Scully (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Scully was a British
television drama with some comedy elements set in the city of Liverpool
, England
, it originated from a BBC Play For Today
episode "Scully's New Years Eve" (3 Jan 1978). Originally broadcast on Channel Four in 1984, the single series was spread over six half-hour episodes plus a one-hour final episode. It was written by playwright
Alan Bleasdale
. The drama is notable for featuring many of the Liverpool
football club first-team squad of that era.
Francis Scully (played by Andrew Schofield
) is a teenage boy who has his heart set on gaining a trial match for Liverpool to hopefully fulfil his ambition of playing for the club. Francis, in everyday situations during his waking hours, occasionally "sees" famous Liverpool players such as Kenny Dalglish
when they are not really there. These dream-like sequences recur throughout the episodes.
The main plotline is the efforts of Scully's school teachers to persuade Scully to appear in the school pantomime
which they attempt by promising him a trial with his beloved Liverpool if he will cooperate. When Scully and his friends are not in school making trouble for the teachers and the school caretaker, they are seen roaming the local streets upsetting the neighbours and getting into trouble with the police. Scully sometimes has visions of the school caretaker appearing as a vampire
due to the caretaker's nickname being Dracula
. These frequent waking dream sequences give the show a somewhat surreal atmosphere.
Among the minor characters was English musician and songwriter Elvis Costello
who played Scully's brother. Costello also wrote and performed the show's theme song "Turning The Town Red".
The complete series was released on DVD in 2006 as a two-disc set from Network DVD.http://www.networkdvd.co.uk
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television drama with some comedy elements set in the city of Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, it originated from a BBC Play For Today
Play for Today
Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted...
episode "Scully's New Years Eve" (3 Jan 1978). Originally broadcast on Channel Four in 1984, the single series was spread over six half-hour episodes plus a one-hour final episode. It was written by playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
Alan Bleasdale
Alan Bleasdale
Alan Bleasdale is an English television dramatist, best known for writing several social realist drama serials based on the lives of ordinary people.The Bleasdales live in prescot,liverpool,wales and london.-Early life:Bleasdale is an only child; his father worked in a food factory and his mother...
. The drama is notable for featuring many of the Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
football club first-team squad of that era.
Francis Scully (played by Andrew Schofield
Andrew Schofield
-Early life:Born in Kirkby, Merseyside, Schofield attended St Kevin's RC Comprehensive School. At 15 he was cast in Willy Russell's first Play for Today, Death of a Young, Young Man.-Stage:...
) is a teenage boy who has his heart set on gaining a trial match for Liverpool to hopefully fulfil his ambition of playing for the club. Francis, in everyday situations during his waking hours, occasionally "sees" famous Liverpool players such as Kenny Dalglish
Kenny Dalglish
Kenneth Mathieson "Kenny" Dalglish MBE is a Scottish former footballer and the current manager of Liverpool F.C.. In a 22-year playing career, he played for two club teams, Celtic and Liverpool, winning numerous honours with both. He is the most capped Scottish player, with 102 appearances, and...
when they are not really there. These dream-like sequences recur throughout the episodes.
The main plotline is the efforts of Scully's school teachers to persuade Scully to appear in the school pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
which they attempt by promising him a trial with his beloved Liverpool if he will cooperate. When Scully and his friends are not in school making trouble for the teachers and the school caretaker, they are seen roaming the local streets upsetting the neighbours and getting into trouble with the police. Scully sometimes has visions of the school caretaker appearing as a vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
due to the caretaker's nickname being Dracula
Dracula
Dracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker.Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to relocate from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor...
. These frequent waking dream sequences give the show a somewhat surreal atmosphere.
Among the minor characters was English musician and songwriter Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
who played Scully's brother. Costello also wrote and performed the show's theme song "Turning The Town Red".
The complete series was released on DVD in 2006 as a two-disc set from Network DVD.http://www.networkdvd.co.uk