11. Karaoke

An A to Z of UK Television Drama

Dennis Potter's Karaoke was the first of two linked dramas written as he was dying and produced posthumously after his death. Starring Albert Finney as dying writer Daniel Feeld, the series is a kind of Dennis Potter's greatest hits with references aplenty to his previous works and a self-aware storyline that reflects on the blurring of lines between reality and fiction when people starting behaving like Feeld's characters and speaking the lines he has written. A stellar guest cast includes Hywel Bennett, Richard E. Grant, Alison Steadman, Roy Hudd, Liz Smith, Saffron Burrows and Keeley Hawes. Martin also watched and reflects upon its sequel Cold Lazarus and its links with Karaoke. Is this Dennis Potter at its finest or simply one of his last works? Join Andy and Martin as they go back to examine a TV series that had been long-awaited when it debuted in 1996. Next Time: London's Burning (the Jack Rosenthal pilot not the more run-of-the-mill TV series that followed it!)