Carla Lane

Shakespeare reworked familiar themes with ingenuity. So did Milton. For all her proven talent, Carla Lane does not seem quite to have managed it with her new BBC1 comedy series Luv, which began last night. It could have been made 20 years ago. If Luv is supposed to be a subtle part of the 1970s revival, it is too subtle.

Top comedy writer Carla Lane has had to scrap her latest sitcom Screaming because one of the show's stars refused to act in front of a studio audience. Carla, creator of hit shows Bread, Butterflies and The Liver Birds, said that actress Penelope Wilton's decision to quit had left her "devastated".

Experienced telly watchers are well aware that what we see on the box is usually unrelated to real life. But this series, in which three mature and apparently sensible women are so easily reduced to quivering mounds of emotional jelly by the same no-good creep, stretched the imagination to breaking point.

If Carla's man-mad whiners were out scouring the streets for the randy rotter waving castrating shears, I might understand them. But no, they just drivelled on about how unfair it all is. About the only reason to catch a moment more is to see if Ralph comes back to bonk. And whom? And where he's been meanwhile. With Ma Boswell? Or perhaps Wendy Craig.

Still Ms Lane's natural easy way with humour gave the plot some pace and the idea of placing the characters in their own corners at least gave some semblence of a fighting effort. What was missing was the verbal sparring and interplay which gives Ms Lane's writing that special touch.

It reminded me of a dual-character version of Alan Bennett's Talking Heads in that the characters subtly unfolded before our eyes in their own quietly amusing, but sad, words.

But somehow with Carla Lane's skill and wit, it all hung together. I found myself worrying about Dad's bad heart and feeling sorry for the deflated Lilo Lil in Sunday's super wedding episode.

Finally, a plea to writer Carla Lane from all Peter Howitt fans: can't you give him something to do? At the moment, all his lines seem to consist of "settle down ma'am" when she calls Lilo Lil a tart, and keeping his brothers in order. Lots of romance and storylines for Joey, please. He's far too good to waste.

It's funny. At the same time Miss Lane has never lost her ability to catch you at the back of the throat when you least expect it.

This is the second series of The Mistress and one wonders just how long they can keep it up. It might as well be a Play School parody with its nursery prattle that makes no attempt to confront these highly adult issues with a grown-up comedy.