Thriller and Realism

Thriller was not a series that aimed for social realism and - as the title suggested - it was aimed pretty squarely at producing "thrills" without linking them to social commentary or issues such as inequality or injustice. It didn't set its stories in the kinds of environments that would be familiar to most viewers of the time such as terraced housing, council flats or estates or even semi-detached, lower middle-class homes in the suburbs as had been done to some degree with the earlier suspense series Shadows of Fear. Instead Thriller set its tales in broadly the homes and workplaces of the ultra-affluent.  

Social class

Predominantly the central characters in Thriller are - at the least - solidly middle class and some are bordering on upper class. Where money problems exist they are restricted to needing more to fund an opulent lifestyle rather than struggling to pay the bills. A few of them live in more modest accommodation - the students Chrissie and Gillian living in a bed-sitting house in Someone at the Top of the Stairs are the most prominent example - but even these are middle class in aspiration and culture. Most live in large, very well-appointed houses - often in the countryside - or in very smart flats. Many of the lead characters have servants. They often seem to have independent or inherited wealth or own their own businesses. Wine or spirits (often poured from expensive decanters) are routinely drunk with beer-drinking reserved for those from more modest backgrounds.

The Marshalls' flat in The Next Victim - an example of the very comfortable living of most Thriller characters

Working class characters are seen sparingly in Thriller and often work in jobs such as deferential servants, caretakers, cleaners and taxi drivers. Their relationship to their middle class counterparts (often their employers or those they otherwise serve) are generally harmonious with little sign of class conflict or tension. Regional accents are rare in the show and with a tendency to highlight "Cockney" voices rather than those from elsewhere. This included a lack of accents or characters from Scotland, Wales or Ireland. Received pronunciation or distinctly "posh" voices were dominant. Altogether then, Thriller was a show set within an upper middle class English culture. 

Reg Lye twice played a caretaker in Thriller (here in Spell of Evil), each time overseeing a strangely-deserted office

The depiction of this very affluent world though was quite commonplace on British film and television at the time, certainly in dramas other than those with explicitly social realist or issue-raising aims. This was probably even more pronounced in shows like Thriller which were aiming to reach international audiences. Such programmes have tended to focus on a particular version of England (the other nations of the UK rarely covered) - an upper, middle class society with an over-representation of rural life. Other sections of society are not criticised but simply largely absent. The same was true of most classic literature, theatre and art. It might be argued that while this was a narrow and stereotypical image of Britain it was the one that "travelled best". The dominance of received pronunciation or "posh" voices was also considered more accessible to international viewers than characters speaking with regional accents, dialects or slang. Even the inclusion of working class "Cockney" characters might be seen as more familiar to non-UK viewers than other sections of the working classes who have been much less depicted in productions for international sale. No doubt viewers in other nations could argue that depictions of them in British or other productions are similarly narrow or stereotypical. 

Leaving aside international considerations, it might be argued that this focus on "high society" was the one most likely to appeal to viewers including those from modest backgrounds. Perhaps viewers find watching scenes set in very affluent settings or very attractive rural environments more appealing. Perhaps they see it as escapism, or even enjoy the contrast between the characters' opulent lives and the deadly threats around them, Rural settings might be seen as having more potential to strike fear due to their isolation. Social realist films and TV are often still very popular (including in some soap operas) but viewers may prefer to separate them from genres such as thrillers. Some thrillers and suspense series such as Shadows of Fear had set some of their stories in more humble settings but maybe the broadest audience appeal comes from taking the approach Thriller did. 

The isolated country house (seen here in Possession - a common Thriller setting

Ethnicity

Black or Asian characters are scarcely seen at all in Thriller. Two appear in the entire show - both briefly in the The Colour of Blood - one as a passenger and the other as a train cleaner.

This absence may seem quite remarkable and unrealistic. Although numbers were lower than today, the black and Asian population in the UK in the early 1970s was not insignificant. However the location of so many Thriller stories does offer some explanation. Many of them were set in the Home Counties or rural areas where ethnic minorities even today are in small numbers. The stories set in London might have offered more opportunity but the characters featured were predominantly the wealthy middle-classes who at that time - and to a large degree now - were overwhelmingly white.

The lack of ethnic minority characters may then seem a reflection of the setting of the stories. Even so the very low numbers seen are perhaps a little surprising. However - once again - context is the key. This lack was commonplace in TV and film productions of the time. The only exceptions tended to be shows taking race as their theme or story and a few comedies that focused on racial conflict, sometimes in very unsubtle and dubious ways. It is only in the last few years that black and Asian characters have figured more frequently.

Gender - this is covered in an earlier blog

Age

Children were scarcely seen in Thriller (this was generally the case in adult dramas) but otherwise characters of all ages appeared. However heroines and victims (or potential victims) were predominantly young. This focus on youth in particular relation to victims amplified feelings of vulnerability and poignancy at such loss of life.

Sally Thurston in Someone at the Top of the Stairs, about to become one of many young female victims in the show

Disability

Disabled characters were at the centre of three Thriller episodes - The Eyes Have It, The Next Voice You See and The Next Victim. The first two of these focused on blindness and the third on a woman who was a wheelchair-user. In the latter two instalments the focus is very much on the danger posed to the disabled character who fears for their life with a killer on the loose. Disability as a source of vulnerability which a villain seeks to exploit has featured in various thriller-type productions (including Brian Clemens's earlier film Blind Terror) and the lack of ability to see a threat or mobility to get away from it are obvious sources of fear. The Eyes Have It offers a notable variation as the blind students are not the targets of the villains who are instead trying to assassinate from distance a visiting statesman but they are still vulnerable and their efforts to thwart the attack do put them in danger. 

The other major disabled character featured in the show is Charley Harrow in Nurse Will Make It Better. Charley was left paralyzed after a riding accident and struggles not just physically but psychologically with her new condition. Her angry outbursts ultimately lead to the engagement of nurse Bessie Morne as her carer - a fateful decision as Bessie is actually a witch who effects a "miracle cure" as a means to turn Charley towards evil. A blind flower seller is also briefly featured in The Colour of Blood in which he has a carnation stolen from him by serial killer Arthur Page. This limited attention to disability was common at the time with disabled characters generally only featured where their disability was seen as the source of a storyline.

Some of the blind students in The Eyes Have It

Marriage

Although marital breakdown was much less common in the early 1970's, marriage has a remarkable resilience in Thriller. Only in one episode (The Double Kill) is there significant friction between a married couple. In a few others spouses are planning to dispatch their partners although their marriages seem contented, even to the prospective victims. Where characters have lost their spouses it is usually through death rather than divorce or separation. The handful of figures who are divorced or separated - the Garricks (K Is for Killing) and Greg Miles (If It's a Man - Hang Up!) - have something of a cloud hanging over them. There are no instances of cohabitation.

The police

One of the most striking aspects of Thriller is its depiction of the police. While police and detective shows regularly highlighted the police as heroes, their portrayal in Thriller is notably ambivalent. Most certainly there are some officers who are very incisive and professional. Some such as those seen in Kill Two Birds appear to be cut from the rather rougher, more socially realistic cloth used in The Sweeney. However the majority of Thriller policemen are in some way eccentric or significantly flawed. Quite a number of them make mistakes and some border on the unprofessional in their conduct.

Contrasting detectives in The Double Kill - the unconventional (or unscrupulous) Lucas (Peter Bowles) and more conventional Sergeant Player (John Flanagan)

This means that in some respects the depiction of the police in Thriller may be more realistic than that seen in most other series. They are shown - alongside their virtues - as having human foibles and limitations that the hero or heroine often has to compensate for.  Maybe there was a deliberate attempt to get away from the heroic, often cliched portrayal. Whatever the reason it is a provocative and engaging aspect of the programme.

Sexuality

This is largely covered in the modesty section of The American Influence on Thriller (to follow). Thriller certainly does not have a realistic depiction of sexuality. Married couples are rarely seen in bed together and even then not in any intimate scenes. They also always wear modest nightdresses or pyjamas in the bedroom. Gay and lesbian characters are non-existent, but that was true of all but the most ultra-realist drama of the time.

A married couple in modest night-wear - Ray and Penny Burns in Possession

Violence

This is probably the most unrealistic aspect of Thriller. Characters are routinely stabbed or shot without a single wound appearing on their body. A number of murder scenes are rather unconvincingly done. This is especially true of those involving victims being run down by cars. In these and some others the victims seem to freeze and make things remarkably easy for their assailants.

The lack of blood seen in the show, and the unrealistic nature of the violence, may well have been a deliberate decision. Achieving realistic violent scenes can be demanding to act, direct and produce. It may mean the choreographing of a struggle, extensive use of make-up or effects and delays to achieve convincing results. The producers may have felt time and resources could have been better used, and they were almost certainly right. A bigger reason may have been to avoid problems with broadcast and viewer reaction. Graphic and realistically violent scenes may upset or offend viewers and may result either in censorship or later broadcast time.

Overall Thriller's use of violence was essentially theatrical, like many aspects of the programme. The priority was to create psychological tension and leave violence in the viewer's imagination. The lack of realistic violence may put off some contemporary viewers, especially younger ones, but it is one of the most appealing things for the vast majority of fans.