I'm not a huge fan of Peter Kay at all. I've only seen a few of his things because my writing partner is a fan. I think your right about him tapping into that so called northern humour it's easy laughs for a lazy comedian. And Dave Spikey I think your referring to did in my opinion come up with a lot of the decent stuff in 'Phoenix Nights'. As did the overlooked Neil Fitzmaurice.
I enjoyed Coogan's Run, but preferred That Peter Kay Thing, which I also liked more than Phoenix Nights. With respect to some of the comments regarding Peter Kay, I can understand why people don't find him and his shows very funny, especially if you've seen Britain's Got the Pop Factor, and Possibly a New Celebrity Jesus blah blah blah. To be sure, I don't think he's laugh out loud funny to the extent of other comedians he is often grouped with. And along these lines, I consider TPKT and Phoenix Nights to be more entertaining than funny. For example, I thought TPKT was very similar to Chris Lilley's We Can Be Heroes in that it was more character study than comedy. But TPKT and Phoenix Nights (and Max and Paddy to a lesser extent) did make me laugh quite a bit.
That Peter Kay Thing featured one of the best mockumentaries I've ever seen with the Ice Cream Van owner. It just built and built and built until it reached a head of steam and exploded brilliantly.
I loved Coogan's Run - from Gareth Cheeseman to Mike Crystal - it was superb. My favourite episode was the 'Top of the Class' one where the two freakish brainiacs go on a revenge mission. It was like watching a sitcom starring two Aarons. 
I see there's a new review up for this series. Personally (which is English for 'I am right'), I didn't find it amusing, the lowest point being Natural Born Quizzers. Dearth of a Salesman and Thursday Night Fever are excellent (no coincidence they were penned by two awesome writers), but take or leave the rest.
