Martin Skegg

Just what's needed after endless images of kids rampaging through the streets: a portrayal of a south London geezer from a housing estate that's nicely non-threatening (though he does diss the community support officer in the opening credits for a touch of street cred and a cheap laugh). Such is the comic construction of Simon Brodkin, anyway, who is back as Lee Nelson for a second series of studio tomfoolery and sketches. It's all pretty daft and probably funnier after a night in the pub, but it also feels terribly dated and wouldn't look out of place on an early Harry Enfield show.

Dara O'Briain returns to host the topical comedy show, along with regular panellists Hugh Dennis and Andy Parsons. Though supposedly a competition between two teams (though O'Briain usually couldn't care less about sensible scoring), it's more a brutal contest of wit, or at least forcefulness of character, as comedians with little to say and no talent for interjecting are sidelined. This week the guests subjecting themselves to comedic natural selection are stand-ups Milton Jones and Seann Walsh, The Thick Of It's Chris Addison and Greg Davies, AKA the sardonic Mr Gilbert from The Inbetweeners.

A mainstream, family-based sitcom billed as "warm" and "authentic" sets all the alarm bells ringing. This new six-parter written by Daniel Peak is a kind of aspirational working-class companion to the bourgeois settings of Outnumbered and My Family, but if anything, it's even more flat-footed. It feels incredibly dated, from the staging to the characters to the jokes. Will Mellor and Niky Wardley are the parents working extra shifts to take the family on holiday; Warren Clarke is the best bit as the grouchy grandfather looking for romance.

This isn't a mistake, this is my act!" Stewart Lee's self-deprecation is second nature and he remains as dry as the Atacama desert. Here, he happily tests the limits of the shambolic while pulling the rug from underneath what is now accepted as comedy. He sets out to do a musical comedy routine so as to win over the audience but can't resist a few nice barbs about Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow. The risk is that he deconstructs comedy to the point of nihility - the interview scenes with Armando Iannucci are particularly grating and unnecessary - but Lee is such a pro he always let's the joke, in some form, get through.

More remembrances of things past, this time from Jo Brand and Bill Bailey. Brand sets the controls for the heart of 1972 where her teenage self is having a bad time of it. Her family has money worries, they are moving town and she's being bullied at her new school - until she meets her saviour Susan Pigg. Bailey takes a different approach to the other Little Crackers by not setting his story in his childhood. He plays himself, a grouch who doesn't know the meaning of Christmas spirit.

A season of autobiographical comic shorts, where top names in British comedy write, narrate, star and sometimes direct dramatisations of their pasts. It opens with Victoria Wood's film about Eunice, an eight-year-old who is spending a rather gloomy Christmas with her dad in 1961. A visit to Mrs Whitefield's home changes things, as Eunice realises that precious memories can never be forgotten. Chris O'Dowd's story relates his childhood fear and distrust of Santa Claus and his plan to sabotage the big guy in the red suit's visit. It's gentle, nostalgic comedy that aims to leave you with a suitably glowing, festive feeling.

A double bill of Chekhov: in The Dangers Of Tobacco, Steve Coogan plays Nyukhin, a husband who should be delivering a lecture of the harmful nature of tobacco (even though he smokes). However, he keeps slipping off topic, telling the woes of his life, his regrets, yearnings and the misery inflicted by his domineering wife. In The Proposal, Mathew Horne is a nervous hypochondriac who has come to ask his neighbour's hand in marriage. However, he becomes embroiled in a petty squabble with the neighbour (Sheridan Smith) and her father (Philip Jackson) which threatens his life.

This finely crafted comedy transfers over from BBC4. It's only a mini-series - perhaps the powers that be will see how it fares this time round and commission more - but for an understated yet sharp sitcom, it can't be beaten. It's set on NHS Ward B4, a place where old folks go to wither away and where the staff also look as though they have seen their best years. From this unremarkable setting, the three writers-actors - Jo Brand, Vicki Pepperdine and Joanna Scanlan - have created a comic gem, knowing that while a note of pathos is fine it still has to be funny.

Much of the appeal of this miniseries - this is the third and final part - is the nuanced interplay between characters. Nurse Kim is in trouble because of an alleged offensive remark she made about Matron Loftus, and the ensuing "conflict-resolution strategy meeting" doesn't go too well. There's some confusion over matron's sexuality, which is of special concern to sister Den, as they had a night out together. Meanwhile, doctor Pippa is proudly off to a conference to read a paper about her stool samples. Three smart episodes; it would be nice to see this developed into a full series.

Ward B4 is a backwater of the NHS, a place where old folks go to wither away and where the staff also look as though they have seen their best years. From this unremarkable setting, the three writer-actors - Jo Brand, Vicki Pepperdine and Joanna Scanlan - have created a gem of a comedy. They never overplay their hand, generally stay one step ahead and know that while a note of pathos is fine it still has to be funny. In this second episode, sister Den and nurse Kim have an abusive patient to deal with.