'Gavin & Stacey' a complete joy

Gavin & Stacey
Tuesdays, 8:40 p.m.
BBC America

I don’t know what the hell is wrong with the people who made “Gavin & Stacey.” None of the characters has supernatural powers. They’re not being chased by anyone, they aren’t unknowingly part of a sinister government plot and they’re not rich or glamorous or gorgeous.

They’re just sweet, ordinary people surrounded by sweet, ordinary, slightly quirky people.

And who’s gonna watch that?

You, if you’re smart, because this British romantic comedy series is a complete joy.

“Gavin & Stacey” tells the whirlwind story of a British man and a Welsh woman, both in their 20s, who meet by phone when they’re transacting business. After six months of chatting, they decide to get together in London. They both bring their best friends for moral support.

What happens for them after that are romances, friendships, antagonism, sex, drinking and lots of driving between England and Wales.

What happens for you is the sheer pleasure of spending time with these charming characters and watching these relationships blossom. Matthew Horne, who plays Gavin, and Joanna Page (Stacey) are perfect together as the title characters in the throes of love. You can see the passion in their eyes.

Better still are their best friends. Gavin’s lifelong chum Smithy (James Corden) is an overweight, beer-swilling, good-hearted lug; Stacey’s is the surly, glowering tattooed man-hound, Nessa (Ruth Jones). Corden and Jones created and wrote this show, and they’ve given themselves the juiciest parts. It’s as if the seven deadly sins have come to life in the form of two people.

Also in the mix are Gavin’s parents, Pam (who calls her son “my little prince”) and Mick; Stacey’s mom, Gwen; and Uncle Bryn, who goes on and on and on about things like driving directions and the magic of digital cameras. Rob Brydon is the actor who plays Bryn, and he’s superb. If Steve Carrell ever left “The Office,” Brydon could step right in.

Beyond them are several minor characters that make memorable appearances, including a married couple who despise each other and a bus driver who allows smoking on his vehicle. “My motto is: fags and weed, glue and speed,” he says. “But I draws [cq] the line at crack. That way, everyone knows where they stand.”

Along with this splendid assortment of characters are stories that mix enormous laughs with some of the most touching scenes you’ll ever see. (The best of those involves Stacey and Bryn.) I don’t want to tell you much about what happens, because this series is a wild 13-episode ride that deserves to be experienced with as few spoilers as possible.

Be forewarned: Some of the British pop culture references will mean nothing to us, and sometimes the accents are thicker than Smithy’s midsection. But I’ve watched six of the 13 episodes and I can’t recall a show with such heart and genuineness. A complete and total pleasure, this is. Or as these characters might put it, crackin’!