Takin' Over the Asylum

This was probably one of the finest series to come out of the BBC in the mid 1990's and stands head and shoulders above anything else today. It took a gritty look at life inside an asylum, an institution now rarely seen in the UK. It aimed to show that those suffering from mental illness were just like you and me once but a trigger in their life had caused the illness to manifest itself. It took a few people and protaryed their lives in a caring way showing some making it through and others not.

Well done to the writers of this series for giving us a frank yet compassionate view of mental illness and its perception in society today.

Although this series was seen (and then soon after repeated) on Australian TV back in '94 or '95, it's brilliance still resonates. From the pen of Donna Franceschild, and directed by David Blair, it tells the story of a handful of 'loonies' - patients in a Glasgow mental facility. As in 'Girl, Interrupted', one is led to pondering the question: 'who are the real loonies?' Heavily laced with humour and poignancy, we - the 'normal' ones - are led into the lives of these people through the eyes of Eddie McKenna (Ken Stott), an alcoholic loser-type, whose desire is to be a radio disc-jockey, but who spends his days selling windows for the manager-from-hell. In my opinion, the salespeople at the windows company deserve to be behind locked doors far more than those in the institution. But I feel that this is the exact conclusion the writer wishes us to make. This series launched the extremely talented Ken Stott into regular TV appearances, such as 'Messiah' and 'The Vice'. It also features outstanding performances from David Tennant, Ruth McCabe, Angus McFadyen, and my favourite female actor, Katy Murphy. Ms Murphy seems to have a special knack for portraying wounded women. If you get a chance to see it, do.

This was a fantastic series. The casting, scripts, performances,humour and pathos were spot on. I work with people with mental health problems and it was refreshing to see life portrayed with far more realism than in many so-called realistic dramas. It showed the way that despair and hope co-exist and didn't shy away from what the general public may consider bizarre but at the same time dealt with all the main characters with empathy and, best of all, humour. This may seem strange to many but I recommend that all stand-up/ alternative comedians spend time on a psychiatric ward (if they can find one left!) before they profess to be experts in black humour. The big mystery to me is that this has never been repeated on British TV. We still see endless re-runs of David Jason and Ronnie Barker comedies which are wonderful but surely there is space for this little piece of genius?

What a truly great series this is! Such a pity that it probably won't be released on DVD, due to problems with getting the necessary approval to use some of the songs, according to somebody I asked. The cast is uniformly excellent and the direction, seamless. So many wounded people, but so many with a fire inside them to keep trying to live a life that makes sense! It's a show that made me grind my teeth at the inhumanity of government cost-cutting in the mental health arena. The loonies are by no means the ones inside the asylum.

David Tennant is simply magnificent as the manic, inventive, affectionate, good hearted Campbell Bain. His exchanges with his dad would break your heart.

Thoroughly recommended.

ETA 18.01.14 The DVD has now been available for a few years and contains two eps with audio commentaries. It's wonderful to be able to watch the show again and nothing about it disappoints.

I just looked this up on IMDb in the hope that it might lead me to a DVD, but it doesn't seem to be on DVD. Are the BBC crazy? I was amazed to see that Takin' Over The Asylum is now 12 years old. I remember it so clearly. When it was first shown I thought it was the best TV series I had ever seen. Periodically the plot seemed too good to be true, at which point there was a twist to bring it back down to earth. Great writing and excellent acting. When it was repeated I told everyone I knew to watch it, but they didn't. I don't know why. I watched it all through again and it was just as good. Perhaps now that David Tennent is Dr. Who, somebody will think about releasing his earlier work on DVD. Whenever I see him I remember his slogan from Takin'Over The Asylum, delivered loudly in a strong Scottish accent: "We are loonies and we are proud".