Tales of the Unexpected (TV Series) Have a Nice Death (1984) User Reviews

Average tale of the unexpected.

[poolandrews · 4/10 · 28 April 2007]

Tales of the Unexpected: Have a Nice Death is set in New York where British author Sam Luke (Simon Cadell) is promoting his best selling sexist book 'Women Weeping', while in his high rise hotel room Sam receives a threatening phone call which worries him. Then the next day he gets a package with one of his books inside which explodes when opened, Sam is convinced he is going to be killed...

This Tales of the Unexpected story was episode 4 from season 7 that originally aired here in the UK during June 1984, directed by William Slater this is a pretty poor episode. The story by Antonia Fraser was dramatised by Wolf Mankowitz & is another dull crime thriller drama with a supposed twist which is anything but. Overall this is a totally forgettable, predictable & dour 30 odd minutes form a series which has frankly produced many. The repetitive plot lacks any spark, any action, any excitement, any decent likable character's or pace.

This episode features possibly the worst New York skyline ever, it looks like it was made from cardboard boxes. I mean couldn't they get a photograph or something? Anyway, besides that unintentionally hilarious piece of bad film-making this is set in the same apartment throughout & is rather bland. The acting isn't great here despite the familiar British cast.

Have a Nice Death has a great title but does nothing with it, overall this is a pretty poor & pointless story.

Have a nice death

[coltras35 · 6/10 · 5 March 2023]

Sam Luke is a successful male-chauvinist writer, pushing the line that women are the weaker sex. He is a popular fellow, with no enemies - except that the feminists did not like his book Women Weeping... Then the literary lion gets a series of 'Have a nice death' messages, the machismo crumbles and he decides to go home to his wife. But it isn't so easy as it might be...

Simon Cadell totally steals the scene as the obnoxiously drunk writer of books that are deemed sexist, and hence he's got a fair share of women who would like to throttle him. And one woman starts making threatening phone calls to him saying "Have a nice Death". It doesn't take Einstein to guess who the perpetrator is, however I liked this episode. It's staginess added a claustrophobic feel. Perhaps it's a bit flat in places but I wouldn't call this one dire.

"It's like you've got X-ray eyes, Sam."

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 4 January 2022]

The dictionary definition of 'male chauvinist pig' would have had a picture of Sam Luke (Simon Cadell) right next to it based on this story. If made today, the #Metoo crowd would have a field day with this guy. The author is in New York City to promote his book 'Women Weeping', a best seller that's still climbing the charts. His publisher Clodagh Jansen (Kate Harper) has plans to promote it even more. In the midst of this success however, Sam starts receiving phone calls denouncing him with the repeated message to 'have a nice death'. He's consoled by Clodagh, along with an assistant (Susannah Fellows) who strangely falls under his spell since her own relationships have all gone sour. The one thing I couldn't understand about this super insensitive member of the male species was how all the women around him were gorgeous knockouts, including the wife who opted to stay in London during the book tour. Well, at least long enough for his publisher to follow through on all those threatening phone calls. Seems like the gal pals were in league, in more ways than one.

Tacky, predictable and utterly forgettable.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 3/10 · 21 February 2016]

Sam Luke, a Brit, has struck it big in New York with his book, 'Women Weeping' a runaway success, a book which claims that women are the weaker sex, he appears on a popular chat show and causes a storm.

Everything about this episode is tacky, the script, the story, the hotel room, the concept, it's just all ultra tacky. If that was New York I'm the man from Uncle. It is one of the most drab productions in the show's history, it really is an utter yawn fest.

Simon Cadell was a truly lovely actor, famed for Hi-de-hi and tragically taken long before his time, but even he can't save this episode despite a spirited performance.

Trouble is you kind of know what's going to happen and who's going to do it before it even plays out, the predictability is too much.

3/10.

Another ridiculous story

[bmesser · 1/10 · 20 January 2022]

Another ridiculous story from TOTU. This drab uninteresting story is chock full of awful acting and terrible dialogue plumbing new depths even for TOTU.