Arch-satirist Chris Morris had already made quite a name for himself in British comedy, first through pioneering news spoof The Day Today in 1994, then with Brass Eye in 1997. He then turned his attention to radio with Blue Jam, a surreal comedy utilizing synthesized voices, weird monologues and dreamy music.
Blue Jam transferred to television in 2000, was shortened to just Jam, and essentially became a visual equivalent of its radio progenitor. The six-part series was aired on Channel 4 and starred Amelia Bullmore, David Cann, Julia Davis (Nighty Night), Kevin Eldon and Mark Heap (Spaced).
Unusually for a TV show on a commercial station, Jam didn't include advertisement breaks, as they would break the show's vibe -- although it was claimed by some that no company wanted their products associated with the show!
Jam qualifies as a scary show because of its extremely twisted approach to sketch comedy, with the show's logic, characters and visual/aural style all heavily stylized for maximum weirdness and horror. Each episode resembled a 26-minute nightmare, plucked from Chris Morris' subconscious. It was constantly strange, occasionally frightening, and usually bewildering. Only a few sketches are actually funny (in the accepted sense), meaning it totally befuddled many who saw it.
A late-night "remix" of the show, entitled Jaaaaaam, was also broadcast later in the week, offering an even weirder encore: sketches were visually distorted and mixed with even creepier music, all making for an even stranger viewing experience.
Love it or hate it, you won’t forget it. Jam isn't particularly funny (it even divides Morris' fans), but it will certainly freak you out – which is quite something for a comedy series to achieve! In fact, it was #26 in Channel 4's 100 Greatest Scary Moments.
Memorable moments of insanity included: a coma patient being killed by a doctor, a man being seduced by a midwife during his wife's labour, a porn star experiencing an unstoppable ejaculation, a man shredding himself, a baby that has been hooked up to a house's plumbing, a man participating in his own funeral, a television with lizards coming out of it, a doctor with a sex chat line and a man being tricked into raping a woman.
Just don't put it on if gran comes round for tea!
Links
Cook'd & Bomb'd - A Chris Morris Fansite
BBC Comedy - Chris Morris profile
Blue Jam website
