I enjoyed it.
Superman! 
Psychoville - Series 1 Page 22
Very good episode indeed last night.
By the way, has anyone managed to figure out this week's email puzzle? I can't figure it out.
EDIT: I've done it now.
Excellent throughout.
That last long scene was outstanding, and I wonder if there will be more like that for the other main characters.
When the 'asylum' video was playing with them all in, I started thinking of 'Lost', but in a good way. That's one of things they do so well, expertly referring to other productions, rather than clumsily ripping them off. Speaking of which, the 'humiliated dwarf' scene from earlier, I've seen similar before, but can't quite remember where.
Quote: Aaron @ July 9 2009, 11:10 PM BSTI don't normally even consciously acknowledge these things - perhaps it stuck out to me after the excellent design of the previous episodes - but I noticed tonight that although the furnishings were very cosy, homely type, it was all very spaced out, more like a modern warehouse-conversion apartment. Seemed to be a vast expanse behind and to the sides of the sofa, which was unused.
zooo suggested perhaps it was purposeful to appear more like a set on-stage. Which, the more I think about it, would make sense, a kind of multi-layered self-referential thing what with it having no cuts and suchforth?
Just an observation anyway...
Which is why this episode failed dismally as a documentary.
It is about practical logistics. Every piece of physical movement in that episode - a tray of cups being brought out, a dead body having a coat thrown over it, people waving knives, people opening chests - all needed space as the one take (the episode was actually two takes) needed space or actors and cameras would jar and bump into furniture and need to start again.
I thought it was a stunning piece of television comedy. I forgot the ROPE device early on which was a testament to those responsible. It was also funny and touching and - in line with the Hitchcock references - loaded with McGuffins and surprises.
Episode Six is a stunner too...
I didn't know Mark Gatiss was going to be in it and was really pleased when he appeared.
Yes, the dance sequence was hilarious; the characterisations without dialogue here were spot on.
I was really impressed... but I really love the style that the guys have used for the rest of Physchcoville and it's the clever way it's done that really has made me hooked to the series.
Nice one off, but back to the norm next week for me please! 
I LOVED the dance though, preempted the "kiss" bit though.
Echo Dolly's pleasure on seeing Gatiss too.
Quote: EllieJP @ July 10 2009, 11:43 AM BSTNice one off, but back to the norm next week for me please!
Agreed.
As much as I enjoyed this week's episode, the single set and minimal actors made me think of only one thing - they blew the budget on the eleborate 'Clown Court' from last week and needed to balance out the books.
As complaints go, that's pretty minor and I'm really looking forward to seeing more.
Quote: Tim Walker @ July 10 2009, 12:56 AM BSTOverall a good episode and really interesting to see a different style introduced halfway through a series. Ambitious, if nothing else.
....
Really loved the dancing sequence! Best bit.
I thought it was a bit odd having this episode here like this though. For me it just jarred. I'd imagine that watching the DVD, when you view a few episodes back-to-back, it'll stand out even more oddly. I would expect a series to be filmed pretty much in the same style right through. Maybethat's blinkered of me to expect that and I should open my mind a bit more and have my expectations challenged. But I don't want to.
You get a 'feel' for a programme, and this messed with that as the camerawork, combined with the iffy, cheap set, made it at odds with the other episodes which have been quite stylish and lavish by comparison. All the other episodes so far have had location footage too so again this one stands out as slightly wrong.
I don't have a problem with continuous takes - Rope shows it can work very well if used correctly, and surely its no more onerous for an actor to remember a half hour of dialogue and where to hit their mark for a TV show than for a stage play. They should do it more often. It's just bizarre to plonk it in the middle of a series.
Maybe they just ran out of money??
As for the dance sequence - that made me cringe! What was the point of it? It wasn't funny; just strange. Maybe they needed to fill time..? I suppose it was a nice touch that he repeated one of the moves in front of the letterbox, and that the music drowned out the last killing, but it was a bit embarrassing.
More Dawn French please.
Quote: Maurice Minor @ July 10 2009, 12:36 AM BSTI assumed the vast spaces were purely practical
No. Sides, perhaps. But I don't recall the camera going BEHIND the sofa once. In any case, I've been to plenty of TV recordings to know that you don't need that amount of space to move through.
As for the shooting, being distracted by the camerawork etc, I can honestly say that I wouldn't have noticed had I not been aware of the no-cuts thing befforehand.
Quote: Maurice Minor @ July 10 2009, 1:33 PM BSTAs for the dance sequence - that made me cringe! What was the point of it? It wasn't funny; just strange. Maybe they needed to fill time..? I suppose it was a nice touch that he repeated one of the moves in front of the letterbox, and that the music drowned out the last killing, but it was a bit embarrassing.
I thought the dance sequence was a really funny juxtaposition after the murder and was performed excellently. It stood up on its own merits for me, though part of it was obviously some reference to the kind of song/dance "therapy" David used to do whilst in the mental hospital. Don't think it was just lobbed-in to fill time!
Quote: Maurice Minor @ July 10 2009, 1:33 PM BSTbut it was a bit embarrassing.
I think that was partly the point.
Quote: Maurice Minor @ July 10 2009, 1:33 PM BSTI'd imagine that watching the DVD, when you view a few episodes back-to-back, it'll stand out even more oddly.
I watched them all over the last day, and it didn't bother me. Sure, it felt distinctly like a theatre piece, but that's quite apt, considering the whole thing was so Sleuth-esque.
It's going to seem odd watching all the 'other' characters next week - it will have been two weeks since we saw them last!
By the way, did anyone notice any of the cuts?
There was only one wasn't there?