There was one on Sky i think. I only know it because David Devant & His Spirit Wife played musical bits on it, and a fanatic fan taped it because of that, and tried to get me to watch it, too. I have no idea what it was called but maybe someone can enlighten me.

>Has there ever been any comedy set in a mental institution? People with good memories and stacks of useless comdey trivia please reply to this address.

Why - Russ Abbott's Madhouse, obviously. (Flippant and obvious, but I thought I'd get it out of the way).

Serious answer: there is that Cell Block H spoof about a psychiatric ward on All New Alexei Sayle Show (theme tune: Patsy Cline's Crazy, inevitably). Homer got institutionalised on The Simpsons (the one with Michael Jackson).

But a series....hmmmm...

'Taking Over The Asylum' (more comedy-drama though) and some Aussie thing whose name escapes me, shown in a 3am slot on ITV.

You could argue that "If You See God, Tell Him" constitutes such a thing, although we only see Godfrey Spry (Richard Briers) institutionalised briefly.

Paramount had one on with Simon Pegg and norman Lovett in it called the asylm I think. Not sure about the name though.

Jessica Stevenson was in it as well.

waiting for god was almost a mental institution in itself . the program i mean.

ugh!

don't remind me of that show.

the BBC put it on as a filler a week or so ago when some sport over ran or something and I was comatose after 15 seconds.

I could barely get to the remote to turn it over it destroyed my will to live so quickly.

Yes I believe there was one called The Cuckoo Waltz (or I might just be wrong there.) If that's not right there was another called Dad's Barmy. No wait, that was about the Home Guard. Right, there was definately one called Mad About The House. Yes that's it.

But Janine Duvitski and her obsession with Harvey 'You're touching me, Jane' Baines is worth the license fee alone.....

Yes. One often finds a dose of that far more relaxing than Temazepan...

I do believe it was 'Asylum' on The Paramount Comedy channel.


Just basically a showcase of various comedy talents.. Had some good moments, and some lame moments... Adam Bloom being the notably lame moments.


I do believe David Devant (or whatever) did play on this one.

asylum. sounds familiar.

never watched it, and i don't take aforementioned fan's word as gospel...

David Baddiel said in an interview once that he and Rob Newman (presumably before they had their massive huff with each other) wrote a pilot script for a sitcom set in an asylum called "In the Bin". He also said they didn't send it out because if it ever got made, the reviews would go something like "In the Bin? That's where this script should have gone!". Whether this was actually true or just an excuse for one of DB's lame jokes on a chat show is a moot point, however.

I think I read somewhere that Rob Newman worked in a mental institution for a short time before he was famous, so it might well be true.

I hate to mention C*rl* L*ne but didn't she write a sitcom set in a mental institution, or possibly a drying out clinic? I cannot remember the name for the life of me but it had a character called Zero in it played by that bearded scouse bloke who played Michael Palin's mate in GBH.

>I hate to mention C*rl* L*ne but didn't she write a sitcom set in a mental institution, or possibly a drying out clinic?

I Woke Up One Morning (BBC, about 1985)? About alcoholics - Michael Angelis, Robert Gillespie (the one out of Keep It In The Family, not Primal Scream. although, come to think of it, what a hilarious sitcom idea THAT would be - Primal Scream in a sitcom of hedonistic and drug-induced excess and head-spinningly stupid quotes in interviews.) Anyway, back at IWUOM, to quote Smith & Jones's critique of The Mistress, there was probably "a joke in episode three".