Jam (2000)
Plot.
Where to Watch.
Cast & Crew.
Chris Morris
Various / Creator / Music / Producer / Sound Designer / Director / Music / Sound Designer
Kevin Eldon
Various / Writer
Mark Heap
Various / Writer
David Cann
Various
Julia Davis
Various
Amelia Bullmore
Various / Writer
John Whitehall
Utility Sound
Philippa Catt
Line Producer
Edward Sharpe
Third Assistant Director
Kevin Hedges
Carpenter
John A. Parry
Sound Recordist
Clive Sait
Electrician
Andy Hollis
Director of Photography
Christine Cant
Hair Designer / Makeup Designer / Makeup Designer / Hair Designer
Paul Barlow
Gaffer
Stuart Clayton
Focus Puller
Michael Plumley
Electrician
Clayton Lonie Jr.
Online Editor
Tim Youngman
Dressing Prop
Mathew Wood
Editor
Laurie Griffiths
Carpenter
Jodi Moore
Location Assistant
Georgina Warrington
Production Runner
Adrian Sutton
Music / Sound Designer / Sound Designer / Music
Marvyn Young
Editor
Paul de Csernatony
Property Master
Michala Jermy
Props
James Grimes
Grip
Melanie Levack
Wardrobe Supervisor
Dennis De Groot
Production Design
Nigel Heath
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
James Feltham
Colorist
Ed Suter
Location Manager
Christine Moses
Script Supervisor
Alex McLeod
Production Coordinator
Nigel Pinhay
Props
Jess Kitley
Property Buyer
Sean Clayton
Second Assistant Director
Julian Slater
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
Giles Gale
Dresser
Kevin Jones
Dresser
Morag Webster
Unit Medic
Peter Fincham
Executive Producer
Tristram Shapeero
First Assistant Director
Dick Lunn
Art Direction
Juliette Tomes
Makeup Artist
Sally Debonnaire
Head of Production
Rebecca Neale
Researcher
John Crossland
Sound Engineer
Chris Cheshire
Director of Photography
Ian Biggs
Clapper Loader
Alf Tramontin
Steadicam Operator
Chris Hyde
Camera Operator
Casper Leaver
Clapper Loader
Terry Forrestal
Stunts
Jeff Hewitt-Davis
Stunt Coordinator
Paul Herbert
Stunts
Sue Broom
Animal Wrangler
Carol Jones
Animal Wrangler
Tony Lucken
Stunts
Ian Willis
Animal Wrangler
Andy Little
Unit Medic
Trevor Smith
Animal Wrangler
David London
Animal Wrangler
Julian Spencer
Stunts
Gary Powell
Stunts
Jamie Edgell
Stunt Coordinator
Tom Delmar
Stunt Coordinator
Billy Sneddon
Editor
Dirk Greene
Online Editor
Alex Marsden
Sound Recordist
Michael Fentum
Sound Editor
Media.
Details.
This TV Show Is About.
Wiki.
Jam is a British experimental black comedy sketch show, created, co-written, produced and directed by Chris Morris. It was broadcast on Channel 4 between 23 March and 27 April 2000. It was based on the earlier BBC Radio 1 show, Blue Jam, and consists of an unconnected series of disturbing and surreal sketches, unfolding over an ambient soundtrack. Many of the sketches re-used the original radio soundtracks with the actors lip-synching their lines, an unusual technique which added to the programme's unsettling atmosphere, and featured unorthodox use of visual effects and sound manipulation.
The sketches themselves would often begin with a simple premise, e.g. two parents showing indifference to the whereabouts of their young child, and then escalate it with ever-more disturbing developments (the parents being phoned to come and identify the child's corpse, but asking if it can instead be taxied to their home, as they don't want to interrupt their evening). The cast, composed of actors Morris had worked with in his early satirical shows, such as The Day Today and Brass Eye, included Amelia Bullmore, David Cann, Julia Davis, Kevin Eldon, and Mark Heap, as well as occasional appearances from Morris himself.
Morris introduced each episode in the style of a surreal compère, reading free form poetry over a nightmarish montage, often depicting someone as their life spirals out of control (for instance, one montage sees an unkempt man drinking from a bottle in a bag as he walks down the street, before being kidnapped by "dung-breathed men" and forced to wrestle pigs in the Fens).
Jam was co-written by Peter Baynham, with additional material contributed by Jane Bussmann, David Quantick, Graham Linehan, Arthur Mathews and the cast themselves. The show perplexed audiences and critics on its initial broadcast. Some hailed it as breakthrough, daringly original television, while others dismissed it as merely sickening and juvenile.