User reviews

This show made me laugh at points but a lot of it just felt forced and contrived. One of the great things about Little Britain - another sketch show - is that it feels natural and the characters are so believable. Each character on this show feels so forced and overdone and you want to laugh because Jocelyn tries so hard, but you just can't laugh.

The Voodoo diet planner was somewhat funny the first time, but after that it's just repetitive.

The car-parking attendant is an example of one who tries so hard to pull laughs. She jumps out of glove compartments. She wears crayola makeup. Her uniform is obviously a handmade costume from the producers. She just appears as a cartoon! Others are too long, too contrived or just plain unfunny. What this show lacks is subtlety.

Another thing that annoys me is how Jocelyn is churning out the catchprases! She really wants t-shirts, coffee cups, mimics, songs and everything to come from this show and it's catchprases. "This is going to take a long time." "I'm calling mum, that ain't right."

I give it 5 because it's still pretty OK and there are funny bits but a lot of it isn't that great. I only watched the first episode and will give it another go tonight.

I'm disappointed thought because I was such a huge fan of 3 Non Blondes.

Little Miss Jocelyn is one of the most brilliant of comedy shows. Its depth is often unappreciated. Take these characters: Liz: a biting satire of white man's exoticisation of black women. Fiona: a woman who is so conditioned by prevalent (but generally unspoken) racist opinions that she espouses them wholeheartedly to the point of denying her own 'black' identity, save finally exploding at the end of the sketch by 'fulfilling' the most racist and outrageous of anti-black clichés. Mrs Omwukupopo: another incisive satire playing up to white people's prejudices towards so-called 'black sexuality'. Throughout Jocelyn Lee Esien plays on either reversing white prejudices or on reproducing them for satiric effect highlighting the racist views that British society is full of and is not aware of subscribing to, or cannot quite admit to in public (except perhaps in the dark corners of a pub), thanks to its often hypocritical adherence to 'political correctness'. I imagine many white people will find the show distasteful, but that is the whole purpose of it, to throw back in their faces the types of prejudices that their society itself often holds against Africans. Of course that is just one level. There is another. Little Miss Jocelyn is a comedy about the African community in the UK laughing about itself and its idiosyncrasies. Many of her sketches are part of the classic repertoire of 'country (call-a-spade-a-spade) bumpkin goes to the metropolis of political correctness' and can be found in many other comedies about/by migrants (not only African) living in the so-called 'advanced' economies.

I am not surprised but saddened by the axing of the program.

After succumbing to the ram-it-down-your-throat hype campaign for this show, I thought I'd give it a whirl after tonight's episode of "Never Mind The Buzzcocks" had faded off the screen. And I can honestly say that instead of sitting on my couch with an expression of bemused disgust on my face for thirty minutes, I wish I had simply stood up and head-butted the wall until my face bled.

This is quite simply the worst programme I have ever seen masquerading as television comedy. Ever. Including that god awful one with Jasper Carrot where his kid's in a wheelchair or something. Watching "Little Miss Jocelyn" is like being hit in the face with a massive fish with the word "stupid" carved into its flank.

It beggars belief how such a show even got commissioned, let alone made it past BBC executives, producers, script meetings, rewrites and all of the normal processes every TV show goes through, only to end up as this steaming pile of pig's offal. The only conclusion I can draw is that those in charge of our entertainment industry - get ready for the irony - really don't have the first clue about entertainment.

But hey, I could sit here and bitch all day. let's go through the show. I watched. She did a cheap, "Last Of The Summer Wine"-esquire wheelchair out of control sketch. The audience whooped. I was silent but carried on watching. She dressed as a man in a fat suit. The audience howled. I was silent and carried on watching. She screamed repeatedly like a distressed boar for the entire duration of a sketch. The audience loved it, seemingly unaware of the Stupid Fish continuing its terrific facial barrage. Televisual root canal work. I carried on watching. A sketch with absolutely no direction - which appeared to be about some fitness fanatics or something - meandered on for about ten minutes. The audience seemed to like this as well, but by that time there was no doubt in my mind that they were being held at gunpoint. A small whimper escaped as I realised I had lost the use of my legs.

I implore anyone who hasn't seen this show to give it a watch. You'll see just how bad television comedy can be. And a note to the BBC - There are tonnes of perfectly talented ethnic minority comedians out there. Don't give a show to the first one who comes along just to fill your quota.

I really don't understand why so many people dislike this show. It certainly holds its own against all the other character based sketch shows that have appeared over the last few years.

I didn't like her previous show 3 Non Blondes & had low expectations. Admittedly, there are a few sketches that fail to hit the mark (especially in the first series), but the majority make me laugh out loud. With such a large variety of characters & ideas there will always be some that you won't like. However, the richness of 'Little Miss Jocelyn' stems from this variety. Characters such as the Nigerian Driving Instructor, the Toilet Attendant, the Disgusting Shop worker, Gladys Kingston the foul mouthed man hater, the Dietician / Witchdoctor, Tantrum Woman and the Traffic Warden are used in the context of sketches but also in the real world in a hidden camera show style. This works beautifully & shows just how versatile & inventive Jocelyn Jee Esien is. Her skill at portraying so many very different comic characters (Old women, teenagers, men etc) in a convincing manner is impressive & so is the attention to detail. The Bus Driver & Traffic Attendant are absolutely spot on in the way they behave & speak and they're worryingly close to the real people who do those jobs.

I love Gladys Kingston, the funeral chasing old ladies, the Umwopwopwopwops and the Toilet Attendant. Just give this show a chance. Don't avoid it just because a few people here hate it.

OK, I simply adore this new comedy sketch show by 3 Non Blondes star, Jocelyn Jee Esien. But first of all, I must admit that this show is an acquired taste. The less positive comments about it are understandable, considering the sketch material.

But for me, it is Esien's sheer versatility and wide-range of characters, that make this a winning formula. She becomes that character and adopts a whole new persona, in each sketch! My favourites include acid-tongued, man hating Gladys Kingston, Fiona the office employee who believes that no-one knows that she is black, Jiffy the busy-body traffic warden with her love for stopping ordinary people and lecturing them on various topics, and so on. Her facial expressions are just priceless, too.

You either love or hate it. I personally can't get enough of it.

Nothing to laugh at here. The new series seems to have sketches interspersed occasionally with real life situations (as with the traffic warden) that are just cringe worthy. The few jokes are based around ethnicity - even a distinctly unoriginal crack at Welsh accents. Compared with excellent real-life sitcoms like "Never Better" and "Lead Balloon", and even with other below par sketch shows like Peter Serafanowic's (which at least had one sketch that cracked me up), this programme is simply atrocious.

The content is questionable as to whether or not it is racist. I don't like to judge here. "Little Britain" is similar to "Little Miss Jocelyn" in that it is a sketch show with dubious or controversial content that I think is made forgivable by the fact that it is actually funny. Perhaps the dearth of stereotypes and bad accents in the latter programme would not be as noticeable if it was even mildly amusing.

I would advise anyone to avoid this programme like the plague. The programme is comical, but unfortunately not in the way its creators intended. Even if the acting was palatable and it had some original jokes, the programme concentrates on a small range of stereotypes none of which I have encountered in my daily life. If it must be broadcast, broadcast it on BBC London.

When I watched the show for the first time I thought 'oh another Little Britain clone' but I was pleasantly surprised by the following episodes. As with all new programme's i was too quick to judge and have found myself looking forward to future episodes. However there are some sketches and characters I still don't laugh at. The bus driving character Sheson is too similar to the traffic warden character of Jiffy to me to be considered an individually comical character. Despite this I still enjoy watching the show but as a 3 non blonds fan I'm bound to be a little biased. My favourite characters in Little Miss Jocelyn are Mrs Omwukuopopo (Nigerian Polygamist), Jiffy (Parking Attendant) and Fiona (A woman who doesn't want her colleagues to learn she's black) and these characters in my opinion really make the show. A criticism i must make though is that it seems like a female version of Little Britain and The Fast Show but I don't think it was intentional on Jocelyn's behalf.

This is a perfect example of the BBC trying to get 'the ethnic vote', and failing miserably. There are lots and lots of extremely funny black comics working the UK today - Felix Dexter, for instance, has been criminally overlooked for many years and Gina Yashere, although hit and miss, is certainly ten times funnier than this tripe.

I've watched (forced myself) four episodes to try and give it as much of a chance as I could, but, aside from a couple of guilty laughs at the expense of the Nigerian parking attendant and bus driver, there is precious little here to merit even a first viewing, let alone a second.

It's clear that she is trying too hard to be funny but, whilst she may or may not be a good stand-up, the protagonist here most certainly isn't a sketch comic. Admittedly she isn't helped by the hackneyed 'fifteen year old drama students' scripts, but thinly veiled racism posing as 'laughing at ourselves' stopped being funny after the first series of Goodness Gracious Me - when the novelty value wore off.

Incidentally - why is it that, during an age when there is increasingly serious racism between black kids of African and Caribbean descent in our schools, a programme which, basically, is 25 minutes of p***-taking between the two cultures is not considered 'racism'?

Everyone hating it and giving it one star just don't understand the subtly of the humour. There are many cultural references here to Essien's African background which is cathartic to me and other black people. I loved this show growing up because she was the only black comedian at the time; a black woman at that. She brought to light things black people understood: having to act white at work through Fiona, the stereotype of ignorant black teens shown in a comedic way, the hair dressers and the Nigerian taxi driver. When you grow up in our background, the jokes hit home and as tough as growing black in the UK has been, you're able to finally laugh at your experience. It's a light hearted way for us to finally see ourselves represented on TV. Jocelyn Essien did amazing job. I always come back to watch this show because it brings back good memories but mostly how hilarious it is. All the reviews saying it's unfunny just don't understand it is because Essien crafted a show that finally centred the black experience and was unapologetic for it. And for that, she's my idol and one day, I hope to work with her and tell her how important this show has been for inspiring my own route into writing for comedy. Love you so much Jocelyn!

Sh*te of the highest order, I'm afraid. With this sort of character based comedy it's difficult sometimes to put your finger on what makes one show funny and another not. This show appears to have similar ingredients to Little Britain; short, off-the-wall caricatures that aren't always immediately funny, but can grow on you. In Little Britain the charm and talent of the performers pull it off, but unfortunately the whole package seems to fail on Little Miss Jocelyn; unfunny sketches performed in an over-the-top gurning fashion left me cringing at the embarrassment of it all. And the BBC hasn't helped by trailing it Ad Nauseam with some of the most excruciating snippets from the show. Who commissions this stuff? It will be a looong time before I can forget this unfortunate experience...

This program is the worst I have ever seen, and believe me, I've seen Tittybangbang and Peter Serofinawicz. I'm amazed that there are people commenting here who say they love it. I suppose the explanations about recognising characters from the black community may go somewhere to explain it, but even so in that sphere, all she does is shout in a particular accent. If I was an ex-pat in eg Nigeria and a white woman came on TV shouting in cockney, that in itself might amuse for 30 seconds, but when I realise there are actually no jokes and no wit, surely the amusement wears thin? Goofy teeth, strange accents and shouting does not make comedy. Take out the rude bits and this is sub-standard children's TV.

Loved the show. It should show now on one of the paid streaming programs.

If you have the sense to read here before you waste your time watching the programme then I congratulate you.

This is positively terrible. It's pseudo comedy with dreadful acting verging on ham. I thought the idea of a comedy was to make people laugh. Sorry, I spent the first 4 programmes looking for a joke but couldn't find one.

It seems to rely on repetition as a way of getting a point across and does so in a childish manner. I would expect that high school students could not only write a better script, but would also expect some original and funny material from them.

It's no wonder people in the UK complain about having to pay a licence fee. This programme shows the worst side of British Talent and the BBC.

Don't bother watching this rubbish.

If you live in London, then you've probably "met" a lot of these characters. I'm not entirely sure that you would get a lot of it otherwise. Its strange because I didn't really like her previous show, "3 Non Blondes" much at all. Certainly one of the best attempts that I've ever seen to bring comedy with a more ethnic flavor to television. I'm not saying that its the best thing since "Father Ted", "Spaced" or "In The Thick of it" and not every sketch works, but for what it is I think it does very well and some sketches are very close to the bone (eg: the African nurse who kills the chicken in her office!)

Check it out. "Save yourself"

If you have seen 3 Non Blondes, you know what to expect. Around 30 minutes too long, you won't even smile, let alone laugh, and the worse bit is, I pay for this with my licence fee. The canned laughter exacerbates matters, as it constantly reminds you that this is supposed to be comedy.

The main problem is the fact that whoever commissioned this was probably a white male. He did not find it funny. However, he thinks that black people will find it funny. This is how BBC3 works. Next week, we'll have an unfunny comedy written by a disabled person...

Rubbish - comedy is comedy whoever writes or performs it and this dross should have been cut off at first base.

What a load of pony. When Russ Abbott's final series was aired in the early nineties I thought that I had seen the nadir of sketch show comedy in this countries. That is until I saw this load of pig's garbage last night. There must be a BBC exec somewhere who has been caught on cam indulging in something pretty shocking by LMJ as there can be no other explanation for this programme being made. I am all for diversity but the standard of comedy that this BBC initiative has produced really is of 'Eurovision regional qualifiers' standard. The sad thing is that the girl has got talent, but the material is appalling and makes Jim Bowen's asides during Bulleye seem like "The Parrott Sketch"!

I watched all the episodes one after the other on BBC 3 one night and i thought it was hilarious. Even though it isn't as funny as Catherine Tate or French and Saunders and any other leading English actresses, she really does do a variety of realistic characters.

One of my favourites has to be the teenagers on the bus, who talk about absolute crap, but it is hilarious. Another is the parking ticket women who seems to think she knows the "quain"(queen). She even has an argument on a real street rubbish collecting and it is hilarious. Another character she plays is a black posh women who seems to think if she speaks with a posh accent and dresses like she has just ages 50 billion years people won't realise she is black, is class.

I really would advise to watching this, its good to get a variety on comedy.

I luv it! Me n my girls always talk and laugh abt it! Even at the gym! There's just so much to laugh at!

The characters are excellent! The acting is the BEST! her facial expressions make me laugh the most!

only characters i don't really like is the woman with worms, the American president and the baby and the couple.

But overall, i luv it! i went out and bought the DVD! i always put it on when im in need of a good laugh!

characters which are the best for me are: traffic warden bus driver nurse mini cab driver/driving instructor bus driver ANGRY WOMEN MSSSS RAYMOND/KINGSTON (HILARIOUS!) and toilet warden...

i cant wait for the next series!!

this is comedy genius, i love this show and bought the DVD! everyone i show it to thinks it is hilarious! the best sketch is the hair dressers in episode 4 when two laydeez with attitude work in rival hair salons across the road from each other, which always result in the two laydeez having a show down as to who has done the best weave on the customer!!! this show is a breath of fresh air, a must see! also worth a look is the abusive bus driver, speaking her mind to all the poor passengers getting on the bus, there is also mrs kingston whose husband left her for a 'slut!' who claims to have no problems with men, but shouts at them at every opportunity!!!

This is for the Iceman: Man you are crazy! This series is hilarious. Seeing as you don't't get the joke, I'm wondering about your ethnic background, because if you have any connections with the Afro-Caribbean community, especially in the UK you will immediately recognise the characters and the jokes (in jokes perhaps), if so you will find this series very funny indeed. What you said reminds me of a friend of mine that is white, he does not have many friends from said community and couldn't understand or get the jokes at all. There are real people that the series is based on, I have met such people and the magnification or focus on behaviour is funny. Hey! parts of my personality are in that series (im mixed race , Nigerian and Irish parentage). Maybe you are an expert on film and comedy and trained in such but if you are Afro-Caribbean or have friends from the community then I am amazed you didn't find this series funny.