Why I Should Binge “Scrotal Recall”

WHAT IS SCROTAL RECALL ABOUT?

Scrotal Recall is a British situation comedy that follows Dylan, a young man just diagnosed with chlamydia. He must contact all of his previous sexual partners to notify them he has the disease. Rather than sending the standard postcard provided from his doctor’s office, Dylan decides to personally contact all his partners from the past 11 years.

Original TV Home: Britain’s Channel 4, Netflix Original

Number Of Seasons: 1 Season (2014)

Total Episodes/Time Table: 6 episodes at 24 minutes each

Viewing Strategy: The whole season is less than two and a half hours (144 minutes to be exact). The show is fun, light and well constructed, so watch it on a rainy weekend morning. It’ll lift up the rest of your day.
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WHO’S IN IT? Top Up arrow

Johnny Flynn, Antonia Thomas, Daniel Ings, Hannah Britland, Joshua McGuire, Richard Thomson, Aimee Parkes, Rosalie Craig, Vicki Pepperdine, Gayle Telfer Stevens, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Jamie Demetriou, Turlough Convery, Sharon MacKenzie, Riann Steele, Susannah Fielding, James Martin, Cara Theobold, Clare Wille, Kim Allan, Oliver Coopersmith, Chris Donald, Robyn Milne, Stephen Wight, Alisa Anderson, Daisy Beaumont, Tala Gouveia, Isabella Joss, Tom Stourton, Natalie Burt, Kevin O’Loughlin, Mike Wozniak, Tom Duncan, Scott Gilmour, Duncan Pow, Grant Thomson, Kerry Lynn Hamilton, Molly Inness, Sharon Young, Dafydd Llyr-Thomas, Neil Thomas

WHERE IS IT NOW? Top Up arrow

Netflix

WHY IS IT BINGE WORTHY? Top Up arrow

Don’t let the title turn you off to watching Scrotal Recall. I was even reluctant when my pal Ryan Berenz recommended it to me. I remember saying, “Thanks Bro Dawg, but I’m not into that.” He assured me it was worth watching and if I didn’t like it, I only lost 24 minutes of my life watching the first episode.

Some of my criteria for a good binge series are that it’s well written and doesn’t pretend to be something that it is not. Binge-ing requires time investment, so I look for series that give me a great, thoughtfully edited story that builds with each episode. That said, comparing Scrotal Recall to Bloodline, another Netflix Original, would give you a better understanding why Scrotal is The Bomb (and Bloodline is A Bomb).

Bloodline has an all-star cast of Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights), Linda Cardellini (ER and Freaks and Geeks), Enrique Murciano (Without a Trace) and Oscar winning Sissy Spacek. It wouldn’t matter if George Clooney was cast in this show, it still would be a dull soap opera about a dysfunctional family in the Florida Keys. The story has been told before. The dialogue is nauseating. The only thing going for it is its killer theme song. I felt I had to watch it because I like the actors. Don’t watch it; it’s a waste of time. Or better yet, Hate Watch it.

There’s so much more bang for your buck (no pun intended) with Scrotal, and I can’t even remember if it has a theme song. Dylan, the main character played by musician and actor Johnny Flynn (who?), is in that awkward stage in life in your late 20s where many find themselves clinging to their irresponsible youth while being dragged into adulthood and responsibility. The drag here is the discovery that his irresponsible youth is thrusting him into adulthood. Whereas Bloodline begins with an ominous and foreshadowing narrative, Scrotal begins with Dylan getting a goofy and sarcastic scolding from a healthcare worker when he learns tested positive for chlamydia.

Screen Shot 2015-06-24 at 1.00.10 PMEach episode is named after one of Dylan’s sexual partners and a majority of the story consists of flashbacks to his mostly unsuccessful encounters with women. Along for the journey are Dylan’s two best friends. Luke (Daniel Ings) is the wild comic-relief character of the show. He’s carefree, fun and is that friend who sometimes can land someone in trouble. Evie (Antonia Thomas) and Dylan are roommates and friends but seem to want more than a friendship, even though they are both “boinking” others.

Screen Shot 2015-06-24 at 1.00.52 PMI like Scrotal because it’s hilarious and endearing. One could liken it to “the Millennials’” version of Four Weddings and a Funeral — minus a funeral (so far), three weddings and an annoying Hugh Grant. I like it because the cast is a horde of unknown actors who take a simple story and make it a great series. Vivian Kane of Pajiba.com says Daniel Ings’ character Luke is the best part of the whole show. I like sleazy-lovable characters, too, but Antonia Thomas’ character is what fans will remember. Going back to the comparison to Four Weddings, Evie is very similar to Scarlett but with more stake in the story.

If you’re still not sold on Scrotal, check out Tanya Pai’s review on vox.com.

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MUST SEES … Top Up arrow

Episode 1: Abigail. A sarcastic healthcare worker informs Dylan that he has been diagnosed with chlamydia. One would imagine that a healthcare worker would be compassionate when informing a patient of a serious infection. This is a nice introduction to the straight-faced and silly humor of the show.

Episode 3: Cressida. Episode 3 is when I started to realize that Scrotal Recall is one of the smartest, funniest series made in a very long time. This whole episode is brimming with one-liners, plot twists and over-the-top situations. If we need to pick one scenario from the episode, it would be Dylan and Evie getting blackmailed by a friend’s lonely younger brother “stuck in the Highlands.”

Episode 4: Jane. As with Episode 3, “Jane” tickles that fine line between hilarious and “Oh no, I can’t believe that just happened.” Aside from all the high jinks involving Jane, Dylan’s girlfriend who dumps him in church during a wedding, this episode is really about Evie and her wanting to be with Dylan.

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THAT LINE WAS SO GREAT… Top Up arrow

Healthcare worker :

“You’ve tested positive for chlamydia.”

Dylan:

“That doesn’t sound positive.”

-From Episode 1: Abigail

“It’s the missionary position of sexual diseases.”

-From Episode 1: Abigail. Luke’s reaction to learning of Dylan’s diagnosis. Obviously, chlamydia is too boring for Luke.

“My talent is starting relationships with women who don’t like me.”

-From Episode 1: Abigail. Dylan after getting dumped by Jane during a wedding ceremony.

“… And I tried to cook you a chicken without any practical means of cooking a chicken…Because you’re beautiful.”

-From Episode 2: Anna. Dylan trying to convince Anna that they should see each other.

“Climb ‘near Everest’? What does that mean?,”

Evie asks Luke after he reveals that he has a “Bucket List.”

-From Episode 3: Cressida. Luke explains that he doesn’t want to climb Everest because too many people die attempting it. He’d rather climb less dangerous mountains around Everest.

Luke (after telling Evie that he found her a blind date for her surprise birthday party on a dating website):

“You know how you said you didn’t want to spend another birthday single?”

Evie:

“I never said that.”

Luke:

“You said it with your eyes.”

-From Episode 4: Jane

7 Comments

  1. Larry, there’s a huge difference between chlamydia and herpes. You can kill chlamydia. Herpes goes on and on and on and on. It rears its ugly head when you least expect it.

  2. Destiny sweetheart….you need to get a life now. Seriously you loser, try watching something more meaningful than this crap.

  3. My problem is that I have just binge watched the first season and the cliff hanger is wretched ! Any clue if they are still going and when the next will be released?

    • Destiny, Thanks for your comments. I agree the cliff hanger wasn’t the best. I assume they will make another season but I can’t confirm that anywhere.

  4. So with all the problems in the world, I need to watch a show about some dude with herpes?

Comments are closed.

About Dave Lange 16 Articles
Dave enjoys growing potatoes, riding bikes and quoting Jesse Pinkman from "Breaking Bad" (in that order, Yo).