I have tried on numerous occasions to get into this show. Many a time I would force myself to sit through a repeat on UK Gold but I always end up switching the damned thing off in disgust. I find it both boring and irritating. 'Little Britain' and 'Absolutely Fabulous' were better, and they were dire. Julia Davis plays Jill Tyrell, an evil, twisted bitch of the first order whose husband is dying of cancer. With this, she is eager to find a new man to share her life wife and has her sights set on Don ( Angus Deaton ) a doctor whose wife Cathy ( Rebecca Front ) is suffering from multiple sclerosis. Jill is not averse to using manipulative and sometimes even violent tactics in order to get her way and Cathy is often on the receiving end of it.Julia Davis is one of the most unfunniest women on the planet. I've had more laughs watching a glove puppet perform. Angus Deaton and Rebecca Front both got on my nerves as well. Mark Gatiss had better scripts to work off with Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton in 'The League Of Gentlemen' while sexy Felicity Montagu has appeared in far better things than this such as 'Alexei Sayle's Stuff' and 'Who Dares Wins'.'Nighty Night' thankfully ended after two series, though how it even got to be commissioned in the first place is a mystery.

(The following review was originally published 20 Jan 2004 as the first review of this title to appear here. Deleted after a user request, it has been edited and re-submitted.)"Nighty Night" details the life and loves of the most self-absorbed woman on earth, Jill Farrell, played by series creator Julia Davis. In the first scene she sits in the hospital with her husband Terry (the surprisingly normal Kevin Eldon) and they have just been told the test results. She bewails her fate, crying "Why does everything have to happen to *me*!" Her husband turns to her, comfortingly, and says, "Look love, it'll be OK. It's really not that bad. It is ME who's got the cancer!" In the second scene she is at a computer dating service. Not content with whoever they may come up with for Jill to go out with between hospital visits, she also sets her sights on neighbour Don, (Angus Deayton), a doctor whose wife, Cathy (Rebecca Front), is a victim of Multiple Sclerosis.Davis has specialised in playing these kinds of women in recent years, most notably in Rob Brydon's "Human Remains" and Chris Morris's "Jam". Jill is all entirely her own work and she has really plumbed the depths of the human psyche to create a woman who cares for nothing and nobody but herself, to a psychotic degree. Instead of "Nighty Night" perhaps the programme should have been called "Nicely Nice", because it is people's niceness, or at least their desire that things remain nice, that allows Jill to get away with the most appalling insensitivity and self-regard.The characterisation of Jill is perfectly done, as are the characterisations of the other people, from poor confused Terry (not realising that he isn't getting any visitors because Jill told everyone he'd already died), Don who is caring for Cathy, but obviously doesn't really "care" for her any more. Particularly brilliant is Rebecca Front's performance as Cathy, caught between dissatisfaction with her straying husband, outrage at Jill's antics but paralysed - not just physically - by her inability to make a fuss. These are fantastically well observed. Other characters, such as Stefan, Jill's putative blind date, and Linda the asthmatic girl in Jill's beauty salon who loves to massage feet, are more exaggerated but well performed.This is not laugh-a-minute hysterical comedy by any means, but continues the uncomfortable black comedy trend hinted at by Steve Coogan's characters, and more wilfully pursued by Chris Morris and Rob Brydon (with all of whom Julia Davis has previously acted.)

Whether you like "Nighty Night" is dependent on whether you like this sort of thing. I will grant you this, it is not easy to watch at times, it is very dark, often unsubtle, heartless and extremely vicious. But there are some very funny parts too, thanks to the stellar performances and the deliberately over-the-top writing that is most likely to shock people with the amount of depth it goes into. Plus it is very unfliching at how cruel the characters can be to one another. There are times when we find the characters unsympathetic, with the exception of perhaps Cathy and Terry but I personally think that was intended.The performances are stellar. Julia Davis throws herself into this, and gives a genius turn as Jill, an "evil" neighbour and an incompetent hair stylist. Angus Deayton is also superb as Don Cole, who is facing a very difficult situation, as is Rebecca Front as Cathy, a really sympathetic character that we constantly feel sorry for. Overall, clearly this isn't for everyone, but I for one find it entertaining. 8/10 Bethany Cox

If you liked the "cringe comedy" of "The Office" but it you could go to even deeper levels of discomfort, try "Nighty Night." Julia Davis is ABSOLUTELY FEARLESS in her role. In my mind, she might be the best comedian on TV today.Instead of an Office, its Jill's beauty salon which is a perfect setting for someone who is as totally self-absorbed as Jill. If I taught a course in psychology I'd make this series required viewing for the unit on borderline personality disorder.If you are as infatuated with the actress Jill Davis as I am, you might also want to check out "Human Remains" where she plays a very different character in each episode. She's just amazing.