This is Jinsy
Encyclopedia
This is Jinsy is a British comedy programme. The pilot first aired on 1 March 2010 on BBC Three
. The programme is about the bizarre residents of the fictional island of Jinsy. 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
for Sky Atlantic
and Sky Atlantic HD. It began airing with a double bill on 19 September 2011..
.
Production for the series started at the end of January 2011 and it is directed by Matt Lipsey
. Charlie Phillips, who worked with Lipsey on Psychoville
is the editor.
described the pilot as "infectiously funny as an overstuffed owl. A full series please." Time Out described it as "a lo-fi joy to behold" and the Daily Mail
wrote "Has the wit to become a less malevolent League of Gentlemen
".
Alice-Azania Jarvis, reviewing the first two episodes for The Independent
, 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."
The pilot of This is Jinsy was nominated in the Sitcom category for the Rose d'Or
2010.
BBC Three
BBC Three is a television network from the BBC broadcasting via digital cable, terrestrial, IPTV and satellite platforms. The channel's target audience includes those in the 16-34 year old age group, and has the purpose of providing "innovative" content to younger audiences, focusing on new talent...
. The programme is about the bizarre residents of the fictional island of Jinsy. 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
British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....
for Sky Atlantic
Sky Atlantic
Sky Atlantic is a television channel owned by British Sky Broadcasting, which launched on 1 February 2011 on Sky in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland....
and Sky Atlantic HD. It began airing with a double bill on 19 September 2011..
Cast
- Justin Chubb as Arbiter Maven
- Chris Bran as Sporall
- Alice LoweAlice LoweAlice Lowe is an English actress and writer mainly in comedy, from the English Midlands.Lowe attended a comprehensive school and graduated from Cambridge University. She began her career co-devising and performing in surreal experimental theatre shows such as City Haunts, Snowbound and Progress In...
as Soosan Noop - Janine DuvitskiJanine DuvitskiJanine Duvitski is an English actress, known for her roles as Jane Edwards in Waiting for God and Pippa Trench in One Foot in the Grave. She also created and played the role of Angela in Mike Leigh's play Abigail's Party.-Personal life:Duvitski was born in Nottingham. Her father was Polish...
as Mrs Goadion - Geoff McGivern as Trince
- Harry HillHarry HillHarry Hill , is a Perrier Award–winning English comedian, author and television presenter. A former medical doctor , Hill began his career in comedy with the popular radio show Harry Hill's Fruit Corner.-Personal life:Hill was born in Woking,...
as Joon Boolay - Jennifer SaundersJennifer SaundersJennifer Jane Saunders is an English comedienne, screenwriter, singer and actress. She has won two BAFTAs, an International Emmy Award, a British Comedy Award, a Rose d'Or Light Entertainment Festival Award, two Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards, and a Peoples Choice Award.She first came into...
as The Voice of Miss Reason - Tim DownieTim DownieTim Downie is an English actor and writer.He was born in England. Before starting his professional career, Downie trained at the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts.-Television:...
as Jinsy Player
Episodes
| Episode | Plot | Director | Written by | Ratings (millions) | Guests | Air Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BBC Three Pilot - Bandy Dog Red | Maven and Sporall are tasked with the historic installation of the first tesselator on old jinsy, a tribal island covered in brambles. | Matt Lipsey Matt Lipsey Matt Lipsey is a British television and film director. His work includes Baby Cow Productions sitcoms Human Remains and Saxondale, and Hartswood Films series Supernova, The Cup and Jekyll. His first film, Caught in the Act, was released in 2008... |
Chris Bran and Justin Chubb | 01/03/10 | ||
| 01 - Wedding Lottery | The islanders are married off in the wedding lottery. Maven enters Sporall into the draw. | Matt Lipsey | Chris Bran and Justin Chubb | 0.179 | David Tennant David Tennant David Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr... |
19/09/11 |
| 02 - Cupboards | Maven is convinced cupboard salesman Eric Dunt is their deity. Sporall is unconvinced. | Matt Lipsey | Chris Bran and Justin Chubb | 0.100 | Peter Serafinowicz Peter Serafinowicz Peter Szymon Serafinowicz is an English actor, comedian, writer, composer, voice artist and occasional director.-Early life:Serafinowicz was born in Liverpool, England. He attended Our Lady of the Assumption Roman Catholic Primary School and St Francis Xavier Secondary School... |
19/09/11 |
| 03 - Beardboy | While Maven prepares for an interview with the editor of Glove Hygiene Monthly, the beard-growing contest is disrupted by an attacker with a taste for facial hair. | Matt Lipsey | Chris Bran and Justin Chubb | 0.187 | Catherine Tate Catherine Tate Catherine Tate is an English actress, writer, and comedian. She has won numerous awards for her work on the sketch comedy series The Catherine Tate Show as well as being nominated for an International Emmy Award and four BAFTA Awards... |
26/09/11 |
| 04 - Ool Bat | An environmentalist threatens to scupper Maven's project for a new bridge in the shape of his nose. | Matt Lipsey | Chris Bran and Justin Chubb | 0.111 | Kevin Eldon, KT Tunstall KT Tunstall Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist from St Andrews, Scotland. She broke into the public eye with a 2004 live solo performance of her song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on Later... with Jools Holland... and Adam Gillen Adam Gillen Adam Gillen is a British actor. He graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in 2007. In 2009 he was nominated for a TMA Award for Best Supporting Performance in a play for the Royal Exchange Theatre Company’s A Taste of Honey. In 2011 he appeared as Moses in The School for Scandal, in a... |
03/10/11 |
| 05 - Nameworm | Maven embarks on a journey in treacherous winter conditions accompanied by a former teacher, who torments him on the way. | Matt Lipsey | Chris Bran and Justin Chubb | 0.096 | Simon Callow Simon Callow Simon Phillip Hugh Callow, CBE is an English actor, writer and theatre director. He is also currently a judge on Popstar to Operastar.-Early years:... and Nigel Planer Nigel Planer Nigel George Planer is an English actor, comedian, novelist and playwright.Planer is perhaps best known for his role as Neil Pye in the cult BBC comedy The Young Ones. He has appeared in many West End musicals, including Evita, Chicago, We Will Rock You, Wicked and Hairspray... |
10/10/11 |
| 06 - Vel | Maven attempts to cheat in order to join Jinsy's Intellectual Elite. | Matt Lipsey | Chris Bran and Justin Chubb | 0.114 | Jane Horrocks Jane Horrocks Barbara Jane Horrocks is an English voice, stage, screen and television actress, voice artist, musician, and singer. She is best known for her role as "Bubble" in the TV series Absolutely Fabulous as well as her distinctive voice.... , Don Warrington Don Warrington Don Warrington, MBE is a Trinidadian British actor.-Personal life:Warrington was born in Trinidad and Tobago on 23 May 1951 and brought up in Newcastle upon Tyne, England from age five. His father was the Trinidadian politician, Basil Kydd, who died in 1958. He has two sons.His acting career... and Marek Larwood Marek Larwood Marek Larwood is an English comedian and actor in television, radio and theatre. He is best known for the BBC Three sitcom/sketch show, Rush Hour and for being one third of the comedy trio We Are Klang.... |
17/10/11 |
| 07 - Zoop | After a banned rock band plan to break the Arbiter's rules, Maven himself tries to foil their plans. | Matt Lipsey | Chris Bran and Justin Chubb | 0.089 | Marcia Warren Marcia Warren Marcia Warren is an English stage, film and television actress. On stage, she appeared in Blithe Spirit as Madame Arcati, and The Sea at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket.-Partial filmography:... |
24/10/11 |
| 08 - Kelpman | Maven becomes the highlight of Jinsy as he tries to fix a desolate tessellator, meanwhile Sporall discovers a new form of entertainment. | Matt Lipsey | Chris Bran and Justin Chubb | 0.089 | Brian Murphy Brian Murphy (actor) Brian Murphy is a British actor.Murphy was born in Ventnor, Isle of Wight. Although a prolific actor in many films and theatre productions for almost half a century, Murphy's most famous role was as the henpecked husband George Roper in the sitcom Man About the House and spin-off George and... and Colin Hoult Colin Hoult Colin Hoult is a comedy actor/writer in television, radio, theatre. He studied at Manchester Metropolitan School of Theatre.... |
31/10/11 |
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; script editor was Emma KennedyEmma Kennedy
Emma Kennedy is an English actress, writer and television presenter....
.
Production for the series started at the end of January 2011 and it is directed by Matt Lipsey
Matt Lipsey
Matt Lipsey is a British television and film director. His work includes Baby Cow Productions sitcoms Human Remains and Saxondale, and Hartswood Films series Supernova, The Cup and Jekyll. His first film, Caught in the Act, was released in 2008...
. Charlie Phillips, who worked with Lipsey on Psychoville
Psychoville
Psychoville is an award-winning British dark comedy television serial written by and starring The League of Gentlemen members Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton. It debuted on BBC Two on 18 June 2009. Pemberton and Shearsmith each play numerous characters, with Dawn French and Jason Tompkins in...
is the editor.
Reception
The Radio TimesRadio Times
Radio Times is a UK weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, owned by the BBC. It has been published since 1923 by BBC Magazines, which also provides an on-line listings service under the same title...
described the pilot as "infectiously funny as an overstuffed owl. A full series please." Time Out described it as "a lo-fi joy to behold" and the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
wrote "Has the wit to become a less malevolent League of Gentlemen
The League of Gentlemen
The League of Gentlemen are a group of British comedians formed in 1995, best known for their radio and television series.The League of Gentlemen may also refer to:* The League of Gentlemen ,...
".
Alice-Azania Jarvis, reviewing the first two episodes for The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, 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."
The pilot of This is Jinsy was nominated in the Sitcom category for the Rose d'Or
Rose d'Or
The Rose d’Or is one of the most important international festivals in entertainment television. It was founded in Montreux in 1961 and has taken place in Lucerne since 2004. Producers, executives from independent and public service broadcasters and heads of production companies from over 40...
2010.