''Armchair Thriller'' is a British television drama series broadcast on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

in 1978 and 1980 in two seasons. Taking the form of a sequence of unconnected serials, scripts for ''Armchair Thriller'' were adaptations of published novels and stories. Although not strictly a horror series, it did sometimes include supernatural elements. ''Armchair Thriller'' was mainly produced by

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a Broadcast license, franchise holder for a region of the British ITV (TV network), ITV television network serving Greater London, London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until th ...

, but it included two serials from

Southern Television Southern Television was the ITV broadcasting licence holder for the South and South-East of England from 30 August 1958 to 31 December 1981. The company was launched as 'Southern Television Limited' and the title 'Southern Television' was con ...

. The format was of 25-minute episodes broadcast twice-weekly, usually screened on a Tuesday or Thursday between 8 pm and 9 pm.

Overview

The opening titles consisted of a shadow-figure walking to an armchair and then sitting down, accompanied by music composed by Andy Mackay of pop group

Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter—and bassist Graham Simpson (musician), Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera ...

. Some trailers for the series showed the same armchair soaked in blood and a screaming, maniacal face; these received criticism from those who considered them too horrific for pre- watershed viewing. For ''Armchair Thriller'' broadcasts

changed the station ident it used; normally it showed a London landscape in daytime, but here it was the same view as though seen at night. Ratings reached more than 17 million viewers during the broadcast of the first episode of "The Limbo Connection" in May 1978. The first series included an adaptation of

Antonia Fraser Lady Antonia Margaret Caroline Fraser, (' Pakenham; born 27 August 1932) is a British author of history, novels, biographies and detective fiction. She is the widow of the 2005 Nobel Laureate in Literature, Harold Pinter (1930–2008), and pr ...

's 1977 novel ''

Quiet as a Nun ''Quiet as a Nun'' is a thriller novel, written by Antonia Fraser. First published in 1977, it features Fraser's sleuthing heroine Jemima Shore as she revisits the convent school where she was educated following the mysterious death of one of ...

''. This introduced to television the character of

Jemima Shore Jemima Shore is a fictional character created by Antonia Fraser, and is portrayed as TV's consummately professional investigative journalist. She is featured in a series of crime novels. Novels * ''Quiet as a Nun'' (1977) * ''The Wild Island'' ...

—who was later spun off into her own ITV series—and starred

Maria Aitken Maria Penelope Katharine Aitken (born 12 September 1945) is an English theatre director, teacher, actress, and writer. Early life and career Aitken was born in Dublin, Ireland, the daughter of Sir William Aitken, a Conservative MP, and Penelo ...

. "Quiet as a Nun" features a

cliffhanger A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode or a film of serialized fiction. A cliffhang ...

sequence where the 'Black Nun' appeared. Other actors to appear included

Ian McKellen Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. His career spans seven decades, having performed in genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. Regarded as a British cultural i ...

and Denis Lawson.Armchair Thriller fansite
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Episodes

Series 1

Series 2

DVD releases

The ten Thames-produced serials were released by Network in 2008, both as separate stories and as a box-set. The

-produced "Dead Man's Kit" and "High Tide" were released separately, in 2009 and 2010 respectively, by Simply Home Entertainment.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0969784
Die Krimihomepage: ''Armchair Thriller'' (German fanpage)
1970s British anthology television series 1980s British anthology television series ITV television dramas Television series by Fremantle (company) 1978 British television series debuts 1981 British television series endings 1970s British drama television series 1980s British drama television series English-language television shows Television shows produced by Thames Television Television shows produced by Southern Television