Over its six episodes, Takin' Over the Asylum deals with some pretty heavy subjects with a lightness of touch.
You might think a programme focusing on a cast of mentally ill, sectioned characters would be depressing, but the show finds plenty of room for humour, satire and hope.
Eddie (Ken Stott) is a listless man whose only real joy in life is working as a small-time radio DJ. When he finds himself hosting a hospital radio in a psychiatric asylum, he develops a kinship with a handful of the resident 'loonies'. We gain a little bit of insight into their idiosyncratic problems, as well as Eddie's own demons, as they all pour their efforts into keeping the hospital station - and their own hopes about the future - alive.
It's perhaps a little dated 16 years on from when it was first aired, but it's still a poignant story with an affable cast, and some timely messages about mental health.
You might think a programme focusing on a cast of mentally ill, sectioned characters would be depressing, but the show finds plenty of room for humour, satire and hope.
Eddie (Ken Stott) is a listless man whose only real joy in life is working as a small-time radio DJ. When he finds himself hosting a hospital radio in a psychiatric asylum, he develops a kinship with a handful of the resident 'loonies'. We gain a little bit of insight into their idiosyncratic problems, as well as Eddie's own demons, as they all pour their efforts into keeping the hospital station - and their own hopes about the future - alive.
It's perhaps a little dated 16 years on from when it was first aired, but it's still a poignant story with an affable cast, and some timely messages about mental health.