F E A R O N 4 ------- --- - 1988-1999 First Show Date: 03 Jan, 1988 Last Show Date: 01 Mar, 1999 Number of Shows: 46 Audition Show Date: none Series Description: FEAR ON 4 is the British Broadcasting Corporation's continuation of a tradition of horror shows dating back to 1943. Back then, the BBC offered APPOINTMENT WITH FEAR, the title given to ten series of programs running from 1943 to 1955. These are the most famous BBC horror series in it's history. The stories were introduced by The Man in Black, played by Valentine Dyall. In 1949, The Man In Black was given his own series, called THE MAN IN BLACK, again featuring Valentine Dyall. Unfortunately, only four shows from APPOINTMENT WITH FEAR are known to have survived. None of THE MAN IN BLACK shows are known to exist. The Man in Black returned to radio again in 1988, this time played by Edward de Souza. FEAR ON 4, airing on BBC Radio Four, continued in the tradition of its predecessors. Four series were produced from 1988 through 1993 with a fifth series in 1997. In 1999, one new show and 2 repeats aired under the banner of "Fear on 4" on BBC Radio 4's LATE NIGHT ON 4 series. The shows are a mix of adaptations of short stories and original radio plays. All shows from these series exist. The BBC offered selected stories from the first three series in book form, entitled "The Man in Black: Macabre Stories from Fear on Four" (BBC Books, ISBN 0-563-20904-6) in December 1990. Log Comments: The log lists date of broadcast, day of the week of broadcast, the number in the total show listing, the episode number in the series and the original story author, when known. In the case of the shows from LATE NIGHT ON 4, I have opted to number the new show but not the repeats. Chronological Log: Date Day # Ep Title Author ------ --- -- -- ----------------------------- ------------------ 1988 .... SERIES 1 .... 03 Jan Sun 1 1 "The Snowman Killing" J. C. W. Brook 10 Jan Sun 2 2 "William and Mary" Roald Dahl 17 Jan Sun 3 3 "The Monkey's Paw" W. W. Jacobs 24 Jan Sun 4 4 "Music Lovers" Nick Warburton 31 Jan Sun 5 5 "The Beast With Five Fingers" William F. Henry 07 Feb Sun 6 6 "Every Detail But One" Bert Coules 14 Feb Sun 7 7 "By The River, Fontainebleau" Stephen Gallagher 21 Feb Sun 8 8 "The Face" E. F. Benson 28 Feb Sun 9 9 "Mind Well The Tree" William Ingram 06 Mar Sun 10 10 "Fat Andy" Steven Dunstone 13 Mar Sun 11 11 "A Day At The Dentist's" James Saunders 20 Mar Sun 12 12 "The Specialty Of The House" Stanley Ellin 1989 .... SERIES 2 .... 15 Jan Sun 13 1 "Snipe 3909" Graeme Fife 22 Jan Sun 14 2 "The Dead Drummer" David Buck 29 Jan Sun 15 3 "The Dispossessed Daughter" Katherine Nicholas 05 Feb Sun 16 4 "St. Austin Friars" Robert Westall 12 Feb Sun 17 5 "Dreaming Of Thee" Gwen Cherrell 19 Feb Sun 18 6 "The Horn" Stephen Gallagher 26 Feb Sun 19 7 "The Journey Home" Bert Coules 05 Mar Sun 20 8 "Hand In Glove" Elizabeth Bowen 12 Mar Sun 21 9 "His Last Card" Nick Warburton 19 Mar Sun 22 10 "Survival" John Wyndham 26 Mar Sun 23 11 "Soul Searching" Martyn Wade 02 Apr Sun 24 12 "A Child Crying" James Saunders 09 Apr Sun 25 13 "The Judge' House" Bram Stoker 1990 .... SERIES 3 .... 27 Dec Thu 26 1 "The Yellow Wallpaper" Charlotte Perkins Gilman 1991 03 Jan Thu 27 2 "Green And Pleasant" 10 Jan Thu 28 3 "The Monkey's Revenge" 17 Jan Thu -- - ... show postponed ... 24 Jan Thu 30 4 "The Edge" 31 Jan Thu 31 5 "Dead Man's Boots" 07 Feb Thu 32 6 "A Routine Operation?" 14 Feb Thu 33 7 "Dance In The Underworld" 21 Feb Thu 29 8 "Invitation To The Vaults" (originally scheduled for 17 January) 1992 .... SERIES 4 .... 24 Dec Thu 34 1 "Gobble, Gobble" 31 Dec Thu 35 2 "The Next In Line" Ray Bradbury 1993 07 Jan Thu 36 3 "Dark Feathers" 14 Jan Thu 37 4 "Playing God" 21 Jan Thu 38 5 "Vicious Fish" 28 Jan Thu 39 6 "Hellhound On My Trail" 04 Feb Thu 40 7 "Hearing Is Believing" 11 Feb Thu 41 8 "Life Line" 1997 .... SERIES 5 .... 04 Sep Thu 42 1 "Net Suicide" 11 Sep Thu -- - ... no show ... 18 Sep Thu -- - ... no show ... 25 Sep Thu 43 2 "Tapping" 02 Oct Thu 44 3 "The Chimes Of Midnight" 09 Oct Thu 45 4 "Making Sacrifices" 16 Oct Thu 46 5 "Tissue memory" 1999 ... From LATE NIGHT ON 4 ... 15 Feb Mon 47 1 "The Blood of Eva Bergen" 22 Feb Mon -- 2 "Net Suicide" repeat of #42, 04 Sep, 1997 01 Mar Mon -- 3 "Tissue memory" repeat of #46, 16 Oct, 1997 Alphabetical Listing: Title Date From ----------------------------- -------- -------------------- Beast With Five Fingers, The 88-01-31 Series 1, Episode 5 Blood of Eva Bergen, The 99-02-15 Late Night On 4, #1 By The River, Fontainebleau 88-02-14 Series 1, Episode 7 Child Crying, A 89-04-02 Series 2, Episode 12 Chimes Of Midnight, The 97-10-02 Series 5, Episode 3 Dance In The Underworld 91-02-14 Series 3, Episode 7 Dark Feathers 93-01-07 Series 4, Episode 3 Day At The Dentist's, A 88-03-13 Series 1, Episode 11 Dead Drummer, The 89-01-22 Series 2, Episode 2 Dead Man's Boots 91-01-31 Series 3, Episode 5 Dispossessed Daughter, The 89-01-29 Series 2, Episode 3 Dreaming Of Thee 89-02-12 Series 2, Episode 5 Edge, The 91-01-24 Series 3, Episode 4 Every Detail But One 88-02-07 Series 1, Episode 6 Face, The 88-02-21 Series 1, Episode 8 Fat Andy 88-03-06 Series 1, Episode 10 Gobble, Gobble 92-12-24 Series 4, Episode 1 Green And Pleasant 91-01-03 Series 3, Episode 2 Hand In Glove 89-03-05 Series 2, Episode 8 Hearing Is Believing 93-02-04 Series 4, Episode 7 Hellhound On My Trail 93-01-28 Series 4, Episode 6 His Last Card 89-03-12 Series 2, Episode 9 Horn, The 89-02-19 Series 2, Episode 6 Invitation To The Vaults 91-02-21 Series 3, Episode 8 Journey Home, The 89-02-26 Series 2, Episode 7 Judge' House, The 89-04-09 Series 2, Episode 13 Life Line 93-02-11 Series 4, Episode 8 Making Sacrifices 97-10-09 Series 5, Episode 4 Mind Well The Tree 88-02-28 Series 1, Episode 9 Monkey's Paw, The 88-01-17 Series 1, Episode 3 Monkey's Revenge, The 91-01-10 Series 3, Episode 3 Music Lovers 88-01-24 Series 1, Episode 4 Net Suicide 97-09-04 Series 5, Episode 1 Net Suicide (repeat) 99-02-22 Late Night On 4, #2 Next In Line, The 92-12-31 Series 4, Episode 2 Playing God 93-01-14 Series 4, Episode 4 Routine Operation?, A 91-02-07 Series 3, Episode 6 Snipe 3909 89-01-15 Series 2, Episode 1 Snowman Killing, The 88-01-03 Series 1, Episode 1 Soul Searching 89-03-26 Series 2, Episode 11 Specialty Of The House, The 88-03-20 Series 1, Episode 12 St. Austin Friars 89-02-05 Series 2, Episode 4 Survival 89-03-19 Series 2, Episode 10 Tapping 97-09-25 Series 5, Episode 2 Tissue memory 97-10-16 Series 5, Episode 5 Tissue memory (repeat) 99-03-01 Late Night On 4, #3 Vicious Fish 93-01-21 Series 4, Episode 5 William and Mary 88-01-10 Series 1, Episode 2 Yellow Wallpaper, The 90-12-27 Series 3, Episode 1 Reader Feedback: * Ian Beard provided for Series 3. "Invitation to the Vaults" was scheduled for 17 Jan, 1991 but was posponed and finally broadcast on 14 Feb, 1991. * Eric Carter identified the authors for "The Yellow Wallpaper" and "The Next In Line". * Malissa Ackerman sent authors for "The Beast With Five Fingers" and "Fat Andy". Last Update: May 20, 2004 This log informational only and does not imply that I have these shows for trade or sale. The shows are still protected under copyright law and should be obtained only from authorized dealers. The log may be freely reproduced and published on a no-profit basis. Please send error corrections or additional information to Frank M. Passage, 109 Elmwood Road, Verona, NJ 07044 (email: wb2ntp@arrl.net).