Psychoville

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...

Psychoville episode 3 review

The third episode of what's rapidly becoming my favourite TV show of the year was a cracker. Just the right amount of revelations to keep the main story ticking on; just the right number of hidden secrets to make them want to come back for more in a week's time.

Coulrophobics beware: this episode features an exceptionally weird clown sequence in which Mr Jelly (Reece Shearsmith) is tried in "clown court" for bringing his profession into disrepute. His punishment appears, initially, to throw some light on what's happening in this increasingly bizarre (Christopher Biggins in a gold lamé codpiece is the least of it) black comedy but, true to form, the clue proves unreliable.

If you treat comedies as if they were skewed dramas, it doesn't matter too much whether or not they are funny. I'm not sure I wanted to laugh once during tonight's episode, but that didn't prevent it from being totally absorbing. As always, Psychoville consists of a succession of strange and disturbing scenes, each one more sinister than the last, linked together by a narrative that prevents it from degenerating into a sick sketch show. Tonight, the dwarf exacts his revenge on Cinderella. The disturbed midwife insists on force-feeding her unresponsive doll, and we discover how poor Mr Jelly lost his hand.

Hang the cost, we want rubbish clown Mr Jelly for our next birthday party - and we wouldn't mind if he flipped out. In fact, we'd pay extra for him to lose his rag and tell us how he lost his hand to arch-rival Mr Jolly. Then again, we could just hear his story in tonight's episode of this seriously creepy - but frighteningly good - comedy. Don't have nightmares, do sleep well...

Because this isn't your traditional sitcom - more a comedy thriller with an over-arching plotline - there's a problem. Traditional sitcoms can bring us variants on the same scenario each week and stay funny. Psychoville, though, with its serial story about a bunch of weirdos who all took part in some past horror (this week we discover from a home video that it may be connected with a sinister production of Joseph, performed in a medical institution) is different. Enjoyably different in most ways - gross, macabre, surreal - but it can't go back to square one each week. The plot has to keep moving forward or our attention wanders. There's a certain amount of wandering this week as we learn how Mr Jelly, the children's entertainer, lost his hand and his act to Mr Jolly. But their fight in a children's soft-play centre is inspired, while the Sowerbutts' breakfast habits are hilariously revolting.