Charlie Brooker

The nervy satire show that looked set for a quiet demise after ratings halved in the course of the first series is back.

Despite the odd misfire, the show often sparked into something a bit special. David Mitchell proved a sharp interviewer; Jimmy Carr's news monologues were genuinely funny; and if you enjoy Charlie Brooker in rant mode, this was the place for you.

For the second series, we're promised a tweak to the format and a shorter running time.

A second series for the live comedy and current affairs show hosted by David Mitchell, Charlie Brooker, Lauren Laverne and Jimmy Carr. The recommission must have been touch and go, but the strand just about warrants persevering with. The first run was inevitably patchy and Laverne seemed underemployed in comparison to her male counterparts. But it got enough right in a lively enough style to merit another go. Weirdly, it managed a few scoops too; 10 O'Clock Live was the first show to announce both Alan Johnson's resignation and the UN's commitment to a No Fly Zone in Libya. By its very nature, live satire is probably doomed to miss as many targets as it hits. But, given the current volatility of world events, this might be a show in the right place at the right time.

The jury's out on whether this news satire effort will take off but, despite dodgy ratings, it's bagged a second series - and David Mitchell and Charlie Brooker are always good for a well-aimed barb.

They're back! Let's meet the team: "Hello. I'm Jimmy Carr and even though I don't really fit here because my one-liners are better when they're apolitical, my monologues are still the best thing on the show."

"Hi, I'm David Mitchell. I'm going to do some uncomfortable interviews, where I'm not really at my best."

"I'm Charlie Brooker. I'm going to do Screenwipe, only live."

"I'm a token woman."

Ah, we're poking fun, of course. There were good things about 10 O'Clock Live, in the end (at least it's not a panel show. Yet). And this shorter running time and willingness to be a bit looser should help. If they killed everyone in the audience, that'd be even better, but perhaps asking a bit much for this series.

A trio of Twilight Zone-style stories exploring the impact of new media and technology on our lives. Charlie Brooker's The National Anthem (an "unusual" blackmail threat for the prime minister), and 15 Million Merits (X Factor distraction culture pushed to extremes) - co-written with Konnie Huq - grabbed the headlines, but The Entire History Of You (by Peep Show's Jesse Armstrong) is worth catching too. What happens to relationships in a world where everything you see is recorded on a kind of Sky+ in your head?

Radio Times review

"The motivation behind A Touch of Cloth was simple," writes the show's creator Charlie Brooker. "Along with my co-writer, TV Burp's Dan Maier, I wanted to create the silliest programme we could muster, but disguise it as the most serious. Writing this was a joy: we all sat round a table attacking our favourite clichés and lobbing in as many extra gags as possible."

The result is a deadpan spoof of detective shows like Messiah and Luther, starring John Hannah as DI Jack Cloth and Suranne Jones as DC Anne Oldman. Expect lots of moody glances, disturbing flashbacks, gruesome crime scenes, and bits where a maverick cop battles with demons. Inner demons, not actual outer demons, obviously. Inner demons are cheaper to shoot - you don't need CGI.

Charlie Brooker: some New Year's Resolution suggestions

Rather than setting yourself a New Year's resolution, why not simply pick a reason for hating yourself for the next 365 days? Takes less time, and it's easier to stick to. Or you could do what I'm doing this year: setting New Year's resolutions for everyone in the world except me.

Charlie Brooker's 2011 Wipe interests 530,000

Charlie Brooker's end-of-year Screenwipe review appealed to just under 530,000 viewers last night (Friday).

Charlie Brooker's techno-fables were provocative and strange, the edgiest, most zeitgeisty TV fiction of the year: black, beautifully played, thought-provoking and funny.

Video: Charlie Brooker talking on BBC Breakfast

Charlie Brooker talks to BBC Breakfast about his round up of the news in 2011.