The Singing Detective

The Singing Detective

Writer - Dennis Potter

Director - Jon Amiel

Year - 1986

Country - UK

Cast - Michael Gambon, Jim Carter, Lyndon Davies,
Patrick Malahide, Bill Paterson, Alison Steadman, Janet Suzman, Joanne Whalley, Imelda Staunton etc.

The Singing Detective is a six part, BBC produced television series that first aired in 1986, it is a surreal and uneasy experience, with four intertwining narratives or worlds which express the guilt of one character, Philip Marlow. The first narrative is the story of the 'real' Marlow, who is bedridden in a hospital ward suffering from the horrific skin and joint disease psoriatic arthopathy (which Dennis Potter suffered from). In this narrative we follow the constantly in pain Marlow through his surreal lapses into fantasy, flashes of what might be reality and sitcom-style hospital ward humor. The second narrative is a noir, hard-boiled detective styled mystery that involves Marlow playing the role of a cynical detective, the Singing Detective. This narrative is played out inside the 'real' Marlows head as he transcends into his fantasy world. The third narrative is concerned with Marlows childhood where his guilt is first conceived, he feels responsible for his parents divorce and his mothers eventual suicide and also for wrongly accusing his reoccurring nemesis Mark Binney of defecating on a teachers desk. The fourth world involves Marlows ex wife and an adult Mark Binney teaming up and plotting against him, secretly conning him out of a valuable script, it seems that this world is also a manifestation of Marlow sickness which visually is a skin disease but acan be taken as a metaphor for the sickness of his mind.

The Singing Detective is very complex and is both funny and disturbing, the structure is a non-linear, montage style, which at times is hard to fathom. This TV series requires you to concentrate and may cause a mix of emotions in its viewers. For these reasons it is highly recommended.

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