I’d hate for Alison Hammond to die in a pool of her own shit

Continuing my trip down The Guardian's Top 50 TV Shows of 2022.  

#6 : Big Boys

Jack Rooke broke hearts with this autobiographical series about the best friend he made while grieving his dad. Thankfully, he constantly made us laugh between the tears too. As Jack (Dylan Llewellyn) and Danny (John Pointing) navigate university together, Jack becomes more confident in being gay and finding his identity. Danny, though, struggles with his own declining mental health, while hiding behind big smiles and laddish banter. What ensues is a beautiful, thoughtful and honest story about male friendship.

Originally, I wasn't planning to watch this because the original Channel 4 trailers didn't do a good job of selling it to me - it all felt a bit "watch the trendy lad take the piss out of the gay lad".  However, I saw some clips from it on Gogglebox and it actually looked really nice and very warm, so it was on the list of things to watch but I'd not got round to it - until now!

And yeah - really nice and very warm is about right.  Jack (Dylan Llewellyn - the "wee English fella" from Derry Girls) and his mum Peggy (Camille Coduri - Rose Tyler's mum from Doctor Who) are navigating life following the death of Jack's dad.  And they're doing OK, although Jack had to defer uni for a year - which meant that when he did start, he was a "mature student" and found himself sharing a prefab away from halls with Danny (John Pointing - from Plebs and Pls Like, neither of which I've seen), a 25 year old Jack-the-lad.  But things are not as they seem as they, as The Guardian puts it, "navigate university together".

And that's pretty much all you need to know plot-wise - it's just charming watching them get into and out of various scrapes.  It's the "not as they seem" bit that elevates it from what could be a very bang-average sitcom - that, and the obvious heart that's gone into it. It also helps that it's pretty funny with every episode having at least one laugh out loud moment for me (and that's very good going!).  It also has a very good overall message (whatever it is - just talk about it, people!) and some lovely moments in the final episode that I might have had trouble watching because I had something in my eye at the time.  I was quite reminded of Spaced - two characters thrown together amongst other strange characters, all presented with a lot of affection.  Fresh Meat is also another obvious comparison, but there's considerably more warmth in this. 

Jack and Danny are the heart of the show and they have a touching relationship - more accepting of each other than would have happened in my day, but thankfully things have changed (at least in sitcom world).  And Dylan and John really sell them as characters - they both go on their journey well.  Camille is excellent as always as Peggy - she's a stereotypical East End mum, but she's a very lovely stereotypical East End mum (with a side serving of widow).  I'm also going to call out Katy Wix (her third appearance on a Guardian year-end list) who is amusing as the eternal student and Izuka Hoyle is just lovely as Corinne, the "normal" person that these things need (I knew I knew her from somewhere but couldn't remember where - she was in Boiling Point).

All in all, this show takes what could be a very average set-up and elevates it way beyond its premise by some fine writing and performances featuring bundles of warmth and humour - it's well worth a watch in my opinion and is currently available for your delectation on All4.

#5 - Good, but not exceptional
#9 - Another excellent season in an excellent series