The
lowdown: 'A Very Peculiar Practice' is
a BBC2 comedy-drama series that was broadcast between 21 May 1986 and
13
March 1988. A total of 14 episodes and one feature-length telemovie (shown
on BBC1 on 6 September 1992) were made,
and
to date only the first series has been released on DVD. Written by Andrew
Davies, it stars Peter Davison as Dr Stephen
Daker,
a young and enthusiastic general practitioner who joins the medical practice
of the University of Lowlands. Daker is
an
excellent doctor, but he is socially awkward and his people skills leave
much to be desired. He also has a phobia about
being
touched, which is one of the reasons why his marriage failed, and he has
come
to
Lowlands to make a fresh start.
The
episode: 'A Very Long Way From Anywhere' is the first episode of the series,
and is primarily concerned with introducing
Daker
(and the viewer) to the offbeat characters of Lowlands. Daker's colleagues
include the ageing and alcoholic Dr Jock
McCannon,
who is superbly played by Graham Crowden ('The Horns of Nimon'), self-centred
fitness fanatic and Thatcherite
Dr
Bob Buzzard (David Troughton, who appeared in 'Midnight', and the bisexual
Dr Rose Marie (Barbara Flynn), who is adept
at
manipulating people to get her way. Daker also meets the vice-chancellor,
who has the unlikely name of Ernest Hemingway,
and
Lyn Turtle (Amanda Hillwood), a sociology student and pool attendant who
saves Daker from drowning and becomes his
love
interest, while helping him to overcome his inhibitions about being touched.
Meanwhile, Dr McCannon misdiagnoses a
student
from Hong Kong, deeming that her stomach pains are due to being homesick
and far from home, but she nearly dies
when
she is found to have acute appendicitis. A running joke during the first
episode, and indeed the entire first series, was
McCannon's
mistaken believe that Daker does not drink alcohol. The second episode
sees Daker asked to give a welcoming
speech
to the first-year students, but unfortunately he has a bit too much to
drink beforehand.
The
verdict: 'A Very Peculiar Practice' is
many things - comedy, drama, biting social satire, and a critique of the
Thatcher
years.
It is also very funny at times, from the bizarre dream sequences to Bob
("call me Robert") Buzzard's ill-fated attempts
to make money on the side.
Each episode begins with two nuns in a surreal situation, such as scrounging
through rubbish
bins or playing hopscotch).
Peter Davison is excellent, as are all of the main cast members, although
Graham Crowden steals
the show (and every scene
he is in). The second series took the show in a slightly different direction,
with a greater focus on
university politics and
the new vice-chancellor's drive to make Lowlands more commercially-focused,
at the expense of many
traditional areas of learning.
Daker also has a new love interest, a Polish professor named Dr Greta Grotowska.
The one-off
telemovie, 'A Very Polish
Practice', saw Daker and Greta move to her country, where they are soon
joined by Bob Buzzard.
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