Monday’s villainous news

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Takin’ Over The Asylum

Since y’all loves him so much, I thought you might like to know that David Tennant’s Takin’ Over The Asylum is coming out on DVD very soon. Full details below:


Takin' Over The Asylum

Takin’ Over The Asylum was first broadcast on BBC1 as a six-part series in September 1994. Written by Donna Franceschild, directed by David Blair (Anna Karenina, The Lakes) and starring Ken Stott (Messiah, Rebus) and David Tennant (Doctor Who) in award-winning debut performances plus a cameo from Spike Milligan, the acclaimed black comedy Takin’ Over The Asylum is available for the first time ever on DVD from 9th June, priced £19.99.

Stott stars as Eddie McKenna, a double-glazing salesman who moonlights as a DJ for hospital radio in a Scottish mental asylum. He nurtures close friendships with the patients there including Francine (Katy Murphy, Our Mutual Friend, Honest) a self-harmer and Campbell (David Tennant, Doctor Who) a manic depressive, with whom he shares a dream to make it onto the commercial radio scene.

Campbell’s inspired antics promise to bring the pair closer to their aim, but the pressures of life outside of the hospital begin to tell on Eddie. A vindictive colleague leads his small-minded boss to ban his activities and his eccentric grandmother returns suddenly to Lithuania leaving him penniless and alone. 

Eddie finds himself drawn to the troubled Francine, but when the radio is threatened with closure he turns to Campbell for comfort. As Campbell regains control over his life and courts success, Eddie’s goes into decline and he is finally forced to face his own illness – alcoholism. 

EXTRAS: Commentary with David Tennant. Plus David Tennant’s original audition tape, never seen before.

Today's Joanna Page

Today’s Joanna Page: Love Soup

Today’s Joanna Page, despite the best efforts of the BBC, is Love Soup, David Renwick’s slightly odd look at love that stars Tamsin Greig, Sheridan Smith and the superfluous one from Ashes to Ashes.

I caught an episode of it once to see what Sheridan Smith was up to in her time off from Two Pints and wasn’t desperately impressed. This time round was better, notably because of Joanna Page who got to exercise her acting muscles in a surprisingly subtle way. More on that later.

Strangely, Love Soup seems to have more in common with Jonathan Creek than Renwick’s One Foot in the Grave, with bizarre love mysteries to be solved in outlandish ways. It’s not great, but it’s okay: as much as I love Tamsin Greig – and indeed Sheridan Smith – Greig’s character, Alice, is just dull (although that’s probably the point) and Smith’s doesn’t really have a lot of depth. Still, it’s only half an hour long and nearly at the end of series two, so I’ve probably missed out on a lot.

Anyway, more pics of JP after the jump, including a great big spoiler. If you haven’t seen the episode yet and intend to, don’t go any further.

Incidentally, I do warn you that if you have still to see it, do not watch it where anyone can see you: it is definitely Not Suitable For The Office. Or indeed public transport. 

Continue reading “Today’s Joanna Page: Love Soup”

Thursday’s super-scarecrow news

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