Written by a dying man. Dennis Potter. This is a story about a writer Daniel Feeld (Albert Finney) who looks like he is terminally ill.
In his fevered mind which is increasingly sozzled as well as being in pain and anguish. Fact and fiction collide. Somehow the lines of his latest work Karaoke, is bleeding into the real world.
After Pennies from Heaven and The Singing Detective. Dennis Potter had entered the pantheon of legendary television dramatists.
After Blackeyes and Lipstick on your Collar. He was close to being just a dirty old man. Any nudity might not necessarily be there for artistic reasons.
The first episode has nods to previous Potter productions. Ewan McGregor has a literal walk on role. Hywel Bennett plays the villainous owner of the karaoke bar which is also a clip joint.
There is a hint of a mystery, Feeld follows a young woman who might be murdered as scenes from his work are replayed in his mind.
Along the way. Feeld takes potshots at the BBC, even doing an impersonation of a dalek. The Director General at the time was John Birt who was labelled a dalek by Potter.
Ironically Karaoke was commissioned by the BBC. After Potter's death it became a BBC/Channel 4 joint production as both channels decided to collaborate with Potter's final two works which are linked.
This is not vintage Potter. It is a layered drama but looks more like a recycled greatest hits package, coming a few years after he did something similar with Lipstick in your Collar.
The standout in the opener was Ian McDiarmid playing a writer who looks uncannily like Dennis Potter. His introduction is walking in the rain while miming to Your Cheatin Heart.
In his fevered mind which is increasingly sozzled as well as being in pain and anguish. Fact and fiction collide. Somehow the lines of his latest work Karaoke, is bleeding into the real world.
After Pennies from Heaven and The Singing Detective. Dennis Potter had entered the pantheon of legendary television dramatists.
After Blackeyes and Lipstick on your Collar. He was close to being just a dirty old man. Any nudity might not necessarily be there for artistic reasons.
The first episode has nods to previous Potter productions. Ewan McGregor has a literal walk on role. Hywel Bennett plays the villainous owner of the karaoke bar which is also a clip joint.
There is a hint of a mystery, Feeld follows a young woman who might be murdered as scenes from his work are replayed in his mind.
Along the way. Feeld takes potshots at the BBC, even doing an impersonation of a dalek. The Director General at the time was John Birt who was labelled a dalek by Potter.
Ironically Karaoke was commissioned by the BBC. After Potter's death it became a BBC/Channel 4 joint production as both channels decided to collaborate with Potter's final two works which are linked.
This is not vintage Potter. It is a layered drama but looks more like a recycled greatest hits package, coming a few years after he did something similar with Lipstick in your Collar.
The standout in the opener was Ian McDiarmid playing a writer who looks uncannily like Dennis Potter. His introduction is walking in the rain while miming to Your Cheatin Heart.
