''Scully'' is a British

television drama In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

with some comedy elements set in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

, England, that originated from a BBC '' Play For Today'' episode "Scully's New Year's Eve" (3 January 1978). Originally broadcast on

Channel Four Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service in ...

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

football club first-team squad of that era. The estate parts were filmed in Longsight, Manchester, on the 'Anson Road' Estate. Also some scenes were filmed in Wythenshawe m22 Manchester. Scully's house is situated on Bluebell Lane in Huyton, Knowsley, Several parts were also filmed on roads off Princess Drive, Dovecot. The school building featured is the 'Central High School for Boys' (demolished) on Pink Bank Lane, which is off Kirkmanshulme Lane in the Belle Vue/Gorton area of Manchester. The extras used in the school/classroom scenes were pupils of the school. 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 concerns the efforts of Scully's school teachers to persuade Scully to appear in the school

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

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 A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deat ...

due to the caretaker's nickname being Dracula. These frequent waking dream sequences give the show a somewhat surreal atmosphere. English musician and songwriter Elvis Costello 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.

References

External links

* {{Alan Bleasdale Television shows set in Liverpool 1984 British television series debuts 1984 British television series endings 1980s British drama television series Channel 4 television dramas 1980s British television miniseries Television series by ITV Studios Television shows produced by Granada Television English-language television shows Television shows shot in Liverpool