Psychos

Psychos, a drama set in the psychiatric unit of a Scottish Hospital was a totally brilliant series. The title referred to the doctors, not the patients. Douglas Henshall as Dr Daniel Nash and Neve McIntosh as Dr Kate Millar played a mismatched pair of co-workers.Nash is a doctor whose life is in worse shape than his patients, whereas Millar is a committed and self assured junior doctor. Friends of mine involved in psychiatric work believed the series to be very realistic. Originally it was thought that this would run for a second series, sadly it was not meant to be. The series was criticized mainly for its title and also for its content. Last year I wrote to channel 4 and asked if they were going to release Psychos as a video. They replied they had no plans to do so.This is a great loss both to those who have never seen the series and to those who like me who would have loved to have seen it again.The series was originally broadcast first on a Wednesday evening and repeated on the following Saturday. Unfortunately it has not been repeated since.

The posters drew me in and then I watched and just felt overwhelmed. I know it had a lot of criticism - for its title and handling of subject matter - but for those of us who watched utterly transfixed by the nuanced performances and its approach to such difficult material the lack of a second series or its release on video/DVD is a nightmare. How long will my videotapes hold out from replaying!!!

Many of those not already established when this came out have since cropped up in other excellent dramatic works: Douglas Henshall, who for a brief time seemed to be everywhere, surely deserved something for his magnificent performance here (can I confess that I can't hear Talking Heads 'Once in a lifetime' without seeing the image of Henshall as Dr Nash, slumped on his bed with the rabbit... if you saw it you will know what I mean!). Neve McIntosh was just stunning and Alastair Mackenzie was compelling as the steadily unravelling Shug.

If you find it, see it.

Well worth watching if you like medical dramas. Slight alternative to the usual ER, Casualty type, which makes it refreshing and interesting. From working in medical environments, it's easy to understand the pressures staff are put under. The acting makes the drama both enjoyable and draws in your attention. Got to say though it's certainly not improved my confidence about the mental health placement I start in two weeks.

For those wanting to watch it, it's on 4oD, where I found it. Really is a pity though that it isn't available on DVD and that there isn't anymore.

This was easily the best drama series on British television during 1999 and it's a crime it has neither been repeated nor released on video. Its impact was deep and wide-reaching, cropping up in Sunday supplement covers and the British Medical Journal. The previous comments appear to sum up reactions to this visceral, hilarious, touching and intelligent drama series: extremes. There is no middle ground here, and with the subject matter--psychiatric care in Glasgow, Scotland--it's no surprise. What I think most critics of the series misunderstand is that the title, as far as I can see, is a reference to "labelling", the distinction between "sick" and "well", "normal" and "mad". It's a show that flatters the viewer with a modicum of intelligence--so if you like your drama syrupy and spoon-fed, turn over now.

This continuum is personified in the main character, Dr. Danny Nash, written with wit intelligence by David Wolstencroft and played to searing perfection by Douglas Henshall (This Year's Love). Both, I believe, won awards for their work, and watching the series as a whole, it's no surprise: this is a series that shows you both sides of the therapeutic coin personified, a manic-depressive psychiatrist (a condition all too endemic in the profession).

Despite a plethora of sub-standard and under-watched shows being released on DVD and video, I have yet to see this excellent series released. It's a shame, as repeated viewings bring out the subtleties and themes that may stay hidden if the overall "trip" of watching the show hits you too hard in the gut first time round (and it does).

I am a recently qualified hospital-based psychiatrist. I stumbled across this show late one night on a public television network.

It is brilliant. I am eminently aware that it offended many, and that the very conservative Royal College of Psychiatrists condemned it. But I suppose this has to do with its gritty truthfulness. I can relate extremely well to my dedicated, overworked, fragile, and always human colleagues in the show.

Real, disturbing, and extremely enjoyable. Doesn't pretend to whitewash the mentally ill and those who treat them with some politically correct brush intended to placate the easily-offended and all-too-influential consumer-survivor lobby.

If it were available on video or DVD I would by it. Can't say that for too many films or television shows.