The Last of the Midnight Gardeners (16 Jun. 1984)

Walter Oates, editor of a magazine which publishes crime stories is married to Jane but is having an affair with his secretary Edna, and the two women meet when Edna stands in for an absent... See full summary »

Director:

Peter Hammond

Writers:

Gerald Savory (dramatisation), Tony Wilmot (story)

Stars:

Jane Asher, Celia Gregory, Jim Norton

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Jane Asher	...	Jane
Celia Gregory	...	Edna
Jim Norton	...	Dr. Mellish
Patrick Mower	...	Walter
Forbes Collins	...	Inspector
Panos Alexander	...	Steward

Storyline

Walter Oates, editor of a magazine which publishes crime stories is married to Jane but is having an affair with his secretary Edna, and the two women meet when Edna stands in for an absent guest at a dinner party. Walter is running a competition with a cash prize for the reader who submits the best murder mystery, though most of the entries are rubbish. Then Jane challenges him to write a story. Under an assumed name, given that he is the editor. But when life mirrors art, even an assumed name is little defence.

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Plot Keywords:

time in title

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 June 1984 (UK)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Anglia Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

Average tale of the unexpected.

Tales of the Unexpected: The Last of the Midnight Gardeners starts in the publishing offices of the Stanley Strange murder magazine where owner Walter Oates (Patrick Mower) & his secretary Edna (Celia Gregory) discuss a competition they are running, a competition for amateur writers to write the 'perfect murder' mystery with the winner receiving a £5,000 prize. Most of the entries are crap though, then Walter's wife Jane (Jane Asher) ask's Edna around for dinner to fill a vacant place, Walter isn't keen since he is having an affair with Enda but she agrees & wants to take a look at his wife. The topic of conversation turns to the 'perfect murder' competition with all the dinner guests present having their own ideas, ideas which may not be confined to the written word or the imagination for much longer...

Episode 6 from season 7 this Tales of the Unexpected story originally aired here in the UK during June 1984, the fourth of five Tales of the Unexpected episodes to be directed by Peter Hammond this is average murder mystery fare at best. The story by Tony Wilmot was dramatised by Gerald Savory who seems to have wrote it in his sleep & one has to say this isn't anything particularly special, there's not much of a twist at the end as it's pretty obvious & the story itself isn't that inspiring. The character's are clichéd, the man who cheats on his wife with his secretary, the wife who finds out, someone who aren't what they initially appear to be in a tired story with a predictable revenge driven twist ending which you can see coming a mile off. Even at only 25 minutes this tests the patience although at least it doesn't last that long. I don't know, I suppose if your a big fan of the show then you'll probably like The Last of the Midnight Gardeners but if you aren't then this is strictly average stuff which doesn't get out of second gear.

This episode features the worst beach set in a studio ever, it looks horrible & it's painfully obvious this 'sunny beach' is a sound-stage somewhere. The word embarrassing comes to mind. Apart from that terrible set this has the usual average production values I expect from this cheap series, there's no style here or class. The acting is alright but a little overbearing, Patrick Mower is better know here in the UK as the character Rodney Blackstock who has appeared in over 80 episodes of Emmerdale (2000 - 2007) while Jane Asher is an experienced TV actress who I remember appearing in some awful adverts for bread!

The Last of the Midnight Gardeners is average at best, I can't say I liked it that much myself but it tells a story I suppose even though it's a rather tired & predictable one.