Funland (2005)

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General		Extras
Category	Comedy	Main Menu Audio & Animation Featurette-Behind The Scenes Outtakes Deleted Scenes Audio Commentary-By Writers Simon Ashdown And Jeremy Dyson
Rating
Year Of Production	2005
Running Time	390
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Brian Kirk Susan Tully Dearbhla Walsh
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Simon Ashdown Jeremy Dyson Emily Aston Ewan Bailey Frances Barber Roy Barraclough Cheryl Campbell Beth Cordingly Kenny Doughty Kevin Eldon Mark Gatiss Burn Gorman Simon Greenall
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Dual
RPI	$29.95	Music	David A. Hughes Tony Cranstoun Rachel Freck

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (256Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	Unknown	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    It's official! I have forever crossed Blackpool off my holiday destination list. After the all-singing, all-gambling Blackpool and now the seamy thriller/comedy Funland, the seaside destination has lost some of its allure, for beneath the surface of smiles, donkeys and toffee apples lie dark secrets, sex and murder.

    Funland is the result of the collision of two different minds. Screenwriters Simon Ashdown, of Eastenders fame, and Jeremy Dyson of The League of Gentlemen may look like strange bedfellows but their union creates one of the most enthralling TV series of recent memory. Over the course of 11 episodes (one 60 minute and the rest all 30 minutes) we are taken deep into the dark heart of Blackpool from the mayor's office to the strip clubs, which sometimes isn't that far!

    Each episode of Funland begins with the same exciting scene. A person, Kong-like in a gorilla suit, climbs and eventually falls from the Blackpool tower, the town's most recognizable landmark. We know that the fall has been fatal. What we don't know is the identity of the faller. Over the course of the episodes the writers tease us with clues right up until the powerful climax. In a quirky twist each location has a monkey suit sitting ominously somewhere in the background.

    The candidates for untimely death are many.

    Carter Krantz (Daniel Mays) is a man on a grim mission. Escaping from some murderous thugs who have terminated his mother with extreme prejudice he seeks to avenge her death. His only clue lies in her dying words "Blackpool...danger...Ambrose Chapel". He is no bad man but no saint either and will do whatever it takes to have his revenge.

    Meanwhile Lola (Sarah Smart) and Dudley (Kris Marshall) are in town for a dirty weekend to try to bring some life into their marriage. After a card game gone wrong (and in a nod to Pinter's The Homecoming) some dark figures demand payment in kind - they want Lola to help out with some "tasteful" photography. After overcoming her initial resistance Lola begins a liberating descent into the murky world of Blackpool's strip clubs.

    The two main clubs in town are run by Shirley Woolf (Ian Puleston-Davis) and his redoubtable mother Mercy (Judy Parfitt). With a smile concealing bared teeth and a tongue so wicked it could cut through granite Mercy runs the town with an iron fist. Shirley seems trapped forever in her clutches and driven to distraction dealing with a demanding wife (Frances Barber), a slutty daughter and a son aiming at rock producer greatness, not to mention his own inability to keep his pants zipped.

    Over the course of one Bank Holiday weekend these characters and many more collide in a dizzying blend of perverse comedy and knife-edge (or should I say chainsaw-edge) thrills. Using three directors and filming at a breakneck pace the series has an immediacy that it can barely contain. As each episode finished I looked at the clock and thought "there's time for one more" which is the highest compliment to pay any TV series.

    The cast is drawn from the ranks of well-known British stage and small-screen actors. There are no major stars, although fans of Coronation Street will recognise Ray Barraclough as the crooked mayor Van Kneck and Mark Gatiss from The League of Gentlemen who chimes in with a lovely off-beat performance as a taxidermist/artist who creates celebrity replicas using dead animals! Fans of The Bill will get to see more of PC Kerry Young than they ever thought possible.

    Judy Parfitt is a standout as Mercy, dispensing some lines that have to be heard to be believed. In the writers' commentary they speak of a well-known elderly British actress who reacted as if she had "been given a shoe box only to find a t*** inside" when she auditioned the script. This is no show for the prudish as the language is very strong and there is occasional strong violence.

    In the commentary the writers admit that the show progressed from initial script to production so quickly that they were hard pressed to keep up. They wrote the final episode whilst it was being filmed. This is reflected in a few missed opportunities and logical flaws in the story but it also contributes to the breakneck pace of the piece. The acting is uniformly good right down to the minor players.

    Those who like their drama with some comedy, albeit perverse, will find much to enjoy in Funland.

Video

   Funland was shot on digital video. It has been transferred to DVD at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 which appears to be the original aspect ratio. It is 16x9 enhanced.

    In the Making of features the director of photography says that a decision was made early on to use three small cameras in place of the larger cameras they had at their disposal. The idea was to give them the ability to work at a punishing rate and keep the camera close to the action. This is reflected in several positives and a few negatives. The positives are that the show has an immediacy which is palpable. It feels as if it has been shot in real time such is the narrative drive. Due to the close camera work we are also able to get a real understanding and respect if not affection for just about all the characters, even the deadly Mercy.

    As a negative there is an inconsistency in the level of grain apparent in various scenes which can grate when seen intercut. The opening falling monkey scene is reference quality whereas some of the outdoor scenes are grainy. I had no problems with the slightly washed out look of the film as it reflected the chief locations, strip clubs and decrepit hotels.

    As a recent television program it is to be expected that there are no problems with artefacts or other defects.

    There are subtitles for the hearing impaired which I sampled during the writers' commentary. I found them to be easy to read and to have given a good account of the on-screen action.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The sound in Funland is Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s). This is certainly adequate for the dialogue which is rendered cleanly and in perfect sync.

    The only time when a more powerful soundtrack would have been nice was in the strip club scenes where popular songs are played in a burlesque atmosphere of bump and grind. Still there was enough clarity and drive in Marilyn Manson's cover of I Put a Spell On You which was a high point of the series.

    The only other opportunity missed by not having surround sound is the benefit it would have given to the numerous tense moments.

    Still, this is a nice clean soundtrack which complements the show.

    The original music for the show was composed by former member of OMD, David A. Hughes and is an excellent blend of action music undercut with a strong theme combining a mysterious element with a hint of fairground music.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Main Menu Audio & Animation

    The menu animations are pretty high tech. The monkey falls from the tower shattering the background leading into playing cards featuring the leads floating across the screen only to shatter with the sound of broken glass when selected.

Featurette-Behind The Scenes (29.48)

    This is a lengthy and interesting look behind the scenes of the show. With the exception of Judy Parfitt just about every major character is interviewed on set and given the chance to talk about their experience on the show. We are treated to the extensive hairdressing that went into making Ian Puleston-Davis' beard just right. Also the location manager explains the choices that were made to get a consistent vision of Blackpool even when they were unable to shoot in the town itself. Interestingly, one of the directors speaks of a desire to get a Blue Velvet vibe happening and at times the show does have that David Lynch flavour of characters teetering on the edge of madness. It was a joy to see Frances Barber with her posh accent describing how she adjusted to playing the common as muck Connie Woolf. It was also enjoyable to hear from some of the people, such as hairdressers and costume artists, who often get very little attention. All in all an enjoyable extra.

Outtakes (3.13)

    These are a short series of bloopers. It's always great fun to see the actors breaking up, particularly when shooting a really dramatic scene.

Deleted Scenes (8.04)

    There are 7 deleted scenes including extended versions of included scenes. Nothing essential was left out.

Audio Commentary - Writers' Commentary

    The writers' commentary is a mixed success. They provide commentary on three episodes including the first episode and go into some detail about the writing process. They are interesting speakers and have clearly developed a great rapport whilst working on the show. However, the commentary is hampered somewhat by the obviously limited role that they played in the creation process. They are able to shed insight on some of the creative decisions on the show but I couldn't help feeling that they were flat out writing when the show was being filmed. The commentary would have benefited from the input of the director of the episode or one or more of the key cast members being involved. The most interesting point is when they cheekily admit that the whole Ambrose Chapel plot point is stolen from Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much!

Developing Funland (6.36)

    This is a short feature with the writers Simon Ashdown and Jeremy Dyson talking about some of their decisions. Interestingly, David Lynch comes up again as one of the producers talks about the inspiration for the show lying in a series like Twin Peaks.

Colleen Sings

For those who dare this is a complete version of one of the elderly crew members singing I Had the Time of My Life in true karaoke style which appears in part in a grimly funny scene from one of the episodes.

    Funland does not have a Region 1 release as yet. The Region 2 release appears identical.

    As a thriller they don't come more engaging than Funland. It's a bonus then that the show has such a quirky humorous undercurrent that it can be enjoyed on many levels. The whole packaging speaks quality and fans of British comedy and drama will find something to amuse, horrify and ultimately entertain in Funland. The only warning is that the language, situations and violence can be a bit strong so the show can't be recommended to those who like their British thrillers a bit more Inspector Morse.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall