Joel Veitch - he of the dancing internet cats - writes, and Steve Coogan, Julia Davis and Julian Barratt star in this wonky animated tale of greying Uncle Wormsley and young, wealthy Johnny Goodington. Johnny wants a giant crab for Christmas, but the only person who has one is Wormsley. The boy's parents decide to call in The Crab Catchers to guarantee their precious boy his wish. But at what price? A skewwhiff morality tale that calls to mind Warp Films' superb Bunny and the Bull in tone, this is a weird, exciting half-hour break from the norm.

An earlier slot might have been more suitable for this rudimentary animated children's fable. It's a gruesome, cautionary tale about love, greed and a giant crab, written by Tim Gallagher and Joel Veitch, and produced by Baby Cow. Steve Coogan narrates the story of a miserably creepy, grey old man, Uncle Wormsley, whose sole companion is a huge crab that he keeps in a cage and to whom he feeds the neighbours' pets. Across town lives the spoilt Johnnie, whose parents are obscenely wealthy and who is given everything he wants. But the one thing he craves is a giant crab and so his father enters into a devilish pact with the mysterious "crab-catchers". Julian Barratt, John Thomson and Julia Davis provide the voices.

Julian Barratt cast in Lucy Kirkwood's play 'NSFW'

Julian Barratt is set to star in Lucy Kirkwood's new play, NSFW.

Noel Fielding confirms Mighty Boosh movie is on the way

Noel Fielding has revealed that a Mighty Boosh movie is 'finally' in the works, in which he will team up with Julian Barratt to reprise their roles as Vince Noir and Howard Moon.

Like many, it took me a while to get into The Mighty Boosh, but now I'm one of those people that gets into tetchy arguments while defending it against charges of gross hipsterism. So as a committed fan, I was fascinated to see what Noel Fielding's solo project, Channel 4′s Luxury Comedy, would be like...

Despite my love for Noel's work with Julian Barratt, I have to say I approached his new sketch show with a little trepidation. What really grabbed me about the Boosh wasn't the surreal characters and lo-fi, hand-made visuals, it was just Noel and Julian sat on a bench bickering like an old married couple. I embraced the oddness, but it was the traditional double-act stuff that grounded the show.

From the publicity, though, Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy appeared to be 100% surreal characters and lo-fi, hand-made visuals. They were always Noel's domain - he's had several art exhibitions around London - and without his verbal sparring partner, it seemed that 'grounding the show' was about as far from his mind as observational skits about aeroplane food.

After the first episode, I was left feeling a little flat. I'd chuckled, and the show did indeed look great thanks to the fantastic hand-painted sets and costumes, but the sketches didn't seem to hang together particularly well, and I didn't feel I'd quite got a handle on what Noel was trying to achieve yet.

Thank goodness I followed my own advice and gave a new comedy series a second chance then, as the second episode was a whole lot more enjoyable. Themed around art - with appearances from Andy Warhol and discussions about whether dressing up as a 'fireman baby' is a concept or a joke - the second episode had a satisfying cohesion that was lacking from the first. Is Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy laugh out loud funny? No. Is it interesting, cleverer than it likes to make out and, most importantly, going somewhere? Looks that way...

Noel Fielding: 'I've not ditched The Mighty Boosh'

Comedian says he wants to make film with co-star Julian Barratt.

Noel Fielding's new sketch show has been publicised widely - there's not a bus shelter in my hometown of Stockton without a poster of Fielding in some bizarre costume.

When you watch the show it gets even weirder. Fielding is living in a treehouse in a jungle, with an aardvark butler (played by Noel's brother Michael) and with Andy Warhol (Tom Meeten) as his cleaner. Then there are other characters played by Fielding, including a New York cop with a talking knife wound, a lion in a zoo going slowly insane, and a games teacher with shell shock - who is also a chocolate finger.

Normally I like it when comedians push at the extremes, whether it's in terms of language, situation or realism/surrealism. However, Luxury Comedy appears to be one of those rather rare cases of going too far instead of not far enough. His earlier work, The Mighty Boosh, was itself bizarre and wonderfully funny, but also had the added advantage of Julian Barratt keeping things in control and from going too off the wall. This show is just bizarre, though - all surrealism and seemingly without comedy.

For me the best bit was seemingly the sanest, which was Fielding's drawing of Pele holding a china cup and kicking what was either a ball or the saucer for the cup. I think it worked because at least you can connect the show with something that exists in the real world. The same is true with the 'Warhol' character.

Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy is too far disconnected from anything recognisable to make it funny. A good piece of art perhaps - totally maverick - but that's about it.

I would love to take a holiday in Noel Fielding's imagination - a psychedelic menagerie of custard and spandex, designed by preschoolers on a sugar rush.

His new sketch show sees him cut loose from Mighty Boosh partner Julian Barratt. It's as though someone snapped the string on a helium balloon, leaving him free to bob around in his own little universe.

Part wonky animation, part live action, the first half, which includes a sketch combining Ready Steady Cook and a space launch, is just the wrong side of random to gel.

But in part two, the weirdness pays off when we meet the optimistic Dandelion - a man in a cheap lion suit showing us around his home at the zoo.

Another new character, Roy Circles, comes into his own. Roy is a PE teacher, widow and war hero. He also just happens to be a chocolate finger. Deal with it.

Fans of Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt's The Mighty Boosh will be familiar with the ideas on offer here: cartoonish characters, dream-like scenarios, quirky phrases. Fielding virgins, however, will be utterly confused by this solo sketch outing. The cult comedian takes surrealism to extreme lengths, with costumes, creatures and characters mostly unexplained, but there are some nice ideas: a recurring segment playing up the pretentiousness of art is a particular highlight. Fielding's an impressive character actor too, with a knack for amusing accents. Essentially, though, Luxury Comedy is made for Boosh fans and Boosh fans alone. If the phrase 'I slice bits of rainbow and put them in pitta breads' tickles you, give it a whirl. If not, probably best to stay away from this psychedelic sketch show.

Mighty Boosh star's 'crash course' in theatre acting

The Mighty Boosh star Julian Barratt has admitted he did not know what he was letting himself in for when he signed up for his first theatre role in The Government Inspector.