Detectives on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown (1993)

Directed by

Keith Allen

Genre

comedy

Country

United Kingdom

Runtime

32 min

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A short comedy that parodies 1990s TV detective shows by comparing them to their 1970s counterparts. The film uses metafictional techniques and takes an affectionate look at older styles and methods.

comedicmetafictionalparodicaffectionatenostalgicplayful

What happens

Detectives on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown is a short comedy film made by The Comic Strip for the BBC, first broadcast in the UK in 1993. The film employs techniques of metafictional parody to make overt critical comparisons between 1990s TV detective shows and their 1970s counterparts. The editorial line taken throughout the film presents a very affectionate portrayal of several of these 1970s shows, despite acknowledging their use of styles and methods that had since become somewhat clichéd. The title parodies the title of the 1988 film Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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