The BEST episodes written by Peter Ransley
#1 - Skeleton in the Cupboard
Tales of the Unexpected - Season 9 - Episode 1
Robert Smythe is a ruthless executive with a dangerous twenty-year-old secret... An echo from the past prompts him into a new cover-up of the truth, but his wife becomes suspicious.
Watch Now:Amazon#2 - Episode 2
Fingersmith - Season 1 - Episode 2
Having disposed of Sue, Rivers takes Maud to London to Mrs Sucksby's house. There Maud learns that Mrs Sucksby is the mastermind behind her escape and Sue's downfall. Maud is plagued by doubts over her treatment of Sue and the fake life that she presented. In reality Maud was orphaned and brought up by her Uncle, a cruel man, who has abused his niece and hardened her heart. The nightly readings in his library were not as innocent as it appeared to Sue. Maud was forced to read pornography to her uncle and his friends. Tormented by the cruelty of her existence, Maud found in Rivers a way out. By marrying him, she could escape the prison of her uncle's house. But what Maud hadn't expected was to be so affected by her friendship with Sue - or indeed that she would fall in love with her. In order to save herself from her uncle, Maud had to reconcile herself to hurting Sue. But even Maud couldn't have imagined that her world would be further turned upside down. Mrs Sucksby reveals that through a series of twists and turns Maud and Sue were switched at birth — they have been living each other's lives. Can Maud continue to live with this newfound knowledge, knowing that Sue has been deserted by all those she once loved? Mrs Sucksby explains to Maud that she has no choice but to comply with the rest of the plan. Maud is further devastated to learn that they have no intention of rescuing Sue from the asylum.
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#3 - The Best Chess Player in the World
Tales of the Unexpected - Season 7 - Episode 2
G.B. Shaw, a successful newpaper proprietor, sets out to use people as if they were pieces on a chessboard. His beautiful wife, Paula, has everything she could want - including a horse, a Ferrari and a very large dress allowance. Then Paula begins to live dangerously by taking a lover, and Shaw decides to deal with the problem in his usual cool, calm and clear-thinking way. But life does not always obey the rules of the game...
Watch Now:Amazon#4 - Episode 1
Fingersmith - Season 1 - Episode 1
Since she was orphaned, Sue Trinder (Sally Hawkins) has been brought up amongst pickpockets and charlatans. She has been protected and cared for by Mrs Sucksby (Imelda Staunton) who believes Sue is too good a girl to get directly involved in such a world. But when Mrs Sucksby's old friend Richard Rivers (Rupert Evans) offers 20-year-old Sue £3,000 to assist him in one of his scams, Mrs Sucksby cannot resist. Passing himself off as a proper gent, Rivers has befriended a young lady, Maud Lilly (Elaine Cassidy), who stands to inherit a fortune when she marries. However, Maud's maid has recently left her service and, without a chaperone, Rivers' access to Maud is limited. He wants Sue to be accepted as the new maid and to help him win Maud over. Once married, Rivers plans to have Maud committed to an asylum and he will then take her fortune for himself. Arriving at Briar, the estate where Maud lives with her wealthy bookish Uncle Lilly (Charles Dance), Sue enters another world. Maud and Sue are of a similar age and appearance but their experience of life couldn't be further apart. Maud's existence is one of wealth and prosperity inside a grand house, where her duties are limited to nightly readings to her uncle and his friends. Over the course of a few months, Sue and Maud become friends. But Sue's growing feelings for Maud cannot prevent her from going through with Rivers' scam. On Sue's advice, Maud accepts Rivers' proposal of marriage. Will this event lead to Maud's demise and Rivers' great fortune? Now married to Maud, Rivers' next plan is to get her admitted to the asylum. But in a dramatic twist it is Sue that Rivers has certified. Suddenly Sue realises that Maud was in on the plan from the very beginning.
Watch Now:Amazon
#5 - Clerical Error
Tales of the Unexpected - Season 6 - Episode 4
Paul Standing, the son of a highly-respected doctor who has recently died, is winding up his father's affairs when he receives an account from a book-shop owned by two brothers (Michael and Ronnie Carey) demanding over a thousand pounds for pornography supplied to his late father. Paul knows that receiving this bill could have killed his mother, who has a weak heart - but he is suspicious of the claim, for a very good reason...
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#6 - Where's Your Sense of Humour?
Tales of the Unexpected - Season 6 - Episode 6
Laura and Frank Parker are the long-suffering friends of George and Julie Forester. Long-suffering, because George is a compulsive prankster, and some of his jokes are very troublesome... then one day he goes too far.