User Reviews

Roger Carson hates his clerical job in insurance, there it seems under grievance, he's forced to live and be dependent on his domineering and judgemental Aunt May. She nags Roger about work, about girls, he's more interested in gambling. At the roulette table he encounters Suzie, an employee of the club, he starts riding his luck and drawing suspicion. Roger suggests a companion for his Aunt, she refuses. He gets in a lot deeper at the Casino, getting into debt asking for credit, £20,000 worth. Roger heads on holiday, and the heavies visit Auntie May.

Elizabeth Spriggs is one of my all time favourite actresses, so it is always great to see her on screen. Her last episode 'The Orderly world of Mr Appleby' had been a definite triumph, I don't think this one is as good, but it's still reasonably good. She has so much charisma, a classic performer, she's so creepy in this. So good to see Elaine Paige too, an undervalued actress in my opinion, I know she's been a huge stage star, but I always enjoy seeing her on the small screen too. Andre Ray is good once again, appearing in his third of six episodes.

I'm reviewing this having watched it for the first time, I quite enjoyed it, I had no idea which way this episode was going to go, it kept me entertained throughout. 7/10

As Paul Andrew is the only other reviewer for this episode of Tales of the Unexpected at this time, the plot need not be explained again too much.

The usual 'PAL' drab production values persist, which may have enhanced this episode if done on 'film' - a few episodes of course were, at times. It deals as Paul above has said, with a lazy, kept nephew of Elizabeth Spriggs. It has its sinister side and in only a few instances in 'TotU' this does happen, this being one of them, where the sinister triumphs when we think it won't.

To cut a long story short, Andrew Ray's character, Paul Carson, owes £20,000 to a casino boss for his gambling debts. When Paul bombs off to Spain, the casino boss's minions pay his aunt, Spriggs, a visit, but she mentions she is not paying his debt and that Paul will be left all her money in her will when she of course pops off. The minions give the menacing look, it cuts to Paul feigning disbelief and horror at his aunt reported as dead by the police, then when putting the 'phone down rejoicing and celebrating with a young Elaine Paige that he's rich at last, stating that he got someone to do the dirty work of 'topping' his aunt without them knowing. The £20,000 will be easily paid back in any case. A twist, no less but fairly ordinary.

Tales of the Unexpected: The Way to Do It concerns a man named Roger Carson (Andrew Ray) who lives with his rich Aunt May (Elizabeth Spriggs) who gives him just about enough allowance a month so he'll stay but not enough so he can have any independence, he hates her. To distract himself from the boredom & frustration Roger tales up gambling but ends up too deep owing £20,000 to a casino owner (Martin Benson) who sends his thugs out to collect the outstanding money when Roger decides to have a sudden holiday in Spain but maybe Roger isn't as dumb as he looks...

This Tales of the Unexpected story was episode 16 from season 4 that originally aired here in the UK during July 1981, the fourth of ten Tales of the Unexpected episodes to be directed by Alan Gibson this is pretty standard fare that doesn't distinguish itself. The story by Jack Ritchie was dramatised by Denis Cannan & is forgettable stuff, this one has no horror or supernatural elements therefore it must be one of the many bland crime drama thriller based episodes which have some laboured build up & then a throughly predictable & dull twist ending. There's little of interest here, the character's & dialogue are tawdry & the basic premise which is the thing that is supposed to keep you watching is unimaginative & dull. The thing which almost saves it is the fact that it only lasts for 25 minutes so it moves along at a fair pace even if it's not the best piece of TV your ever likely to see.

This one has zero scares, no tension, no action or excitement & lacks any atmosphere. Basically this is a throughly forgettable Tales of the Unexpected episode as if there weren't enough of them already & as usual time hasn't been kind to it. The acting is average & the suggested incestuous relationship between Roger & his Aunt May is deeply unpleasant especially when you have to see the both of them kiss each other on the lips, urgh...

The Way to Do It is a predictable & forgettable way to waste 25 minutes, if your a fan of the series then this is a must but for everyone else this isn't anything special.

I didn't care for the resolution of this story. I didn't mind Vasco's (Martin Benson) strong arm thugs paying a visit to Aunt May (Elizabeth Spriggs), but I didn't think she should have been the one to pay for Roger Carson's (Andrew Ray) failure to pay up on his gambling debt. Somehow the twist ending failed to give Roger his due for being a complete cad, not only for ditching his aunt, but for running off with Vasco's hostess (Elaine Paige) as well; he would still have to answer for that. And I'm not all that sure Vasco was the patient type to wait for a settlement of Aunt May's estate. For the record though, Aunt May was more than a bit creepy with those kisses she asked for from her nephew. Something was going on there that might have hinted at her own obsession with soft porn. Perhaps a part two to this story would have been in order to deal with Roger's return from Spain.