The Greatest Underrated Comedy Shows

A look at Rock & Chips, The Bubble, Stag and more.

A look back at Stag

Looking for something a bit different to watch this Halloween? I really can't recommend Stag enough.

Bruce Dessau's top TV comedy for 2016

It's been a bad year in all sorts of ways, but not in terms of TV comedy. I sat down today to come up with a top ten of the year and had difficulty narrowing it down to ten. Of course there were disappointments and programmes that didn't quite live up to expectations, such as Sky's Andrew Lawrence documentary, but there was still plenty to laugh at here. And if you are quick some of them are still available on various catch-up services. And in case you are wondering, I decided not to include Black Mirror - it was brilliant but just too painfully real to be funny.

Review: Stag

Oh dear; about half way through BBC Three's Stag, I was ready to give up, call it awful and go make some stir fry. But I did not and I am glad.

Stag review

Despite its creative shortcomings, Stag proved to be an enjoyable three-part drama for the BBC, and one I didn't regret watching thanks to the ending.

The endgame arrives, with the stricken survivors of Johnners's murder-heavy stag do working out that the killer seems to have something to do with those involved in the shady Guernsey investment scheme. The others insist that Ian heads off on his own, to get him out of harm's way, but there's a twist coming, obviously. Actually, more than one, but it proves too big an ask to pull together all the loose ends of this woolly plot. While it frequently looked lovely, Stag hasn't quite stacked up.

TV preview: Stag, BBC2, episode 3

It is so hard to write about this excellent comedy thriller without giving something away. Needless to say the final episode in which the loose ends have to be tied up - probably around one of the cast's necks - is the toughest to discuss. One slip and the game may be given away.

Stag: episode 3 review

As we reach the bloody conclusion of the stag party from Hell, it is probably safe to say that no-one will guess who the killer is.

Surely, this three-part comedy thriller could have been compressed into two episodes? It opens with yet more scenes of dopey little Ian stumbling through the woods and the exhausted little group gathering in clearings to debate what to do. Ledge is acting like a tough man because he's found a flare gun and Ian has a new plan that they follow a network of electricity pylons in the hope it'll lead them to civilisation or, at least, a power plant.

But there will be no flare gun rescues or power plant trips because the groom finally speaks up and declares he's tired of fleeing. He wants one brave last stand before he meets either death or marriage: "I came here to hunt and that is exactly what I'm gonna do!" So the dull man in the flimsy pink costume wants to find their hunter - and kill him. The person who's hunting them looks like a Dulux dog on a quad bike. It's an absurd image but the absurdity serves to remind us this is a comedy, albeit a repetitive and not very funny one.

TV review: Stag, BBC2, episode 2

I'm not sure how much it qualifies as a comedy now that it has got proper scary, but I'm really enjoying Stag.