"Funland" (2005) TV series

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

23 October 2005 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot Keywords:

One Word Title

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Daniel Mays	...	Carter Krantz (11 episodes, 2005)
Ian Puleston-Davies	...	Shirley Woolf (11 episodes, 2005)
Sarah Smart	...	Lola Sutton (11 episodes, 2005)
Kris Marshall	...	Dudley Sutton (11 episodes, 2005)
Philip Jackson	...	Leo Finch (11 episodes, 2005)
Judy Parfitt	...	Mercy Woolf (11 episodes, 2005)
Emily Aston	...	Ruby Woolf (10 episodes, 2005)
Frances Barber	...	Connie Woolf (10 episodes, 2005)
Roy Barraclough	...	Onan Van Kneck (10 episodes, 2005)
Kenny Doughty	...	Liam Woolf (10 episodes, 2005)
Paul Courtenay Hyu	...	Bryan Luke / ... (9 episodes, 2005)
Ryan Pope	...	Chris Church (8 episodes, 2005)
Beth Cordingly	...	Vienna Keen (8 episodes, 2005)
Nicholas Beveney	...	The Greek (8 episodes, 2005)
Ron Cook	...	Hitman 1 / ... (7 episodes, 2005)
Brian Hibbard	...	Willy Woolf / ... (7 episodes, 2005)
Cheryl Campbell	...	Valerie Hinchcliffe (6 episodes, 2005)
Jason Watkins	...	Bradley Stainer (6 episodes, 2005)
Kevin Eldon	...	Shadowman / ... (5 episodes, 2005)

Runtime:

60 min (pilot) | 30 min (10 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Bond Street, Blackpool, Lancashire, England, UK

Company:

BBC Comedy-North

No fun but fun anyway

The grotesque world of the 'The League of Gentlemen' was a fairly standard comic creation, but Simon Ashdown, one of its writers, has surpassed himself with 'Funland' (co-written with an 'Eastenders' scriptwriter), in which they create an even more vicious, obscene and fantastic environment but moreover manage to play it straight throughout eleven episodes of tightly plotted thriller. The comedy here is so black that there's little in the way of conventional laughs, but the jarring lines between the ludicrous situations and the merciless drama make this a series like no other. The story is set in a Blackpool reduced to the grimmest of parodies (one wonders if the local burghers thought about suing), there's no affection here. If it reminds me of anything, I think of Alan Platers's 'Beiderbecke' trilogy, a series of unlikely escapades set in the ordinary landscape of northern Britain, but that was ultimately gentle whereas 'Funland' is anything but. What stops it from being great is that it's hard to relate what one sees to the reality of life in modern Britain, and the dialogue rarely rises above 'Eastenders' standards; but the same can be said for a good many more realistic dramas as well. And for savage inventiveness, it has few equals.