When Antiques Roadshow began its regular run on the BBC in 1979, ITV were slow to respond with a rival show. Fortunately a year later Hammer Films slipped this subversive take on the format into their run of modern horror tales.
So Guardian of the Abyss features many tropes that would have been familiar to Antiques Roadshow viewers: the thrill of an exciting new find at a clearance sale, a bidding war by squabbling dealers, a sale almost being made before a further valuation is recommended... It's heady stuff which is well dramatised with a lot of flouncing in and out of antiques shops and fondling of military figurines.
Against this backdrop the occult elements are almost incidental, but to make the format appealing to ITV viewers, naturally everything is drenched in blood, sex and mesmerism. A triumph.
As an aside, the Plot Keywords section is correct to say 'Mirror', 'Hell' and 'Lingerie Slip', but 'Satan' is misleading – as other reviewers have noted, it's the demon Choronzon who features.
So Guardian of the Abyss features many tropes that would have been familiar to Antiques Roadshow viewers: the thrill of an exciting new find at a clearance sale, a bidding war by squabbling dealers, a sale almost being made before a further valuation is recommended... It's heady stuff which is well dramatised with a lot of flouncing in and out of antiques shops and fondling of military figurines.
Against this backdrop the occult elements are almost incidental, but to make the format appealing to ITV viewers, naturally everything is drenched in blood, sex and mesmerism. A triumph.
As an aside, the Plot Keywords section is correct to say 'Mirror', 'Hell' and 'Lingerie Slip', but 'Satan' is misleading – as other reviewers have noted, it's the demon Choronzon who features.