How come I never ever saw or heard about this?

I recently watched both series of this show, and I really do recommend it. It was pretty much buried in the schedules on its original British transmission - late on Sunday nights on BBC2 from what I recall. I seem to remember that Charlotte Coleman died not long after series 2 was made, very tragically, which probably helped bring the show to a premature end.

Looking at your Likess & Hates, I don't expect you to dislike this show at all. It is almost certainly Simon Nye's best work (I share your concerns at his variability, but this is unquestionably at the good end of his work).

The cast are all excellent - Dylan Moran isn't the familiar curmudgeon from stuff like Black Books, but he's just as effective in this show, where he's at his most charming. Charlotte Coleman is also excellent, and the guest cast are frequently brilliant. Peter Serafinowicz (the flat mate from Shawn of the Dead) has probably never had a better role than his terrifying giant-child brother-in-law character in this. Frank Finlay is also very scary as the Father In Law from Hell - seriously, much of the comedy comes from Moran's creeping and not unreasonable suspicion that Finlay is trying to arrange his 'accidental' death! The great Mark Heap is also in this, as are Emma Thingy From The Vicar Of Dibley (a fine actress, not reduced to playing the ditz in this one), and Clive Merrison appears as a very scary lunatic headmaster in a number of episodes.

In tone the show is very gentle, surprisingly - despite its darkness it is basically a love story, which is sweetly and convincingly played by Moran and Coleman. But that's not to say that it's sickly or emotive - just about two people who want to be together, despite the obstacles. There's no soppy 'romance' in this, just a believable emotional depth to the central relationship.

The genius of the thing - as you may have gathered from other threads - is that this show is basically Straw Dogs as a Sitcom. For me it's the very peak of Nye's career, and a tragically forgotten piece of work. Buy it now - I would be amazed if you didn't like it by episode 3 (especially given your good taste in British comedy!).