Ooh. Three new comedy series on a Thursday night – an hour and a half of pre-bedtime laughs to jolly you on your way towards Friday and the weekend. It seemed such a good idea: but last night's BBC2 comedy schedule hardly had me in stitches.
I'm not saying I'd have preferred to watch an hour-and-a-half of non-stop Michael McIntyre (that's on offer somewhere every other night, isn't it?). But seven men desperately trying to topically outfunny each other in Mock The Week, followed by Rab C Nesbitt, brought back for no reason I could discern after 10 years off air, didn't exactly make the first hour go with a swing. On the upside, Frankie Boyle wasn't raging madly about anything; even better, Bellamy's People in the 10pm slot was far better than the shows that preceded it, if not as good as it was on the radio. (Sam Wollaston's full review of the show can be found here.) But none of it was stuff to leave you clutching your sides and gasping for breath; at one point I found myself glumly wondering whether I should have spent my time watching Monty Don's return to television on catchup. Which I should have done, by the way. My Dream Farm might not have been funny, but it was warm and informative, and Monty seemed on fine form – and in any case, most of the BBC2 stuff wasn't funny either.
So: if BBC2's current Thursday night Dave-a-thon doesn't cut it in the comedy stakes, then what would your dream 90-minute comedy schedule look like? Multiple episodes are not allowed – that's what box sets are there for – but, given Rab C Nesbitt's re-emergence, old series most certainly are. What will you choose?
I'm thinking of maybe A 30 Rock/Arrested Development/Peep Show triple bill. A schedule of Black Books, Fawlty Towers, and the Mighty Boosh. Or a luxurious hour of Green Wing perhaps, preceded by my funny-girl-du-jour Miranda (a BBC2 comedy that did work, and didn't have a male lead/all male line-up. A connection perhaps?)
Your best 90 minutes please – and thoughts on BBC2's comedy line-up last night.
