Before the show was actually filmed, I went along to an evening with Marc Wootton, where he basically, without costumes or make up, ran through some of the characters & scripts that he had. It was all taped, and was a chance for Marc to gauge how popular certain characters & storylines were, depending on the laughs they received. The whole evening was absolutely hilarious, and Marc was awesome! Have to admit, I haven't found the show AS funny, but still don't think it's as bad as everyone's making out. You obviously have to have a particular sense of humour to enjoy it.
Paul the Vampire is pure genius, as is Ian the schoolboy. And I love Noodle, although haven't really heard a lot of the material that Marc used when I saw him, and a lot of that was hilarious!
I still think there's a LOT worse "comedy" on TV at the moment!