Brits don't get jokes about altoids or Mickey Mantle. Gags about chavs or the WI are lost on Americans. So can a British stand-up comedian get a laugh in Lafayette? And can an American have them chortling in Chorley? Comedy Exchange aims to find out.

The idea of this format is that two comedians change places to do a series of performances on new territory. They meet their counterpoint's agents, friends and comedy experts who pass on the secrets of comedy in this new world, and the comedian must then try out their act in ever more prestigious venues.

At the beginning of the show, it's a small-scale venue that matches their newfound obscurity, they then go to a mid-sized venue, and each show builds up to a nerve-wracking final bang: a theatre venue packed to the rafters.

In addition to these gigs, the comedians each explore the comedy industry in their new territory. TV spots, radio shows, corporate bookings etc, and get face-to-face advice from that country's top comedy talents... anything that'll help them turn a tumbleweed routine into a comedy conquest. And finally each comedian watches a DVD of the others performance and evaluate their journey through comedy in a foreign land.

In the pilot episode Britain's Phill Jupitus and US comedian Eugene Mirman each attempt to make their stand-up routines work in the other's home country.

Our Review: An interesting pilot, but one that slightly drags - there's not quite enough material to fill a full hour, 45 minutes would have been better.

The stand-up sets themselves are very interesting though: Phill Jupitus hasn't performed stand-up for a number of years, and his first gig in the USA bombs as the jokes he uses rely on too many British references (the mention of Frosties clearly has the audience puzzled). Jupitus' final set is great though.

Meanwhile, it was interesting to learn more about Eugene Mirman (who played the landlord in Flight Of The Conchords) and hear his thoughts on the UK comedy scene and our culture (at one point he talks about paedophilia during a Radio Five Live interview, which clearly is a mistake - yet, as he rightly points out, our newspapers are full of such stories, hence he assumed it was ok to mention on the radio in the morning too).

There's clearly enough mileage in the format for channel Dave to get a full series out of this idea, so let's hope they do give the show the greenlight so we can see more exchanges like this.