Tales of the Unexpected (1979)

Comedy · Drama · Horror

A British television anthology of stories, often with sinister and wryly comedic undertones, and a twist at the end. With early episodes written and presented by Roald Dahl, the series featured a plethora of big name guest stars.

IMDb rating: 7.6 (2,981 votes)
Episode average: 6.4 -1.2 vs IMDb
Seasons: 9
Language: EN
Type: TV series

Rating trend: this show's seasons do not settle into one shape. Rising Shows ranks whole shows by the shape of their rating trend rather than one average score, which is how you find a show that got better rather than a show that started well.

Browse shows by rating shape → Open in Rising Shows app → View on IMDb

Ratings refreshed Oct 3, 2026 · 9 seasons indexed

Seasons

Season 1 (1979)

6.84 avg 9 episodes 7.3 → 7.1 25 min avg

Season 1 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	The Man from the South	7.3	745
2	Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat	7.1	576
3	William and Mary	6.5	515
4	Lamb to the Slaughter	7.2	610
5	The Landlady	7.2	601
6	Neck	6.7	510
7	Edward the Conqueror	6.0	428
8	A Dip in the Pool	6.5	421
9	The Way Up to Heaven	7.1	438

Season 2 (1980)

6.36 avg 16 episodes 6.4 → 6.1 25 min avg

Rollercoaster

Season 2 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Royal Jelly	6.4	479
2	Skin	6.4	370
3	Galloping Foxley	6.3	402
4	The Hitch-Hiker	7.2	435
5	Poison	6.4	348
6	Fat Chance	6.9	348
7	Taste	7.2	427
8	My Lady Love, My Dove	5.1	353
9	Georgy Porgy	5.8	340
10	Depart in Peace	6.0	315
11	The Umbrella Man	7.0	357
12	Genesis & Catastrophe	5.9	303
13	Mr Botibol's First Love	5.3	302
14	Back for Christmas	7.0	332
15	The Orderly World of Mr. Appleby	6.8	307
16	The Man at the Top	6.1	213

Season 3 (1980)

6.93 avg 9 episodes 8.2 → 6.4 25 min avg

Season 3 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	The Flypaper	8.2	623
2	A Picture of a Place	6.5	289
3	Proof of Guilt	6.6	291
4	Vengeance Is Mine Inc.	6.3	270
5	A Girl Can't Always Have Everything	6.9	289
6	Parson's Pleasure	7.1	319
7	The Stinker	7.3	331
8	I'll Be Seeing You	7.1	285
9	The Party	6.4	276

Season 4 (1981)

6.38 avg 17 episodes 6.7 → 6.9 26 min avg

Season 4 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Would You Believe It?	6.7	260
2	Vicious Circle	6.4	256
3	The Boy Who Talked with Animals	5.3	270
4	The Best of Everything	7.1	271
5	A Woman's Help	6.3	219
6	Shatterproof	7.0	277
7	The Sound Machine	6.4	245
8	Never Speak Ill of the Dead	6.7	237
9	The Best Policy	5.3	217
10	The Last Bottle in the World	6.4	245
11	Kindly Dig Your Grave	6.6	233
12	Completely Foolproof	6.3	244
13	There's One Born Every Minute	6.8	244
14	Bosom Friends	6.5	255
15	A Glowing Future	5.5	227
16	The Way to Do It	6.2	221
17	Hijack	6.9	253

Season 5 (1982)

6.51 avg 18 episodes 6.1 → 5.8 26 min avg

Season 5 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Blue Marigold	6.1	276
2	The Eavesdropper	7.1	277
3	Operation Safecrack	7.3	279
4	Run, Rabbit, Run	5.7	223
5	Stranger in Town	7.0	317
6	The Moles	6.5	238
7	Decoy	6.1	235
8	Pattern of Guilt	6.9	224
9	A Harmless Vanity	7.6	329
10	Death Can Add	6.8	217
11	Light Fingers	6.5	213
12	Death in the Morning	6.2	221
13	What Have You Been up to Lately?	6.8	220
14	The Absence of Emily	6.5	212
15	In the Bag	6.1	193
16	A Man with a Fortune	6.4	214
17	Who's Got the Lady?	5.7	196
18	The Skeleton Key	5.8	209

Season 6 (1983)

6.15 avg 14 episodes 6.4 → 5.3 26 min avg

Season 6 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	A Passing Opportunity	6.4	199
2	The Memory Man	6.7	231
3	A Sad Loss	6.5	229
4	Clerical Error	7.0	238
5	Heir Presumptuous	5.5	208
6	Where's Your Sense of Humour?	6.1	136
7	Down Among the Sheltering Palms	5.8	218
8	The Vorpal Blade	6.6	255
9	The Wrong 'Un	6.5	222
10	The Luncheon	5.6	232
11	The Tribute	5.8	214
12	Hit and Run	6.5	211
13	Youth from Vienna	5.8	201
14	The Turn of the Tide	5.3	188

Season 7 (1984)

5.83 avg 15 episodes 6.1 → 5.2 26 min avg

Season 7 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	The Dirty Detail	6.1	196
2	The Best Chess Player in the World	6.0	208
3	Proxy	6.2	196
4	Have a Nice Death	5.1	212
5	Number Eight	6.8	242
6	The Last of the Midnight Gardeners	5.8	197
7	The Gift of Beauty	6.2	206
8	Wet Saturday	4.5	211
9	Sauce for the Goose	5.7	216
10	Bird of Prey	5.8	204
11	I Like It Here in Wilmington	5.6	174
12	Accidental Death	6.2	187
13	The Reconciliation	6.3	179
14	The Mugger	6.0	186
15	The Open Window	5.2	189

Season 8 (1985)

6.60 avg 4 episodes 6.2 → 6.5 28 min avg

Season 8 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	People Don't Do Such Things	6.2	190
2	In the Cards	6.6	188
3	Nothin' Short of Highway Robbery	7.1	239
4	Scrimshaw	6.5	212

Season 9 (1987)

6.48 avg 10 episodes 7.6 → 6.2 27 min avg

Rollercoaster

Season 9 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Skeleton in the Cupboard	7.6	265
2	The Colonel's Lady	6.5	182
3	The Surgeon	6.5	189
4	The Verger	7.3	261
5	The Facts of Life	5.6	186
6	Wink Three Times	6.6	210
7	The Dead Don't Steal	6.6	155
8	The Finger of Suspicion	5.6	170
9	A Time to Die	6.3	185
10	Mr. Know-All	6.2	197