''This is Jinsy'' is a British comedy series. The pilot was first broadcast on 1 March 2010 on
BBC Three
BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, curre ...
. The programme is about the bizarre residents of the fictional island of Jinsy which is based on
Guernsey
Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency.
It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...
, where the two writers are from. The show was written by Chris Bran and Justin Chubb who also play the leading roles. Although the pilot episode was made for the BBC, the full series of eight episodes was picked up by
Sky Atlantic
Sky Atlantic is a British pay television channel owned by Sky Group Limited broadcast in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel is primarily dedicated to imported programmes from the United States, and holds the domestic rights to HBO ...
.
The first series began airing with a double bill on 19 September 2011 and ended on 31 October 2011. A second series was commissioned and was first broadcast on 8 January 2014.
Cast
* Justin Chubb as Arbiter Maven, various
* Chris Bran as Sporall Lertock, various
*
Alice Lowe
Alice Eva Lowe (born 3 April 1977)England & Wales births 1837 – 2006 is an English actress, writer, and comedian. She is best known for her roles as Dr. Haynes in '' Black Mirror: Bandersnatch'' and Madeleine Wool/Liz Asher in ''Garth Mareng ...
as Soosan Noop
*
Janine Duvitski
Janine Duvitski (born Christine Janine Drzewicki; 28 June 1952) is a British actress, known for her roles in the BBC television sitcom series '' Waiting for God'', ''One Foot in the Grave'' and ''Benidorm''. Duvitski first came to national atte ...
as Mrs Goadion
*
Geoff McGivern as Trince
*
David Tennant
David John Tennant (''né'' McDonald; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He rose to fame for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor (2005–2010 and 2013) in the BBC science-fiction TV show '' Doctor Who'', reprising the rol ...
as Mr Slightlyman
*
Harry Hill
Matthew Keith Hall (born 1 October 1964), known professionally as Harry Hill, is an English comedian, presenter and writer. He pursued a career in stand-up following years working as a medical doctor, developing an off-beat, energetic performan ...
as Joon Boolay (Series 1)
*
Greg Davies
Gregory Daniel Davies ( ; born 14 May 1968) is a Welsh comedian, actor, presenter, and writer. He is best known for his roles as Greg in ''We Are Klang'', Mr Gilbert in ''The Inbetweeners'', Ken Thompson in ''Cuckoo'', the Taskmaster in '' Tas ...
as Jennitta Bishard (Series 2)
*
Jennifer Saunders
Jennifer Jane Saunders (born 6 July 1958) is an English actress, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Saunders originally found attention in the 1980s, when she became a member of The Comic Strip after graduating from the Royal Central School of ...
as The Voice of Miss Reason
*
Tim Downie
Timothy Richard Downie (born 14 July 1977) is an English actor and writer. He is known for the television series ''Toast of London'', '' Outlander'' and ''Upstart Crow'', and the films ''Paddington'' and ''The King's Speech''. Downie was born in ...
as Jinsy Player
* Dave Mounfield as Jinsy Player
*
Emma Kennedy
Emma Kennedy (born Elizabeth Emma Williams on 28 May 1967) is an English actress, lawyer, comedian, and travel writer, comedian, television presenter and author.
Early life and education
The daughter of teachers, as Jinsy Player
Episodes
Series 1
Series 2
Production
The pilot of ''This is Jinsy'' was produced by the Welded Tandem Picture Company and filmed at Greenford Studios in July 2009. It was directed by Chris Bran and Justin Chubb; the script editor was
Emma Kennedy
Emma Kennedy (born Elizabeth Emma Williams on 28 May 1967) is an English actress, lawyer, comedian, and travel writer, comedian, television presenter and author.
Early life and education
The daughter of teachers, .
Production for the first series started at the end of January 2011 and was directed by
Matt Lipsey
Matt Lipsey is a British television and film director. His work includes King Bert Productions TV movies such as The Boy in the Dress and Billionaire Boy, Baby Cow Productions sitcoms ''Human Remains'' and ''Saxondale'', and Hartswood Films se ...
. Charlie Phillips, who worked with Lipsey on ''
Psychoville
''Psychoville'' is a British psychological horror- thriller black comedy mystery television series created and written by and starring ''The League of Gentlemen'' members Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton for the BBC. It debuted on BBC Two o ...
'', is the editor.
Reception
The ''
Radio Times
''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...
'' described the pilot as "infectiously funny as an overstuffed owl. A full series please." ''
Time Out
Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to:
Time
* Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team
* Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken
* Timeout (computing), an enginee ...
'' described it as "a lo-fi joy to behold".
Alice-Azania Jarvis, reviewing the first two episodes for ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', calls it "brilliantly done" and "genuinely surreal".
Keith Watson writes in ''
The Metro'', Bran and Chubb "teetered on the brink of drowning in the ocean of whimsy", but that "''This is Jinsy'' pulled off the trick of turning its multifarious influences into something that felt fresh and new."
Awards
The pilot episode (directed by Bran & Chubb) was nominated in the Sitcom category for the
Rose d'Or
The Rose d'Or ('Golden Rose') is an international awards festival in entertainment broadcasting and programming. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) first acquired the Rose d’Or in 1961, when it was created by Swiss Television in the lakesi ...
2010.
Rose d'Or Nominees
. The Rose D'Or 2010 Website
Series 1 of ''This is Jinsy'' (directed by Matt Lipsey) was nominated in the Best Sketch Show category for the British Comedy Awards
The National Comedy Awards (known as the British Comedy Awards from 1990 to 2014) is an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom, celebrating notable comedians and entertainment performances of the previous year.
The British Comedy Awards (1 ...
2011.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:This Is Jinsy
2010 British television series debuts
2014 British television series endings
2010s British comedy television series
BBC television sitcoms
British surreal comedy television series
British musical television series
Sky Atlantic original programming
Television series set on fictional islands
English-language television shows