The Singing Detective (1986)

The late Dennis Potter was a master at mining the popular songs of the 1930s and '40s for dramatic effect, but he never did it better than in this British miniseries starring the inestimable Michael Gambon. Gambon plays a mystery writer named Philip E. Marlow, who is suffering a torturous bout of psoriatic arthritis in a British hospital, where he is a victim of both his disease and the national health plan. Unable to move without pain, he escapes into his imagination, plotting out a murder tale in which he is both a big-band singer and a private eye. But Potter and director Jon Amiel also mix in flashbacks of Marlow's youth and his unhappy marriage to explain how the real Marlow reached this sorry pass. Flawlessly, intricately, kaleidoscopically assembled, the six one-hour episodes of this British miniseries fly by like some fantastic fever dream. --Marshall Fine Amazon.com

Original BBC Series: The Singing Detective

This is magical work. It reeks of originality & excellence. British humor has its own reason for being. Michael Gambon is just flat superb! The original writer Potter is no longer with us - what a pity! It is a combo of suspense, wit, pathos all rolled into one. I did not see the movie with Robert Downey Jr. I could not bear to make a comparison to this gem of a production. August 1, 2008

The offkey singing detective

Their is nothing I enjoy more then British movies and TV series. I guess
I am a true anglophle when it comes to their excellent entertainment and unusual productions. The Singing Detective meets both of these criteria, but with a lot of difficulity in figuring out what the hell he was trying to convey in his misery and to what purpose. I didn't understand a hell of a lot until the very end of the film, but it was still entertaining in it's unusualness to keep my interest because that's what the Brit's can do so well. Go for it and be ready to scratch your noggen enough for your hair to fall out. July 6, 2008

Nothing To Sing About

I'm a fan of Dennis Potter and when I first saw The Singing Detective I thought it was nothing short of brilliant. I bought the dvd when it came out and put it on the shelf to watch some rainy weekend. That weekend came a day ago and I sat down eager to revisit a much loved classic. Good Lord was I disappointed. It dragged its foot in lamed fashion and I heard myself screaming "Get on with it". Spare yourself and if anyone is interested I've got a perfectly good copy for sale. May 25, 2008

Excellent TV

This is the series that almost made me buy a TV. While I still don't have a TV, I'm delighted to be able to rewatch this excellent series on my computer. April 8, 2008

The Best Thing You'll ever watch

Some have suggested that "The Singing Detective" is the greatest production ever done for television; I could not even suggest a close number two!
I originally was inspired to look at The Singing Detective because I enjoyed the "Maigret" series so much. I thought that TSD was in somewhat the same jaundra. Well, I was plesently surprised. It's not a `Mystery' but a psychodrama of the highest caliber.
A gripping plot, much of it autobiographical to Dennis Potter this IS the best thing that has ever been on television!

Wouldn't it be nice if television aspired to all the crafts that brought us "The Singing Detective". Find out what you've been missing.

November 20, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...