Tales of the Unexpected (TV Series) Pattern of Guilt (1982) User Reviews

Pattern of Guilt

[coltras35 · 7/10 · 15 September 2022]

A police doctor, who is involved with the case of a serial killer who murders women, is desperate to divorce his second wife Elaine ( a right slapper) in order to get back to Faye, the wife he left for Elaine, but Elaine is not going to give him a divorce, so he decides to take murderous route. However, he has an idea. The clues left by the murderer could just help him commit the perfect murder.

A solid entry with a good plot, a deliciously saucy performance by Suzanne Lloyd and some good suspense - of course, there's the twist. And a fine one that lingers right after you have finished watching.

Decent Tales of the Unexpected episode.

[poolandrews · 6/10 · 30 September 2007]

Tales of the Unexpected: Pattern of Guilt starts as police doctor Keith (Peter Egan) pronounces another woman dead, she had been shot at point blank range & is the latest female victim of a killer. Detective Seargent Jim Gordon (Bernard Kay) is on the case but the killers identity remains a mystery, meanwhile Keith is having woman trouble as he wants a divorce from his current wife Elaine (Suzanne Danielle) so he can remarry his first wife Faye (Jennie Linden) whom he left to marry Elaine in the first place. However Elaine doesn't want to play ball & says she'll make it as hard for him as she can, Keith is impatient & when he accidentally learns the identity of the killer he decides to use the information to his advantage...

Episode 8 from season 5 this Tales of the Unexpected story originally aired here in the UK during June 1982, the seventh of nine Tales of the Unexpected episodes to be directed by Herbert Wise this is a pretty good one. The story by Helen Nielsen was dramatised by Robin Chapman & is a straight crime drama with a twist, I must admit this is a neat little episode with an effective twist ending which isn't too predictable for a change. The character's are good, the build up is good & the pay-off at the end is good as well so all in all I'd say Pattern of Guilt is worth 25 minutes of your time, not the best story the series has ever produced but far from the worst.

This one hasn't dated too badly actually, sure some of the fashions & cars have but generally it looks alright even now. For some bizarre reason some Tales of the Unexpected episodes were shot on 16mm film, some were shot straight onto horrible looking videotape while some had a mixture of the two & I can say without hesitation the ones shot on proper film easily look the best & I was pleased to see that Pattern of Guilt was. Probably because it was shot entirely on location where those massive TV studio cameras couldn't be used. The acting is good although unusually there's no recognisable faces in this one.

Pattern of Guilt is a neat enough Tales of the Unexpected episode, it has a good story & a decent twist as well which is all you can hope for really.

"You've used up five years of my life, and for that you're going to pay."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 4 November 2021]

Keith Briscoe (Peter Egan) hits upon the perfect solution to eliminate his current wife (Suzanne Danielle) who won't divorce him, so he can go back to his first wife (Jennie Linden) and make amends for their failed marriage. This has all the earmarks of a Murphy's Law situation, meaning that if anything could possibly go wrong, it will. Observing how a string of recent serial murders were committed by an assailant with a penchant for stealing small amounts of money and leaving a 'poodle' blanket behind, Briscoe does a little sleuthing and discovers who the killer is, and tracks him down to his flat. There, he finds the man drugged out and unconscious, and proceeds to rifle his belongings to come up with a gun and a towel with the poodle insignia. He then follows up with current wife Elaine and shoots her in the same manner, leaving the serial killer's clues behind. However he didn't count on the police and his boss (Bernard Kay) to make their way to the serial killer's home to apprehend him, thereby committing his own crime when the other guy couldn't have been there!

Oddly, this episode of 'Tales' followed one titled 'Decoy' during it's original run back in the Eighties. I say that because in this story, Briscoe's ex-wife volunteered to pose as a decoy for the serial killer to try and expose him. Of the two, this is the better one, since a lack of thought in the prior story made it less than credible. This one's twist was better conceived and executed perfectly.

A deliciously good episode.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 17 February 2016]

A serial killer is at work, killing young women, the same M.O. no sexual interference, robbing small amounts of money, The Police are baffled by his killing for such small sums of money. On the case is Detective Sergeant Jim Gordon, assisted by Police Doctor Keith Briscoe, who's just split with his wife Elaine. Keith visits his former wife Faye, she tells him that she, and their children are moving to London. Keith had left Faye for Elaine. Keith wants to remarry Faye, he is annoyed when he learns that Faye has agreed to pose as a decoy to try and trap the killer. When the plan goes wrong Keith begins his own investigation, and decides to convince Elaine to give him a divorce.

It seems an unusual choice of episode to follow the previous one 'Decoy,' a very similar story, young woman killed by a serial killer, but this one is a superior episode, much better story, better direction, better acting and characters.

Two excellent actors that I have a great admiration for, Peter Egan and Bernard Kay, both combine well to create what is, in fairness a near classic story.

An excellent episode, so little to fault, great story, with a set of awesome twists.

9/10

Early Thatcher years episode of Tales of the Unexpected

[safenoe · 8/10 · 20 November 2016]

I'm a fan of Tales of the Unexpected but I do miss Roald Dahl's introductions which he made from a comfortable lounge chair by a fireside. I'm not sure if it was from his real lounge suite, but still a nice way to start an episode.

Here there's no Roald Dahl intro, but still this episode appeals on many levels. You have a police medico who regrets leaving his first wife (who ends up being a decoy to catch a killer), and is keen to divorce his second one, who I guess was good for the physical aspect (but this wears off after time). This episode was set outside of London, as the first wife planned to sell the house and move with the kids to London.

It's interesting seeing the fashion and cars in this episode, which was from 1982, just three years after Thatcher promised to end the Winter of Discontent.