Funland

I have to say that I'm enjoying Funland on BBC2(I live in one of the large areas of the country where digital TV remains unavailable)and I didn't really have that high hopes for it.

It is extremely strange - and some of the grotesque features are over the top (an editor should have been more in evidence at times) - but I want to know if there actually is a plot (rather like Lost!) so I keep watching despite suspecting all the questions may never be answered.

I think we have some fine little acting gems in there - Philip Jackson (Finch) is of course excellent as ever but also mentions in dispatches for Sarah Smart (Lola), Ian Puleston-Davies (Shirley) and Judy Parfitt (Mercy). Frances Barber (Connie) was rather wasted but you can't have everything

Most of all however it has made me laugh - and that strangely enough is something the League of Gentlemen never did...

The grotesque world of the 'The League of Gentlemen' was a fairly standard comic creation, but Simon Ashdown, one of its writers, has surpassed himself with 'Funland' (co-written with an 'Eastenders' scriptwriter), in which they create an even more vicious, obscene and fantastic environment but moreover manage to play it straight throughout eleven episodes of tightly plotted thriller. The comedy here is so black that there's little in the way of conventional laughs, but the jarring lines between the ludicrous situations and the merciless drama make this a series like no other. The story is set in a Blackpool reduced to the grimmest of parodies (one wonders if the local burghers thought about suing), there's no affection here. If it reminds me of anything, I think of Alan Platers's 'Beiderbecke' trilogy, a series of unlikely escapades set in the ordinary landscape of northern Britain, but that was ultimately gentle whereas 'Funland' is anything but. What stops it from being great is that it's hard to relate what one sees to the reality of life in modern Britain, and the dialogue rarely rises above 'Eastenders' standards; but the same can be said for a good many more realistic dramas as well. And for savage inventiveness, it has few equals.

STAR RATING: ***** The Works **** Just Misses the Mark *** That Little Bit In Between ** Lagging Behind * The Pits

Carter Krantz (Daniel Mays) is a London detective who's taken a trip down to Blackpool- but he's not here to celebrate a stag party or ride the Pepsi Max. He's after the killer of his mother, who's dying words mentioned the name of a person at the popular seaside resort. But along the way, shocking twists and turns conspire to take his quest to an electrifying climax.

With this and supporting roles in films like Class of '76 and Vera Drake, Mays is shaping up a fair career for himself. He's a cockney actor with an impressive dialect and a smooth, natural presence and he has a likable personality, so I think he deserves this. He's helped by a good supporting cast, including Coronation Street favourite Roy Barraclough and a wheelchair bound old lady who provides one of the show's most pivotal roles.

Performances aside, Funland is a darkly funny, impressively voyeuristic show with an interesting premise and sound delivery. It's also helped by a foreboding opening score and an impressive and realistic use of Blackpool as the seedy backdrop for all the nefarious goings-on.

Faults-wise, there's one or two grinding, clunky clichés here and there, but I suppose it's no biggie. BBC 3 usually gets slammed as being rarely watched and full of useless programmes and repeats, but they've tuned out an admittedly rare piece of quality programming here. Kudos. ****

I've just returned from a four-night break in Blackpool. No - this isn't a 1-star review of our dreadful 'hotel' that makes Funland's 'Shangri-La' look like the Savoy; that's just been posted on TripAdvisor. What this is, is a nod to the 'art imitates life' principle that applies so fundamentally to Funland, but from the perspective that what was once (in 2005) an over-the-top, bombastic surrealist comedy series that seemed to amplify the worst sleaze and excesses of Blackpool, has now become matched by Blackpool's accession (or maybe recession) to that once fictitious seaside town portrayed in Funland. My fourth visit to Blackpool since Funland first aired, and Blackpool has now become that place.

The series itself has to be recommended. It's hard to describe - it's a black comedy for sure, has multiple story layers and side plots, but with the central core story arc coming back to the relationship between the brilliant Ian Puleston-Davies' Shirley Woolfe, and his mother Mercy played by Judy Parfitt. The locations are pure Blackpool - the Tower features prominently, but acts both as a reference point for the story, and an allegory about the state of Dudley and Lola's sexless relationship (the scene in Ep1 where Lola gazes fixedly on a cabinet of huge dildos whilst Dudley asks her 'is there anything you want?' sticks in the mind).

Funland must be seen, but should be treated with caution for its grotesque characters, references, and sexual imagery. Funnily enough, the same could pretty much now be said for it's life inspiration: Blackpool.

BBC3 has been an excellent vehicle for new ventures that, due to their 'different' approach, wouldn't be picked up by either BBC1 or BBC2. Admittedly there have been some lumps of crap and a whole load of averageness, but amongst that have been some glimpses of pure brilliance.

And Funland is one of the highlights.

Set amongst the downmarket seediness that is Blackpool, the characters are almost all deliberately grotesque exaggerations. One can't fail to see the obvious comparisons with the League of Gentlemen.

The acting is good enough to compliment the script, with some well-known faces turning up in roles - and situations - you wouldn't expect to see them in.

I loved it.