Strange Report is a British television crime drama series starring Anthony Quayle as Adam Strange. It was produced by ITC Entertainment and first broadcast in 1969. Adam Strange, a retired Home Office criminologist, solves bizarre cases with the help of Hamlyn Gynt, Evelyn McClean and sometimes Professor Marks. He employs the latest techniques in forensic investigation, which he undertakes in his own laboratory in his flat in Warwick Crescent in the Maida Vale/Little Venice area of London. 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's films unit Arena in the United States ; 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. 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 throughout its American run. The series's opening theme, composed by Roger Webb, was also available as sheet music.
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 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.
Novel
A paperback novel "based on the famous TV series" and written by John Burke was published by Hodder & Stoughton in 1970.
Records
The theme to the series by Roger Webb was released as a 7 inch single on Columbia records 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 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. This version can also be found on the Virgin Records CDs This Is Easy and This is....Cult Fiction Royale, and the ITV 50 Cult TV Themes CD 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. Note: 'The Strangers' mentioned here should not be confused with either the Australian or Irish groups of the same name.
