Tales of the Unexpected (TV Series) Vengeance Is Mine Inc. (1980) User Reviews

A memorable short story.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 7/10 · 13 February 2016]

Tom and George, house mates are down on their luck, no jobs, no money, they're living in a freezing cold apartment, both well educated they have a brainwave. Tom has the idea setting up an Organisation 'Vengeance is mine inc,' an organisation set up for clients, offering them revenge on someone who's wronged them, for a fee, punch on the nose, black eye etc. First client, Mrs Wilbur, a former actress, keen to get revenge on Lionel Brewster, an obnoxious critic, her motive soon becomes clear.

I like this one, there's something about a tale of revenge, and this one is very fresh and fun. The lead performers are both great, energetic and enthusiastic, Bosco Hogan is fun. Julian Fellowes is great too, always so proper and straight laced, it's nice to see him doing something different.

A fun episode, it's very quirky, but the quality of the writing is very definitely there, one of those things you can't help but watch with a wry smile. 7/10

OK tale of the unexpected.

[poolandrews · 6/10 · 4 August 2007]

Tales of the Unexpected: Vengeance is Mine Inc. starts as two flat broke friends Tom (Bosco Hogan) & George (Julian Fellowes) try come up with some ideas about making some money, then Tom comes up with one while reading his newspaper the Daily Bugle. Inside the Daily Bugle is a gossip column written by Lionel Brewster (Robert Mill) who likes to write very uncomplimentary things about the rich & famous, Tom reckons they could send out flyer's to his & all gossip columnist victims offering a revenge service. Tom thinks the people Brewster & other columnist's write about will pay them good money for their service, from giving Brewster a black eye to kidnapping him. What could possibly go wrong with such a foolproof plan?

Episode 4 from season 3 this Tales of the Unexpected story was originally aired here in the UK during August 1980, the third of ten Tales of the Unexpected episode to be directed by Alan Gibson this is average fare to be honest. This one was actually written by Roald Dahl rather than just being based upon one of his stories & was his last direct involvement with the show, other than a voice-over for Shatterproof (1981) during season 4, & Vengeance is Mine Inc. was also the last time he introduced the show which was a regular feature during the first two seasons. However during his filmed introduction here all he says is what a gossip columnist is & nothing about the story itself or any thoughts behind it. Anyway this episode isn't that great but it is watchable thanks to Dahl's quaint writing style, he manages to give the character's character as it were despite the 25 minute duration & he has a knack for satisfying twist endings. The ending here is pretty good although it does feel like he ran out of time & just 'finished' it a bit too quickly.

This one hasn't dated that well & Tom & George are to open about being willing to commit a crime & punching someone in the face is a crime, I just don't think you would be that open about it that's all. Keep watching as the end credits roll as after they finish there is an extra few seconds although they don't really affect how things end. This is probably the first Tales of the Unexpected episode I've seen where I haven't recognised a single cast member.

Vengeance is Mine Inc. is an OK time waster mostly thanks to Dahl's undeniable talent for short stories with a twist, the actual story is a bit weak & is full of holes but it's sort of fun & it passes 25 minutes harmlessly enough if nothing else.

A novel plan of revenge

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 17 September 2021]

This was a cleverly written story that sticks with the main premise of two young blokes who have a brainstorm of making money by offering their services to mete out revenge for clients who have been wronged. Considering such common treatments as a punch in the nose and a black eye, I couldn't figure how a rattlesnake figured into their bag of tricks but things never got that far. Tom's 's (Bosco Hogan) mathematical ability was a little suspect when determining what two black eyes should command. The boys were going to charge three hundred fifty pounds for one, but when George (Julian Fellowes) suggested six hundred pounds for a pair, Tom responded by saying there ought to be a discount for two, so he lowered the charge to five hundred pounds. But six hundred was already a discount.

Anyway, their first target was going to be a double whammy against a gossip columnist who wronged two different celebrities, and both contracted their services. However one of the clients was secretly being set up by his wife for cheating on her. Mrs. Wilbur (Betsy Blair) slyly suggested a disguise for when the boys would enact their little scheme, and gussied up George to resemble Mr. Wilbur (Morris Barry). The husband, who hired them in the first place, and anxious to witness the fun when they socked the gossip columnist, was detained on the scene when authorities arrived. And so ended a hastily arranged business affair, while Mrs. Wilbur gloated in her glee at getting the last laugh. I thought the twist here was rather shrewd, and give Mrs. Wilbur credit for outsmarting the boys AND her cheating husband at the same time.

Fiesta Mei Ling and Julian Fellowes features in this Tales of the Unexpected episode

[safenoe · 8/10 · 7 November 2016]

Roald Dahl's introductions to Tales of the Unexpected are worth the price of admission alone, seeing him resting in his armchair by his fireplace. I'm not sure if it was filmed in a studio, but the setting was very convincing.

It's a shame the Dahl introductions didn't continue for every episode.

Anyway, this episode is about two young guys (one English and one American) who sets up a vengeance company to earn a crust and afford the heating.

Fiesta Mei Ling and Julian "Downtown Abbey" Fellowes feature in this episode of Tales of the Unexpected. I enjoy seeing the streets and sunny weather of London, as the winter of discontent had dissipated following the election of Thatcher one year before the screening of this episode.

'Bottom' meets 'Tales of the Unexpected'

[napev7 · 8/10 · 1 February 2024]

This is an unusual episode. Not just because of the brief post-credits sequence (which I haven't yet seen in any other TOTU story) but because it is more comedic in nature than any of the other stories I've seen so far (and this is the first time I've viewed the series, as Sky Arts are currently showing it on Freeview in the UK) and also because it does not contain any moral judgements. It reminded me of the British TV series 'Bottom' which is also about two young men sharing a dingy London flat. The only difference is that unlike Bottom, the violence doesn't involve the two friends hitting each other.