Johnny Vegas

Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer first hosted their anarchic celebrity quiz show in 1993. The first of two programmes marking the show's 15th anniversary tonight is a documentary about the making of it - and, like Shooting Stars itself, the film is funny, eccentric and a little self-indulgent. Interspersed with interviews with some of the celebrities who found themselves subjected to Reeves' and Mortimer's particular kind of comedy (which veered from the surreal to the mildly offensive), the presenters themselves play various crew members reminiscing about their time working behind the scenes. This is a suitably unique way to contemplate a programme which Martine McCutcheon calls 'bizarre' and of which Larry Hagman said, "I've done some loony shows in my time but this is certainly the one."

Shooting Stars launched the career of Matt Lucas - who played scorekeeper George Dawes before he went on to global fame with David Walliams in Little Britain - and latterly also co-starred the often self-confessedly drunken comic Johnny Vegas.

Never Mind the Buzzcocks: What happens with Vegas

He was immediately on form - by which I mean funny, not ridiculous. And it wasn't long before he was over-sharing in his trademark, slightly uncomfortable way.

Filing clerks Danny (Ralf Little) and Shay (Carl Rice) share a long cherished dream to run their own record company. Danny's gran dies, leaving him £10,000, and before she is cold in her grave they have set up Shady Music. Their first job is to recruit talent to the label and what better way than to hold a Battle of the Bands night?

All this occurs within the first ten minutes of Massive, cutting to the chase with commendable brevity. Nothing kills a new sitcom quicker than a wade through exposition in episode one.

And to its credit, Massive succeeds in keeping up a cracking pace for its full 30 minutes. We see the pair bicker over their musical tastes, strut around in their new capacity as entrepreneurs, rent rat-infested offices and stop at bus stops to ask Jim Morrison lookalikes if they can sing.

It's all very entertaining and good-natured, with several good moments. Little and Rice work well with each other, and Johnny Vegas is on hand to lend comic support as Shay's kleptomaniac dad. Actually, I think I may have seen a bit too much of Vegas lately, which is ironic since he's clearly lost a lot of weight.

Massive is another silly new sitcom with Johnny Vegas. He's moved from Benidorm to Manchester, but the level of comedy hasn't changed much - all gentle roguishness, mice, too much Strongbow, falling over and exaggerated facial expressions. There's an element of X Factor about it: we're setting up a new record label, and there's a battle-of-the-bands contest to get the operation up and running. But there's much more drama in the real X Factor, and more humour. The best thing in this is a pea-soup coloured Austin Allegro. Nice wheels.

In this hip new sitcom, Johnny Vegas plays a small-time crook called Tony. We first see him crawling into a bedroom, fingers outstretched for his slumbering son's wallet. Amusing as it is to watch Vegas squirm around on the floor, the role of hapless ne'er-do-well isn't exactly new to Manchester-based comedy... In this insalubrious flat, however, dreams can come true: the son awakes to find best mate Danny (Ralf Little) has inherited £10,000. The pair decide to set up a record label and everyone, from Tony's cider-swigging wife to the estate agent, wants to be signed. There's some great facial gymnastics from wannabe rapper Swing but, apart from that, this opening double bill doesn't quite hit the mark. Let's hope it's simply a question of fine-tuning.

That two of the stars of this new music business comedy had been in Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps and Ideal doesn't bode well. And yet on the strength of the double-episode opener it looks quite promising. Likeable chancers Danny (Ralf Little) and Shay (Carl Rice) bonded over indie rock band Oasis and now dream of opening this century's version of Factory Records. When Danny is left £10,000 in his nan's will, the pair set out to fulfil their dreams by setting up Shady Music. In a disused fish warehouse with furniture nicked from an orphanage by Shay's dad, Tony (Johnny Vegas), they begin by trying to sign their first band - and their options are very limited.

Got the post-holiday September blues? Then can I recommend a new TV double act to put a smile on your face? Along with the rest of the cast who star in upcoming BBC3 Manchester comedy series Massive.

Ralf Little and Carl Rice play Danny and Seamus, best mates since they bonded over Oasis in 1994. The on screen chemistry between Ralf and Carl gives the six-part series a head start.

The first two episodes are not to be missed. Just some of the delights include Johnny Vegas as Shay's petty criminal dad Tony. Plus Beverly Rudd and Faye McKeever as Droylsden bun-shop divas HearKittyKitty.

Created and written by Damian Lanigan, Massive is yet another burst of fresh air from BBC Comedy North.

We were bemused at the offhand treatment dished out to the star act in new BBC3 comedy Massive at the show's launch, a pair of overweight female singers called HearKittyKitty (played by a menacing Beverley Rudd and Faye McKeever)... The pair, who at times push the men to the edge of the action, were initially given no role at the all-male press briefing lineup that followed the screening.

And perhaps that is the fatal flaw of this new wave of sitcoms, led by Peep Show. They seem to treat women as Beryl Cook-style, hard-drinking grotesques, and have very little warmth at their core. Is there a lesson, perhaps, in the fact that Johnny Vegas has found ITV1 stardom in Benidorm, an ensemble piece with a heart, and similarly Gavin & Stacey has won a place in the nation's affections?

Johnny Vegas slumps into series four as small-time dope-dealer Moz. A series which starts with its central character keeling over in the midst of an apparent heart attack is clearly playing for the darker laughs. Unfortunately, it's hard to find any in the scenes that follow.

For some reason, some folks here at thecustard.tv don't enjoy Benidorm so I'm here to come to its defence. When I nine, we lived in Spain and I saw the same kind of characters flock to Benidorm for their summer holidays watching Only Fools and Horses in a Spanish pub called The Red Lion and complaining to the locals you couldn't get a decent bacon butty.

Benidorm relies on one liners and perhaps over-the-top stereotypes but it does paint a rather true picture of the Benidorm I remember. One gripe: Johnny Vegas is underused.