Scully (TV series)

infobox Television
show_name = Scully
format = Drama
runtime = 30 minutes x 6
60 minutes x 1
creator = Alan Bleasdale
starring = Andrew Schofield
Ray Kingsley
Mark McGann
Richard Burke
Cathy Tyson
Jean Boht
Tom Georgeson
Sam Kelly
Elvis Costello
Gary Bleasdale
Gilly Coman
Tony Haygarth
country = UK
network = Channel Four
first_aired = May 14 1984
last_aired = June 25 1984
num_episodes = 7
imdb_id = 0085089

"Scully" was a British television drama with some comedy elements set in the city of Liverpool, England in the first half of the 1980s. Originally broadcast on Channel Four 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 Liverpool football club first-team squad of that era.

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 is the efforts of Scully's school teachers to persuade Scully to appear in the school pantomime 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 due to the caretaker's nickname being Dracula. These frequent waking dream sequences give the show a somewhat surreal atmosphere.

Among the minor characters was English musician and songwriter Elvis Costello who 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. [http://www.networkdvd.co.uk]