Telephile: Occultish Television

Television can be a spooky sort of a place sometimes, though not always on purpose. You know those times when you might be watching the news or a doco or something vaguely factual and a really quite strange thing appears or occurs, and is presented in a most casual and blasé manner, and you have to stop and go ‘What the freak was that about’ before it’s gone again in a flash. There have been rare exceptions though when a TV show has been conjured up that succeeds in it’s mission to send prickles up your spine. Or just to slightly freak you out a bit. Below is a handful of programmes we reckon do just that. Dim the lights and grab a cushion for these worrisome televisual presentations…

Thriller [iMDB]
Where do you go once you’ve created one of the most well loved British television shows that helped define the lives and style of a decade? Well, if it’s the 70s and budgets ain’t what they used to be you could recede into the shadows and find comfort in the dark. Which is just what Brian Clemens did when The Avengers and The New Avengers came to an end and he decided to launch a new series called ‘Thriller‘. Part supernatural spook fest, part crime thriller, the series ran for seven seasons and was made up of individual tales featuring different actors each time. Several of the UK’s acting royalty cut their teeth on Thriller such as Helen Mirren (A Coffin for the Bride), Dennis Waterman (The Eyes Have It), Brian Blessed (A Midsummer Nightmare), Bob Hoskins (Kill Two Birds) and Hayley Mills (Only a Scream Away). It has to be said though that the thing that makes Thriller spooky today is mostly due to it’s dated production values which make you think the actors have been left alone on a haunted soundstage with only a few oddly lit and wobbly props for company.

Riget aka The Kingdom [iMDB]
Antichrist wasn’t Lars Von Tier’s first foray into the occult. Riget or The Kingdom, as it was renamed for English speaking audiences, has become one of the best known Danish television shows ever (how many of those can you name?). The series was set in a hospital built upon once ancient and mystical ‘bleaching’ grounds. So far, so Danish version of a Stephen King novel. Of course, being Von Tier the series only adhered to it’s own unique conventions, ie each episode would start out quite jovial, even comedic, before it’s slow decent into the hidden places with the hospital and the eerie occult and supernatural goings on inhabiting them, thereby lulling you into a false sense of security as Von Tier will do. The series spiked the interest of Stephen King and his attempt at an American version called ‘Kingdom Hospital’ fell rather flat. Maybe they should have mimicked Von Tier’s monologue played during the end credits which always when the director would advise viewers to “Always take the good with the evil.”

Wild Palms [iMDB]
Wild Palms is curious mix of dark meditations on future tech, celebrity cults in L.A. (just don’t mention Scientology) and some of the most witty and cutting dialogue you’ll find on telly. A possible precursor to Richard Kelly’s similarly curious, ‘Southland Tales‘, Wild Palms aired as a mini-series produced by superlative conspiracy theorist, Oliver Stone. The story is loosely based on a graphic novel that was scattered throughout Details magazine in the early 90s and devised by Bruce Wagner. Clips don’t do justice to the sense of high anxiety that permeates the series and nowhere will you find a vision of the future so full of the modern ghosts of virtual reality. Also, it’s probably the only place you’ll find Kim Cattrall convincing as an actress. Second Life has nothing on this. It also contains one of my all time fave quotes ,“I think I have a case of mood poisoning. It must be something I hate.”