A Very Peculiar Practice Review

A Very Peculiar Practice
The Complete Series

Reviewed by Brian Grehan

Released by the BBC this very cynical darkly comical series was originally produced in the mid 80s.Written superbly by Andrew Davies it ran for two series from 1986 to 1988. Starring Peter Davison as Doctor Steven Daker who was superbly supported by Barbara Flynn as Doctor Rose Marie and David Troughton as the self absorbed Doctor Bob Buzzard.

The first series opens with Doctor Daker arriving at the medical centre for Lowlands University fresh from a failed marriage eager for a new start. He is met by Doctor Jock McCannon ably played by Graham Crowden. The innocent Daker is manipulated by the real villain of both series Doctor Rose Marie brilliantly portrayed by Barbara Flynn.

Daker's love interest in the first series is  policewoman Lyn Turtle played by Amanda Hillwood. He becomes fixated by the down to earth policewoman pursues her and eventually they become an item.

Both series are laden with dark and cynical symbolism. Nuns in particular do not come off in a good light. They have a running battle in each episode with a red bin lorry. This culminates in 1 episode where the nuns actually steal the lorry from the binmen.

I found the second series stronger than the first. The characters were stronger and better written. In the second series Doctor Rose Marie developed into a manipulative villain who did not care what she did to achieve her aims. Her character was brilliantly written by davies and played by Flynn. Also very well written was the character of Bob Buzzard played by Troughton, the son of Doctor Who actor Patrick Troughton.

Many of the comic moments involve Bob Buzzard whose character has tunnel vision in what he wants to achieve and does not pay attention to what is going on around him or what effect he has on other people. The nurse in the practice is a prime example of this.

Many actors who went onto bigger things had cameos in A Very Peculiar Practice. Hugh Grant, Timothy West and Kathy Burke to name a few. John Bird who went on to appear with Rory Bremner, featured in the first series as Ernest Hemmingway the Vice Chancellor who tries to sell the University to the Japanese but fails miserably.

He is replaced in the second series by Michael Shannon as Vice Chancellor Jack Daniels an American with a hidden agenda to try to turn the University into a research institute for the US government.

In the second series Dakers love interest is a a Polish academic  Grete Grotowska played by Joanna Kanska. Though when they first meet she threatens him with a sexual assault charge !

The second series is more darkly comic than the first and stronger characters drive the story to its anarchic comic resolution. I was reminded at times,although I don't know why, of The Young Ones. Probably because of the damage that the Tory Government of the time were doing to the education system.

Also included in this boxset is a one off drama called a very polish Practice made in 1992. Again starring Peter Davison and Joanna Kanska the story moves to Poland with Mr and Mrs Daker working in Poland at the time of political change in that former iron curtain state. Troughton again surfaces with his comic character Bob Buzzard.

I found the series both funny and cynical with strong acting from all concerned particularly the characters played by Barbara Flynn and David Troughton and would highly recommend this DVD boxset. 4/5

View trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/user/NetworkDVD?blend=14&ob=5#p/u/0/eWFY7HtjJg8

A Very Peculiar Practice – The Complete Series (15) is available from Network DVD

Release Date: 10 October 2011

RRP: £49.99 Catalogue No: 7953373