ABSTRACT
Dennis Potter is preoccupied with fundamental problems of the inner world but in The Singing Detective, his masterpiece, he makes this concern quite explicit. The Singing Detective is also unusual in that although it is a ‘quality drama’ it was by no means minority viewing and it shot to the top of the television ratings. Because the narrative structure is non-linear and multi-layered, it is difficult to provide a synopsis without doing considerable disservice to the subtlety of the work. Philip Marlow’s retreat is marked by its perversity, and nowhere is this clearer than in the representation of sexuality. The various triangulations suggest that triangle which is at the heart of the narrative, and of psychoanalytic theory – the oedipal triangle. The process of recovery is shown in the narrative on different levels.
