My Take On Who Survives

Just finished Psychoville. Utterly brilliant. Why on Earth the BBC doesn't pick up a 3rd series when crap like 'Snog Marry Avoid' gets the go ahead, I'll never understand.

I've noticed people question why all but 2 characters from the original line-up are killed off. Whilst I agree the Mr.Lomax, Joy & Tea-leaf were all strong characters, David & Jolly had to survive.

David is the viewers emotional attachment to the show. He is a victim from the very beginning, from his childhood to the very end. Everything he feels, we feel. Every time he's sad or angry, we're also meant to feel it. It's to this end end he has to survive, in order to keep the viewer feeling for the characters.

Jolly is our narrator. He's the straight man, our skeptic, there to make sense of everything. On several occasions, Jolly interjects with grounded comments to keep the increasingly bizarre storyline plausible. Lines such as
"This _____ is getting ridiculous"
"What would ____ want with _____"
"How can _____ make _____"
All to keep the viewer on the straight and narrow.

It's clever attention to storyline structure like this, that for me makes Psychoville so good. The whole concept of the Librarian and his 'Silent Singer' are also genius. Come season 3, I'm in no doubt he would have become an anti-hero.