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12 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
Breathtaking, 1 March 2003
Author: McGonigle from bean world, massachusetts

Quite simply, this is a stunning example of how good writing for television can be. Or writing, period, for that matter. It doesn't hurt that the cast, led by the indomitable Albert Finney, give uniformly great performances, but as with all of Dennis Potter's work, it's the virtuosity of the writing that reels you in, making you laugh hysterically in between (or sometimes during) scenes of unbelieveable sadness or poignancy. He was a true gem. I taped this miniseries when it was on Bravo five or six years ago and just watched it again for only the second time, and once again, it took my breath away. Viva Potter!

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10 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
where will the young reality tellers come?, 21 January 2000
10/10
Author: lee (ryokan-2) from u.s. of amnesia (Phillip Rhav)

Dennis Potter, who passes before these works, "Karaoke and Cold Lazarus" could be produced, asked in his last interview with Melvyn Bragg, "Where will the writers who want to tell stories about life as it truly is, beneath the hype and glitter, get their opportunity as I did in the 60's, in our current world of Rupert Murdoch sensibilities?" Karaoke is a tale of personal responsibility that reaches deeper than "E-network" can imagine in its most profoundly affected moments of easy sanctimony and sentimentality. This play should be at the peak of viewing assignments for all students of what TV can really do and be in a democracy that is real, not just a convenient platitude. Dennis Potter may have been the "Shakespeare" of our times. We will be lucky if such integrity and eloquence graces us again.

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11 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
Outstanding, 1 May 2005
9/10
Author: hylinski from Australia

This was my first experience of Dennis Potter. Subsequently I find he used similar themes in other works, notably the Singing Detective. Though that work is terrific, I find Karaoke and its sequel Cold Lazarus to be the total package. I am yet to see anything on the small screen which comes close to them. The incomparable Albert Finney leading a strong supporting cast, tight direction and a fascinating story. The characters are so believable, and ironically (as Potter was dying when he wrote this) they are mostly likable despite their many flaws. It is hard to find anyone likable in the Singing Detective My only question is why has the Beeb Beeb Ceeb not released this on DVD?

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0 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
An excellent production, 23 February 2007
10/10
Author: MontyStewart from United Kingdom

This is class TV. This production and it's second part Cold Lazarus was paid for by the UK tax payer and co-produced by the BBC and (also publicly funded) Channel 4. Several attempts at trying to find out why these two screen plays haven't been re-shown have met with limp excuses about licensing and the two channels not being able to get their act together to cooperate on a re-release. However, I'm aware both have been shown on recently on other European channels in other countries. Work that one out. The good news is I've recently got a hold of (legally) recorded versions of these shows. That's after almost 10 years of looking. Phew.

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4 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
for all it's faults, a worthy and lavish swansong for a sadly missed and marvellous talent., 4 March 2004
Author: big_fat_smelly_bastard (MIKEHILL38@HOTMAIL.COM) from manchester, england

scriptwriter great dennis potter sadly passed away before this flawed but admirable big budget brit mini series was first aired on UK telly in 1996 (both this and it's sequel 'cold lazarus' were screened jointly on b.b.c. and channel 4 at his request). albert finney gives a customary superb central performance as a writer sufferring from terminal cancer who begins expierancing de ja 'vui when people around him start emulating lines and situations from his work. though not in the same calibre as 'pennies from heaven' or 'the singing detective'; it still remains an entertaining piece even though it could have benifetted by being tightened with a shorter length in certain scenes. it's little wonder that some scenes do meander slightly as potter was on a tight deadline due to his poor health so obviously was unable to supply rewrites. it's still well worth watching especially for it's high budget and impressive production values. with a top notch supporting cast featuring alison steadman, roy hudd, liz smith, ian mcdiarmid (looking amazingly like potter himself before he went 'star wars') and richard e. grant; watch out for two early walk ons from ewan macgregor and natasha mcelhone. only hywel bennett disappoints with an over the top ham turn as a dubious pub landlord. to date; this enjoyable series like potter's previous, critically mauled 'blackeyes'; is sadly unavailable on video/dvd.

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1 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Tedium Is Not Art, 4 July 2008
Author: Axeyard from Axeyard

Albert Finney smokes so many cigarettes in this grinding, laboured piece of establishment sham art that I feel I need to have a chest X-ray. The monotony was too much to bear but, happily, the fast-forward on my player operated flawlessly. This piece could easily have been abbreviated to 30 minutes, and even then would have been on the long side.

Repulsive characters seem to grow from under every cafe table, each more obnoxious than the one preceding, and the majority serving only to slow the passing of an already tiresome vigil. The agent's mother plucking her underarm hair and placing it under her utterly tiresome son's poached egg was a perfect metaphor for this dreadful work. His spoonerisms were way past juvenile; what on earth was Potter thinking when he foisted this cluster-bomb of non-humor onto this poor actor? As if that wasn't bad enough, the character slaps himself in the face, just in case we hadn't noticed his linguistic challenge, and turns the role into one sustained groan-inducing experience.

The only redeeming characters were the crew in the video editing suite. Here, at least, we were spared the quasi-surrealism of Potter's overbearing vision and were afforded a brief respite from the wheezing and grimacing of Finney's over-the-top shenanigans which, in close-up, were simply claustrophobic and alienating. Julie Christie's cameo was a breath of fresh air.

This is a perfect example of ersatz art offered to a confused public programmed to think that oppressive stories, albeit with some decent acting, crammed with non-sequitur plot- lines and bizarre characterizations, amount to real art -- especially when these stories are ABOUT the "art crowd" themselves.

Potter gave a good interview. Here was a man who well understood one thing about the art-jungle: there is always someone slower and duller than you. Make them feel that they have found their disease, give them a bit of tits-and-ass, disorient them, and appear to offer a way of transcending, of becoming LIKE HIM; this is lucrative.

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