Before Peak TV, what was considered the television medium’s G.O.A.T.? One prominent candidate among TV critics for many years was another British import, this 1986 mini-series from the famed playwright/novelist/screenwriter Dennis Potter. On this episode, joined by Ted Heycraft, we discuss:
Why this TV mini-series works as a deep, literary genre-hybrid;
how that hybrid incorporates with Potter’s distinct, self-proclaimed genre of the lipsync-musical (with examples likes Pennies from Heaven);
its relation to the American Singing Detective feature, directed by Keith Gordon.
Also:
The three-level fever-dream aspect of blending detective fiction, hospital disease-feature, and autobiographical skin-disease time;
how long — and cinematically — it takes to reveal the biographical details;
why this show, previously a critical favorite, has been forgotten;
and why it ends with such a deceptively happy ending, and whether it deserves it?
The Singing Detective TV series is not streaming anywhere, not even at the BBC. It is available on DVD.