Half way through the Beeb's new Thursday night comedy, Psychoville, I started to wonder how viewers would react to the show if they had stumbled upon it while flicking through the channels looking for 'My Cat Has Two Scrotum's' or whatever else is offered up as light entertainment these days. Fans of Psychoville's creators Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, will have been well aware what to expect through their previous work alongside Mark Gatiss and Jeremy Dyson as The League of Gentleman, and will have been lapping up the dark comedy and creepy goings on during this opening episode. But what of the newcomers? The casting of Dawn French as midwife, Joy Aston, may well have attracted viewers accustomed to her homely role in The Vicar of Dibley, but how would they react to her character's relationship with surrogate baby, Freddie? And if we're talking relationships, what about the dynamics between the serial-killer obsessive, David Sowerbutts, and his 'caring' mother, Maureen? For those of us who have followed the journey of The League of Gentleman from radio to TV onto stage and the silver screen, Psychoville's collection of oddballs will feel strangely familiar,as if they were ex-pats from village of the damned, Royston Vasey.
Alongside unhinged childrens entertainer, Mr Jelly, an ex-pornstar dwarf and a blind eccentric with a penchant for cuddly toys, the show's six main protagonists are linked by a mystery letter dispatched from the local post office by a shadowy figure with exquisite handwriting.
Fans of The League of Gentleman will be well aware that Psychoville ain't going to be an easy ride, but for anyone just discovering the dark genius of Shearsmith and Pemberton's work, I urge you - even if you're having to watch from behind the sofa - to stick around until the end, you'll be glad you did.
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