Gigglebox Weekly #33 – Milton Jones’s House of Rooms

Gigglebox Weekly With Ian Wolf

This week Channel 4 broadcasted their latest Comedy Showcase pilot, starring and co-written by one-liner master Milton Jones, playing a landlord living with his mother.

Having seen this pilot, I can sum up my reaction to it with one word: brilliant. This is possibly the best TV pilot I’ve seen, so much so I was laughing all the way through.

To give you an idea of how good I found it, I’d like to explain that when I normally review a show for this column I have a notepad with me to jot down anything I find especially funny or noteworthy. There was so much that I liked in House of Rooms that I found it hard to keep up…

Not only were there the usual one-liners we’ve come to expect from Jones, but there were many enjoyable characters – the gas man seemingly in love with Milton, for example. Then there was the visual humour which kicked off the show when a bin man came onto the screen to pick up the opening titles. Plus there was Milton carrying a balloon model of a complex chemical structure, and resident Alice (Cordelia Bugeja) feeding her cat a delicately prepared roast. There’s so much to like here.

Another thing of note with this pilot is that for such a gag-heavy show I was surprised that there wasn’t a studio audience. Also the house itself, in particular the lighting, had a rather moody atmosphere to it, adding to the surreal and slightly odd world the show had created.

I’m certainly hoping Channel 4 gives the show a full series. On this showing it deserves it.