British TV series or programme
John's Not Mad
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Directed by
| Valerie Kaye
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Presented by
| Eleanor Bron
(narrator)
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Country of origin
| United Kingdom
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Running time
| 30 minutes
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|
Network
| BBC1
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Release
| 15 March 1989
(
1989-03-15
)
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John's Not Mad
is a British television documentary made as an episode of the
BBC
's
Q.E.D.
series in 1989. In 2005, it was ranked, in a British public poll, as one of the 50 Greatest Documentaries.
[1]
Overview
[
edit
]
The film shadows
John Davidson
, a 16-year-old from
Galashiels
in Scotland, who has severe
Tourette syndrome
. John's life was explored in terms of his family and the close-knit community around him, and how they all coped with a misunderstood condition.
Oliver Sacks
, a
neurologist
, offers observations on aspects of John's behaviour. The documentary was narrated by the actress
Eleanor Bron
.
A follow-up documentary,
The Boy Can't Help It
, was aired by the BBC in 2002, catching up with Davidson, aged 30, to see how he continued to cope with the condition. It also visits an 8 year old named Greg Storey, from Yorkshire who also has Tourette's, and offers his experience of it at an early age.
DVD release
[
edit
]
Both
John's Not Mad
and an edited version of
The Boy Can't Help It
omitting the scenes dealing with Greg Storey were released on DVD in 2006 with the proceeds going to the Tourette Scotland foundation.
[2]
The documentary achieved a cult status soon after it was first aired and, contrary to the "possible good intentions of the film crew, it has been seen as some sort of comedy classic."
[3]
John Davidson also featured with Keith Allen in a
Channel 4
documentary entitled
Tourette De France
where he travelled with Allen and a group of Scottish people with Tourette's to Paris to visit the hospital where
Georges Gilles de la Tourette
practised.
Twentieth anniversary
[
edit
]
In May 2009, BBC television broadcast
Tourettes: I Swear I Can't Help It
, a follow-up to the 1989 and 2002 documentaries, that caught up with both John (at 37) and a 15-year-old Greg, to see how their lives had changed in seven years.
[4]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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