Quinn Martins Tales of the Unexpected is an American horror and science fiction anthology television series produced by Quinn Martin, and hosted and narrated by William Conrad. It aired from February 2 to August 24, 1977. Quinn Martins Tales of the Unexpected aired in the United Kingdom as Twist in the Tale. Cast William Conrad hosted and narrated Quinn Martins Tales of the Unexpected. An anthology series, the show told a different story and featured a different cast in each episode. Unlike the majority of series by Quinn Martin Productions, Quinn Martins Tales of the Unexpected did not have an announcer speaking during the opening credits. Synopsis The stories told in Quinn Martin's Tales of the Unexpected are of the horror and science fiction genres. Each episode consists of a single macabre story of the psychological or the occult that explores the vicissitudes of human nature. As its title suggests, each story has an unexpected "twist" or "sting" to maintain the suspense until the very end of the episode and demonstrate to the viewer that ones life is full of twists and turns that cannot be anticipated, and can be horrible. Each episode begins with everyday images from various episodes of the show, suggesting that the unexpected can be found anywhere, including in the most familiar and common of places. After the opening credits and episode title, Conrad in a voice-over discusses a general topic and then relates it to the central character in the episode. The story involving the character then unfolds, with the character facing a horrific situation that ends with an unexpected twist. At the conclusion of the episode, Conrad returns with another voice-over in which he explains the episodes "sting" or twist, and then applies the story to the general subject first broached after the opening credits. Production Eight episodes were produced, one of them two hours long and the rest of them one hour long. Criticism In his 1981 non-fiction study of the horror genre, Danse Macabre, the horror fiction novelist Stephen King mentioned Quinn Martins Tales of the Unexpected, writing that it was "interesting" and citing an episode in which a murderer sees his victims return to life on his television set as particularly frightening. The program drew negative responses from critics. American television standards of the 1970s required limitations on the amount of violence that could be depicted, with too much emotional intensity