(1977)
Dir - Claude Whatham
Overall: MEH
Airing for one season in mid-1977, Supernatural was a BBC series that revolved around the fictitious "Club of the Damned", where pasty aristocrats gather to regale each other with horror stories lest they be killed for not providing enough chills in their tales. It was an adequate set-up for an anthology program where each week would feature an independent narrative, but its initial story "Ghost of Venice" is a less than promising one. Full of melodramatic performances and hinging around an unlikable protagonist, it concerns a retired English actor who is plagued by dreams of being robbed during a performance from over a decade prior, prompting him to return to the city of the title. Robert Hardy bounces between spouting venomous accusations, to smugly reminiscing, to being bemused with the return of his long lost mistress, and he never once becomes a compelling or sympathetic character in the process. There is a late twist that is not tricky to spot beforehand, but it fails to up the chill factor as much as it should.
(1977)
Dir - Simon Langton
Overall: MEH
The second episode of Supernatural was the first of a two-parter and it unfortunately saves nearly all of the horror shenanigans for its follow-up. Playing as a stagnant introduction, "Countess Ilona" sets up another batch of less than agreeable characters who are brought together in Budapest, Hungary by the also not likeable title character for reasons that quickly become obvious. For anyone who knows that this it is followed up by "The Werewolf Reunion", only the most patient of viewers will be able to withstand the lack of lycanthropian elements, instead being presented with endless chitter-chatter between Billie Whitelaw's sly Countess and her ex-lovers, all of whom are either boisterous, crotchety, or just plain ole dull. Even Whitelaw's now deceased husband is talked about openly as being a raging asshole. Things end just as they get going, leading into the next half of the double-episode where we get even more drawn-out scenes of bickering and nearly as little werewolf action.
(1977)
Dir - Simon Langton
Overall: MEH
For anyone thinking that the brutal and mysterious death of one of Billie Whitelaw's complaining ex-lovers at the end of "Countess Ilona" would kick things into gear, the proceeding "The Werewolf Reunion" is here to squash those expectations. Picking up where the previous episode left off, another tumultuous oaf shows up at said countess' Budapest abode, this one being the most humorless one of the lot. Each night brings another curious and indoor death by beast, eventually troubling the guests enough to either try and flee or grow more volatile, all while Whitelaw smirks at them and scowls in her quarters. It is a pristine costume drama from a production standpoint, and director Simon Langton gets some atmospheric mileage out of the occasional outdoor, shot on actual film scene. Yet by the time that everyone's doom has been sealed, it has become all too obvious what the grand scheme was, who has been behind it, and who the actual lycanthropian culprit is, making for a good looking yet shallow end product.
(1977)
Dir - Alan Cooke
Overall: MEH
Four episodes and three stories in, and Supernatural was establishing itself as focusing all of its tales on distasteful protagonists. The title character in "Mr. Nightingale" is yet another one, played by Jeremy Brett at first as an admittingly mad eccentric in old man makeup, only to flashback for the majority of the story where he plays both himself and his obnoxious doppelgänger. This is one of those instances where Brett's portrayal can be lauded since he nails the assignment of making his villainous half unlikable, not to mention his increasing bouts of mania come off with the appropriate level of melodramatic flair to fit some of the other bravado performances in the program. The bigger problem lies in series creator Robert Muller's script which is largely incomprehensible. Brett's doppelgänger merely appears with no rhyme, reason, or scheme attached to him, perhaps alluding to the fact that Mr. Nightingale is just suffering from good ole fashioned insanity. There is another woman who just as inexplicably becomes fascinated with both him and Hamburg, Germany catching on fire, plus there are further muddled accusations and emotional breakdowns given to secondary characters that come off as unnecessary and underwritten.
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