called Murrain that Kneale had written for ITV's Against the Crowdseries in 1975.
 

Doctor Omega

Member: Rank 10
THE DUMMY has an incredible performance from Bernard Horsefall as a man mentally falling apart. I think it blows the standard of character acting in modern shows such as New Who out of the water!

DURING BARTY'S PARTY really scared me at the time of transmission too.
 
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