 Kneale 's next television series was a departure from his usual style — Kinvig , his sole attempt at writing a sitcom , produced by London Weekend Television and broadcast on ITV in the autumn of 1981 . Although his first out @-@ and @-@ out comedy , Kneale was keen to stress that there had always been elements of humour present throughout his scripts , and some of the press reaction to Kinvig was positive . " If you like the idea of the Hitch @-@ Hiker 's Guide but found its realization tiresomely hysterical you may well prefer Kneale 's relaxed wit . Cast splendid , direction deft , " was The Times 's preview of the first episode . However , the series was not a success , although Kneale later remained personally pleased with it . 
