Takin' Over the Asylum

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 came to this program from doing an IMDb search on David Tennant. Yes, I came to this from Doctor Who, and yes, I am an unrepentant DT fanboy. But...

I was totally blown away by the talent shown in this early work of Tennant's. Already we can see why he's become such a big hit on stage & TV. Most 22 year old actors just don't have his level of skill. Throughout, as Campbell Bain, he steals the show from it's intended star. At no point did I ever fail to believe him in the character. He embodied it, just as he's done with so many of his other roles.

The story is good, too. A radio station located in an asylum changes the lives of the inmates and the DJ as well. Mostly though, it changes Campbell. At the start he is an uncontrolled manic. As time goes on and he finds an outlet for his mania, he develops a personality, not just a diagnosis.

It's definitely worth hunting down, even if you're not totally mad for David Tennant like me. Just a really good quality Brit TV show.

I won't re-tell the story. I will simply say that the casting is creative, the script scrupulous, the production perfect, the direction indiscreditable. A wonderful artistic construction.

However, as we move into the 21st century Governments, all over the western world, are closing the very services that are desperately needed by mentally ill people. They are now integrated into society while the hospitals are closed down.

But at what cost to those who are mentally ill?

Where are the patients of those hospitals now? Prisons, park benches or cemetery.

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?

A bittersweet series with extraordinary acting by all. How I would love to see it again on a video or DVD. Currently I am forced to watch it on a set of old videotapes which I recorded when the series was on TV in Australia. These tapes go back and forth between my daughter and myself quite regularly as she is also an addict. Having been in an "asylum" myself on a couple of occasions, I can identify with the "loonies" and also have quite a few laughs and wry smiles at the content. Having coped with an alcoholic in the family there is also a link with Ken Stott's Eddie - sometimes painful, but real nevertheless. Rosalie, with her OCD triumphs as her condition provides her with satisfaction as she puts things in order, and the acting of this role is superb. I find it sad that my husband cannot enjoy this series as much as I do.