It centred on a group of people with various disabilities supposedly marooned on an island for a few months. The concept, even as satire, jarred with me but reality TV is not my bag so I would say that, wouldn't I?
The squabbles and political incorrectness were a reminder that people with disabilities were much the same as anyone else. Or at least anyone who appears on Big Brother.
That those of us in the mainstream need reminding of this, even in a satirical take, was presumptious but this is a minor quibble - and one not shared by disabled people interviewed by The Independent.
Each episode uses intermittent flashbacks to focus on the lives off the island of each character.
And this is where Cast Offs excels.
Last night it was the turn of Dan, a former rugby player made paraplegic in a car accident, who was struggling to come to terms with his disability.
We could probably have done without Dan's father taking his son's wheelchair for a test drive around the living room (predictably, he fell off). But Dan's change of lifestyle from rugby player to paraplegic basketball player probably chimes with those who find themselves in a wheelchair after having spent their entire life out of one.
The programme followed the drunken, raucous evenings out with his team-mates and dared to raise the subject of sex.
There was an awkward moment when Dan offered a prospective (non-disabled) girlfriend money for sex but this only reflected his lack of self-esteem.
Peace made between the two, they returned to Dan's home, swung past his shocked parents with barely a mutter exchanged and into his bedroom. Mum and dad turned up the television and thought about a nice cup of tea.
These vignettes convinced me that there is a comedy to be made about disability - or at least a comedy with a disabled character in a main role.
As for the goings-on on the island...they all felt incidental to the flashbacks. Perhaps that was intentional and Channel 4 is using Cast Offs as a pilot for something grander. I hope so.
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