Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I've had a lot of compliments in my time Don..., 9 Dec 2006
For me, writing a review for "Nighty Night" is essentially like writing out a Valentine's day card for your one true love - no matter how hard you try to express your love, no matter how much you try to avoid cliches in the name of sincerity, you always feel that somehow, words just aren't enough.
Briefly, "On discovering her husband Terry has cancer, beautician Jill Tyrell is eager to move on and find new love. It comes in the form of a bearded doctor, Don Cole. Jill's only obstacles are Terry's return to health and Don's disbaled wife, Cath. But when Jill wants something, she will stop at nothing to get it".
I am going to stick my neck out here and say that, in my opinion, "Nighty Night" is the best programme I have ever seen. Rarely has a sitcom captured such polarity - with such an "unbelievable" leading character on the one hand, yet such a "believable" setting on the other. Throughout my first viewing of the series, I remember thinking that with each episode, the character of Jill became more extreme - from the somewhat "tactless" visit to the dating agency in the first episode when her husband is supposedly dying of cancer, to the audacity of buying raw meat and presenting it as Terry's not-so-dead body later on in the series: just when you think that Jill can't get any worse, she always does. Only a truly brilliant show can have you warming to such an unbelievably unlikeable character - only a truly brilliant show can make you laugh out loud so much, make you feel embarrassed for the characters (think of Terry's funeral) and even make you gag through the use of what, in the end, is only your imagination (think of the scene where Glenn supposedly has a "stool" in a plastic bag).
Despite Jill's supposed "unbelievability", the show still manages to remain "believable" through it's supporting cast of characters that we can all identify with. All of us know someone who is self-centred, thoughtless, and willing to go to any length to get what they want (though, unlike Jill, few of us know anyone who would kill to achieve their ends). Many of us can identify with the character of Cath - a woman with immense patience, always prepared to see the glass as being "half-full", far more tolerant of other people's misgivings than most of us would be. Some of us know a Don-like figure - oozing professionalism through their choice of career, but deeply flawed in their private life: no doubt, a few people reading this review have Glenn-like qualities - naive (and therefore vulnerable) but ultimately possessing a heart-of-gold. The only character I found it hard to identify with was Sue. When I watched "Nighty Night" the first time, I remember thinking that there was more to her than initially meets the eye. Although, on the surface, she seems to be morality personified (being the Vicar's wife and, ultimately, trying to protect Cath from Jill's overbearing presence), there was something about her that didn't quite sit right with me. For those of you who felt the same on watching it - I would urge you to watch the second series as it seems that Julia Davis deliberately left the door open for character development here.
I cannot finish this review without making two final points. Firstly, despite there being a truly outstanding supporting cast here, five stars should go to Julia Davis alone - not only for casting herself in the role of such a tyrant, but also for really capturing the essence of Jill through her mouth-watering one-liner's, choice of wardrobe and body language. Finally, the sound-track is well thought-out, with each song being specifically chosen to capture the spirit of the moment: look out for Gabrielle's "Don't Need the Sun to Shine", always played when Don does finally manage to get "some quiet time", also look out for the darkly ironic DVD-edited inclusion of "I'll Stand by You" at Terry's funeral - something which in the end, Jill never really did.
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42 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The blackest humour ever known to man...., 15 Jul 2005
By A Customer
Nighty Night is quite possible the sickest and funniest television programme to have ever been made.It centres on Jill who is the owner of a suburban beauty salon. She has other things on her mind, namely the handsome doctor who lives in the house opposite with his wife, a wheelchair user. Jill claims her hospitalised husband is dying of a terminal cancer and so descends on the life of the unfortunate neighbours and refuses to leave. She very quickly announces that her husband, who is alive, has passed away. On paper, this probably sounds vile and to a large extent it is - but in a way that will have you laughing uncontrollably. We can but hope that Julia Davis somehow manages to make a second series. Can't see how considering the ending, but we can live in hope....
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26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beyond brilliant... sick, rude, twisted brilliance! Genuis, 13 Sep 2005
Nighty Night is without doubt the sickest, darkest and most twisted piece of brilliant comedy I have ever seen in my life, and for me it was the outright comedy highlight of 2004, because there has never been a sitcom that was as daring, black or revolting as this series proved to be. Julia Davis, who you might have seen in the BBC comedy Human Remains back in 2000, is a pioneer in women's comedy and has to be the funniest female out there, as her solo scripts crackle with deviousness, rudeness and intelligence, resulting in a comedy that you'll never forget. Only Davis could import such bad taste by tackling issues about disability, cancer, murder and infidelity and make them laugh-out loud funny.Davis also portrays the central protagonists, beauty salon proprietor Jill Tyrell. Jill is the ultimate comedy monster, who would surely frighten Alan Partridge and David Brent. Such is her sadism and cruelty, her unkind and insensitivity that you can't help but find her evilness gloriously hysterical. Watch with horror as she makes out she is a victim of her husband's illness, scolds and disfigures her customers, manhandle her staff, chase after her wheelchair bound neighbours husband (played by Angus Deayton), poisons the local vicar and still come off looking hard done to. It takes an enormous amount of commitment and bravery to tackle some of the issues Davis does in this series, without seeming tasteless and callous, but Davis pulls it off magnificently, and surely Nighty Night will go down in history for being the sickest comedy ever. The story starts when Cath and Don move in next door, and Jill sets her heart on wooing Don. Single-handed she manages to shatter their lifestyle as their relationship comes crashing down around their ears, only finished when Jill plants some underwear in Don's pocket! Watch out for the comedy funeral of the century, which for me is the highlight of the series! Just the very notion of throwing a funeral for someone who isn't dead is gruesome - but oh, it's so funny! Although no special features have yet been confirmed, it is said that there will be out-takes and interviews, although I don't know if this is true or not. In conclusion, buy Nighty Night - Series 1 on the official day of release (October 3rd) and laugh yourself silly by its wickedness, rudeness and awfulness again and again. A pitch black comedy masterpiece that is definitely the best comedy of recent years. If you only buy one DVD this Autumn, make it this one!
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