''Strange Report'' is a British television crime drama series starring

Anthony Quayle Sir John Anthony Quayle (7 September 1913 – 20 October 1989) was a British actor. He was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his supporting role as Thomas Wolsey in the film '' Anne of the Thousand Days'' (1969). He also played impor ...

as Adam Strange. It was produced by

ITC Entertainment The Incorporated Television Company (ITC), or ITC Entertainment as it was referred to in the United States, was a British company involved in the production and distribution of television programmes. History Incorporated Television Programme C ...

and first broadcast in 1969 on ITV In the United States, NBC broadcast ''Strange Report'' between 8 January and 10 September 1971. It aired on Fridays from 10:00 to 11:00 p.m.

Eastern Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, and the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico. * Eastern Standard Time (EST) is five hours behi ...

throughout its American run.

Plot

Adam Strange, a retired

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

criminologist, solves bizarre cases with the help of Hamlyn Gynt ( Kaz Garas), Evelyn McClean (

Anneke Wills Anneke Wills (; born Anna Katarina Willys, 20 October 1941) is an English actress, best known for her role as the companion Polly in the long-running BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Biography Wills's father, Alaric Willy ...

) and sometimes Professor Marks (

Charles Lloyd-Pack Charles Lloyd-Pack (10 October 1902 – 22 December 1983) was a British film, television and stage actor. Life and career Lloyd Pack was born in Wapping, East London, to working-class parents. He appeared in several horror films produced by ...

). He employs the latest techniques in

forensic investigation Forensic science combines principles of law and science to investigate criminal activity. Through crime scene investigations and laboratory analysis, forensic scientists are able to link suspects to evidence. An example is determining the time and ...

, which he undertakes in his own laboratory in his flat in Warwick Crescent in the

Maida Vale Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district in North West London, England, north of Paddington, southwest of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn, on Edgware Road. It is part of the City of Westminster and is northwest of Charing C ...

Little Venice Little Venice is an affluent residential district in North West London, England, around the junction of the Paddington Arm, Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, the Regent's Canal, and the entrance to Paddington Basin. The junction, also k ...

area of London.

Cast

as Adam Strange * Kaz Garas as Hamlyn Gynt *

as Evelyn McClean *

Bryan Marshall Bryan Marshall (19 May 1938 – 25 June 2019) was a British actor, with a number of major credits in film and television to his name, in both Britain and Australia. Early life Marshall was born in Battersea, south London. He was educated at th ...

as Inspector Purcell

Production

Development

Unlike other ITC productions, which were created in order to be sold to the U.S. market, ''Strange Report'' was created in collaboration with

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

's films unit Arena in the United States (the show's executive producer was Norman Felton, better known for his involvement in '' The Man from U.N.C.L.E.''); the suggestion was that the first half of the series would take place in the United Kingdom, and the second half would see Strange visiting the United States. This idea could not be agreed upon, which explains why such a short season of episodes was created. Quayle and Wills decided not to continue with the series, owing to personal concerns.

Music

The series's opening theme, composed by Roger Webb, was also available as sheet music.

Filming

It was filmed between July 1968 and March 1969, on location and at

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to t ...

, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire.

Episodes

AirdateDates from ITC Episode guide issued with the Network DVD is for ATV Midlands. ITV regions varied date and order.

Broadcast

The series was repeated on UK satellite channel

Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels * Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 * Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing compa ...

in 1996/1997, and on UK digital terrestrial channel

ITV4 ITV4 is a British free-to-air television channel which first aired on 1 November 2005. It is owned by ITV plc. The channel focuses primarily on general entertainment programming targeting a male audience, including action series and films, ...

, from digitally restored prints, in 2005/2006. (The episode 'Heart' was not screened by ITV4.) Satellite channel Men and Motors also screened the series in 2007.

Home media

Techno Film released two episodes – "SHRAPNEL" and "HOSTAGE" – on Super 8 cine film for home use in 1970. ITC Video released two VHS tapes of the series in the UK in 1994, containing the episodes – 'Heart'/'X-Ray', and 'Covergirls'/'Cult'. The series was digitally restored for Carlton Visual Entertainment by BBC Resources in 2003. The full series was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

in the UK by the Network imprint as a five-disc special edition in 2004 and as a four-disc edition in 2005. The special edition was subsequently re-released in the UK in 2007 and the regular one in 2009. The series was also released on DVD in Australia by Umbrella Entertainment in 2007. In 2011, Network re-released the episode 'Kidnap' in its retro-ACTION! Volume 1 Blu-Ray, this is the first time an episode of the series had been shown in a superior high-definition quality. The same episode was further released in Network's 2018 retro-ACTION! Blu-Ray.

In other media

Books

A 1970 paperback novel "based on the famous TV series" written by John Burke, adapting two teleplays, was originally published in the UK by

Hodder & Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.H ...

and subsequently reprinted in a US edition published by Lancer Books.

Records

The theme to the series by Roger Webb was released as a 7 inch single on Columbia records (DB 8803) in 1971. "The World of Love", the song from the episode 'Cult', was released as the B-side of The Strangers' first single, "I've Got You", on the little-known Harvard record label (Harv 001) in 1970. The accompaniment to the song is credited to Geoff Love who, in 1972, recorded his own version of the ''Strange Report'' theme for the Music For Pleasure LP ''Geoff Love and his Orchestra Play Your Top TV Themes'' (MFP 5272). This version can also be found on the

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

CDs ''This Is Easy'' (1996) and ''This is....Cult Fiction Royale'' (1997), and the ''ITV 50 Cult TV Themes'' CD (2005) released to celebrate 50 years of ITV. In 2009, Network issued a soundtrack album containing Webb's theme music and original scores composed for the episodes "REPORT 4407: HEART – No Choice for the Donor", "REPORT 1553: RACIST – A Most Dangerous Proposal", "REPORT 0649: SKELETON – Let Sleeping Heroes Lie", "REPORT 5055: CULT – Murder Shrieks Out", "REPORT 7931: SNIPER – When is Your Cousin Not?" and "REPORT 3424: EPIDEMIC – A Most Curious Crime", as well as unused and alternate takes, plus library music from other composers also used in the series.

References

External links

* * {{ITC Distributions 1960s British drama television series 1969 British television series debuts 1970 British television series endings Television series by ITC Entertainment ITV television dramas Television series produced at Pinewood Studios British English-language television shows Television shows set in London