Paul Jackson brought the practical skills of light entertainment to alternative comedy. We value the way The Young Ones makes its disorder readable, though its directors sometimes press a joke long after we have got it.
Fi1m perspective
In The Young Ones (1982), even the house has a mind of its own. We laughed at the sentient setting because it could supply a joke before the performers had said anything. That is a useful place to start with Paul Jackson: the comedy depends on somebody making an unreasonable idea clear enough to enjoy. We rate that skill, though the credit belongs to several people.
Jackson shares the directing credit with Geoff Posner and Ed Bye, and the distinction matters. Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson provide much of the noise; the staging has to let us see what is funny inside it. At its best, the series gives an absurd idea time to register without trying to make it sensible. Editor Colin Jones helps the interruptions land, so that a break in the action can itself become the joke.
The career makes more sense if we keep his producing work in view. Jackson worked in mainstream light entertainment before encountering the alternative comedy scene in 1980. He produced Three of a Kind (1981), with Tracey Ullman and Lenny Henry. Later came executive producing Red Dwarf (1988) and producing the pilot and early episodes of Bottom (1991). Backing performers was a substantial part of the job, and helps explain why his contribution cannot be measured just by what he directed.
The reservation is there in The Young Ones, too: the people organising the chaos do not always know when to stop. Some jokes receive so much encouragement from direction and performance that the surprise has worn off before the series moves on. A quicker cut would sometimes do more than another push from the actors. That insistence can tire us, but it does not cancel the pleasure of seeing the setting, staging and performances all contribute to the comedy. Start here for Jackson, with some tolerance for a joke that refuses to leave.
Biography
Paul Jackson is a British television producer and director. Born Kevin Paul Jackson on 2 October 1947 in London, he is the son of producer T. Leslie Jackson. He joined the BBC around 1970 and rose through the ranks in light entertainment, working on series including The Two Ronnies.
Jackson produced The Young Ones (1982), which helped introduce alternative comedy to mainstream British television. He also produced Three of a Kind (1981–1983) and served as executive producer on Red Dwarf (1988) and producer on Bottom (1991). He later held senior executive positions at companies including Carlton and ITV.
Jackson won BAFTA awards and received multiple nominations for his work in entertainment programming.
