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The Singing Detective

TV·1986–1986·1 season, 6 episodes·BBC One·Drama, Mystery·1h 10m·Created by Dennis Potter

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Tormented and bedridden by a debilitating disease, a mystery writer relives his detective stories through his imagination and hallucinations.

Highest-rated episodes all ranked

  1. 01The Singing Detective S01E01SkinS01E01 · 9.0Pulp thriller writer Philip Marlow is in hospital with the skin complaint psoriasis, tormented by his past and threatened by his future. His memories, his 1930s-style gumshoe fiction and his disease weave him an altered reality.
  2. 02The Singing Detective S01E03Lovely DaysS01E03 · 9.0While in hospital with psoriasis, Marlow thinks back to the war when he was a little boy, and remembers seeing his mother having illicit sex in the Forest of Dean. His memories, his 30s style gumshoe fiction and his disease weave him an altered reality.
  3. 03The Singing Detective S01E02HeatS01E02 · 8.0Dennis Potter's drama about a patient struggling to keep his sanity, with the help of his alter ego, the singing private eye. Marlow faces a talking cure with a psychologist.

Cast

Michael GambonMichael GambonPhilip MarlowJoanne WhalleyJoanne WhalleyNurse MillsDavid RyallDavid RyallMr HallSharon D. ClarkeSharon D. ClarkeNight NurseGerard HoranGerard HoranReginaldRon CookRon CookFirst Mysterious Man
George Rossi
George RossiSecond Mysterious Man

Episodes by season

Season01Episode ratings across the season — the gold bar is its best episode6Episodes1986Aired 8.7Season avg
  1. S01E01The Singing Detective S01E01Season's bestSkinNovember 16, 1986 9.0Pulp thriller writer Philip Marlow is in hospital with the skin complaint psoriasis, tormented by his past and threatened by his future. His
  2. S01E02The Singing Detective S01E02HeatNovember 23, 1986 8.0Dennis Potter's drama about a patient struggling to keep his sanity, with the help of his alter ego, the singing private eye. Marlow faces a
  3. S01E03The Singing Detective S01E03Lovely DaysNovember 30, 1986 9.0While in hospital with psoriasis, Marlow thinks back to the war when he was a little boy, and remembers seeing his mother having illicit sex
  4. S01E04The Singing Detective S01E04CluesDecember 7, 1986—Marlow as a child visits London, but is not impressed. A film option on Marlow's novel thickens the plot. His memories, his 30s style gumsho
  5. S01E05The Singing Detective S01E05Pitter PatterDecember 14, 1986—Marlow is getting better and the different strands of his fiction and reality begin to occupy the same time and place.
  6. S01E06The Singing Detective S01E06Who Done ItDecember 21, 1986—The young Philip Marlow returns to the country railway station following his mother's death in London. Forty years on, Marlow the hospital p

Season 1 ranked & reviewed

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