''Asylum'' is a British comedy series which was shown on

Paramount Comedy Channel Comedy Central is a British pay television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated. This channel is specific to audiences within the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel is aligned with the original US versi ...

in 1996. Set in a

mental asylum The lunatic asylum (or insane asylum) was an early precursor of the modern psychiatric hospital. The fall of the lunatic asylum and its eventual replacement by modern psychiatric hospitals explains the rise of organized, institutional psychiatry ...

, it ran for one series of six episodes. Unlike traditional

sitcoms A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use new ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

television shows, it was to some extent an opportunity for

stand-up Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, ...

routines by various comedians, mixed with an overall story involving much

black humour Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

. It is significant for involving a large number of British comedians, many of whom went on to work on some of the most successful comedy programmes of the 2000s. It marked the first collaboration of

Edgar Wright Edgar Howard Wright (born 18 April 1974) is an English filmmaker. He is known for his fast-paced and kinetic, satirical genre films, which feature extensive utilisation of expressive popular music, Steadicam tracking shots, dolly zooms and a ...

Simon Pegg Simon John Pegg (né Beckingham; born 14 February 1970) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He came to prominence in the UK as the co-creator of the Channel 4 sitcom ''Spaced'' (1999–2001), directed by Edgar Wright. H ...

and

Jessica Stevenson Tallulah Jessica Elina Hynes ('' née'' Stevenson; born 30 October 1972) is an English actress, director and writer. Known professionally as Jessica Stevenson until 2007, she was one of the creators, writers and stars of the British sitcom ''Spa ...

, who would go on to make cult sitcom ''

Spaced ''Spaced'' is a British television sitcom created, written by and starring Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson, and directed by Edgar Wright, about the (comedic and sometimes farcical and action-packed) misadventures of Daisy Steiner and Tim Bis ...

'' and ''

Shaun of the Dead ''Shaun of the Dead'' is a 2004 zombie comedy film directed by Edgar Wright and written by Wright and Simon Pegg. Pegg stars as Shaun, a downtrodden salesman in London who is caught in a zombie apocalypse with his friend Ed (Nick Frost). The fi ...

''. Many of the characters names were the same as those of the actors who portrayed them. David Devant & His Spirit Wife were the "house band" for the series, performing segments in every episode, from their first album, ''Work, Lovelife, Miscellaneous''. The lead-in track "Ginger" served as the programme's title music. The series has yet to be released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

Cast and crew

;Written by the cast and: * Co-writer & director -

* Co-writer -

David Walliams David Edward Williams (born 20 August 1971), known professionally as David Walliams, is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television personality. He is best known for his work with Matt Lucas on the BBC sketch comedy series '' Little B ...

;Principal cast and characters *

Norman Lovett Norman Lovett (born 31 October 1946) is a British stand-up comedian and actor best known for his portrayal of Holly, the ship's computer in ''Red Dwarf''. Career Lovett became a stand-up comedian in his thirties, initially supporting punk ba ...

as Dr Lovett *

as Simon *

Jessica Hynes Tallulah Jessica Elina Hynes (''née'' Stevenson; born 30 October 1972) is an English actress, director and writer. Known professionally as Jessica Stevenson until 2007, she was one of the creators, writers and stars of the British sitcom ''Spac ...

as Martha & Nurse McFadden *

Julian Barratt Julian Barratt Pettifer (born 4 May 1968) is an English comedian, actor and musician. As a comedian and comic actor, he is known for his use of surreal humour and black comedy. During the 2000s he was part of The Mighty Boosh comedy troupe alongs ...

as Julian/Victor Munro * Paul Morocco as Paul *

Adam Bloom Adam Bloom (born 8 December 1970) is a British comedian and writer. He has played The Edinburgh Festival for many years, once winning The Edinburgh Festival Polygram Punter Comedy Award. In 1998 he won The Time Out Comedy Award for Best Stand-U ...

as Adam * Mick O'Connor as Nobby Shanks ;Guest stars *

Paul Tonkinson Paul Tonkinson (born 1 August 1969) is a British comedian, radio presenter and television personality, best known for his presenting work on ''The Big Breakfast'' and ''The Sunday Show''. He was winner of the 1992 '' Time Out'' New Act of the Ye ...

* John Moloney *

Bill Bailey Mark Robert Bailey (born 13 January 1965), known professionally as Bill Bailey, is an English musician, comedian and actor. He is known for his role as Manny in the sitcom ''Black Books'' and his appearances on the panel shows ''Never Mind the ...

* Howard Haigh *

Andy Parsons Andrew John Parsons (born 30 November 1966) is an English comedian and writer. He regularly appeared on ''Mock the Week'' from Series 3 to Series 14. With comedy partner Henry Naylor, he has written and presented nine series of ''Parsons and Na ...

Henry Naylor Henry James Naylor (born 19 January 1966) is a British comedy writer, director and performer. He is also a playwright. Early life Naylor read history and history of art at Downing College, Cambridge. Career Naylor was head writer for ''Spitt ...

External links

* British television sitcoms 1996 British television series debuts 1996 British television series endings 1990s British black comedy television series English-language television shows Works set in psychiatric hospitals 1990s British sitcoms {{UK-tv-prog-stub