David O'Doherty

Radio Times review

The popular image of stand-up nowadays is of arena tours, massive-selling DVDs and appearances on TV panel shows. But Stewart Lee wants to wrest what is known as "alternative comedy" away from the pejorative backwater where it's been languishing. In truth, that means a series of lower-profile - though very funny - comedians on stage at the Stand in Edinburgh. Henning Wehn, Isy Suttie, Boothby Graffoe, David Kay, David O'Doherty and Glenn Wool are in the line-up - and the conversations with Lee are bite-sized gems.

Review: Seize the David O'Doherty - Newcastle Stand

They're minor qualms, though, in what is by and large a decent show. David O'Doherty's not going to change your life, but for a couple of hours at least he'll make it that little bit better.

This week's new live comedy

The Galway Comedy Festival, Margaret Cho and David O'Doherty.

Rory Sheridan's Tales of the Antarctic - review

David O'Doherty makes a rare foray into the one-man comic play from a performer known for lovable keyboard noodling.

This is gentle, absurdist, mini-sketch comedy, piloted in Radio 2 then given a series there back last autumn. These four new episodes come with a significant additional element, an animated trailer. To watch this go to bbc.co.uk/radio4. It's short, sweet and matches the humour of the show, the work of clever young artist Tom Rourke. But why is radio promoting itself visually? Because that's what reaches a generation who use smartphones to access everything, train times to pizza offers, with radio somewhere in the middle. The visualisation of radio is a growing field, increasingly used by commercial operators (to match advertisers to audience) as well as the BBC (always anxious to catch new listeners in any corner of their net). What matters still, however, is programme calibre. I think you'll find it here, in the company of Diane Morgan, Joe Wilkinson and David O'Doherty.

Following the success of last year's special, and as part of Funny Fortnight, Jimmy Carr is back hosting a rematch of Channel 4's MashUp, in which 8 Out of 10 Cats fuses with Countdown. Sean Lock and Jon Richardson face off as team captains, Irish comic David O'Doherty joins Susie Dent in Dictionary Corner and comedian Joe Wilkinson helps out boffin babe Rachel Riley on the numbers.

Edinburgh comics after they come off stage: in pictures

From Kristen Schaal to Russell Kane, Stewart Lee to David O'Doherty, see comics caught when their defences are down - just moments after they come off stage, photographed at last year's Edinburgh festival by Nick Collett. An exhibition of these photographs, made possible by EdinburghisFunny, is on now at the Underbelly bar and cafe.

The stand-up comic and celebrity rationalist probably gets as close here as TV can to making maths fun. Fellow egghead Professor Marcus du Sautoy sets O'Briain a series of puzzles couched in accessible, practical terms, but which get progressively harder and need real sums to answer.

Maths graduate O'Briain squeaks out attempted solutions, often rather impressively, on a Waking the Dead-style glass board. Joining him is the obligatory weekly comedian guest - David O'Doherty tonight - cast in the role you're probably playing at home: shouting answers that might, if you're lucky, be half-right.

The race to find the next successful comedy panel show format hits a low with this inoffensive, low-rent Dave exclusive focusing on the topic of - yes! - maths. Dara O'Briain is his usual avuncular self in the host's chair, solving a series of problems set by TV brainiac Marcus du Sautoy while being stymied at every turn by a dimwitted comedy guest, in this case David O'Doherty. There's nothing wrong with the show other than that it's just not very funny. Du Sautoy is something of a joke vacuum, while O'Doherty's shambolic presence leaves him in the unfortunate position of looking like a cut-price Alan Davies. It's also impossible to know who the target is: adults will find it patronising, while much of the humour is too strong for kids.

Dara O'Briain is actually a dab hand at maths: he has a degree in it (and theoretical physics) from University College Dublin. And he wastes no time in showing off his flair in this new series, which sees numbers genius Marcus du Sautoy set him and another guest comic problems that can be solved by the tricky, seemingly pointless bits of maths we never bothered to learn properly in school. Tonight it's all about 'positioning', which takes in 3D planes and angles, with O'Briain's fellow Irishman David O'Doherty playing the guest doofus. Heart-cheering TV with brains.