A Very Peculiar Practice (1986) (S1, Ep 7)

S1, Ep 7: Catastrophe Theory. Lowlands university goes into panic mode when they learn that it has to make 25% cuts. Fearing staff redundancies, they are further unnerved by the arrival of a trio of civil servants to look over the place, where not everyone will maintain their jobs... Starring Peter Davison, Barbara Flynn, David Troughton, Graham Crowden, John Bird, Amanda Hillwood, Lindy Whiteford, Gillian Raine, Takashi Kawahara, Geoffrey Beavers, Frances White, Kathy Burke, Christopher Good, John Grillo, Andrew Hilton, Paul Jesson, Joe Melia, Elaine Turrell and Sonia Hart. A nice end to the first series and a slightly bittersweet one as well as Lowlands university faces cuts. Amid the humour and madness there has also been touching moments between Peter Davison and Amanda Hillwood. Davison has been particularly effective as the complex ridden medic trying to find confidence in himself and in his relationships with women, and he shows his deftness in his acting here in this final episode. Joe Melia also appears as an aspiring writer who has based his script on the university, but constantly finds himself frustrated by the fact that everything he writes seems to come true! Oh, and that nice flatmate of Daker, Chen Sung Yau, turns out to have a secret of his own. Oh, and keep your eyes peeled for a young Kathy Burke as a student patient who is given some somewhat unprofessional advice from ultra feminist doctor Rose Marie. Series 2 will be uploaded next week. Until then, enjoy this rarely repeated Andrew Davies gem.