"Oh yeah, he's extraordinary", is the way young Louise Schofield (Debbie Farrington) facetiously refers to wine connoisseur and all around bore Richard Pratt (Ron Moody), right after watching him carry on during one of his television interviews. She's in for a big surprise though, when her father (Antony Carrick) offers her as one side of a bet against Pratt's two houses if he can guess the obscure vintage of a little known winery Mr. Schofield has meticulously chosen. Quite honestly, I was probably more shocked than any of the players in this episode to hear of this outlandish wager, knowing that if anything could possibly go wrong, it probably would despite Schofield's assured insistence that this gamble was in the bag. If for no other reason to watch this story, you have to catch Pratt's little tongue flick during the tasting of the offered wine - it's hilarious! Fortunately, housekeeper and cook (Gabrielle Blunt) made the save for poor Louise by being in the right place at the right time to spoil Pratt's dubious gambit. The only thing is - did he give up those two houses?
6 Reviews
Taste
Prismark1021 September 2020
A fruity performance from Ron Moody as arrogant wine snob Richard Pratt and lecher to boot.
At a dinner party, Pratt usually has a bet with a wealthy stockbroker Mike Schofield to guess the wine that is being served.
This time Pratt demands an unusual bet. He has his seedy eyes on Schofield's teenage daughter and wants her hand in marriage. If he loses, Schofield will win two of Pratt's houses.
Schofield is adamant that Pratt will never guess the wine and takes on the bet, despite the protests from his daughter.
Written by Dahl in 1945. This vintage adaptation certainly ratchets up the tension after a slow beginning. Moody gives so much away regarding Pratt's interest in the daughter, it was a surprise that Schofield did not spot his intentions.
Of course there is a twist and this one is done rather satisfactorily with a nice bouquet.
At a dinner party, Pratt usually has a bet with a wealthy stockbroker Mike Schofield to guess the wine that is being served.
This time Pratt demands an unusual bet. He has his seedy eyes on Schofield's teenage daughter and wants her hand in marriage. If he loses, Schofield will win two of Pratt's houses.
Schofield is adamant that Pratt will never guess the wine and takes on the bet, despite the protests from his daughter.
Written by Dahl in 1945. This vintage adaptation certainly ratchets up the tension after a slow beginning. Moody gives so much away regarding Pratt's interest in the daughter, it was a surprise that Schofield did not spot his intentions.
Of course there is a twist and this one is done rather satisfactorily with a nice bouquet.
Decent Tales of the Unexpected episode.
poolandrews8 May 2007
Warning: Spoilers
Tales of the Unexpected: Taste revolves around an annual bet between two friends, a famed wine taster Richard Pratt (Ron Moody) & stock broker Mike Schofield (Anthony Carrick). Mike picks a particular wine & Richard has to guess it correctly, it's as simple as that. However this time Richard decides to raise the stakes & bets his two houses against the hand of Mike's daughter Louise (Debbie Farrington) in marriage, Mike is convinced that he can't lose & accepts the high stakes bet. Surely nothing can go wrong....
This Tales of the Unexpected story was episode 7 from season 2 that originally aired here in the UK during April 1980, the second of two Tales of the Unexpected episodes to be directed by Alastair Reid this is a watchable if somewhat forgettable enough 30 odd minutes. The story by Roald Dahl was dramatised by Ronald Harwood & in his introduction Dahl states his love for wine, London wine auctions, that he has/had over 5000 bottles in his basement & that this story was inspired by his fascination of the subject. Anyway, this is a perfectly entertaining tale although the twist at the end isn't great or that memorable. The thing that sets these early Tales of the Unexpected episodes apart from the dull latter ones are the basic premises, character's, situations & set-ups which are far more imaginative & engaging when Dahl was involved & his storytelling was sorely missed when he departed the show.
This one looks pretty good & hasn't dated too badly, there's no scares or excitement although surprisingly because of the plot there's a fair amount of tension & suspense especially towards the end. Another fine British cast including Ron Moody who puts in a highly annoying performance & has one of the biggest chins in show biz.
Taste is a good if slight Tales of the Unexpected episode if you like these things & is at least worth a watch even if you don't particularly. This seems to have been a pretty popular story having already been adapted on three previous occasions on The Philip Morris Playhouse (1954), Star Tonight (1955) & Thirty-Minute Theatre (1967) anthology show's.
This Tales of the Unexpected story was episode 7 from season 2 that originally aired here in the UK during April 1980, the second of two Tales of the Unexpected episodes to be directed by Alastair Reid this is a watchable if somewhat forgettable enough 30 odd minutes. The story by Roald Dahl was dramatised by Ronald Harwood & in his introduction Dahl states his love for wine, London wine auctions, that he has/had over 5000 bottles in his basement & that this story was inspired by his fascination of the subject. Anyway, this is a perfectly entertaining tale although the twist at the end isn't great or that memorable. The thing that sets these early Tales of the Unexpected episodes apart from the dull latter ones are the basic premises, character's, situations & set-ups which are far more imaginative & engaging when Dahl was involved & his storytelling was sorely missed when he departed the show.
This one looks pretty good & hasn't dated too badly, there's no scares or excitement although surprisingly because of the plot there's a fair amount of tension & suspense especially towards the end. Another fine British cast including Ron Moody who puts in a highly annoying performance & has one of the biggest chins in show biz.
Taste is a good if slight Tales of the Unexpected episode if you like these things & is at least worth a watch even if you don't particularly. This seems to have been a pretty popular story having already been adapted on three previous occasions on The Philip Morris Playhouse (1954), Star Tonight (1955) & Thirty-Minute Theatre (1967) anthology show's.
An out and out classic, a fabulous, first class episode.
Sleepin_Dragon10 February 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Mike and his wife Sybil are quite a pretentious couple, they're hosting a dinner Party. Among their guests are an American couple, and obnoxious Wine connoisseur and TV personality Richard Pratt, a charismatic but creepy bore. Mike and Richard have a wager every encounter, a wine tasting challenge, the stake is always relatively small, until this occasion. Mike is sure he's discovered an incredibly rare and obscure wine, the wager is the hand of marriage to Mike's gorgeous young daughter 'Louise,' against two of Richard's houses, a lot of money.
One of the most famous episodes in the show's history, Series Two overall was a real purple patch for this great show, no wonder it kept on going. Taste is iconic.
Ron Moody is truly exceptional in the role of Richard, he is wonderfully villainous and downright creepy, he was perfectly cast in the role. The rest of the cast did an excellent job too, especially Debbie Farrington (Louise,) she was great, such a beautiful girl, modern looking somehow.
No murder, no crime as such, but an insane amount of tension, which grows as the episode progresses, and a wonderful sense of villainy from Ron Moody, Taste is an out and out classic. You cannot help but feel butterflies in your stomach as you watch.
Black comedy, watch closely, this is exceptional, if you are a wine lover you'll enjoy even more! 10/10
One of the most famous episodes in the show's history, Series Two overall was a real purple patch for this great show, no wonder it kept on going. Taste is iconic.
Ron Moody is truly exceptional in the role of Richard, he is wonderfully villainous and downright creepy, he was perfectly cast in the role. The rest of the cast did an excellent job too, especially Debbie Farrington (Louise,) she was great, such a beautiful girl, modern looking somehow.
No murder, no crime as such, but an insane amount of tension, which grows as the episode progresses, and a wonderful sense of villainy from Ron Moody, Taste is an out and out classic. You cannot help but feel butterflies in your stomach as you watch.
Black comedy, watch closely, this is exceptional, if you are a wine lover you'll enjoy even more! 10/10
Beware making a bargain with the Devil
nqure21 November 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Ron Moody did not always appreciate being typecast as Fagin, but such was the strength of his performance here as a sinister wine expert that I did not recognize him until the end credits revealed the cast list.
This episode inhabits the diabolic - suburbia meets the satanic - as a dinner host is offered a highly dubious bargain by his distinguished guest, a rather conceited television wine expert, who has taken rather more than an avuncular interest in the daughter of the house.
'Taste' is filled with a terrific sleight of hand so that the finale makes perfect sense.
The bargain made is indeed highly questionable as a young woman finds herself being accepted as a wager by her father, so confident is he that the wine expert will never guess the particular vintage in question.
There's great tension in this episode as the wine expert toys with his guests, tasting the wine on his palate in extravagant manner, as he draws closer & closer to the identity of precise wine in question, much to the nervous anxiety of the rest of the dinner party; it is a bravura piece of acting from Moody, who plays his role with demonic relish (reminiscent of say, Michael Kitchen in 'Brimstone & Treacle'). He is a cunning trickster who thinks he is one step ahead of everyone else. Or so he assumes.
And so, a pleasant evening eventually descends into the realms of the macabre as the game reaches its chilling conclusion.
Fortunately, order is restored & sanity brought to proceedings just when we think matters have taken too dark a turn.
This episode inhabits the diabolic - suburbia meets the satanic - as a dinner host is offered a highly dubious bargain by his distinguished guest, a rather conceited television wine expert, who has taken rather more than an avuncular interest in the daughter of the house.
'Taste' is filled with a terrific sleight of hand so that the finale makes perfect sense.
The bargain made is indeed highly questionable as a young woman finds herself being accepted as a wager by her father, so confident is he that the wine expert will never guess the particular vintage in question.
There's great tension in this episode as the wine expert toys with his guests, tasting the wine on his palate in extravagant manner, as he draws closer & closer to the identity of precise wine in question, much to the nervous anxiety of the rest of the dinner party; it is a bravura piece of acting from Moody, who plays his role with demonic relish (reminiscent of say, Michael Kitchen in 'Brimstone & Treacle'). He is a cunning trickster who thinks he is one step ahead of everyone else. Or so he assumes.
And so, a pleasant evening eventually descends into the realms of the macabre as the game reaches its chilling conclusion.
Fortunately, order is restored & sanity brought to proceedings just when we think matters have taken too dark a turn.
Bad taste in my mind, but brilliant all the same.
mbayley-768312 July 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Ron Moody must have been specially chosen for his elegant seediness, such is the character of Richard Pratt. Set in a perfectly arranged 1980s dinner party (ask my wife, a doyenne of the genre in the 70s and 80s) in what one is asked to accept as a Belgravia - or nearbyes - mews house, this is a biblical tale of just rewards.
Pratt is a celebrity bibber, connoisseur and top hole creep who zips from TV studio to his host Mike's house where a bow tied, long dress dinner party is underway. Pratt is the guest of honour, but note the gross imbalance of personae - an American literary couple, Mike and elegant wife, typically attired in the 1980s fashion of evening dress (male) and long, burgundy dress (female), their beautiful, long dressed, RP spoken daughter, and greatly moustachioed Pratt.
As Max Boyce would have it: "I know, because I was there".
Pratt takes Mikes bet - where Pratt has to identify a Bordeaux wine on pain of losing a case of said plonk, and pushes the wager into intolerable territory.
First, a case of the wine becomes fifty cases, then ten thousand pounds, then the situation degenerates into horror.
Pratt bets his two houses, one "country" and one "town", by town one assumes he means "London".
Mikes bet is his (rather gorgeous yet young and virginal) daughter, Louise. Unbelievable, in that had if Mike lost his daughter he would submit to marrying Pratt and presumably submitting to his obvious carnal lusts. Mind you, I don't blame Pratt, Louise is very desireble.
As one expects of Dahl's plots, it all goes Teat Soup and Pratt receives his just deserts.
Excellent episode and one I can watch again and again.
Pratt is a celebrity bibber, connoisseur and top hole creep who zips from TV studio to his host Mike's house where a bow tied, long dress dinner party is underway. Pratt is the guest of honour, but note the gross imbalance of personae - an American literary couple, Mike and elegant wife, typically attired in the 1980s fashion of evening dress (male) and long, burgundy dress (female), their beautiful, long dressed, RP spoken daughter, and greatly moustachioed Pratt.
As Max Boyce would have it: "I know, because I was there".
Pratt takes Mikes bet - where Pratt has to identify a Bordeaux wine on pain of losing a case of said plonk, and pushes the wager into intolerable territory.
First, a case of the wine becomes fifty cases, then ten thousand pounds, then the situation degenerates into horror.
Pratt bets his two houses, one "country" and one "town", by town one assumes he means "London".
Mikes bet is his (rather gorgeous yet young and virginal) daughter, Louise. Unbelievable, in that had if Mike lost his daughter he would submit to marrying Pratt and presumably submitting to his obvious carnal lusts. Mind you, I don't blame Pratt, Louise is very desireble.
As one expects of Dahl's plots, it all goes Teat Soup and Pratt receives his just deserts.
Excellent episode and one I can watch again and again.
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