A misfit rambling club is the setting for this new three-part comedy and its strong cast bodes well. Heartache, hiking and punch-ups are promised in the series, which opens with Bob (Mark Heap) facing a battle of wills with Christine (Ruth Jones), the newest member of his cherished rambling club. She's been barred from another club and arrives with a GPS and all the latest kit and Bob soon spots a rival. Each week reveals a new crisis.

Julia Davis is certainly no stranger to black comedy, having already appeared in twisted shows like Human Remains and Nighty Night, but it's a little surprising to see Spaced's Jessica Hynes (nee Stephenson) partnering her to write and star in a black-hearted tale of suburban revenge...

Lizzie (Davis) and Sarah (Hynes) are two fiftysomething housewives living in suburbia, both married to loathsome husbands who treat them with callous disregard and sneering contempt. Lizzie's husband John (David Cann) is having an obvious affair with their corpulent, lazy housekeeper Branita (Jessica Gunning); Sarah's husband Michael (Mark Heap) has taken to having meaningless, functional sex with her while he hides her face behind a pillow. Both introverted women are cowed into submission and have allowed themselves to accept their lot in life, as unloved slaves whose only escape from tedium and bullying is an amateur dramatics society. However, after a day of particularly unforgiveable treatment by their other halves, Lizzie and Sarah find themselves pushed to breaking point and, having come into possession of a handgun, decide to enact their revenge...

Lizzie And Sarah is of a particular style and content that many people just won't find particularly funny, that much is certain. Indeed, the BBC were allegedly so dumbfounded by this pilot's depressing tone that they scheduled it for a Saturday night graveyard slot of 11.55pm, so the chance of a full series doesn't look likely. If one is even necessary, as the story appeared to reach enough of a conclusion that I can't imagine what else Lizzie And Sarah would have to say. It was effectively 15-minutes of matrimonial bullying that segwayed into a domestic revenge scenario that lacked imagination because it was basically comprised of shooting their psychological aggressors dead with a gun they'd stolen from a thief.

The titular characters themselves were interchangeable; having no meaningful differences in temperament, accent, lifestyle, or taste in men. Their horrid husbands were likewise peas in a particularly odious pod. A subplot involving a memorial for a girl ran over by her own father's (Kevin Eldon) car, which inspired a musical memorial performed by two teenage classmates (Davis and Hynes), who gyrated to the Sugababes' Hey Sexy for the approval of a talent scout in the crowd, just felt misplaced and could have been cut entirely.

As a fan of Davis, Hynes and black comedy in general (which nobody does quite like us British), Lizzie And Sarah certainly had decent moments of chilling humour, uncomfortable bad taste, and jokes so near the knuckle they drew blood. However, a feeble storyline, near-identical characterisation for the leads, and unimaginative vengeance (just shoot the browbeaters), dealt enough blows to make this pilot feel like a wasted opportunity. I'd like to believe Davis and Hynes knew there'd be little hope of a full series, so opted to complete their story here, because I don't see any reason or need for more.

Julia Davis (Nighty Night, Human Remains) and Jessica Hynes (Spaced, The Royle Family) have partnered for the new BBC2 comedy pilot Lizzie And Sarah, playing two fiftysomething suburban housewives who are ignored by their selfish husbands, but are inspired by the tragic death of a teenager to take revenge.

If you're a fan of very dark comedy, this looks promising, although the "joke" of the trailer appears to the total absence of any traditional laughs and its oppressive, sinister tone. But it's packed full of familiar faces from British comedy (Mark Heap, Kevin Eldon, David Cann, etc), most of whom have appeared in similarly blackhearted comedies; from the aforementioned Nighty Night and Human Remains, through satirist Chris Morris' Brass Eye and Jam.

Apparently, Lizzie & Sarah is being sneaked out on BBC2 with little fanfare and in a graveyard slot (Saturdays, 11:45pm!) because the BBC were shocked by how dark and twisted it is, which is a shame. But I know that fact just gave plenty of people a frisson of excitement. Lizzie & Sarah hits the airwaves on 20 March. I hope it's funny, but in a sick way.

Final edition of an excellent series that has presented characters so strong, difficult and at times sexually charged that you forget they are disabled, while at key points being sharply reminded of the challenges they face. Carrie, the dwarf, on whom the last episode focuses, is a case in point. Months after the island, she is training with Mark Heap's professional clown to become a children's entertainer. As well as finding her a handful, Heap gets a sense of what it is like for a person like her to walk through the world. Meanwhile, back in time and on the island, everyone puts aside mixed emotions to say their farewells.

Stay tuned for the latest six-part series of Tom Collinson's slightly surreal sitcom that finds our hero, Dave (Reece Shearsmith) still living in the self-storage container of the title after the break-up of his marriage. Here he considers the great conundrum we call life in the company of, in particular, the borderline psychotic Geoff (Mark Heap) and the sensitive and cultivated security guard Ron (Tom Goodman-Hill). This much is as before. What's new for the first episode of this new series is that Dave's sister has moved into the same storage building as Dave after a series of rows with her husband. Which raises the question: given the current downturn in the economy, could storage containers be the new bijou semi?

Big Train seems to be achieving belated cult status. There are several reasons for the delayed reaction, perhaps most notably the cast's subsequent successes: in the second series from 2002, which is showing this weekend, Shaun of the Dead star Simon Pegg and Green Wing's Mark Heap are joined by a pre-fame Catherine Tate and a pre-EastEnders Tracy-Ann Oberman. But it is the off-the-wall humour of the writers, Graham Linehan and Arthur Matthews, the creators of Father Ted, that really makes this one comedy repeat worth devoting a significant part of your weekend to.