Episode 01 - Hey Jude

"**Hey Jude**" is the first episode of Season 1 of the BBC Scotland television drama, *Takin' Over The Asylum*. It was the series premiere, airing on the 27th of September, 1994. Its title is derived from the song of the same name, performed by The Beatles.

## Synopsis

*"Salesman Eddie McKenna takes a side-gig as a DJ at St Jude's Mental Hospital. With the help of manic-depressive Campbell Bain, and schizophrenic Fergus MacKinnon, they resurrect the dilapidated radio station."*

## Plot

***Trigger Warning: This episode includes a scene where a character intentionally harms themselves with a cigarette.***

The episode begins with Eddie McKenna, seemingly pressed for time, attempting to sign off a deal regarding windows and weather beaters. The old couple seem indecisive about their decision, much to Eddie’s displeasure. He decides to leave and announces he’ll come back once they have made their choice. The old couple protests, but Eddie continues to push his way out of their house, even when they block the door. He rushes out of their home, and drives towards his flat.

With no time to spare, Eddie sprints through his apartment building. He bursts in and frantically searches for his needed items, crossing paths with his Grandmother. She complains about his hasty leave, saying that she made supper for them, but Eddie just shakes his head and leaves. On the way to his work, Eddie stops at a traffic light to change into a different shirt. The kids in the car next to him point and laugh.

He arrives momentarily to his destination, a hospital radio station. Kathleen, who had been hoping Eddie would arrive late so she might be able to run the show, appears irritated as he enters the room. He sets up quickly, starting the show with just seconds to spare. It is clear from the singular song request Eddie received merely insulting him that his show isn’t well-liked among the hospital patients, but he seems passionate nonetheless.

After his session has concluded, Eddie’s boss, Mr. Petrie, asks him if he can have a word. Petrie attempts to let Eddie down easy, by commenting on his long service of eight years working at the radio station. He questions why Eddie hasn’t gone professional yet, to which Eddie says he hadn’t given it much thought. Petrie continues, stating that he thinks that Kathleen should have her own show, and Eddie misinterprets this and refuses to train her. Kathleen bursts in, demanding to know whether or not Petrie has sacked Eddie yet, so that she can host next week’s show. Petrie shuffles her out of the room, and Eddie finally realises he’s being fired. Petrie is apologetic, but Eddie still tries to save his job by taking a jab Kathleen’s taste in rap music.

Ultimately, he doesn't change Petrie's mind. Although, Petrie mentions that he received a call from someone named Dr. Winter, who was interested in restoring the Saint Jude's Hospital radio station that was made in the 1970s. He says that they are looking for someone to take over the position as disc jockey, and Eddie immediately accepts.

Outside of the recording room, Eddie flaunts his promotion to Kathleen and the sound engineer beside her. When he mentions the name of the hospital, the two turn to each other and burst into laughter. They mock him further, telling him that Saint Jude's is a psychiatric hospital, and that he’ll fit in just fine.

Eddie returns to his flat and pours himself a drink. His grandmother objects, taking the bottle from him since he hasn’t had any food. She criticised his life choices, and that of most Scottish men, but stops when she notices his dejected attitude. He tells her that he was fired, but she confuses this with his other job as a salesman. Eddie informs her that it was the radio station position, and she seems to not be as worried. She interrogates him on when he’ll get married, and after Eddie says he hasn’t found the right person, she scoffs. Eddie doesn’t eat, pours himself another drink, and reads out loud a rejection letter for a demo tape he sent in to a professional radio station.

Sometime later, Eddie arrives at Saint Jude's, and finds Stuart. He introduces himself as the new hospital DJ, and is immediately intimidated by Stuart’s off-putting demeanour. Eddie asks if he’s a patient, to which Stuart states he is the nursing assistant, and if Eddie finds himself in trouble with the actual patients to ask for him.

After this interaction, a young man approaches Eddie and introduces himself as Campbell Bain. He leads Eddie to the radio station, assuring he’ll introduce him to the patients in the ward later. He notes that they’re preoccupied with watching the television show 'Neighbours,' and that it’s the highlight of their day. Once they arrive, Eddie looks inside the room and finds the station to be in complete disrepair. Campbell explains to him that the station hasn’t been used in years. He also mentions an incident occurring a few years back where they attempted to run the station, but a majority of the patients within the hospital believed they were hearing voices before they realised it was just radio.

The two go to the nurses office to find the key for the station, but get stopped in the corridor by one of the doctors, Isabel. She says that she has been looking for Campbell, and that he missed his round of drugs. It is here that Eddie realises that Campbell is one of the patients in the hospital, and not one of the staff. Campbell leaves, and after he does, Eddie notes to Isabel that the patients in the ward look more normal than he expected.

A patient commonly referred to as Nana runs in, speaking what Eddie and Isabel believe to be gibberish. Isabel explains to Eddie how they found Nana on the street, and that they believe she is very religious. She says that Nana loves music, and jokes that she could be one of Eddie’s first customers.

As Eddie sets up in the station, he pours himself another drink and sifts through the old records that are piled all over the station. Whilst he isn’t paying attention, Nana sneaks in and begins tossing around records. Eddie tries to get her to leave, repeating that she isn’t supposed to be in there. Nana spots his mug of whiskey, finds her own, and holds it up for Eddie to pour some of it in. Though he disagrees at first, he gives in and pours her some.

Nana snatches Eddie’s wallet and sticks it inside her shirt when he asks for it back. He tells her that there’s no money inside, making her pull it out and begin sorting through its contents. He pulls out his business cards and pantomimes to her around the room, trying to communicate to her that he sells windows. Nana simply laughs and imitates him.

When she pulls out a picture of a baby from his wallet, Eddie tells her that it’s his godson. Nana, not understanding him, thinks that the boy is his own, and excitedly congratulates him. Nana fiddles with some of the records and electrical systems in the room, and Eddie attempts to both stop her, and inform her of what each thing does. He puts on 'Hey Jude,' and is surprised the song actually plays. He then notices that Nana is wearing a Miraculous Medal, but is then distracted by a woman’s screams.

He moves outside of the station to watch a woman sprint down the corridor, yelling at the doctors behind her to stay away. She tries to open a door but is quickly picked up by Stuart and the others chasing her, who take her into a nearby room. Isabel enters after, and she is seen brandish a needle, most likely with a sedative. Eddie looks to Nana, who looks down.

At his main place of work, Eddie illicitly prints of fliers for his next radio show. Eddie’s Boss, Mr. Griffin, calls him to have a word. He asks how Eddie has been doing business-wise recently, and Eddie mentions the two customers from before as possible maybes. Griffin gives one of his soon-to-be-often "*inspirational*" pep talks, and informs him that the couple from the beginning made a complaint about Eddie not staying to hear their decision. He tells Eddie to go back there that night and close the deal, though Eddie already has plans.

As 7pm rolls around, Eddie starts up the radio show. Intrigued, patients gather outside the station’s window, and watch Eddie as he introduces himself and his show. Their interest fades, and the other patients gradually exit back to the dayroom to watch TV. After his session concludes, Eddie sighs, his first show having already become a failure. The only patient remaining at the window is Nana, who repeats the phrase, "Kamolindeja."

As Eddie is taking down the fliers, he passes by the woman from earlier, sobbing beside a bathtub. He decides to leave her be. Instead, he walks over to find Campbell in his room, strumming his guitar along to the tune 'Summertime Blues,' which was the first song Eddie played. Campbell enthusiastically compliments Eddie’s show, but it doesn’t seem to cheer him up. Eddie asks him if anyone listened, and Campbell says that the only person who might’ve was a patient named Agnes, however she suffers from catatonia.

Campbell, spying Eddie’s dispirited expression, says that he merely picked a bad time to perform his show, as the television show 'Emmerdale,' started at the same time. Eddie turns to leave, and Campbell hurriedly questions if Eddie is going to pack up his show. Campbell says that he believes the station has potential, but Eddie rebuts with a long list of flaws the station is suffering.

The two are distracted as they spy someone sliding down a rope outside of a nearby window. Campbell runs to the window and shouts at the man, Fergus, saying that he’s going to hurt himself. He then says that he’ll miss his cocoa, and asks if he can have Fergus' if he won’t be back to have it. Fergus tells him to help himself as he escapes. Campbell assures Eddie that Fergus will be back, as he always seems to do.

Campbell begins to provide foolish ideas to get the patients to actually listen, such as sabotaging the television, and giving the entire hospital laxatives. He then suggests Eddie turns his show into a request one, which Eddie shoots down by saying they don’t have enough records to actually fulfil said requests. Regardless, Campbell proposes they create some jingles to play on the show, and offers his own singing services.

When Eddie asks how he managed to end up in the asylum, Campbell tells him that he is a manic-depressive (former term for bipolar). He asks Eddie for his own show, which Eddie immediately opposes, stating that he’ll need training. Campbell asks Eddie to train him. Eddie doesn’t agree nor disagree.

As Eddie begins to exit the building, he sees a nurse escorting a patient named Rosalie to bed. Rosalie had been strenuously cleaning one of the windows, and seems to detest leaving it, claiming that it’s still unclean.

Eddie bumps into Isabel in the way, and informs her that he’s planning to train Campbell and change his show to accept requests. He questions whether it’s alright with the staff to let the patients get involved, and Isabel says they encourage them to be self-motivated. Eddie repeats if they’ll mind, and Isabel says they’ll hate it. When the two’s attention is caught by Nana’s singing, Eddie tells Isabel that the necklace around Nana’s neck is a Miraculous Medal. Isabel seems unfazed, and Eddie explains that it means she’s Catholic, so she can’t be speaking "in tongues," like they thought she was.

Another day, Eddie stands to the side as Campbell turns the television off in front of the other patients. They protest, but Campbell says (using a party hat as a megaphone) that he has an important announcement that won’t take too long. The patients continue to complain, which leads to Campbell spoiling the entire episode they were watching so that they will listen to him.

He states that the radio show will be relaunching, and ask for any requests the patients might have. When the patients suggest some songs, Campbell finds that they have none of them on hand to play. As he continues to take requests from other patients, Nana calls Eddie over. She shows him some photos, and Eddie registers that the small girl in the photo is her daughter. He asks her if she has any requests, to which she says, "Kamolindeja."

Later, Campbell leads Eddie into the studio, finding it to be all tidy and organised. Rosalie appears and introduces herself, stating that she helped Campbell to clean up. She tells him that she’s compulsive (obsessive-compulsive disorder), and that she also cataloged all of records. Campbell, eager to jump in, says that he’s written some jingles, and performs a few.

Campbell follows Eddie out of the room as he leaves for work. Eddie asks him if Nana gets any visitors, to which he says no. He then states that she is off to the 'Twilight Zone,' earning a look of confusion from Eddie. Campbell says that Nana is off to Ward 3, which is infamous for its patients only getting out “in a box”. After Eddie tells him about Nana’s supposed daughter, Campbell agrees that Nana isn’t like the rest of them.

Eddie descends the staircase alone, stopping on the entrance to Ward 3. He looks into the barren, haze-like area that is the ward, with patients aimlessly wandering around. Around the corner, he finds the woman from earlier smoking in the corner. He questions if she’s a patient, and she declines, sarcastically stating that she’s the new Minister of Health for Scotland. She says her name is Francine, and Eddie asks if she would like to request something for the radio show. She replies, 'Help,' to which Eddie says he doesn’t have. When Francine puts out her cigarette on the inside of her arm, Eddie is alarmed, and pulls the cigarette away. He questions why she did that, and she simply states that she couldn’t find an ashtray.

Eddie is briefly seen in a record store, sifting through records. He stops when he finds an album with 'Help,' in bold letters.

As he runs back to his car in the rain, Griffin drives past him and stops. He asks how the two customers from the beginning are doing, and Eddie somewhat lies and says that he hasn’t been able to get to them yet. Griffin gives one of his pep talks again, and drives off.

That night, Eddie and Campbell start off the radio show. They announce their first song is dedicated to Francine, and play the song Eddie found earlier, 'Help.' The patients are intrigued once again and begin to listen. As Campbell runs out and encourages the others to dance with him, some patients find that the television won’t turn on. Eddie and Campbell rejoice at this news, and watch as all of the patients come to dance outside the station. Francine observes from the sidelines.

Suddenly, the music stops and a crack is heard. Eddie and Campbell frantically try to figure out what went wrong with the music desk. As Campbell mourns his short career, Fergus steps inside and offers to help. Eddie rejects his help hastily, but Fergus insists on fixing the problem. Tension rises as the other patients egg on Fergus to blow up the desk, and Stuart steps in to grab him.

Eddie, wanting to deescalate the situation, awkwardly says that Fergus was just helping him with the desk. Isabel calls him off, and Stuart reluctantly releases Fergus. The doctors leave, and Fergus moves over to the desk and manages to fix it. Campbell praises him and turns the music back on. Eddie and Fergus smile at each other.

After the show, Fergus informs Eddie of all the technical problems the radio station has. Eddie discovers that Fergus used to be an electrical engineer before he was admitted into the hospital. He says that he’s willing to escape again to pick up some parts they might need, but doesn’t tell Eddie how exactly he will. When Eddie asks why he goes and comes back, Fergus says he has to, because he’s sanctioned. This refers to the Scottish Mental Health Act of 1984, where in Section 26, Fergus claims he was designated a "danger to [himself] or others." This is where Fergus alludes to what is confirmed in later episodes that he suffers from schizophrenia.

He then spies a small electrical board on the desk, and says that he’ll probably need to give it back. Eddie questions where it’s from, and Fergus says it’s from the television. Eddie realises that Fergus intentionally sabotaged the television so that the patients would listen to the show, and yet he’s delighted.

Fergus asks if Eddie will join them for cocoa, but he declines, since he needs to finish organising some records. Fergus reads aloud the top record, titled, "The Around the World Series Volume 16: Music From the Baltics." Eddie starts to list the song titles, and comes across one titled, "Kamolindeja". He repeats it to himself, trying to call back his memory, and realises that it was the phrase that Nana had been saying to him.

He races out of the building with the record, rushing to his flat. He hurriedly asks his grandmother if the word "Kamolindeja" means anything to her, since she is Lithuanian. She tells him that the phrase is Latvian, and Eddie laughs in relief.

The next day, Nana is speaking to an interpreter in Latvian. The interpreter explains that, "Kamolindeja" was a dance Nana used to do. It turns out that she was not in need of psychiatric help, and in fact had just never learned to speak English. She and her daughter came to Scotland as refugees, and her daughter used to speak for her, before she died two years prior. Eddie watches through a window as Nana hugs the interpreter.

Eddie arrives outside the old couple’s home from the beginning of the episode, asking to see if they had come to a decision about the windows. The couple said that another salesman from a different business had already spoken to them, and that they didn’t need his offer any more. Eddie arrives back at Twinview, replying sadly to the receptionist, Jane, who asked if he had made the sale. She hands him his pay packet and tells him not to forget it, despite the limited amount of money hardly being worth it. Eddie stuffs the bills into his pocket and leaves to go to his car.

At night, Eddie is pacing down a street, and comes across Nana, sitting on the ground and drinking. She delightedly offers him a sip from her bottle, and he accepts, despite not being able to understand what she’s saying. He gives her some money, and after she says, "Kamolindeja," he repeats it to her, sorrowfully.

## Cast

### Main

* Ken Stott as Eddie McKenna
* Katy Murphy as Francine Boyle
* David Tennant as Campbell Bain
* Angus Macfadyen as Fergus MacKinnon
* Ruth McCabe as Rosalie Garrity

### Recurring

* Elizabeth Spriggs as Eddie's Grandma
* Roy Hanlon as Mr. Griffin
* Angela Bruce as Isabel
* Kenneth Bryans as Stuart
* Matt Costello as Alastair
* Derek Anders as Billy
* Gavin Mitchell as Hector
* Molly Innes as Margret
* Nell Brennan as Shelia
* Caroline Paterson as Jane

### Minor

* Mary MacLeod as Nana
* Fiona Kane as Nurse
* Inta Ozols as Interpreter
* Ron Donachie as Mr. Petrie
* Ashley Jensen as Kathleen
* Gary Grochla as Sound Engineer
* June Watson as Mrs Wyatt
* Michael Sheard as Mr Wyatt

## Quotes

> That brings us to next week's mailbag. Do you want me to break my leg, or just get gangrene? Or would you like me to break my leg and get gangrene?
>
> - Eddie

> She's always doing that. Always trying to get me to take drugs.
>
> - Campbell

> Believe me, if you had to invent something that was guaranteed to drive people completely around the bend, you'd invent a mental hospital.
>
> - Isabel

> Even loonies need double glazing.
>
> - Mr. Griffin

> I have spent the entire evening alone, surrounded by two hundred scratched pre-Coronation records, broadcasting on equipment that should be in a museum, to one person, down speakers that make me sound like my head’s in a bucket!
>
> - Eddie

> Hang on, Eddie, you're not boring me or that, but I've just seen a friend of mine flying past the window.
>
> - Campbell

> Campbell, you can’t give the whole hospital a laxative.
> Aye, you’re right. Where would I get hold of all that laxative?
>
> - Eddie and Campbell

> You need singers to record jingles!
> And what exactly is sitting here before you?
> A lunatic!
> Aye, but a singing lunatic!
>
> - Eddie and Campbell

> Train me! I'll take Friday nights.
> Will that not clash with Brookside?
>
> - Campbell and Eddie

> The philosophy here is to encourage patients to use their own initiative and be self-motivated.
> Uh, so they won’t mind?
> They'll hate it.
>
> - Isabel and Eddie

> I mean, it's not like she's talking to wee blue men from Venus. Although some of my best friends have been known to talk to the wee blue men from Venus.
>
> - Campbell

> You're a patient here?
> Nah, I'm the new Minister of Health for Scotland.
>
> - Eddie and Francine

> I can’t believe this. I've just had the world's shortest career as a disc jockey.
>
> - Campbell

> You're a sleekit wee bastard, do you know that, Fergus?
>
> - Eddie