David Stubbs (I)

Different Times: A History Of British Comedy review

Political correctness saved comedy? You must be joking.

It's the last episode in what has been an excellent series, so much so that it gets away with having a 31-year-old (Nicola Coughlan) playing a 16-year-old (Clare Devlin). Tonight, though, it's Erin who comes to the fore, desperate for a juicy exclusive for the school magazine. This arrives in the form of a lesbian scandal. Sister Michael, however, played with wonderfully dry cynicism by Siobhan McSweeney, puts the mockers on that. A lovely finale, tinged with a bitter reminder of the Troubles against which it is set.

The last instalment of this generally fine series is sadly not its best episode. It's a supernatural tale of a dead hoarder and the council contractors sent to go through his belongings, carrying the slightly trite message: "Be careful what you wish for." Still, it does feature Nigel Planer, no longer a Young One, alas.

Apart from a slightly improbable precocity about the performances of the schoolgirls of its title, Lisa McGee's sitcom, set in Ireland in the mid-90s at the tail end of the Troubles, is highly engaging, bristlingly funny stuff. This week, they are particularly on edge having been up all night studying for an exam. However, a dubious case of an "apparition" affords them the chance to get out of the exam and spend quality theological time with the dishy Father Peter.

These self-contained episodes co-written by and starring Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith are often dark, as befits their League of Gentlemen pedigree. This one is too, in its way, but its also moving and very sweet in the tribute it pays to an expired mode of popular comedy. The duo star as Len and Tommy, AKA "Cheese And Crackers", light entertainers who split up 30 years ago reuniting one last time, despite recrimination and the divergent paths they've taken.

Because Christmas wouldn't be Christmas and all that, a double dose of E&E. First, a trawl of their archive of home movies from the 1950s and 60s, seen for the first time by Eric's surviving relatives. Then, on BBC Four, an engaging Neil Forsyth-scripted drama starring Stephen Tompkinson as Eddie Braben, the Liverpudlian co-responsible for the massive success of the duo in the 70s but who was worked to exhaustion under pressure.

This is destined to be as satisfyingly festive as a Christmas pudding drenched in gravy or a Christmas cracker bursting with brussels sprouts. It's over to Jack Whitehall's country manor for this edition, with Andrew "flat Earth" Flintoff, James Corden and Jamie Redknapp joined by guests David Seaman, Kriss Akabusi and Nigel Havers to look back on their favourite moments from the last 12 - yes, that's right, 12 - series. Warning: may contain banter.

It says as much about the cultural inertia of this century as well as the passing of time that, crikey, it's almost 19 years since The League of Gentlemen first graced our screens, making stars of Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton and Mark Gatiss. They return in their grotesque guises to Royston Vasey; the fact that the actors have aged adds an extra layer of eeriness (and makeup) to their familiar creations.

This Jack Whitehall vehicle has been a curious beast. There are shades of The Three Amigos as his art expert finds himself hopelessly floundering in the world of ruthless gangsterism into which he is cast. However, there are also moments of quite shocking violence, including the shooting of his own father, with which the comedy sits awkwardly. Tonight sees him summoned to Mexico to explain the value of the Syrian loot to its purchasers in a final showdown.

There are those who look down on this fib-based panel show, but it is capable of delivering sustained belly-laughs like few others - not least when Bob Mortimer is on. No changes in format for this new series, whose guests are Jo Brand, Kimberly Wyatt of Pussycat Dolls, David Baddiel and Ed Balls, now well into reinventing himself as a TV personality, and the comedy of whose surname does not go unnoticed.