Steve Pemberton

Psychoville episode four: 'Give 'em enough rope'

A familiar face to League of Gentleman fans makes a return - with typically gruesome results - in an episode laden with Hitchcock references.

Alfred Hitchcock appears to be one of the influences on this weirdly compelling comedy-thriller series. Here The League of Gentlemen's Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton pay homage to his oft-overlooked film Rope, which in turn was inspired by the real-life murder of a young boy in 1924 by two college students. Tonight David (Steve Pemberton) and his mother Maureen (Reece Shearsmith) are mid-murder at their home when an unexpected visitor knocks on the door and throws them into a panic.

Of all the episodes in this strange series, this is the strangest and most fascinating to date. It is a homage to Alfred Hitchock's 1948 film Rope with James Stewart, which told the story of two young men who murdered a classmate, put his body in a wooden chest and invited the victim's friends and family round to dinner. It was a daring and experimental film, shot as though it were taking place in real time using long, unbroken takes. The same technique is used here, with a single location and only three characters - the comic killers (Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton) and their unfortunate victim (Mark Gatiss) - shot in two long takes. The effect is theatrical, claustrophobic and totally mesmerising. One of the greatest pleasures of watching television is coming across a complete surprise; in the fast-forward world of snappy editing, tonight's episode has a shocking originality.

A trifle it may be in advancing the plot, but this central episode of the Pemberton-Shearsmith series is nonetheless a brilliant piece of pastiche, lovingly assembled and technically remarkable. We join the action in a Hammersmith flat, as David and Maureen strangle their next witness and stuff him into a trunk. Then make a cup of tea, of course, while Bernard Hermmann plays in the background.

Everything's going swimmingly until an unexpected guest arrives and the uneasy alliance begins to crumble under a volley of chin stroking accusations resembling those of James Stewart in Rope.

Which is, of course, exactly what this three-hander celebrates, with two guilty parties and one smart cookie with a secret dancing around as much as the cameras must have been: the whole thing was filmed in only two takes.

Logistical achievements aside, the script is ingenious (but still grotty - David's stools are the colour of banoffee pie, apparently) and the physical comedy inspired. Hitchcock scholars will find much to recognise and enjoy, but not knowing the film certainly doesn't impair the enjoyment of three pros playing off each other for all they're worth.

Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton's macabre comedy pays homage to Alfred Hitchcock's Rope tonight. The entire episode (apart from the 'previously...' bit and the exterior shot) is filmed as one long, continuous take on a single set.

Just as in Rope, two murderers - in this case, Maureen and David Sowerbutts - have hidden the body of their latest victim inside an antique wooden chest when there's an unexpected knock on the door.

Their visitor is a detective - who could have stepped straight out of a 40s movie - and the pair panic at the possibility their killing spree will be rumbled.

Don't underestimate the huge pressure that cast and crew would have been under trying to achieve an entirely perfect run at this (like a stage play only with cameras and microphones).

But this daring departure from the series' usual template is also one of the funniest episodes yet. And does Maureen remind anyone else of Brian's mum from The Life Of Brian?

The halfway point of Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton's strange and twisted comic delight takes a step back from the blizzard of surreal characters to focus on the most engaging of them all - deadly mother and son duo Maureen and David Sowerbutts. The production of the episode pays tribute to Hitchcock's Rope, being shot virtually seamlessly in two long takes, honing in on more 'bad murders' and 'strangles' as the pair try to clean up their killing spree, while dancing to Black Lace's Superman Song. All this and a special guest star...

Psychoville episode three: 'Play me'

This week's episode sees several mysteries begin to unravel, as we learn more about Joy's spectacular breakdown and discover how Jelly ended up with a hook for a hand.

This week was a particularly dark episode, properly creepy. Turns out Mr Jolly did take Mr Jelly's right hand - in his former life as a surgeon. He amputated it at the wrist and then stole Mr Jelly's box of tricks (as it were), nicking his spot as a children's entertainer. Even more exciting, we finally found out what connects the characters. Well, sort of: taking the place of the mysterious notes they've been receiving was a video of what appeared to be some kind of mental institution: the millionaire who sold his eyes for a toy on eBay, the nurse who thinks her doll is a real child, the murderous mother and son, the lot, all engaging in some kind of strait-jacket exercise class: Breath in, breath out, and relax... Brrrr, creepy.

Episode Three review

I'm really enjoying Psychoville - there's nothing quite like it on television at the moment.

Psychoville 1.3 Review

After the excellent double-punch start, things ease off with this third installment in terms of big laughs and juicy horror. Most of the storylines circled in orbit, there were only a few amusements, and it felt like the episode wasn't as acutely tuned as last week...