Back

The writing is satisfyingly excellent. Dark humour, much as with peep show, causes that pleasingly awful cringe. Where this differs is that the tension arches its back from the first episode to the last, like a malevolent cat performing a tickle stretch.

The level of observational comedy in this is so consistent, I begin to wonder if the writers discovered an unwritten diary of mine labelled "things I half-noticed, but neither properly analysed, nor was diligent enough to write down."

As for the compelling darkness, "Back" opens out intrigues to outdo much "serious" TV drama. These are the shadows of comedy - a perspective on real lives that can handle being pushed into caricature.

One of the best things I've seen on TV.