Karaoke

Screenwriter Daniel Feeld experiences bizarre coincidences as his screenplay—about a karaoke bar, an employee named Sandra, and her murder by Arthur 'Pig' Mallion—seems to mirror reality, with a karaoke bar, an employee named Sandra, and a shady owner named Mallion.

Karaoke (1996) is a British four-episode miniseries created by Dennis Potter for BBC One. Albert Finney plays screenwriter Daniel Feeld, whose script about a karaoke bar, an employee named Sandra and her murder by a shady owner begins to echo the real people and places around him. Saffron Burrows plays Sandra Sollars, and Hywel Bennett plays Arthur 'Pig' Mallion, the owner whose menace grows as Feeld's coincidences multiply. Richard E. Grant and Anna Chancellor also appear among the principal cast. The engine of the story is Feeld's attempt to understand whether he is observing events or manufacturing them, and each episode layers scenes from the screenplay over the grubby, uneasy reality of his life. Set in a contemporary British setting of bars, offices and hotel rooms, the drama is built on paranoia, metafiction and the unsettling pull between invention and fact. Its tone is wry, anxious and cerebral, and the sense of a story writing its author makes it a natural pick for viewers who enjoy the playful dread of The Singing Detective and the self-referential unease of Stranger Than Fiction. Fans of Pennies from Heaven will also find its musical and fictional layering familiar.

• Stranger Than Fictionshared metafiction, reality versus fiction blurring, paranoid writer-protagonist tone
• Pennies from Heavenshared self-referential drama where a writer's work bleeds into real life, dark psychological unease
• The Singing Detectiveshared British prestige drama with a writer protagonist and genre-bending structure

Created by

Dennis Potter

Release Date

1996-04-28

Episode runtime

53 min

Rating

8.1 / 10 (25)

What is Karaoke about?

A screenwriter finds his murder-mystery script seeping into real life, with a karaoke bar, a waitress named Sandra and a shady owner appearing around him.

What is Karaoke like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Karaoke as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as labyrinthine.

Is Karaoke violent?

Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Karaoke as moderate.

Which shows are like Karaoke?

Shows with a similar feel include Stranger Than Fiction, Pennies from Heaven, and The Singing Detective.

How long is Karaoke?

Karaoke: 1 season, 4 episodes.

Is Karaoke still running?

No, Karaoke has ended.