Reece Shearsmith

A completely different cup of tea this week. Instead of the usual rogues' gallery, we focus entirely on murderous (and hideous) mother-and-son duo the Sowerbutts (Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton), who are bundling their latest victim into a chest as we meet them. But hang on, this looks different, too. Instead of the usual gothic style, we have a simple, stagey approach: one room, a single shot with no edits. Yes, what we have here is Psychoville's very own tribute to Alfred Hitchcock's Rope. It's an ambitious idea and it's slickly done, with the expected touches of the surreal. As they try to get over the unpleasantness of the murder, the pair put "the cheering-up tape" on - an upbeat aerobics workout to which they do a hopeless dance routine. But no sooner have they put the kettle on than there's a knock at the door and they're disturbed by a stranger in a belted mac and trilby, asking uncomfortable questions. He's played by a familiar face (especially to fans of Shearsmith and Pemberton's work), but the show begs us not to reveal his identity.

Alfred Hitchcock was a film-maker who could be relied upon to find the grotesque humour in any given situation. It's therefore appropriate that tonight's instalment of Psychoville, possibly TV's first gothic sitcom-cum-thriller, should pay homage to Alf. More surprisingly, Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton choose to riff off Rope in an episode shot in two long takes, with the murderous David and Maureen at the centre of the mayhem. Prepare for a killing, a trunk, an unexpected caller, a sudden panic and a fixation with pyramid teabags.

Alfred Hitchcock appears to be one of the influences on this weirdly compelling comedy-thriller series. Here The League of Gentlemen's Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton pay homage to his oft-overlooked film Rope, which in turn was inspired by the real-life murder of a young boy in 1924 by two college students. Tonight David (Steve Pemberton) and his mother Maureen (Reece Shearsmith) are mid-murder at their home when an unexpected visitor knocks on the door and throws them into a panic.

Of all the episodes in this strange series, this is the strangest and most fascinating to date. It is a homage to Alfred Hitchock's 1948 film Rope with James Stewart, which told the story of two young men who murdered a classmate, put his body in a wooden chest and invited the victim's friends and family round to dinner. It was a daring and experimental film, shot as though it were taking place in real time using long, unbroken takes. The same technique is used here, with a single location and only three characters - the comic killers (Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton) and their unfortunate victim (Mark Gatiss) - shot in two long takes. The effect is theatrical, claustrophobic and totally mesmerising. One of the greatest pleasures of watching television is coming across a complete surprise; in the fast-forward world of snappy editing, tonight's episode has a shocking originality.

Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton's macabre comedy pays homage to Alfred Hitchcock's Rope tonight. The entire episode (apart from the 'previously...' bit and the exterior shot) is filmed as one long, continuous take on a single set.

Just as in Rope, two murderers - in this case, Maureen and David Sowerbutts - have hidden the body of their latest victim inside an antique wooden chest when there's an unexpected knock on the door.

Their visitor is a detective - who could have stepped straight out of a 40s movie - and the pair panic at the possibility their killing spree will be rumbled.

Don't underestimate the huge pressure that cast and crew would have been under trying to achieve an entirely perfect run at this (like a stage play only with cameras and microphones).

But this daring departure from the series' usual template is also one of the funniest episodes yet. And does Maureen remind anyone else of Brian's mum from The Life Of Brian?

Reece Shearsmith introduces a special episode

Hello again. Episode Four of Psychoville looms upon us - and a very exciting episode it is too. We wrote the fourth episode like a mini Play for Today (as if you remember what they were), and when it came to filming it we decided to try and capture the whole thing in one continuous take.

The halfway point of Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton's strange and twisted comic delight takes a step back from the blizzard of surreal characters to focus on the most engaging of them all - deadly mother and son duo Maureen and David Sowerbutts. The production of the episode pays tribute to Hitchcock's Rope, being shot virtually seamlessly in two long takes, honing in on more 'bad murders' and 'strangles' as the pair try to clean up their killing spree, while dancing to Black Lace's Superman Song. All this and a special guest star...

Coulrophobics beware: this episode features an exceptionally weird clown sequence in which Mr Jelly (Reece Shearsmith) is tried in "clown court" for bringing his profession into disrepute. His punishment appears, initially, to throw some light on what's happening in this increasingly bizarre (Christopher Biggins in a gold lamé codpiece is the least of it) black comedy but, true to form, the clue proves unreliable.

It is possible to have too much macabre weirdness in one programme. Created, written and largely performed by Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton from The League Of Gentlemen, Psychoville is an exercise in just how far you can push dark comedy.

To this end the pair have assembled a rogues gallery of grotesques, scattered them the length and breadth of the country, and set a mysterious blackmailer on their trail. "I know what you did," ran his first anonymous correspondence to the seemingly unconnected group and, without even knowing what they're accused of, you wouldn't put it past them.

Psychoville is definitely an acquired taste, and I'm afraid my appetite was sated halfway through the second episode, with the introduction of ghoulish conjoined twins with symmetrical facial blemishes. For me it was a case of two freaks too far.

It is very well done, atmospheric and beautifully performed, but the misanthropic tone of the humour is relentless and, after a while, a bit tedious. The introduction of a little shade would have been welcome, even different shades of black.

The macabre comedy gets funnier by the week, as we come to know more about the individual characters. Tonight, for example, we get Mr Jelly's backstory: how he wound up as an embittered, one-handed clown. Also, unhinged midwife Joy's husband George (Steve Pemberton) lets slip that his wife was once "put away". The most hilarious scenario of all, though, is when David Sowerbutts (Steve Pemberton) and his mum Maureen (Reece Shearsmith) dispatch their next victim disguised as beauticians. A must.