The Singing Detective

Episode 01

Skin

Nov 16, 1986 · 70 min

Pulp thriller writer Philip Marlow is in hospital with the skin complaint psoriasis, tormented by his past and threatened by his future. His memories, his 1930s-style gumshoe fiction and his disease weave him an altered reality.

Episode 02

Heat

Nov 23, 1986 · 70 min

Dennis Potter's drama about a patient struggling to keep his sanity, with the help of his alter ego, the singing private eye. Marlow faces a talking cure with a psychologist.

Episode 03

Lovely Days

Nov 30, 1986 · 70 min

While in hospital with psoriasis, Marlow thinks back to the war when he was a little boy, and remembers seeing his mother having illicit sex in the Forest of Dean. His memories, his 30s style gumshoe fiction and his disease weave him an altered reality.

Episode 04

Clues

Dec 7, 1986 · 70 min

Marlow as a child visits London, but is not impressed. A film option on Marlow's novel thickens the plot. His memories, his 30s style gumshoe fiction and his disease weave him an altered reality.

Episode 05

Pitter Patter

Dec 14, 1986 · 70 min

Marlow is getting better and the different strands of his fiction and reality begin to occupy the same time and place.

Episode 06

Who Done It

Dec 21, 1986 · 70 min

The young Philip Marlow returns to the country railway station following his mother's death in London. Forty years on, Marlow the hospital patient still dreams about the homecoming and the frightening figure of the scarecrow that now erupts into the ward.