Lunch Monkeys

Admin - The new sitcom for BBC Three

If this show is well executed, which I'm hoping it is, then we should be in for a treat. It's been written and created by first time writer David Isaacs, and is based on his own experiences as a supervising solicitor in a Manchester law firm. I think it might be unfair to make comparisons to The Office at the moment, but if the two share anything, I hope Admin captures the stale air, the hum of the photocopier and the long silences that pervade through working hours. Could be a good one this!

A team of professional no-hopers and a frazzled boss - sound familiar? This comedy pilot, set in a no-win no-fee solicitors' office, is as original as the photocopier jokes. Yet there's something about the young losers from the postroom which raises a chuckle (especially Kenny)

Sadly, the instant you hear the name Admin you know it's going to be a dire Office rip-off.

The slender plotline centres on a promotion when a paralegal position comes up for grabs, inspiring hilarious lines such as, I'd love to be a paraglider. Oscar Wilde got it wrong, sarcasm is not the lowest form of wit - that would be hard-of-hearing idiots with regional accents.

Of the two moments that challenge your smile into a face-off with your frown, the joke about faeces is funnier than the joke about bumming but, on the whole, Admin just gallops forward, for half an hour, like a blind horse.

There is one believable character, a pregnant admin drone, Tania (Jessica Hall), who hides a brain behind her blondeness and swelling bosom.

The rest are caric-atures: the man-eating female boss Gloria (Sian Reeves); a ditzy Scouse who, while filling in her job application, asks, Is smoking an interest?; an 'I'm mad me' dork who goes around the office singing Katrina and the Waves and humping the photocopier; an annoying Asian character, Asif; and a wimpy bloke who pretends he can play the sax but can't (laugh? I nearly did) and who looks like an even more dentally challenged Johnny Borrell.

I blame Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps - that show ran for seven series, without anything other than its fiendish regularity to recommend it.

The message is out there that us plebs will watch anything and, damnit, we probably will. I don't care how hilariously unfunny Admin is, if the Beeb make a full series, we should seriously consider asking for a licence fee rebate.

This story, about the bad attitudes of a bunch of surly school leavers in their first jobs, will strike a chord with anyone who's tried to order paperclips from the post room. The 'no win no fee' Manchester law firm Fox Carter and Co has its fair share of sharks, but that's nothing compared to the machinations in its admin department.

It's rough at the edges, but the storyline has potential, and there are some good performances, particularly Jessica Hall as Tania.

Writer David Isaac based this sitcom pilot - set in the admin department of a no win no fee solicitors office - on his own experience as a supervising solicitor in Manchester, so lets hope the ring of truth leads to peals of laughter.

Neil Fitzmaurice and Scallywagga cohort Jessica Hall make a bid for dominance of the BBC3 comedy scene by popping up in their second humorous offering for the channel in a week.

There are lively, engaging turns from Hall as a ditsy blonde who's far sharper than she's given credit for and ex-bit part Corrie waiter Chris Hannon as a childish employee harbouring delusions of career grandeur, and both give these characters enough depth to wonder how they'd fare in future episodes. One of the better offerings from this series of pilots.