Following the sudden death of the local GP in an accident Doctor Bruce Nelson and his new bride Tessa arrive in a village eagerly anticipating their new lives as husband and wife . Dr Nelson is intrigued that the villagers seem to have a uniform limp which he jokingly mentions to his wife who has a sprained ankle . The villagers are friendly and do take a notice that she too limps but does their initial friendliness mask a dark secret
You have to take each episode of THRILER on its own terms and perhaps have to remember the period of when it was made . The early 1970s did see an upsurge of movies featuring Satanists and Satanic rites as a theme . For example Dennis Wheatley was a very popular author and is forgotten now almost as though he never existed . The Hammer Dracula franchise got in on the act but the 1974 Dracula film featuring Satanic rites is considered a nadir of the series and the 1971 Doctor Who story The Deamons featuring a black magic cult led by the Master was considered the zenith of the Pertwee era for many many years until it became available to fans via video and is now merely considered a merely above average tale from the era . In other words Satanism is a victim of fashion and like all victims of fashion it quickly dates . This should be borne in mind when watching this episode
To be fair it is a relatively engaging story and does contain rational basis for its explanations . It also contains a superb soundtrack by Laurie Johnson that shows the composer has given some thought to the on screen action and also for once the American marketed specially made title sequences are very impressive setting up the mood of the episode perfectly . Where the episode is lacking is in the visual format where videotaped studio interiors look like they were filmed inside a studio set which doesn't lend itself to the atmosphere the story needs . This would have worked very well as a cinematic production but suffers from being disposable television on a Saturday night
