The Trip

Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan are comedians of sufficient calibre that this series, in which they play versions of themselves on a restaurant-reviewing tour of the Lake District, was always likely to be funny. Four episodes in, it is revealing depth too. They eat at Hipping Hall in Lancashire, where they are joined by Coogan's assistant Emma (Claire Keelan) and a Spanish photographer, Yolanda (Marta Barrio). Coogan and Brydon revive the battle of celebrity impressions they fought in the first episode, amid increasing sexual tensions. "Is there a condition in Spain of Autistic Impressionist?" Coogan asks Yolanda, of Brydon. Brydon responds by quoting Alan Partridge at Coogan. "I'd quote your own stuff back at you," replies Coogan. "But I can't remember any of it."

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Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon have turned impersonating stars into a competitive sport. Who can rival their vocal skills?

The Trip episode 3 review

Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon's post-modern, understated comedy, The Trip, continues to impress.

The Trip - Episode 3

This is still refreshing, brilliant and a marvel to observe.

Last night they [Coogan and Brydon] reached Holbeck Ghyll in the Lake District, with their respective characters (Brydon relentlessly cheerful; Coogan insecure and melancholic) now firmly established, though how much of it's an act we're not quite sure, which is where the appeal of The Trip lies. There, and in the endless stream of very funny impressions, including, in this edition, Brydon's celebrated ventriloquism act, "Small Man Trapped in a Box".

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The Trip episode 1.3 review

I'll be brief: episode 3 was possibly the least funny episode so far, partly because the formula's becoming slightly oppressive, but I also found there was more pathos to savour.

Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon arrive in the Lake District on the third leg of their blokey odyssey reviewing restaurants in country houses. In what turns out to be quite a commercial for the Holbeck Ghyll hotel near Lake Windermere, the pair bicker again over dinner; Coogan, insecure and nervy, Brydon slightly precious and anxious to please. It's all terribly knowing, self-referential and, possibly, more in love with itself than is healthy. But I laughed a lot - proper laughter, too: actually out loud. You don't get that with BBC2 comedies, as a rule. Or with BBC1 comedies, come to that. Coogan and Brydon are a perfect brittle partnership. There's also a slightly tragic edge as we watch two middle-aged men needle each other ("You can't treat your entire life like a Radio 4 panel show"), while at the same time they seek some kind of affirmation. Smashing.

Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan - here playing characters loosely based on themselves - are superb comic actors, but there are times when The Trip feels like not much more than two middle-aged men doing silly voices at each other. Tonight, the pair visit a hotel in the Lake District.

TV review: The Trip

I think it might be brilliant. I say "think" because I still can't believe Steve Coogan's audacity, and the apparent indulgence.