BCG Daily Saturday 24th May 2014

Mr Sloane TV review - flashes of something lovely

Mr Sloane is not terribly innovative or funny: if they cut the comedy this could turn into a fine marital drama.

Comedy review: Tommy Tiernan

Plenty of comics have routines about being disturbed by their children in the morning. But Tiernan's account of his serial killer-like toddler arriving "like fog" has a rare lyricism.

Radio Times review

There are unassuming 50th birthday celebrations and there are 50th birthdays that go large. BBC Two is aiming for the latter as far as I can tell, and the great big cake with sparklers and a dancing girl inside is this two-hour comedy retrospective.

They've got everyone along, from The Goodies to Alan Alda to Vic 'n' Bob to several Pythons, all the stars of BBC2 donating soundbites to celebrate themselves and each other. It makes for one mammoth clip show, with things you've probably never seen before (Graham Chapman's post-Python sketch show Out of the Trees?) to things you wish you could un-see - (Tubbs breastfeeding a pig on The League of Gentlemen...) Plus, of course, a man beating a car bonnet with a branch.

It's a comedy banquet, but a banquet of nibbles: we get only a tiny taste of each classic. How about a season where shows like The Day Today and Big Train get full-length repeats? Now that would be a party.

Original Wallace and Gromit sketches revealed

Never-before-seen drawings penned by creator Nick Park will be put on display in the M Shed in Bristol just days after hinting that he may bring the series to an end.

TV preview: Goodness Gracious Me Special

In this one-off special, expect to be reacquainted with well-known characters including the competitive grandmothers and the Kapoors (pronounced Cooper).

John Lloyd: The people in charge haven't got a clue

Here's the difficulty. The people in charge of television haven't actually made any television. Most of them haven't produced, directed, written, edited, designed or acted in a single programme. This is not a BBC problem. It's endemic to the whole of television, not just here but all over the world.

Mr Sloane review

The real asset here is Nick Frost, a performer with such a natural propensity for comedy he could probably make castration seem funny.

The Pub Landlord vs Hay, review

Al Murray's Pub Landlord faced a unique challenge with the Hay Festival crowd.