All is not well in the Higher Education sector if the fictional Kirke University in this Channel 4 sitcom is anything to go by. The Vice Chancellor Jonty de Wolfe is a bigoted megalomaniac prone to bawling at staff and students through a megaphone, while the cream of the English department, Professor Matt Beer, is far more interested in philandering than teaching. With the University under threat after a massive error by the accountancy team, the only ray of sunshine seems to be the arrival of mousy Mathematics queen, Imogen Moffat, author of the bestselling book The Joy of Zero. But even this is spoiled when she finds herself locked in a love feud between the lecherous Beer and nice but dim sports scholar Flatpack.
Despite a completely different cast, its impossible not to compare Campus to director Victoria Piles previous zany, frequently hilarious, sometimes frustrating medical comedy hit Green Wing. This is a shame because on initial inspection, Campus comes out of the comparison badly. While Green Wing had at least one normal character, played by Tamsin Greig, Campus initially doesnt appear to have any. Despite a great performance, Andy Nymans Vice Chancellor is initially so monstrous and frankly racist, that hes difficult to like, likewise Joseph Millsons lecherous lecturer.
In fact, the show really only gets into swing after a few episodes, a real shame as few viewers will have ever got that far. Nymans Vice Chancellor grows into a more likeable almost magical character and (as with Green Wing) a number of romantic relationships, notably between accounts team Will Adamsdale and Sara Pascoe, are handled very sweetly alongside a lot of ongoing sexual harassment, brutality and violence.
Sadly, unlike Green Wing, which received the rare boost for a British sitcom of being advertised at the cinema, Channel 4 sneaked this one out, apparently hoping nobody would notice it was on.
The bonus features include a solid making of… feature and a video of the cast performing a version of Eternal Flame.
Overall Verdict: Some comedy gold, here especially from comic/magician Andy Nyman, but its ultimately a flop. Hence why this review is headed Campus, rather than Campus: Series One.
Special Features:
Behind The Scenes Feature
Deleted Scenes
Flame Remix
Reviewer: Chris Hallam