"Funland" (2005) TV series

User Rating:

8.6/10   

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

23 October 2005 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot Keywords:

One Word Title

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Daniel Mays	...	Carter Krantz (11 episodes, 2005)
Ian Puleston-Davies	...	Shirley Woolf (11 episodes, 2005)
Sarah Smart	...	Lola Sutton (11 episodes, 2005)
Kris Marshall	...	Dudley Sutton (11 episodes, 2005)
Philip Jackson	...	Leo Finch (11 episodes, 2005)
Judy Parfitt	...	Mercy Woolf (11 episodes, 2005)
Emily Aston	...	Ruby Woolf (10 episodes, 2005)
Frances Barber	...	Connie Woolf (10 episodes, 2005)
Roy Barraclough	...	Onan Van Kneck (10 episodes, 2005)
Kenny Doughty	...	Liam Woolf (10 episodes, 2005)
Paul Courtenay Hyu	...	Bryan Luke / ... (9 episodes, 2005)
Ryan Pope	...	Chris Church (8 episodes, 2005)
Beth Cordingly	...	Vienna Keen (8 episodes, 2005)
Nicholas Beveney	...	The Greek (8 episodes, 2005)
Ron Cook	...	Hitman 1 / ... (7 episodes, 2005)
Brian Hibbard	...	Willy Woolf / ... (7 episodes, 2005)
Cheryl Campbell	...	Valerie Hinchcliffe (6 episodes, 2005)
Jason Watkins	...	Bradley Stainer (6 episodes, 2005)
Kevin Eldon	...	Shadowman / ... (5 episodes, 2005)

Runtime:

60 min (pilot) | 30 min (10 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Bond Street, Blackpool, Lancashire, England, UK

Company:

BBC Comedy-North

An interesting, well-conceived show

STAR RATING: ***** The Works **** Just Misses the Mark *** That Little Bit In Between ** Lagging Behind * The Pits

Carter Krantz (Daniel Mays) is a London detective who's taken a trip down to Blackpool- but he's not here to celebrate a stag party or ride the Pepsi Max. He's after the killer of his mother, who's dying words mentioned the name of a person at the popular seaside resort. But along the way, shocking twists and turns conspire to take his quest to an electrifying climax.

With this and supporting roles in films like Class of '76 and Vera Drake, Mays is shaping up a fair career for himself. He's a cockney actor with an impressive dialect and a smooth, natural presence and he has a likable personality, so I think he deserves this. He's helped by a good supporting cast, including Coronation Street favourite Roy Barraclough and a wheelchair bound old lady who provides one of the show's most pivotal roles.

Performances aside, Funland is a darkly funny, impressively voyeuristic show with an interesting premise and sound delivery. It's also helped by a foreboding opening score and an impressive and realistic use of Blackpool as the seedy backdrop for all the nefarious goings-on.

Faults-wise, there's one or two grinding, clunky clichés here and there, but I suppose it's no biggie. BBC 3 usually gets slammed as being rarely watched and full of useless programmes and repeats, but they've tuned out an admittedly rare piece of quality programming here. Kudos. ****