"Jam" (2000) TV series

User Rating:

8.6/10   

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

23 March 2000 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror | Music

Plot:

A surreal, ambient mix of bleak comedy sketches.

Plot Keywords:

Medical | Doctor | British | Sketch Comedy | Surrealism

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Christopher Morris	...	Various Roles (6 episodes, 2000)
Amelia Bullmore	...	Various Roles (6 episodes, 2000)
David Cann	...	Various Roles (6 episodes, 2000)
Julia Davis	...	Various Roles (6 episodes, 2000)
Kevin Eldon	...	Various Roles (6 episodes, 2000)
Mark Heap	...	Various Roles (6 episodes, 2000)
Roz McCutcheon	...	Various Roles (6 episodes, 2000)

Also Known As:

"Apes & Music" (UK) (working title)
"Jaaaaam" (UK) (recut version)

Runtime:

24 min (6 episodes)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

UK:18

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

TalkBack Productions

Trivia:

Aired without any advert breaks or credits; instead, each episode ended with a black screen and the words "www.jamcredits.com". At this website the full credits for the week's episode were shown, a first for any TV show or film.The site has since moved to http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/J/jam.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: During the Thick Agency sketch in episode 1, the CCTV footage of Julia Davis approaching the help desk shows both the boom mic and camera operators standing behind her. The camera is visible again moments later in the sketch, reflected in the help desk's window.

Quotes:

Chris Morris: When dancing, lost in techo trance, arms flailing, gawky Bez, then find you snagged on frowns, and slowly it dawns, you're jazzing to the bleep tone of a life support machine that marks the steady fading of your day old baby daughter. And when midnight sirens lead to blue flash road mash...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 100 Greatest Scary Moments (2003) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Earth Floor

Flawed but fascinating experimental comedy-horror

How do you describe a series like JAM? Each episode is a series of warped, dark and often disturbing sketches dealing with subjects like abortion, rape, vandalism, suicide, child abuse and sexual perversions, acted by a largely unknown cast in an entirely straight-faced and unexaggerated manner, and shot in a way that suggests an extremely woozy and heavily sedated bad dream. In the same way that certain sketches on Peter Cook and Dudley Moore's Derek and Clive albums created the air of a seedy and unsettling radio play populated by crooked characters in sleazy and surreal situations, JAM creates is own strange world, not a million miles away from the real world, but practically unique in its bleak visions of demented weirdness. It's certainly flawed - most of the episodes could have used some prudent editing, the ambient music that bubbles beneath the sketches threatens to obscure the dialogue occasionally, and the visual style sometimes crosses the line between stylish and headache-inducing, but it's still very compelling television. Just don't expect to be laughing out loud, or much of a feelgood factor. This is comedy to have a nervous breakdown to.