How Gareth from The Office unearthed comedy gold

Detectorists isn't a laugh-out-loud show. It's bone-dry, punctuated by character-driven humour that sneaks up on the viewer. The punchlines land hardest when you least expect, such as the seemingly throwaway scene when Andy and Lance are offered lemonade by DMDC president Terry's airheaded wife.

Without any fanfare or bluster, Mackenzie Crook's gentle, bucolic sitcom about a group of misfits searching for gold in the English countryside returned and quietly got on with the business of being the most exquisitely written and beautifully observed comedy of British TV. Of course, it's not really about the search for treasure, it's about finding value in lives and friendships and love and loss. Thankfully, it had both the script and the performances - from Crook himself as the amiable Andy, Toby Jones as his detectorist buddy Lance, and Rachel Stirling as Andy's long-suffering girlfriend Becky, to provide us with that in spades. Meanwhile the cinematography perfectly framed the ordinary in extraordinary ways and provided us with the sort of sitcom that you feel there should be more of. Heartwarming, poignant and, crucially, very, very funny indeed.

Radio Times review

Radio Times Top 40 TV Shows of 2015, #11:

BBC4 has brought Slow TV to the sitcom. And if anything, the second series of Mackenzie Crook's tale of Essex blokes who go metal detecting to dodge the demands of life was even slower and more lugubrious than the first. At times the comedy was so wispy it almost evaporated, but you'd gladly watch Crook and Toby Jones all day long as underachieving mates Andy and Lance, "coils to the soil" as their friendship and the new demands of parenthood played out against a backdrop of sunny fields. No comedy (or drama) captured the quirks and delusions of middle-aged men better.

This week we had the Christmas special of Detectorists. Not that there was anything particularly festive about the so-called Christmas Special and it could well have been set during any part of the year. Toby Jones' Lance was front and centre throughout the entire episode which followed on from his discovery of an ancient medieval artefact at the end of the last series. The rather charming opening sequence saw Lance visit his find in a London museum and attempt to get his photo taken by the display. This to me was the highlight of a rather average episode of Detectorists which saw Lance try to dispel the supposed 'Curse of the Gold' that had befallen him since his recent discovery. Lance believes he has been cursed due to the fact that he hasn't been able to find anything since the end of the last series while he's also experienced a string of bad luck. The one primary reason I found this episode of Detectorists fairly mediocre was due to the fact that Mackenzie Crook barely made an impression throughout. Crook's Andy just happened to pop back from Africa in time to see Lance's disastrous display at the DMDC however their scenes together were limited. Part of the joy of Detectorists are the scenes in which Lance and Andy talk rubbish to each other whilst out metal detecting. Additionally there was very little continuity between this special and the series with no mention of Lance's daughter or explanation given as to why Sophie was nowhere to be seen throughout. On the plus side I did like the fact that Jones had almost thirty minutes to take centre stage and deliver what I thought was a masterclass is in awkwardness. The scene in which he completely ruins things with a potential new love is squirm-inducing however their later moment together was rather sweetly realised. This led me to ponder whether there will be a third series of Detectorists or if Andy will stay in Africa while Lance will finally find happiness with a lady mechanic. I'm hoping it's the former as Detectorists has become one of my favourite sitcoms of the last couple of years and I've got my fingers crossed that it doesn't end with what I found to be a rather underwhelming offering.

Mackenzie Crook's sitcom is something of an outlier in the current TV climate - a perfectly understated show which, in keeping with its subject matter, ever so gently reveals its treasures (from script to performances to photography) to those patient enough to wait. And patience is a rare commodity these days. In this seasonal special, Lance (Toby Jones) has lost his detecting mojo, prompting Russell to believe he is cursed: can he find it again in time for Christmas?

Detectorists Christmas Special preview

The delightful BBC Four comedy remains on good form, but prepare yourself for a different feel tonight as the metal detectorists tread barren, bare and cold fields.

Preview: Detectorists Christmas special, BBC4

As you would expect from this gentle series there are no earth-shaking moments.

Mackenzie Crook: my family values

The Detectorists actor talks about his solid, loving start to life and taking his children camping to interest them in the natural world.

We loved this charming comedy from Mackenzie Crook last year, and were absolutely delighted that BBC Four stuck with it for a second series. It's a rare gem of a comedy filled with likeable characters who just want to root for and spend time with. The second series saw Andy become and father and Lance discover he had a daughter! It was just superb. We can't praise Detectorists enough. Let's just hope the Christmas Special is as good as we hope!

Detectorists series two box set review

Gentle, touching, well-observed humour and loving aerial shots of rural Essex: life is sweetly poignant for Andy and Lance of the Danebury Metal Detecting Club.