BCG Daily Thursday 23rd December 2010

Radio review: iGod

A quarter of an hour of the odd, the anarchic - and the often very, very funny.

TV Matters: Miranda and Peep Show

There are good reasons why both sitcoms went for the single-room location this week...

Frankie Boyle condemned in race row

Frankie Boyle has been criticised for using racially derogatory language on his Channel 4 show.

Frankie Boyle controversy: should he be banned?

A debate about whether or not Frankie Boyle should be banned from TV after his use of abusive language.

Matt Lucas finds 'refuge' in the world of musicals

Comedy actor Matt Lucas has revealed that musicals became his "refuge" from the world when he lost his hair and suffered health problems as a child.

The double act's popularity is still booming

For years The Two Ronnies were regarded as unfunny and unfashionable - now we're once more celebrating their brand of humour.

Heard the one about the teenage stand-ups?

After-school comedy clubs are a breeding ground for new talent and an all-round confidence booster, teachers say. But can humour be learned?

C4: Boyle's use of racial language intended as satire

Broadcaster hits back after Commons committee chair attacks comedian's jibes about war in Afghanistan as 'deeply offensive'.

Charlie Brooker's 2010 quiz

Charlie Brooker has scoured through a whole year's worth of cultural detritus to test your knowledge of what was really important during the last 12 months...

TV review: Accidental Farmer

Although well performed, the whole thing was so deeply, deeply unoriginal it was hard not to groan at every creaky plot twist. It'll probably run for five series.

Interview: Eric & Ernie's Bryan Dick

Dancer turned actor Bryan Dick tells Metro about his role as the straight man in the BBC's new take on Morecambe & Wise's early career...

The Now Show Christmas Panto

It's Christmas! That must mean it's time for The Now Show Panto. And it is. Here's producer Colin Anderson with more.

Alan Carr wants to reunite with Justin Lee Collins

Alan Carr wants to work with Justin Lee Collins again.

Interview: Richard Herring

Richard Herring talks about the ups and downs of his career thus far, the motivation behind his Hitler Moustache and Christ On A Bike shows, and his time working with fellow comedian Stewart Lee...

National praise for Tees comedy

The first New Year show by a Teesside comedy club has been listed as a nationwide highlight alongside events in London, Edinburgh and Birmingham.

Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story: Review

The iconic stand up comic is portrayed candidly in this unmissable film.

Blog: Bijou trailerettes and purloined sausage rolls

It is that time of year when Elgar's tin of cat-food has snow on the letters of the word 'VALUE' and sprigs of holly round the dents.

Radio Times review

Half an hour in real time, in the house of a middle-aged couple (Alfred Molina and Dawn French) who have Just Got In from work. No scenes outside. No other characters. Few traditional "jokes". Is that the recipe for the year's best sitcom? Yes, because comedy is character and these characters were exquisite.

With writers Emma and Beth Kilcoyne having nailed the peculiar rhythms and catchphrases of long-term cohabitants, almost everything this melancholy but sweetly supportive pair said could raise a low-key, warm titter.

But the series wasn't content with being a perfectly observed micro-comedy about marriage. As that melancholy took over, and Val and Roger's charming vulnerability assumed a darker, more dramatic hue, we learnt that they were bound together not just by domestic convenience, but by grief. The searingly sad fourth episode, where the nature of that loss was revealed, was the best half-hour of telly of 2010 in any genre.

Radio Times review

The most unfairly criticised comedy of the year, with sages queuing up to make the shattering observation that Simon Amstell can't act. Why would he need to? He was playing himself in a sitcom about a comedian who, despite considerable success, is paralysed by neuroses and has no communication skills, especially when stuck with his brash, unstarry relatives. Mumbling and nearly corpsing worked for Jerry Seinfeld and were what was required here.

Amstell's merciless dissection of his own personality gave Grandma's House its real-com edge, but more importantly, it had a fabulous cast (Rebecca Front, Samantha Spiro, James Smith) enjoying a script full of spiky but affectionate family ding-dongs, in a Royles/Gavin & Stacey vein. When the later episodes introduced classic sitcom plotting - intricate, chaotic, accelerating - Grandma's House got even better.

Radio Times review

Even more brutally self-lacerating than Simon Amstell's portrayal of himself in Grandma's House was this extraordinary confessional from Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon.

A shapeless, talky, part-improvised thing with the will-this-do premise of the pair touring the north of England to review restaurants, The Trip saw Coogan play a needy, competitive egotist, terrified of career stagnation and depressed by his wrecked personal life.

Brydon, equally bravely, presented a comedian who's addicted to easy laughs, constantly doing impressions to avoid being himself. Yes, it was incredibly funny - a whole half-hour could be dedicated to Coogan and Brydon trading impersonations and improvisations, and many episodes weren't far off doing just that. But The Trip stood out as one of the most uncompromising celebs-as-themselves comedies ever.

Radio Times review

This apparently very gentle comedy about Adam Smallbone (Tom Hollander), an unfortunate urban vicar, stealthily gained momentum during its run in the summer. Church-goers appreciated seeing a man of the cloth who wasn't a bumbling, asexual square, but the godless could well appreciate the Reverend's very earthly problems: self-doubt, professional frustration and nagging temptation.

Rev wasn't above the odd broad, visual gag either, while the sly social comment - Adam's frequent despair at vulgar modern society was hard to disagree with - made it rich, rounded and intelligent viewing.

Radio Times review

A lovely little three-parter, hiding on BBC4 but getting a repeat on BBC2 in the new year.

What could be more relaxing than a ramble in the gorgeous, grassy Chilterns? Many things, if you're a member of the walking group led by Bob, a fussy fighter of tiny battles.

Played by Mark Heap in incredibly Mark Heapy fashion, Bob was a textbook example of a sitcom character who craves control but is surrounded by uncontrollable kooks. The characters never became cartoons despite a welter of carefully constructed funny lines.