Psychoville

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Psychoville
The Psychoville intertitle
Genre	Comedy thriller
Created by	Reece Shearsmith Steve Pemberton
Directed by	Matt Lipsey
Starring	Reece Shearsmith Steve Pemberton Dawn French Jason Tompkins
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Language(s)	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	7 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Jon Plowman
Producer(s)	Justin Davies
Broadcast
Original channel	BBC Two
Original run	18 June 2009 (2009-06-18) – present
Chronology
Related shows	The League of Gentlemen
External links
Official website

Psychoville is an award-winning British comedy thriller starring Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton, Dawn French and Jason Tompkins,^[1] which debuted on BBC Two on 18 June 2009.^[2] Written by Shearsmith and Pemberton, two members of the team behind the comedy The League of Gentlemen,^[3] it is described by the BBC's press office as "a dark character comedy mystery featuring the weird and the wonderful".^[4]

The series revolves around five different characters from different parts of Britain: David Sowerbutts (played by Pemberton), a serial killer-obsessed man-child who still lives with his mother Maureen (Shearsmith); Mr. Jelly (Shearsmith), an embittered one-handed children's entertainer; Oscar Lomax (Pemberton), a blind millionaire who collects stuffed toy animals; Joy Aston (French), a midwife who treats a practice doll as if it is her real child; and Robert Greenspan (Tompkins), a panto dwarf in love with his Snow White who believes he is telekinetic. All five are connected by a mysterious blackmailer who has sent them a letter each, all of which contains the same message: "I know what you did". The series is named after the title given to The League of Gentlemen when the series was sold to Japan and Korea.^[5]

A one-off special has been commissioned to be broadcast in winter 2010, and a second series of six episodes to be shown in spring 2011.^[6]

Psychoville won the 2009 British Comedy Award for "Best New British TV Comedy".

[edit] Plot

The series features a diverse set of five characters who live in different parts of Britain, all of whom have been blackmailed by the same individual (referred to in the credits for episode seven as "Black Gloved Man"), who has given them each a letter with the message "I know what you did…"^[1][7][8][9] In the second episode, the blackmailer leaves them a second message saying "You killed her". In the third episode they receive a tape showing them in an asylum together (several having previously revealed that they had been institutionalised) performing a rendition of "Close Every Door" from the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. It is later disclosed that the institution was called Ravenhill Hospital. In episodes five and six, the characters discover the final message: a key depicting a raven. At least David's letter also contains the message "I'm waiting...". Ultimately it is revealed that Joy, Robert, David and Oscar were involved in the death of Nurse Edwina Kenchington (Eileen Atkins), who is the mother of the blackmailer, Dr Stuart Strachen, aka Mr Jolly. David initially knocked her over, with Joy pronouncing her dead almost immediately. The group start a fire to cover their tracks, but Kenchington wakes up and attempts to escape. Oscar, Joy and Robert prevent her from leaving the room she is trapped in, but she somehow survives and returns to Ravenhill in the final episode looking for her locket. At the end of the series, Mr Jolly blows up part of the asylum with most of the main characters and Kenchington inside.

[edit] David Sowerbutts

David Sowerbutts (Pemberton), is a serial killer obsessed man-child from Wood Green, North London who lives with his Bontempi keyboard-playing mother Maureen (Shearsmith). David is a simple man who cannot hold down a job because of his lack of skill and his love of famous murderers.

One night at his work as part of a murder mystery evening, David ad-libs a far more realistic and gruesome murder scenario (including disembowelment and an obscene message smeared in excrement) than the one in the script, and is fired. Upon returning home, Maureen believes her son has actually killed someone. She then finds the blackmail note saying "I know what you did", and mistakenly believes it is from Graham (Nicholas Le Prevost), David's boss. She decides to ask him not to go to the police, but (since Graham knew nothing about the note) he mistakenly believes Maureen is blackmailing him about his past conviction for molestation. When he tries to call the police about being blackmailed, Maureen believes he is about to give David up and so Maureen and David take him hostage and plot to murder him. Graham escapes, but gets run over as he flees. Maureen decides they must kill everyone who knows about the "murder" that David committed (not realising that it wasn't real), and she and David disguise themselves as beauticians in order to kill Cheryl (Janet McTeer), another member of the company, by electrocuting her while pretending to perform electrolysis.

In the fourth episode, a homage to the Hitchcock film Rope, they strangle another member of the company Martin Pike (David Smallbone) . David feels guilty for accidentally killing his own father many years before; David had put an excessive amount of sleeping tablets in his father's food in an attempt to help him sleep. Before Maureen and David can leave, a man claiming to be a police inspector (Mark Gatiss) arrives at the door and, mistaking David for the house owner Martin Pike (who has just been killed) wants to interview him about a series of recent murders in the area. While Maureen is out of the room, the "inspector" reveals that he is really an actor auditioning for a role in the murder enactments. David goes to fetch their car and Maureen, who believes the inspector knows about the murders she and David have committed, privately confesses the truth about her husband's death; she had been secretly poisoning him for months and let David take the blame when he gave him an overdose of sleeping pills. The guilt is why David was institutionalised along with the blackmailer's other victims. The actor thinks her confession was an improvised drama scene and breaks character, revealing to her that he isn't a real inspector. He partially tells David what she had said but Maureen covers for herself with excuses. When the actor leaves, David says he doesn't want to commit any more murders, to which Maureen agrees. However, the actor returns to collect his coat and sees the real Martin Pike's body hanging up on the door where David left it. He is then killed by David.

David's next murder (of Robin) is due to take place at a wax works museum which has a section devoted to models of famous serial killers, but after luring the victim to the venue, all the wax works come to life in an elaborate musical number and convince him that the real monster is his mother, so he lets Robin go free. Maureen leaves with David, believing that he has killed Robin. Their last victim is supposed to be Lorraine (Natalie Cassidy), and Maureen suggests that they barbecue her corpse to "celebrate." David has a flashback to his time at Ravenhill, with a horrified Joy exclaiming that he killed Nurse Kenchington; and refuses to kill anyone else. Maureen locks him in the house and goes off to murder Lorraine by herself. She unknowingly goes to the shop where Lorraine works. Lorraine recognises her as David's mother and lets slip during the conversation that the "murder" David committed during the murder mystery evening was just an enactment. Realising the implications of what she and David have done, Maureen takes a drug overdose. She tries to smother David with a pillow, as she thinks he is asleep under a sheet, but realises too late that he has escaped and put balloons there instead. Maureen collapses. David is seen walking towards Ravenhill with what appears to be Mr Jolly's severed head in a bag.

David attempts to turn himself in by going to a Citizens' Advice Bureau, but the apathetic advisor refuses to help him. He instead goes to the grave of Nurse Kenchington. Flashbacks reveal the full story of Kenchington's murder. In the present, David hears Kenchington's voice urging him to dig up the grave, which he does. Kenchington then appears in person, seeking her locket. When she doesn't find it, she shoots David. However he is holding a watermelon (which was in the bag, David having brought it on an inexplicable whim) and it saves his life. David does not enter Ravenhill, but is close enough to hear the explosion.

[edit] Mr Jelly

Mr Jelly (Shearsmith), is a one-handed clown and children's entertainer from Salford, Greater Manchester. He incorporates his disability into his act, which he calls "Mr Jelly and his 100 hands" and which consists of his using (in fact only sixteen) different artificial hands for various purposes. Unsurprisingly, Jelly is terrifying to his young audiences because of his scary-looking hooks. He blames his recent lack of success on the similarly-named act Mr Jolly (Adrian Scarborough, eventually revealed as the blackmailer), whose real name is Dr Stuart Strachen, who became a clown after botching an operation to cure Jelly's repetitive strain injury, leading to Jelly's hand being lost. The two clowns fight in an indoor ballpond, but when Jelly shows Jolly the blackmail letter, Jolly pretends that it was meant for him. At the end of episode three, Jolly is seen in the same video of the mental institution as the other main characters, but as a doctor, not a patient.

Jolly reveals that the main characters were all present at Ravenhill Hospital and being cared for by Kenchington (later revealed as Jolly's mother), who was morally corrupt and sadistic, resulting in her death that the "You killed her" message references. Jolly tells Jelly that he plans to gather all the patients and anyone else involved and return to the scene of the crime to figure out what is going on.

In the sixth episode Jelly is performing at a retirement home when Jolly phones, asking to meet him. Jolly claims to have worked out the identity of the blackmailer: a highly dangerous and psychotic individual from Ravenhill. When Jelly arrives, Jolly fakes his own murder. The blackmailer then phones the police and says he had seen two clowns fighting, as he knew Jelly would run to Ravenhill at the threat of being arrested.

Upon arriving Jelly, and an elderly woman he is handcuffed to because of a trick gone wrong, enter the hospital and meet up with the others present where they are confronted by their blackmailer, who is revealed as Mr Jolly. Jolly reveals that he blames all of them (except the innocent people present who just happened to be there) for the death of his mother, Nurse Kenchington. When Jelly protests that he had nothing to do with it, Jolly reveals that it was Jelly's hand operation he was in the middle of when his mother died. Kenchington then arrives, having initially alerted Jolly to the cause of her supposed death with an anonymous letter. She frantically searches for her missing locket, but no one present knows of its whereabouts. A scuffle ensues until Jolly reveals that he is strapped with a bomb, which subsequently causes the explosion inside Ravenhill.

[edit] Oscar Lomax

Oscar Lomax (Pemberton) is a blind millionaire from Ilkley, West Yorkshire. He lives in a vast mansion with support coming only from Michael Fry (Daniel Kaluuya), who helps Lomax due to a community service sentence. Lomax calls Michael "Tea leaf" because of his criminal background, "tea leaf" being cockney rhyming slang for "thief." Lomax spends his time collecting stuffed toy animals which he calls "commodities", a collection which he refers to as his "Holy of Holies" and will not allow anyone else to see, keeping them in a locked room within his mansion.

Lomax only needs one more item to complete his collection, Snappy the Crocodile. He once discovered it online, but two more people, the Crabtree sisters (conjoined twins from Braintree, Essex) bought it before him. Lomax bought Snappy from the sisters in exchange for his eyes, hence his blindness, but after his spell at Ravenhill let him be stolen so he could once more feel the "thrill of the chase". He uses Michael to help him buy Snappy when it appears online, which results in an online bidding war with the Crabtree sisters. The people selling Snappy, from Dudley, West Midlands, withdraw him from sale after seeing the demand for him. At their house they announce that Lomax won the auction but then reveal that they don't know where Snappy is, which nullifies the sale. Lomax tries to coax the information out of the couple's son, but with no luck. Michael, meanwhile, bribes him with money and escapes with the Crabtree sisters, along with the phone number of a third bidder who the son sent Snappy to. This bidder is shown to be the mysterious blackmailer. Michael cons the Crabtree sisters out of their money and arranges to meet the blackmailer at Ravenhill. There, Snappy has been left on a table in a room. As Michael enters the room to collect Snappy, the door slams behind him and Joy is seen locking it from the outside. Michael phones Lomax and begs to be rescued.

Lomax arrives with his new helper, and they free Michael. Michael gives Oscar Snappy and the two walk out to a nearby cliff, where Lomax throws it off of the cliff. He confesses that the reason he was committed is because he suffered from Paradise Syndrome. Only by having something in the world to truly long for can he be happy, thus he can begin the search for Snappy again. Michael does not accept this and attempts to leave, but the blackmailer steals his car keys. Both he and Lomax are present when the building explodes.

[edit] Joy Aston

Joy Aston (French) works as a midwife in Bristol, Avon. She teaches ante-natal to parents-to-be, but covers all-too-often the painful and violent sides of giving birth. Her secret is that she treats a practice baby doll as if it is her real child, whom she calls Freddy ("Freddy Fruitcake" is credited as playing himself in the series). Her husband George (Pemberton) is forced into caring for Freddy as if he were real. Joy is seen stealing blood from the hospital blood bank and putting it in a baby bottle for Freddie in episode two. In the third episode George refuses to continue with the charade of pretending that Freddy is a real child, but Freddy appears to have thrown his dish of baby food onto the floor and Joy is delighted that her actions with the blood seem to be bringing him to life.

In episode five Freddy seemingly comes to life, beginning a series of violent physical attacks on Joy, culminating in the killing of George. This results in Joy collapsing. However, not only is George not dead, but Freddy is under the control of her work colleague Nicola (Elizabeth Berrington), with whom George is having an affair. As they believe Joy has died, they dismantle Freddy and leave. However, after they leave, Joy awakens. She recovers Freddy and rushes him to hospital, but because he's not a real baby, the doctors refuse to treat him. As a result she kidnaps Nicola and drives her to Ravenhill, where Joy attempts to perform an operation to exsanguinate Nicola and transfer her blood to Freddy. As Nicola lies dying on the operating table, Joy reveals that she was driven insane after the death of her real life son Paul, and Freddie was given to her at Ravenhill as part of her therapy. She then hears Michael Fry enter the building.

As others begin to arrive, Joy wanders away from Nicola; unable to attend to the blood drain, it slows and she becomes nearly but not completely dead. Jennifer, Oscar Lomax's new helper, discovers Nicola and tries to escort her out of the building. Joy believes that somehow the blood transfusion has turned Freddy into Jennifer, and begins addressing her as if she were a baby boy. Joy and Nicola are present when the building explodes.

[edit] Robert Greenspan

Robert Greenspan (Tompkins) is a dwarf working as an actor, currently playing the role of Blusher in a pantomime version of Snow White in Eastbourne, East Sussex starring and directed by Christopher Biggins (playing himself). He is in love with the dim actress who is playing Snow White, Debbie (Daisy Haggard), but she does not share the same feelings. Robert is mocked by those around him, in particular Brian (Shearsmith), the actor playing the role of the Wicked Queen. Robert appears to be telekinetic, shown when he gets angry or upset, although episode six reveals this is actually his fellow dwarf-actor Kerry (Lisa Hammond).

When Robert gets the first blackmail letter, he believes it is because he once starred in a porn film. When he tells Brian this, Brian tells him not to worry, but Robert then sees Brian showing Debbie the film he starred in. His anger causes him to use his powers to blow up the TV set they are watching the film on.

Debbie then plays a cruel trick on him. Pretending that she fancied him, she convinced him to appear on stage naked in front of the whole cast, thinking that Debbie wanted to act out a sexual fantasy with him. Kerry uses her powers to make a light explode, again letting Robert think it was him. The next day she uses telekinesis to close the lid of the glass "coffin" for the final act of the pantomime, causing Debbie to be knocked unconscious by the lid. Robert goes to visit her in hospital and kisses her. She suddenly awakes, suffering from amnesia, so Robert tells her that they have been together for two years. Robert also receives another letter from the blackmailer, this time containing a large key with the handle containing the symbol of a raven.

Later, Robert convinces Debbie they are engaged. This greatly upsets Kerry, who is secretly in love with Robert. She and Brian conspire to get Robert sacked from the pantomime and then corner him during a rehearsal. Kerry reveals that Robert's telekinetic powers were really her own and she wanted to protect him from the bullying he endured at the hands of the rest of the cast. She demands that he tell her he loves her and admit he was using Debbie to make her jealous. Robert attempts to leave, but Brian knocks him out and Kerry bundles him into a car.

Robert and Kerry end up on the road where Kerry apologizes. Robert accepts, but their vehicle runs out of petrol. They go off to an abandoned home where there is soup on the table. Kerry calls for help and Robert helps himself to some soup, but notices that the phone she is calling on is disconnected from the wall. Kerry then calls out to a woman she calls "grandma" for help, and an old woman emerges as Robert passes out from the drugged soup. Robert plays no part in the climactic scenes at Ravenhill, but as Kerry cuts open his shirt in the final shot of the series Nurse Kenchington's stolen locket is revealed.

[edit] Web presence

Shearsmith and Pemberton collaborated with Rob and Neil Gibbons to produce fictional web content to accompany the show including an interactive treasure hunt.^[10] Fake websites and promotional websites were created for many of the characters to allow viewers of the programme to get "an overall Psychoville experience".

[edit] Cast

The main characters in Psychoville (left to right): Joy Aston, Oscar Lomax, Mr Jelly (back), Robert Greenspan (front), David Sowerbutts and Maureen Sowerbutts.

[edit] Production

Filming for the series began at locations around London in October 2008, with plans for the show to be broadcast in 2009.^[3] In May 2009 it was confirmed that the series would begin on 11 June,^[11] although it was later rescheduled to 18 June.^[2] In order to promote Psychoville's launch, digital agency Ralph & Co created a customisable viral video, which enabled users to seemingly broadcast their friends' darkest secrets on a digital billboard at London's Piccadilly Circus.^[11]

[edit] Ratings

[edit] References

General

• "Psychoville - Character Guides". British Comedy Guide. http://www.comedy.org.uk/guide/tv/psychoville/characters/. Retrieved 20 June 2009. 
• "Psychoville - Episode Guide". British Comedy Guide. http://www.comedy.org.uk/guide/tv/psychoville/episodes/. Retrieved 20 June 2009. 
• "Psychoville - Characters". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/psychoville/characters/. Retrieved 20 June 2009. 
• "Psychoville - Episodes". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00lf6t2. Retrieved 20 June 2009. 

Specific

[edit] External links

• Official website
• Psychoville at the Internet Movie Database
• British Comedy Guide
• Viral Promotion
• The League of Gentlemen launch Psychoville, The Sunday Times, May 31, 2009