Jessica Hynes

Has the BBC lost its nerve over this dark comedy?

You loved Julia Davis in Nighty Night. You loved Jessica Hynes in Spaced. So why is their new pilot on at 11.45pm?

Julia Davis (Nighty Night, Human Remains) and Jessica Hynes (Spaced, The Royle Family) have partnered for the new BBC2 comedy pilot Lizzie And Sarah, playing two fiftysomething suburban housewives who are ignored by their selfish husbands, but are inspired by the tragic death of a teenager to take revenge.

If you're a fan of very dark comedy, this looks promising, although the "joke" of the trailer appears to the total absence of any traditional laughs and its oppressive, sinister tone. But it's packed full of familiar faces from British comedy (Mark Heap, Kevin Eldon, David Cann, etc), most of whom have appeared in similarly blackhearted comedies; from the aforementioned Nighty Night and Human Remains, through satirist Chris Morris' Brass Eye and Jam.

Apparently, Lizzie & Sarah is being sneaked out on BBC2 with little fanfare and in a graveyard slot (Saturdays, 11:45pm!) because the BBC were shocked by how dark and twisted it is, which is a shame. But I know that fact just gave plenty of people a frisson of excitement. Lizzie & Sarah hits the airwaves on 20 March. I hope it's funny, but in a sick way.

US Spaced: the wait (and the hope) is over

The US version of Channel 4 sitcom Spaced has become the stuff of TV legend. There was much excitement when Fox announced it was adapting the sitcom three years ago, to be helmed by none other than the director of Charlie's Angels director, McG. But fans feared the worst when it turned out that none of three people behind the original version - Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Jessica Hynes (nee Stevenson) - were involved in the remake. It was nothing to the reaction of Wright and co when they finally saw the finished version ("McSpaced" as Wright called it). Disappointed doesn't quite do it justice. "I am worried about the large amount of you who stabbed out their eyes or washed them with bleach after watching the US pilot. My sympathies," said Wright on Twitter today. For everyone else who hasn't seen it, the Stateside version has now made it to the web, so fans can finally see it for themselves. Pining for the original? Ah, that's better.

More Burke & Hare Cast Announced

Details of the full cast have been announced for John Landis' Burke And Hare, and if you thought you were excited by the casting of Simon Pegg and Andy Serkis, prepare to do geeky cartwheels at the news that Jessica Hynes, Bill Bailey, Reece Shearsmith and Sir Christopher Lee are all on board.

Revisiting this flatshare comedy, quirkily written and acted by Simon Pegg and Jessica Hynes, is an unalloyed pleasure. Although it's ten years old (noooooo!), Spaced is still effortlessly cool and funny, with edits and camera tricks that are now used by every Tom, Dick and Harry. This one introduces us to non-couple Tim and Daisy, as well as manically intense artist Brian and dipso landlady Marsha. Pegg and director Edgar Wright went on to make popcorn classics Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, but this was better by miles: honed, joyously inventive and sweet as a nut.

'Spaced' brings the slacker to the small screen

This summer, I came to the realization that working from nine to five, Monday through Friday, is referred to as the "daily grind" for a reason. Even though I was working at an internship that I loved, with people I enjoyed, doing work that I felt was important, I still had a hard time adjusting to a schedule that didn't allow for afternoon naps and FailBlog breaks. I was filled with nostalgia for the time, only a few months earlier, when my days started at 11 a.m. and my afternoons were filled with macaroni and cheese and Comedy Central.

This nostalgia was a contributing factor to my newfound, yet deep and abiding, love for the short-lived British sitcom Spaced. The show was created by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright, the geniuses behind Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, two of my favorite movies of all time. Pegg and Jessica Hynes (who played Shaun's female counterpart, Yvonne, in Shaun of the Dead) star as Tim Bisley and Daisy Steiner, two post-adolescent slackers who pretend to be a couple in order to rent a flat whose advertisement proclaims it to be for "professional couples" only.