This is… not that bad, really

So, yes, it’s been another month since I’ve posted anything on here. Basically, I’ve been busy, things have happened… In the words of Danny Baker, there’s no need to drag you into my private hell. Here begins another attempt to start regularly blogging with what’ll be a recurring theme over the coming days – a look at a series that has already been on for a few weeks, in this case Sky Atlantic’s surreal sitcom This Is Jinsy.

Chris Bran and Justin Chubb’s oddball creation first came to our screens last year as a BBC Three pilot (reviewed here) and was brought to Sky as part of its raft of comedy commissions, including the rather good Trollied and this Friday’s new series, Spy. Set on an island full of eccentric chalet-dwelling inhabitants and dozens of combined TV screens and CCTV cameras called Tessellators, This is Jinsy follows the misadventures of Arbiter Maven and Operative Sporall (Chubb and Bran) who look after the island on behalf of a mysterious being known as The Great He. They’re helped by a rather wonderful regular supporting cast including Darkplace’s Alice Lowe and Geoffrey McGivern.

Sky Atlantic

By now, you’ve probably seen the billboards advertising Sky’s new channel, Sky Atlantic. The result of an exclusive deal between Sky and HBO, it’ll be the home to some of the greatest television series ever made. I’m very, very excited about it, for quite a few reasons.

This is Jinsy / The Gemma Factor

It’s not been a good few months for BBC sitcoms. Aside from the abomination that was Amanda Holden’s Big Top, we had The Persuasionists, proof that no matter how talented and able a cast might be, nobody can rescue a bad script, plus Miranda, which certainly had lots of fans but could be definitely filed under “not for everyone”. This is not to say that there’s not been some great comedy recently on the BBC. Mock-doc Bellamy’s People has been excellent, showcasing the talents of the brilliant Robert Popper and Donna Harle as well as providing another chance for Paul Whitehouse to show off his flair for creating great comic characters. A lot of the great comedy has been hidden away, such as Tim Key’s sketch show Cowards on BBC Four, or the fantastic Limmy’s Show, which has only been shown on BBC Two Scotland.

Over the last week or so, two new sitcoms have been given an airing on BBC Three, the one-off pilot This is Jinsy and the first of a six part series of The Gemma Factor.