Psychoville

Psychoville - we know what they did

If you were watching last night's episode of Psychoville you may have heard an announcement saying you could watch the final episode on red button. This was a mistake following a little misunderstanding and we would like to apologise sincerely on behalf of all those concerned.

We think the black gloved stranger may have had something to do with it.

Psychoville episode 6 review

Was the sixth episode of Psychoville the best one yet? It's certainly sets things up for a cracking finale...

In its scary, sinister, creepy but very funny way, League of Gentlemen Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton's beautifully made and brilliantly performed comedy thriller has been one of the TV treats of the summer. This coming Thursday it reaches its climax with some suitably awful goings-on as all the characters find out why they've been summoned and who summoned them.

It's the penultimate episode of a series that shows no signs of returning to Planet Normal any time soon. All the characters are worried that their mysterious blackmailer is "deeply disturbed" and "bordering on the psychotic", which brings to mind pots and kettles of the blackest variety. As the story unfolds, they are all drawn to a disused hospital in readiness for a macabre showdown. But before that can happen, the Mother & Son team of serial killers (Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton) are preparing to dispatch one final victim. Mum wants to buy an indoor barbecue in readiness for the occasion. "I thought we could do something special," she says, "and eat her. What do you think? I've bought some red onions." "That's disgusting," her son replies. "I don't like red onions."

Have you lost your virginity yet?" asks a lecherous colleague of pantomime dwarf Kerry. "If you have, can I play with the box it came in?" A tempting proposal, but Kerry's got bigger fish to fry tonight as she attempts to foil Robert's plan to trick Debbie into marriage. In doing so, she'll force him to confront the truth about himself & reveal her own true nature. Elsewhere, Messrs Jelly and Jolly's fragile alliance looks set to founder & the Sowerbutt's murderous idyll is threatened by a trip to the DIY store. The sinister and the bathetic continue to jostle amusingly and compellingly for space as Psychoville nears its end. There are fewer laughs in tonight's episode and no formal invention to match the Gatiss / Pemberton / Shearsmith three-way of episode four. But it remains a gloriously grubby and painstakingly crafted creation which will remain worth following right until the inevitably bitter end.

Psychoville 1.5 Review

After the excellent, experimental homage to Hitchcock last week, we're back to the crux of the matter this week. Sadly, I'm struggling to feel that enthused about Psychoville's overarching mystery (which grows increasingly predictable and cliched as every layer is peeled away), although I'm hopeful there will be an imaginative twist in the tail...

Reece Shearsmith's and Steve Pemberton's killer comedy thriller cranks up the psychotic laughter to deafening as the plot knots unravel in this week's penultimate episode. Maureen is dismissive about her final victim ("its hardly going to be Jeffrey Dahmer") until she finds out the truth about son David's bad murder & Joy Aston takes extreme measures to return 'baby' Freddie's head to his body. Can Kerry prevent Robert from carrying out his twisted plan to marry Debbie? And what secrets lurk within the walls of Ravenhill Hospital, the evil pulse beat of Psychoville? Could sinister Nurse Kenchington and a mystery blackmailer share a connection. Murder has seldom seemed this satisfying.

Psychoville episode five: 'The Key'

The Boston Strangler, Jack the Ripper and other starry serial-killer names get together for a stunning song-and-dance routine in the latest episode.

The characters' connections start coming together in the penultimate episode of the scary, sick but very funny comedy from half of The League of Gentlemen. Mr Lomax has a new home help after he was betrayed by young Michael. Mr Jelly is 'entertaining' old folks at a home when he gets a call from Mr Jolly, and Maureen learns the truth about David.

Psychoville web roundup

There are certain sorts of programmes that inspire high levels of fan activity online - and Psychoville is one of them. It's a new series and it isn't even finished yet, but there's all sorts of stuff popping up on the web.