There is an old joke, dating back to the mists of the 19th century, about a man who visits his doctor, gripped by the terrible dread of existence. The doctor prescribes a simple remedy: the circus is in town and its lead clown is the toast of Europe. Go see him and your despair will be healed. The twist, of course, is that the man is that clown. Sometimes the laughter is a mask; sometimes the comedy gives way to tragedy. That, too, is the fundamental truth that allows the sitcom format to occasionally elevate itself to true art, as in the final season of Jack Rooke’s superb Big Boys on Channel 4.
University life is coming to an end for Jack (Dylan Llewellyn). He and his fellow “blue shed” residents – charismatic ladies’ man Danny (Jon Pointing), his powerful girlfriend Corinne (Izuka Hoyle), and flamboyant fashionista Yemi (Olisa Odele) – will soon say goodbye to Brent Uni and enter the big, scary real world. But before that they’ll, once again, have to navigate academic and career decisions, as well as the usual dollop of family and identity crises. Can Danny and Corinne’s nascent romance survive the turbulence of student life? Will Yemi’s bold professional ambitions be fulfilled? And when will Jack find his calling, and end up being the Jack who, a decade later, is writing this show?
