"Takin' Over the Asylum" (1994) TV series

User Rating:

9.3/10   

Seasons:

1

Plot:

A salesman starts to run a hospital radio station inside a facility for people with mental heath needs.

Awards:

4 wins

Cast

Ken Stott	...	Eddie (6 episodes, 1994)
Katy Murphy	...	Francine (6 episodes, 1994)
David Tennant	...	Campbell (6 episodes, 1994)
Ruth McCabe	...	Rosalie (6 episodes, 1994)
Elizabeth Spriggs	...	Grandma (6 episodes, 1994)
Angela Bruce	...	Isabel (6 episodes, 1994)
Kenneth Bryans	...	Stuart (6 episodes, 1994)
Matt Costello	...	Alastair (6 episodes, 1994)
Derek Anders	...	Billy (6 episodes, 1994)
Gavin Mitchell	...	Hector (6 episodes, 1994)
Molly Innes	...	Margaret (6 episodes, 1994)
Roy Hanlon	...	Griffin (6 episodes, 1994)
Nell Brennan	...	Sheila (6 episodes, 1994)
Neil McKinven	...	MacAteer (5 episodes, 1994)
Caroline Paterson	...	Jane (5 episodes, 1994)
Angus Macfadyen	...	Fergus (4 episodes, 1994)
Sandra Voe	...	Evelyn (4 episodes, 1994)
Ronnie McCann	...	Lavery (4 episodes, 1994)
Arabella Weir	...	Paula (3 episodes, 1994)
Paul Blair	...	Webster (3 episodes, 1994)

Runtime:

50 min (6 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

The budget was so tight that director David Blair dubbed his own voice over one of the supporting artists' in order to avoid paying them for a speaking role.

Quotes:

Campbell: We are loonies, and we are proud!

Takin' Over the Asylum DVD Release

I wrote this series a very long time ago. David Blair and I were just starting out on our careers and neither of us really believed it would ever be made. We used to meet in the Trevi, a small Italian restaurant near the old BBC Scotland building and David would give me "notes" on my drafts. When we got to the end of the last script he asked me what I wanted to do next. I said, "I don't know. Make this. Win an BAFTA. Make something else." Bizarre to think that it actually happened.

Anyway, I did want you all to know that Takin' Over the Asylum is coming out on DVD later this year. There were a lot of people who lobbied for this for a very long time. Someone even started an online petition, but I guess the Powers that Be remained unconvinced. However, it appears that the democracy/anarchy of the internet succeeded where everything else failed. The BBC finally responded to the fact that the entire series had been pirated and posted on You Tube and decided that maybe it would be an idea to release it on DVD after all. Will post when I know the release date once I know it! Thanks for keeping the faith with this series. It means a lot to me.