10 O'Clock Live: Obvious targets and just enough laughs

It was business as usual as topical satire show 10 O'Clock Live returned for a second series - with the Queen and Fabio Capello on the list of obvious targets tackled with varying degrees of success.

Charlie Brooker interview

Charlie Brooker talks about Black Mirror, Ten O'Clock Live and this 'Wipe franchise'...

Why I don't miss 10 O'Clock Live

I found the spoof sketches disappointing and unfunny and the ascerbic irreverance that I expect from Brooker and Mitchell in their written articles just feels tired and hackneyed when delivered onscreen.

They're back! Let's meet the team: "Hello. I'm Jimmy Carr and even though I don't really fit here because my one-liners are better when they're apolitical, my monologues are still the best thing on the show."

"Hi, I'm David Mitchell. I'm going to do some uncomfortable interviews, where I'm not really at my best."

"I'm Charlie Brooker. I'm going to do Screenwipe, only live."

"I'm a token woman."

Ah, we're poking fun, of course. There were good things about 10 O'Clock Live, in the end (at least it's not a panel show. Yet). And this shorter running time and willingness to be a bit looser should help. If they killed everyone in the audience, that'd be even better, but perhaps asking a bit much for this series.

That 10 O'Clock Live: What we've learnt

Andrew Mickel looks back over the 10 O'Clock Live coverage to give his verdict on a brave attempt to mix politics and satire in front of a live audience.

10 O'Clock Live - the best bits

Channel 4's live comedy and current affairs show 10 O'Clock Live has come to the end of its fifteen week run...

10 O'Clock Live enjoyed another strong week

10 O'Clock Live could have floundered tonight after what has been a slow-ish news week, but the team managed to find humour in some surprising places...

Channel 4's 10 O'Clock Live does show some signs of structural adjustment, which, coincidentally or not, address objections made by reviewers of January's opening programme.

Critics complained, for example, that the content was relentlessly verbal - with Jimmy Carr, Charlie Brooker and David Mitchell delivering exaggerated rants in rotation - and, in the progress to last Thursday's 12th edition (of a scheduled first series of 15), the visual material has progressively increased. Carr's opening monologue is now illustrated with punningly captioned pictures, and the comedian also performs more and more dressing-up sketches.

Two flaws, though, are stubbornly consistent. Lauren Laverne, whose original duties amounted to little more than introducing the boys, has not been permitted much evolution, and the first show's unrelieved liberal agenda continues: the four main performers, the majority of the guests and most of the audience seem to be on the same side over most of the issues.

Even so, I think this show can justifiably claim to have suffered at the beginning from the seeming eagerness of some journalists, bloggers and tweeters to see Carr, Mitchell and Brooker flop: late-night satire shows have generally launched newcomers, and there was a slightly smug sense of a celebrity benefit concert about this one. But, three months on, 10 O'Clock Live maintains a high gag rate and, last week, a terrific bust-up over phone-hacking between John Prescott and a News of the World journalist.

Lauren Laverne is coming out of her shell

10 O'Clock Live presenters have relaxed into their roles, improved their material and best of all, learned to read the autocue.