Radio Times review

The first series of Tony Bagley's Political Animals (a cleverly apt title) saw life through the eyes of Downing Street's cats. Now we take four dog's-eye views of White House intrigues. Tonight we hear from Bo, President Obama's Portuguese water dog, a breed of whom few previously had heard. (It doesn't shed its coat: important, because Obama's daughter Malia is allergic).

Bo, voiced by Chris Pavlo, surprisingly with a Mexican accent, holds forth on everything from "crossbreed" Obama to his rival Mitt Romney's unwise decision to take a long car journey with his own dog on the roof rack. Bagley's humour is an odd mix of biting satire and crude jokes (America's fourth TV channel is "the channel for foxes") but it hits the mark more often than not.

Tony Bagley's comedy is set in 1959 at the Common Cold Unit. It really existed, a unit of Nissen huts where volunteers took part, unpaid, in a 40-year experiment to determine the causes and obtain a cure for the common cold. The rules were strict. Bagley's characters get tangled up in them. Barry (Paul Reynolds) is a trade union official who's been coming there for years. When John, his roommate, is accused of breaking the rule on proximity, Barry takes on the establishment. Lillian (Alex Tregear), another outsider, admires Barry's stance. Cupid hovers.