Takin` Over the Asylum

Production
Ken Stott as Eddie McKenna
Format	Drama
Created by	Donna Franceschild
Directed by	David Blair
Starring	Ken Stott David Tennant
Composer(s)	Junior Campbell
No. of episodes	6
Producer(s)	BBC Scotland
Editor(s)	Ian Farr
Running time	50mins
Broadcast
Original channel	BBC Two
Original airing	27 September 1994 Repeat Transmission 23 August 2008

Description

Takin` Over the Asylum is a six part BBC Scotland television drama about a hospital radio station in a Glasgow psychiatric hospital. It was written by Donna Franceschild, produced by Chris Parr and directed by David Blair. The station is developed by alcoholic double glazing salesperson Eddie McKenna (Ken Stott), who is an aspiring disc jockey at St. Jude`s Hospital, named after the patron saint of lost causes. He meets a range of people with various mental illnesses: Campbell (David Tennant) - a young, enthusiastic contributor to the station, who is a manic depressive (bi-polar). Francine (Katy Murphy) - a long-term depressive patient who self harms and to whom McKenna is strongly attracted. Fergus (Angus Macfadyen) - an electrical engineer, who has schizophrenia and a habit of escaping from the hospital then returning. Rosalie (Ruth McCabe) - a middle-aged housewife who has OCD regarding cleanliness and is separating from her husband. The show uses many Beatles songs both in its soundtrack and episode titles. The name of the hospital, for example, is echoed by the Beatles` "Hey Jude". The show is also notable for its sound ing with popular music tracks seamlessly blended between soundtrack theme and live foreground action. The series BBC DVD was released 2 June 2008 and the show was re-run on BBC4 beginning August 2008 with two episodes shown back-to-back over three consecutive Saturday evenings.