Clive James

In a script by Clement and La Frenais there is no question of the playing being ahead of the writing. The lines would get laughs ead cold, so anything the actors contribute is sheer gain. There are no miracles of timing in the show, but the personalities are cast to a nicety. Bob's moon face is all hope: Terry's grapefruit-sized head is all disillusion.

The set pieces between Bob and Terry, funny as they are, never quite attain the majestry of those between John Alderton and Deryck Guyler in Please, Sir - two gifted comedians slugging it out in a welter of double takes and slow burns.

Sadie, It's Cold Outside (Thames) is a clumsily named new sitcom starring Bernard Hepton as a telly addict and Rosemary Leach as his long-suffering wife. It is Miss Leach's fate to play long-suffering wives, because she has the knack of making long-suffering look charming. The show is written by Jack Rosenthal and could prove amusing.

Most of the other humour shows were drear. Dick Emery (BBC1) was much less comfortable in a Santa outfit than in high heels and Mike Yarwood (BBC1) saddled himself with Max Bygraves. Tonight with Danny La Rue (ATV) was trash.

Parkinson Takes a Christmas Look at Morecambe and Wise (BBC1) did something to restore the spirits, even though we'd seen most of the stuff before. Sketches like the Cleopatra number are now on the limit of how much exposure they can take, but Parky fronted the compilation pretty well. It's nice to be able to toss him a bun, after his recent abominations.

Not that his [Arthur Lowe's] performance is eclectic - it is a subtle unity like everything he attempts. He is also at his peak in the current series of Dad's Army (BBC1), which shows few signs of flagging inspiration.

Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads? (BBC1) is repeating its last series. In our house we are watching it all over again.

After two dull episodes, Monty Python (BBC2) was suddenly funny again, thereby ameliorating the viewing week no end. The pressure on the now Cleeseless team to be as good as ever has perhaps been a little fierce, but that's showbiz.

A rock solid script, by Clement and La Frenais. Good comic writing depends on a regular supply of real-life speech patterns - the main reason why success tends to interfere with talent, since it separates the writer from his sources.

Les Dawson starred in Holiday With Strings (Yorkshire), a Galton and Simpson fantasy made suddenly topical by the Court Line floppola. Les was off on a dreadful package holiday, flying with an airline so broke they were raffling the meals. The script was fairly average, but Dawson is easy on the eye: a roly-poly panic merchant who looks as if his whole life is booked with Clarkson's.