Alice Jones (I)

When it comes to laughs, honesty can be the best policy

For stand-ups appearing at It Might Get Ugly, London's darkest new comedy night, there is just one rule: they must be honest "to the point of regret." No whimsy, no cosy old anecdotes. Comedians must expose themselves mercilessly - even more so than usual.

Why didn't the US re-make of Gavin & Stacey work?

I'm inclined to think that it's less a matter of clashing senses of humour than timing.

Simon Brodkin on nearly boarding that World Cup plane

"There wasn't really a plan, to be honest. I just thought it would be a giggle", Brodkin says.

Jack Dee turns agony aunt

If you needed some friendly anonymous advice, who would you turn to? Certainly not in Jack Dee, who has built a career on caustic asides. And yet this week Dee embarked on a new career as an agony uncle. Or rather he has launched a new show, Jack Dee's Help Desk.

Despite a fine turn from Sharon Rooney as a bolshie barmaid, this BBC Comedy Playhouse sitcom was largely witless, crude and noisy with canned laughter. Think Mrs Brown's Boys in the Highlands. It'll probably be a huge hit.

Waiting for Godot: Samuel Beckett with baseball caps

The Samuel Beckett estate is notoriously fussy about how his plays are presented, but it has allowed comedians Tom Stourton and Tom Palmer - aka sketch comedy act Totally Tom - to revitalise Waiting for Godot for a new generation.

Rebecca Front stars in a series of 15-minute spoof interviews, conducted by her brother, Jeremy. She plays a reality star, an MI5 whistleblower and Olympic equestrian, among others, and improbably nails every single one. That's talent.

Chris Addison's and Simon Blackwell's relationship sitcom is warming up. The third episode was the best so far with a spot-on skewering of an awkward spa date.

Stand-up comics lead art gallery tours

It turned out that the Met offered far more than a controlled environment; indeed, that there was something inherently funny about letting comedians loose in the hallowed halls of a museum.

Could Warren United be the UK's answer to The Simpsons?

The first episode of Warren United was promising enough but with only six in the series, it will have to work very hard over the next few weeks to make itself as familiar, and unmissable, for audiences as Bart and co.