Alexander Armstrong

The trouble with sketch shows is that, as they average perhaps 30 gags per episode, they need an almost impossibly large supply of comic energy to keep them from slipping into the doldrums. Ben Miller and Alexander Armstrong are talented, and they do just about keep this show afloat - look out in tonight's episode for a wonderfully handled running joke about a retired pirate now living in suburbia - but it's a long way from the consistent brilliance of Monty Python's Flying Circus or the early days of The Fast Show.

Video: Armstrong & Miller on BBC Breakfast

Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller tell BBC Breakfast where they get the inspiration from for their comedy characters and justify a sketch on their show that makes fun of Breakfast TV.

Martin Clunes's affability and a smattering of good lines rescue this re-imagining of the Leonard Rossiter classic from complete pointlessness. I particularly enjoyed Reggie and his adored Jasmine's discussion about her lack of a boyfriend; Jasmine: "Men are damaged, gay, ugly or married." Reggie: "Snow White's less well-known friends." But Reggie is in trouble. Grot is doing thunderously well with its terrible products and his evil boardroom bosses want to slim down Groomtech ready to sell it to the highest bidder. When he breaks the news of imminent redundancy to his staff, there is much elaborate special pleading. Things aren't much better at home where Reggie's neglected wife Nicola (Fay Ripley) is jobless and moping, and finding it hard to fend off the attentions of her randy next-door neighbour (Alexander Armstrong).

If you've ever wondered what someone tap-dancing on Leonard Rossiter's grave would look like, tune in for this version of Reggie Perrin. It's sort of like watching the original Seventies sitcom, only without any decent jokes and recorded in front of an apparently lobotomised live studio audience who guffaw at puns that Two Pints of Lager would have scorned. Even solid comic actors like Fay Ripley and Alexander Armstrong can't make this script work, while Martin Clunes, though affable enough, is badly miscast as the blackly witty Perrin. Tonight, our hero is ordered to fire one of his staff, with unhilarious consequences.

Just when something seems to be going right for Reggie Perrin, another area of his life falls apart. Last night's episode saw his new product range become a storming success, just as his wife Nicola was finally pounced upon by David. And like Reggie's life, the sitcom itself is inconsistent and unpredictable.

For roughly half of last night's thirty-minute episode, the acting and writing conspired to create a genuinely funny sitcom. However, the other half of the programme slipped into mediocrity, failing to be either amusing or true-to-life, both of which are qualities that form the whole basis of Reggie Perrin.

The division lines between funny and not-funny fell along the breaks between scenes that were set in the Groomtech offices and those that weren't. The acting is so terrible and the sets so cheap-looking inside Groomtech headquarters, that even the script seems to disintegrate when brought to life by the likes of Vicki the receptionist.

Martin Clunes was, as usual, the only breath of gravitas and humour in such scenes. He makes every shot look and feel classier, even when he's forced to play out wholly unfunny scenarios, like last night's attempts to persuade his mother that Geoffrey didn't want to marry her anymore.

Outside the Groomtech headquarters, Faye Ripley and Alexander Armstrong also belonged to the classy sitcom and their interaction in the swimming pool rang true. But back in the office, we were faced with the shoddy half of the programme again, as Reggie was forced to attend therapy sessions with the corporate wellness lady.

The show just doesn't seem to be able to decide what it is: a third-rate sitcom with shaky sets and flat characters, or a snappy comedy, well written and superbly acted. A schizophrenic sitcom; now there's something for the wellness lady to get her teeth into.

Television's most likeable double act return with more silly, inoffensive sketches. You don't look to these two for cutting-edge satire, or even the kind of near-the-knuckle social stereotypes peddled by Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse on BBC2. A musical number mocking farmers' markets is the nearest Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller get to social satire, and great fun it is, too. They prefer the old-fashioned kind of sketch based on one comic conceit ruthlessly pursued. One of the best new arrivals is a pair of elderly vampires bemoaning what's become of the vampire world. It's a simple idea made funnier by the performances (Ben Miller's vampire accent is a joy), just as the street-talking RAF pilots play to the pair's gift for posh characters. And yes - the latter are back, and this time they've been roped into D-Day.

Armstrong and Miller interview

Our vampires struggle to fit into a new world full of young sexy bloodsuckers, says comedy duo Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller.

Well-spoken wits Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller return for a third run of their Bafta-winning sketch show. Characters include the German in-laws, roadkill cooks and old-style vampires baffled by the new Twilight generation. Best of all, the street-talking Second World War pilots turn up in Normandy on D-Day. The nature of the beast is that the humour is hit and miss, but the duo have enough charm to get away with it.

Alexander Armstrong & Ben Miller interview

Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller are back with a new series of their BBC1 sketch show. As well as old favourites the street-talking pilots, The Armstrong & Miller Show is packed with plenty of new characters too...

Alexander Armstrong interview

Even at public school, Alexander Armstrong found himself accused of being posh.