When I first saw this in 1984, I have to admit I was a bit disappointed - it seemed to lack the colorful style and intrigue of the other episodes.
Having seen it now a couple of times since, I feel better disposed to it, and it has a starkness and simplicity that have grown on me.
The story of a man dying in jail, having been wrongly convicted of the murder of his wife years earlier, develops quite well as we go, if quite slowly - and the fact that he appears as a 'ghost' in his own past is a clever idea that adds a sense of forboding and makes for an unsettling atmosphere.
The Cornish locations are lovely, but they seem to detract from the usual familiarly and claustrophobia of some of the other stories, and seem to make this story perhaps less focused and effective that maybe it could have been.
The feeling of being in 'the past' isn't completely convincing either - Lesley Dunlop's spiky 80s haircut for instance feels a bit incongruous! Having said that, there's a clever and satisfying twist at the end that finishes the story quite neatly, but you do need to stay the course.
Maybe not one of the more memorable episodes, but still plenty to enjoy and a good contrast to some of the other perhaps better-drawn and more extreme stories of this underrated series.
The Cornish locations are lovely, but they seem to detract from the usual familiarly and claustrophobia of some of the other stories, and seem to make this story perhaps less focused and effective that maybe it could have been.
The feeling of being in 'the past' isn't completely convincing either - Lesley Dunlop's spiky 80s haircut for instance feels a bit incongruous! Having said that, there's a clever and satisfying twist at the end that finishes the story quite neatly, but you do need to stay the course.
Maybe not one of the more memorable episodes, but still plenty to enjoy and a good contrast to some of the other perhaps better-drawn and more extreme stories of this underrated series.