TV series

The Singing Detective

1986 · 1 season

A disorienting, emotionally raw plunge into a sick man's mind, where memory, fantasy, and noir pastiche blur into a haunting whole.

Overview: Tormented and bedridden by a debilitating disease, a mystery writer relives his detective stories through his imagination and hallucinations.
How it feels: Dark, melancholic, eerie and absurd. Slow-burning and demanding.
About: Memory, guilt, identity, obsession
Content: Strong sexual content and language. Mild violence and gore.
Note: Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown

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Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Full breakdown

Tone: darkstrength 3 of 3
melancholicstrength 3 of 3
eeriestrength 2 of 3
absurdstrength 2 of 3
Pacing: slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: memory
guilt
identity
obsession
trauma
Places: hospital
countryside
big city
Era: period
Audience: adult
Form: nonlinear
unreliable narrator
serialised
Content intensity: Gore mild
Language strong
Violence mild
Sex strong

All scales, 0 to 10

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Geff FrancisPorter
Jim CarterMr Marlow
Alison SteadmanMrs Marlow / Mrs Marlow / Lili
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