Abby is an American who arrives in the UK looking for her boyfriend Doug. She comes to a village where she believes he stayed but can find no trace. She has a telepathic link with him and still hears him call her name; she is worried but still has hope. Also in the village is a bohemian group of mainly American artists, most notably Alan Smerdon, a half-cousin of Abby's she hasn't seen since childhood.
Abby has high hopes of Doug visiting Alan for his birthday party, especially as his sister was also due to come. However neither of them arrive and she then fears the worst. She starts to investigate with dangerous results.
Review
This was Pamela Franklin's second Thriller apearance in quick time in early 1975. Her earlier episode Screamer is controversial but generally well-regarded, although I find it disappointing. This outing gets a less favourable reception from fans on the whole, commonly considered one of the show's lesser episodes. Indeed that was generally my view but on very recent viewing (the first time in many years) I was very impressed and feel it has a lot more to offer than it might first seem,
Prolific TV writer Dennis Spooner (a long-time colleague of Brian Clemens) supplied his first script on-screen for Thriller here with the other - The Crazy Kill - airing the following week although in each case Clemens wrote the story outline as he did for all Thriller episodes. The basic story is certainly a very good one - a young woman arrives in an isolated small town to find her boyfriend missing. The presence of a telepathic link between them adds another dimension. Most viewers have found the actual results on-screen underwhelming, chiefly because the episode is seen as very slow. It certainly is slow although that can also be seen as atmospheric or useful in developing a mood of unease and I would tend to subscribe to the latter on recent viewing. Each viewer draws their own conclusions - which can change over time - and there is no right or wrong about whether an episode satisfies viewers but often it is useful to revisit a production to see how it comes across years later. Sometimes (maybe most of the time) opinions are little changed but occasionally they become notably more or less favourable.
This was Pamela Franklin's second Thriller apearance in quick time in early 1975. Her earlier episode Screamer is controversial but generally well-regarded, although I find it disappointing. This outing gets a less favourable reception from fans on the whole, commonly considered one of the show's lesser episodes. Indeed that was generally my view but on very recent viewing (the first time in many years) I was very impressed and feel it has a lot more to offer than it might first seem,
Prolific TV writer Dennis Spooner (a long-time colleague of Brian Clemens) supplied his first script on-screen for Thriller here with the other - The Crazy Kill - airing the following week although in each case Clemens wrote the story outline as he did for all Thriller episodes. The basic story is certainly a very good one - a young woman arrives in an isolated small town to find her boyfriend missing. The presence of a telepathic link between them adds another dimension. Most viewers have found the actual results on-screen underwhelming, chiefly because the episode is seen as very slow. It certainly is slow although that can also be seen as atmospheric or useful in developing a mood of unease and I would tend to subscribe to the latter on recent viewing. Each viewer draws their own conclusions - which can change over time - and there is no right or wrong about whether an episode satisfies viewers but often it is useful to revisit a production to see how it comes across years later. Sometimes (maybe most of the time) opinions are little changed but occasionally they become notably more or less favourable.
The episode revolves around the heroine's concern about a missing person. This is a noted similarity with the Series 2 episode One Deadly Owner but in both cases the teaser makes clear that this person has actually been murdered and the hope they might be found alive and well is a forlorn one. The episode title here makes even more emphatic that the person concerned is dead. This is made more poignant here because the missing person is not a stranger to the heroine but her boyfriend. It's an interesting question whether the episode might have been more effective if the fate of the boyfriend (Douglas) hadn't been made clear in the teaser and viewers also held out hope he would return. While that would have its advantages it would also mean that the episode would lose some of its melancholy character - events here (and in One Deadly Owner) can become sadder because viewers know that he is dead and ultimately Abby is going to discover the tragic truth. There is of course still mystery about who killed him - and why. It might also be argued that, with this being Thriller, viewers would always suspect that the missing person had been killed so there may have been little value in not making this clear from the start. The teaser itself is a good one to draw attention as we see Doug frightened and anxious before being stabbed by an unknown assailant, then falling against the piano keyboard to create a jarring, discordant sound.
The hippy artistic community is a weak spot. By the mid-1970's hippies had faded away but the message hadn't always got through to TV producers. The "American" ancillary characters such as Hank are rather stereotypical and of limited value. It is an irony that the episode with the highest number of American characters should contain not a single American actor. Thankfully these ancillaries are not seen that often. Their presence early on does help to create a contrast between their high-spirits and hedonism and the seriousness - even sadness - of Abby. They also provide a contrast with the intense and simmering Scottish sculptor Frank.
The hippy artistic community is a weak spot. By the mid-1970's hippies had faded away but the message hadn't always got through to TV producers. The "American" ancillary characters such as Hank are rather stereotypical and of limited value. It is an irony that the episode with the highest number of American characters should contain not a single American actor. Thankfully these ancillaries are not seen that often. Their presence early on does help to create a contrast between their high-spirits and hedonism and the seriousness - even sadness - of Abby. They also provide a contrast with the intense and simmering Scottish sculptor Frank.
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| Abby (Pamela Franklin, right) with artist Beryl (Suzanne Neve) |
The other members of the community are rather better. Alan and Beryl (an English woman) are the central pair. Like the rest of the "community" they are funded by their wealthy families. However both of them try to stress that they have rejected materialistic values and are now trying to create something meaningful. Abby notes the hypocrisy of them saying this while happy to live off their parents' money - a practice of some middle class "radicals".
Frank is a sculptor (although his sculpting largely consists of him continually scraping a small block of wood. In fairness convincingly depicting creative work on screen is difficult). He is on the fringe of the community and - like Abby - he is uncomfortable with their ways. Artistic life seems to have mellowed him and led him away from aggression but it doesn't seem to have extinguished all combativeness which never seems far from the surface. He is offended by the snide comments of the snobbish bank clerk about the artistic community. Maybe he has some loyalty to it but equally he doesn't challenge Abby's criticisms of Alan and Beryl.
Identity theft is a distinctive angle taken up by the story. Today it is very topical and highly sophisticated but in the 1970's little skill is required for the subterfuge - a faked signature of Alan Smerdon seems to be sufficient. Abby hasn't seen him since childhood so she is none the wiser. Whether Abby's boyfriend Doug was killed because he had stumbled upon the fraud is unknown. Much of the episode is occupied with Abby wondering about the fate of Douglas, hoping that he will turn up but being disappointed. She cuts a very melancholy figure in what is generally a very bleak tale, not just in its themes of loss and uncertainty but also in the cold, lonely and harsh winter landscape.
The telepathic link between Abby and Douglas makes this a seemingly supernatural story (although it's not impossible Abby is imagining he is contacting her) and possibly more could have been made of the subject. It is largely restricted to her hearing him whisper her name, almost pleadingly. The lack of any further detail makes his fate rather enigmatic from her viewpoint but it limits its potential within the episode. Maybe if there had been more communication between them before his disappearance it could have been explored further. This story could easily have been rewritten without the telepathy altogether as a conventional mystery but it would have been best to make full use of an intriguing angle.
The performances, leaving aside the minor hippy characters, are sound. Pamela Franklin is typically dependable and Ian Bannen broods along capably. Oliver Tobias and Suzanne Neve are good value as the central artists. The direction by James Ormerod is distinctive and impressive. Light and dark are very well-contrasted throughout and there are a lot of location scenes including night-time ones that are especially effective. There is also some striking use of visual effects with a few scenes shot through coloured filters. Although the daytime outdoor scenes don't offer the same potential for directorial flair the cold, wintry landscape and bare trees do contribute well to the bleak atmosphere.
James Ormerod directed three episodes including the last to be broadcast in the UK - Death in Deep Water - and there are certainly similarities between this and the latter in extensive use of remote location scenes and general emphasis on "atmosphere" rather than pace. The later outing has generally had a much better reception among viewers, perhaps because of its more daring story elements and "noirish" feel and while Death in Deep Water is probably the better episode - indeed one of the best in my view - this one is underestimated. As mentioned earlier the teaser and the theme of a missing person draw parallels with One Deadly Owner but there are other similarities. Both also involve a Rolls-Royce which is somehow connected with murder and in each case there are shots highlighting its luxurious interior and of it driving at night. It may be no coincidence that Series 5 producer Ian Fordyce had directed One Deadly Owner and he may have contributed ideas to James Ormerod here, especially as it was Ormerod's first Thriller episode. All these elements add up to an instalment that is certainly not one of the show's greats but which has rather more to offer than it might first seem.
Notes
Perhaps due to the presence of Ian Bannen but maybe also the cold, wintry landscape I can't escape thinking that this episode is set in Scotland! This is despite the fact that he is the only Scottish character. Other viewers may have cases where they find it hard to shake some curious idea about where an episode was set or other events within it.
The ITC movie version was renamed "Terror from Within", a misleading title given the low-key events on screen although it may provide a valuable reference to the voices (supernatural or imagined) that Abby hears. This is somewhat similar to the other renamed episode featuring "Terror" - "Anatomy of Terror" (originally An Echo of Theresa) which was also similarly slow-paced and more about mystery.
On Friday 2nd September 1983 this episode (in its movie version) was broadcast by four UK TV regions (Border, Yorkshire, TSW and Channel) - the most of any episode on a particular date.
On Friday 2nd September 1983 this episode (in its movie version) was broadcast by four UK TV regions (Border, Yorkshire, TSW and Channel) - the most of any episode on a particular date.
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