BCG Daily Saturday 8th March 2014

Review: Jonathan Creek series five, episode two

Since last week's episode of Jonathan Creek, Jonathan and Polly have been busy settling into village life, getting involved in parish politics and seemingly never actually going to work.

Is W1A the BBC's most risky comedy ever?

This time, in W1A, Twnty Twelve's Ian Fletcher has the bigwigs at Broadcasting House in his sights - or as Hugh Bonnevile puts it, he aims to 'clarify, define, or re-define the core purpose of the BBC across all its functions'.

Radio Times review

As the series that forms the BBC's sole bastion of alternative comedy continues, Lee deconstructs the idiocy of false nostalgia and knee-jerk xenophobia by examining Ukip's fears that Britain is about to be "swamped" by Bulgarian immigrants.

While observing that the Bulgarians are merely the latest scapegoats in an eternal stampede of small-minded cultural hysteria, he takes familiar bigoted arguments to their absurd conclusions. It's typically audacious stuff: when was the last time you found a reference to the ancient Beaker People in a stand-up comedy routine?

Meanwhile, hostile interrogator Chris Morris takes the crumpled comedian to task over his disingenuous methods and dwindling sense of purpose. Morris simply shaking his head in mute dismay is one of the funniest moments in the whole episode.

And watch out for a truly bizarre filmed epilogue starring those twin titans of cult character comedy, Kevin Eldon and Paul Putner.

Radio Times review

This lesser entry to the Army canon, about toughening up the platoon's feet, is a curious beast. The podiatric pranks are a little hit-and-miss, but there's much for fans to savour. For instance, after all the chip-on-his-shoulder speeches to Wilson about privilege, Mainwaring gives him a surprisingly generous - and accurate - character analysis.

So if all the shoe-shop tomfoolery fails to hit the spot, just enjoy Pike at his mollycoddled worst, a guest turn from the wonderful Erik (Mr Smith in Please Sir!) Chitty and an epic fail at the seaside for Mainwaring.

And those who pooh-pooh the idea that Pike is Wilson's son will be dumbfounded by one scene that all but shouts out the connection.

Radio Times review

The comedy and science fiction worlds were robbed of a prodigious talent in 2001 when Douglas Adams died of a heart attack, aged just 49. His contributions to Doctor Who, literature, ecology and the internet are unique and impressive. But for me, his finest offering remains The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and specifically this radio version, first broadcast in 1978.

Where the Radio 4 series scored over subsequent outings on television and film was in its sublime cast (from Simon Jones's permanently bamboozled everyman, Arthur Dent, to Stephen Moore's lugubrious Marvin the Paranoid Android), and in allowing listeners to picture Adams's genuinely extraordinary ideas in their own minds.

In 1978 the BBC Radiophonic Workshop was already very much a known quantity, thanks to its sonic tailoring of the Time Lord's adventures on BBC One. Here, however, its engineers excelled themselves, weaving seductive and amusing soundscapes around the fantastical action.

Any comedy that begins with the end of the world is an instant attention-grabber, and Peter Jones's avuncular narration (as "The Book") is the perfect counterpoint to the ensuing craziness. Adams had a knack for wonderful character names, but stick with the series for Slartibartfast (one of veteran actor Richard Vernon's finest hours).

If you've never heard this before, I envy you. Hyperspace bypasses, Pangalactic Gargle Blasters and Shoe Event Horizons all jostle for attention in a planetary pot-pourri.

It's full of the kind of skewed, surreal humour and conceptual genius that would become Adams's calling card. And when Marvin laments, "Here I am, brain the size of a planet...", I often think of Adams's intellect in similar terms.

So long, Douglas, and thanks for all the fish.

Keith Lemon interview

Interviewing Keith Lemon is a bit like trying to have a conversation with a toddler - he's eminently charming, but it's tricky to get much sense out of him.

Venue cancel woman comic as too many women were on bill

A venue in Haslemere, Surrey cancelled a performance from Jenny Collier as too many women were already on the bill.

Milton Jones: How to be a have-a-go hero

Milton Jones explains why, should you ever encounter one, taking on a bank robber isn't as easy as it looks...

Mark Watson's favourite TV

The comedian, sports pundit and novelist on his TV highs and lows.