21 September 1969 (1969-09-21) – 11 January 1970 (1970-01-11)
Strange Report is a British television crime drama series starring Anthony Quayle as Adam Strange. It was produced by ITC Entertainment and first broadcast in 1969 on ITV
In the United States, NBC broadcast Strange Report between 8 January and 10 September 1971. It aired on Fridays from 10:00 to 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time throughout its American run.[1]
Unlike other ITC productions, which were created in order to be sold to the U.S. market, Strange Report was created in collaboration with NBC's films unit Arena in the United States (the show's executive producer was Norman Felton, better known for his involvement in The Man from U.N.C.L.E.); the suggestion was that the first half of the series would take place in the United Kingdom, and the second half would see Strange visiting the United States. This idea could not be agreed upon, which explains why such a short season of episodes was created. Quayle and Wills decided not to continue with the series, owing to personal concerns.
Music
The series's opening theme, composed by Roger Webb, was also available as sheet music.
Filming
It was filmed between July 1968 and March 1969, on location and at Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire.
Episodes
Airdate[2] is for ATV Midlands. ITV regions varied date and order.
A pop singer is electrocuted during a charity performance; through this Adam Strange becomes involved with a religious sect focused on charitable works, and he requires Ham Gynt to infiltrate it.
When it is found that a man whose skeleton has been found on a London Second World War bombsite was killed by a bullet and not a falling bomb, Strange investigates a thirty-year-old crime.
A clash between factions at a university demonstrating about defence research looks like descending into violence. The police ask Strange to look into the affair.
Strange finds himself entangled in the world of fashion when Evelyn models for a designer whose collection is then stolen and is threatened unless she pulls out of the show.[ambiguous]
Strange meets the men who turn blood into gold by smuggling illegal immigrants into Britain. One of the immigrants has cholera, bringing with it heartbreak, disillusionment, and murder.
8
8
"REPORT 2475: REVENGE - When a Man Hates"
Charles Crichton
Martin Hall
9 November 1969 (1969-11-09)
109
Nov 1968
Strange finds himself on the death list of a man released from prison, who is bent on wreaking revenge on the people who put him there. The problem is, who is he and where is he?
Following a man's death, Strange becomes personally involved when he receives a coded tape recording. Uncanny events lead to an eternal triangle and possible murder.
A story about the conflicting ideals of father and daughter: he a racist leader of an anti-black organisation, she tolerant and a believer in integration. When a clergyman is murdered and the father is suspected, Scotland Yard asks Strange to investigate a potentially explosive racial situation.
A man commits suicide because a set of X-ray photos shows he had a brain tumour. At the autopsy it is found that no such condition existed. Strange investigates how this mistake could have occurred.
14
14
"REPORT 2493: KIDNAP - Whose Pretty Girl Are You?"
Daniel Petrie
Don Brinkley
28 December 1969 (1969-12-28)
105
Sep 1968
A beauty queen is kidnapped, but is it a publicity stunt or real? The girl's wealthy father asks Strange to help, and what is thought to be a hoax takes a nasty turn.
When a noted heart surgeon goes missing, his wife goes to Strange, believing he has been kidnapped to perform a heart transplant on a ruthless foreign dictator using a live donor.
A gang of swindlers trick a banknote printing company into printing a massive order of a country's currency, but it soon transpires that the government of that country has no knowledge of the deal.
Broadcast
The series was repeated on UK satellite channel Bravo in 1996/1997, and on UK digital terrestrial channel ITV4, from digitally restored prints, in 2005/2006. (The episode 'Heart' was not screened by ITV4.) Satellite channel Men and Motors also screened the series in 2007.
Home media
Techno Film released two episodes – "SHRAPNEL" and "HOSTAGE" – on Super 8 cine film for home use in 1970.
ITC Video released two VHS tapes of the series in the UK in 1994, containing the episodes – 'Heart'/'X-Ray', and 'Covergirls'/'Cult'.
The series was digitally restored for Carlton Visual Entertainment by BBC Resources in 2003. The full series was released on DVD in the UK by the Network imprint as a five-disc special edition in 2004 and as a four-disc edition in 2005. The special edition was subsequently re-released in the UK in 2007 and the regular one in 2009. The series was also released on DVD in Australia by Umbrella Entertainment in 2007. In 2011, Network re-released the episode 'Kidnap' in its retro-ACTION! Volume 1 Blu-Ray, this is the first time an episode of the series had been shown in a superior high-definition quality. The same episode was further released in Network's 2018 retro-ACTION! Blu-Ray.
In other media
Books
A 1970 paperback novel "based on the famous TV series" written by John Burke, adapting two teleplays, was originally published in the UK by Hodder & Stoughton and subsequently reprinted in a US edition published by Lancer Books.
Records
The theme to the series by Roger Webb was released as a 7 inch single on Columbia records (DB 8803) in 1971. "The World of Love", the song from the episode 'Cult', was released as the B-side of The Strangers' first single, "I've Got You", on the little-known Harvard record label (Harv 001) in 1970. The accompaniment to the song is credited to Geoff Love who, in 1972, recorded his own version of the Strange Report theme for the Music For Pleasure LP Geoff Love and his Orchestra Play Your Top TV Themes (MFP 5272). This version can also be found on the Virgin Records CDs This Is Easy (1996) and This is....Cult Fiction Royale (1997), and the ITV 50 Cult TV Themes CD (2005) released to celebrate 50 years of ITV.
In 2009, Network issued a soundtrack album containing Webb's theme music and original scores composed for the episodes "REPORT 4407: HEART – No Choice for the Donor", "REPORT 1553: RACIST – A Most Dangerous Proposal", "REPORT 0649: SKELETON – Let Sleeping Heroes Lie", "REPORT 5055: CULT – Murder Shrieks Out", "REPORT 7931: SNIPER – When is Your Cousin Not?" and "REPORT 3424: EPIDEMIC – A Most Curious Crime", as well as unused and alternate takes, plus library music from other composers also used in the series.
References
^Brooks, Tim, and Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946–Present, Sixth Edition, New York: Ballantine Books, 1995, ISBN0-345-39736-3, pp. 984–985.
^Dates from ITC Episode guide issued with the Network DVD
