Underplayed Gems

Detectives on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown (1993)

Detectives on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown poster
Directed by
Keith Allen
Genre
comedy
Country
United Kingdom
Runtime
32 min
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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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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