Two Doors Down: Doon Mackichan steals the show

Doon Mackichan steals the show in this Burns Night horror.

Two Doors Down is fun with a strong cast

Two Doors Down (BBC Two) originally arrived on New Year's Eve 2013 as a one-hour, one-off comedy about a Hogmanay gathering gone wrong. It returned for a third series last night with an episode about another Scottish institution, Burns Night, complete with haggis, tatties and malt whisky, and proceeded to lacerate it for the next half hour.

Two Doors Down reunites us with Eric and Beth (Alex Norton and Arabella Weir) a middle-aged Glaswegian couple who are part of a close-knit neighbourhood. From the opening instalment I got the impression that each episode of the series will be based around one crisis or another that the neighbours have with the rest of the street getting involved in the process. This time it was Eric's late night hunt for oven chips that led to Beth's freezer being left open overnight and completely ruining all the food that was in it. This prompts Beth to invite friends and family around to sample a buffet that includes everything from vegetable pakoras to apple pie. Drafted into help in the kitchen is Cathy (Doon Mackichan), Beth's neighbour who can't help but pass comment on how big her freezer is in comparison to her friend's and how it pains to even help put stuff in the oven. The other story running throughout this first episode is that of Eric and Beth's son Ian (Jamie Quinn) who is about to move in with his boyfriend Jaz (Harki Bhambra) but isn't keen to tell his parents just yet. Whilst Two Doors Down wasn't laugh-out-loud funny what I enjoyed about the show was the way in which you identified with at least one of the characters. I feel most people know an Eric or a Beth or a Cathy and therefore it's not a hard task to imagine these people living on your street. The central gag of the freezer breaking down is an equally realistic conceit and the scene in which Beth and Cathy were trying to work out what went in the oven and what temperature was very funny indeed. I feel that the sitcom's creator Simon Carlyle has a very good ear for everyday dialogue and that's true of both Two Doors Down and his work on Boy Meets Girl. The cast are equally on form with Norton, Weir and Mackichan the highlights of a strong ensemble who were all trying their best to make the show work. My only criticism of Two Doors Down at this early stage is that the supporting characters don't feel as well-realised as the main cast which is true of Ian and Jaz as well as Sharon Rooney's Sophie who doesn't get to do much at all. Overall I would say that Two Doors Down is a promising and likeable sitcom that contains believable characters and situations which is something I couldn't say a lot of other contemporary comedies.

One of the best new sitcoms of the twelve months, BBC Three's Bluestone 42, presented a sometimes bleak festive instalment.

Part of the problem with a comedy focusing on a bomb disposal squad in Afghanistan is sometimes life will more than imitate art. So, after the tragic death of a British soldier in Afghanistan, Bluestone 42 had to be postponed and eventually aired on Boxing Day.

Despite its seemingly controversial nature, Bluestone 42 has its roots in traditional sitcoms such as Dad's Army and It Ain't Half Hot Mum. While the class warfare between Nick and Towerblock was the primary story of the episode there was a lot of comedy courtesy of foul-mouthed Scottish duo Mac and Rocket (Jamie Quinn and Scott Hoatsan). The combination of social commentary and big belly laughs makes Bluestone 42 a real treat and, judging from this Christmas Special, it's a sitcom that will definitely improve with age.