Ian Wolf

Lost Voice Guy to perform debut Fringe show this summer

Lee Ridley, a.k.a. "Lost Voice Guy", will be performing his first solo show, Voice of Choice, at the Edinburgh Fringe this summer.

On at exactly the same time and on the same day as Heading Out, Dave's panel show Alexander Armstrong's Big Ask returned for a second series this week.

The format's pretty much the same as before. Alexander Armstrong presents and all three of his guests, in this case Jo Brand, Stephen Mangan and Tim Vine, have to come up with the questions everyone will be asking. Amongst the questions that came up included the subject of the clurichaun (the "leprechaun's naughty cousin"), why the Aztecs were such unsuccessful warriors, and Adam's first wife...who wasn't Eve.

It's a good show, and while the fact it's on Dave means it will never get a big audience (much of it taken away thanks to Perkins's show on the other side) it still deserves a watch because it can throw up some decent moments. One example was a tangent which involved Manga talking about his upcoming role in the film version of Postman Pat - speaking parts only mind, the singing being down by Gary Barlow.

However, perhaps the best thing about this new series is that the idea of the "fact bunker" with Dave Lamb verifying the information has been got rid of. It never worked and I'm glad to see the change made. In fact, I pointed out this was the weakest moment when I reviewed the first series last year. Giz a job, Dave.

New to BBC Two, Sue Perkins stars in a new sitcom about a lesbian vet - although she herself has described it as not being a "gay sitcom".

Perkins plays Sara, who in the opening episode celebrates her 40th birthday. However, she has one major problem coming up: she's never told her parents that she's gay, making up bizarre-sounding boyfriends like a Frenchman who sells false legs. To make things worse, they're coming up to see her in a few weeks. As a result, for her birthday her parents decide to hire Sara a rather unorthodox (and to Sara an annoying) lifestyle coach called Toria (Joanna Scanlan), to give her the courage to finally come out. If Sara fails to do so, Toria's under instructions to tell Sara's parents herself.

This opening episode was very good. The first scene, in which Sara deals with a cat called Mosley owned by someone who seems to be keen on alternative therapies (Ella Kenion), is great. It gets better when she starts to put the cat down, only for the owner to change her mind half-way through. This leads to an even better scene starring Mark Heap as the undertaker at a pet crematorium, in a typically bonkers role that we are used to seeing him in. The laughs keep coming.

Much of the better comic moments are slightly skewed. It's not off-the-wall surrealism, it's just slightly odd, but in this case odd works well. Whether it's a scene involving a netball team doing a haka or the idea of a restaurant which tells you the name of the cow you are eating, it all seems to be working well.

And Sue's right - the fact the lead character's gay appears to be something just in the background. This series has potential, but the big test is still to come.

On late-night Radio 4 is a new sketch show from comedians Dan Antopolski, Tom Craine and Nat Luurtsema.

Jigsaw's most notable characteristic - if indeed it is such a thing - is their brevity. Most of the sketches are very short, which given the fact the show is only 15 minutes long is a sensible move. The average length of the sketches appeared to be around a minute.

With such a format, it's key to try and makes the sketches hit the mark as often as possible; in this first episode most of the sketches didn't quite hit the mark, but when they did they really flied. My personal favourites was just one sketch in, when a couple are having sex; the women then gives her partner some strawberries, unaware of his allergy to them. I also quite liked the technology sketch with music about the "Bandwidth Bandito".

It's hard to sum up such a short show, but there are some gems hidden within this shower of sketches. I';l certainly be tuning in next week.

Entering its second series, Dilemma is a Radio 4 panel game hosted by Sue Perkins where the guests are forced to admit what they'd do in various - unlikely - ethical situations.

In this opening episode Paul Sinha was asked what it would take for him to stop supporting Liverpool FC; the poet Lemn Sissay was queried on plastic surgery; actor Margaret Cabourn-Smith was asked how far she would help her daughter if she was involved in a drunken hit-and-run; and Graeme Garden had to decide if would only watch ITV in order to preserve the BBC's future.

Aside from Lemn Sissay, the panellists all had their moments. But my favourite 'bit' was when the show opened out to the audience, and the panel then had to pass judgement on their dilemma - including a man who was at the show with two women and didn't know which one to take back home after. Safe to say he didn't come off well.

Dilemma's basically just a round-table discussion programme with jokes. It's nowhere near as fierce as other panel shows like Mock the Week, and if you like your panel shows to be a bit more relaxing then Dilemma is one to seek out.

Stand-up Susan Calman is mostly noted for her appearances on The News Quiz. However this new late-night show, Susan Calman is Convicted, gives the Scottish comic her own platform to get on her soap box.

In the first episode, Calman looks at civil partnerships and gay marriage. Calman is gay herself and in a civil partnership, not that she calls it that as she constantly refers to herself as being married. She talks about her sexuality, how she wants to be able to get married, and the problems she had with her own civil partnership, which included the fact that marriage couldn't be mentioned during the entire ceremony for legal reasons. Come to think of it, this opening episode couldn't have been better timed for Calman, following the vote on legalising gay marriage being passed in the House of Commons.

But concentrating on the show itself, there's a lot of it I liked, most of which wasn't really concerned with the theme. There were all sorts of odd tangents, like when she talks about her love for her three cats, which includes dressing them up and giving each of them their own jingle.

The problem programmes like this and Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation (which starts its ninth series at the end of the month) is that there's a danger of them getting too preachy. It's true that these kinds of shows won't be for people whose politics are right-wing, but in my experience right-wing people tend to be more "laughed at" than "laughed with", which is why there's never been a right-wing equivalent of Mark Thomas. The problem's that people think that those who are "laughed at" are electable (see Boris Johnson).

If you don't mind the preachy nature of these kinds of programmes, however, you'll get a lot of enjoyment from a performer like Calman.

I'm a big fan of sci-fi and fantasy comedy, but ElvenQuest has always come across as "good, not great". However, this new, fourth series started with an episode which could change my opinion...

For those unfamiliar with the series, it's a set in a Tolkien-esque fantasy world called Lower Earth, where a group of "Questers" are trying to find the all-powerful Sword of Asnagar. Two of the Questers are Sam Porter (Stephen Mangan), a fantasy writer from our world, and his dog Amis, who's transformed into a human (Dave Lamb). Both were sent to Lower Earth by the other Questers.

Elf leader Vidar (Darren Boyd), Dean the dwarf (Kevin Eldon), and warrior princess Penthiselea (Ingrid Oliver, though formally Sophie Winkleman) complete the cast.

In this opening episode, the Questers defeats some trolls in the kingdom of Premenstrua - ruled by unpredictable Queen Eleanor (Louise Delamere), who is celebrating her birthday and wants a present. The 'present' is the entire story of the Questers, which they must write up over the course of a single night on pain of death...

Probably the main reason this episode stood out was because of Sam, and how useless he is in comparison to the others. But by the same token, the characters are the main issue with the series.

Some of them are great - especially Lord Darkness (Alistair McGowan), whose cunning plans often get too cunning... and he's brought down by something simple like forgetting his keys. However, other characters aren't so well fleshed out. Penthiselea just seems like a typical fantasy, sci-fi heroine - somewhat violent and slightly sexual, but often just filling a gap because the writer thought they needed at least one woman in the story and they couldn't think of anything more imaginative.

If the writers manage to flesh out their creations more than this series could well be perfect. That's the only thing holding ElvenQuest back.

Currently in the middle of its second series, Stella is a comedy drama starring and co-written by Ruth Jones. It certainly has a lot of support because a third series has been commissioned already.

Set in the fictional Welsh town of Pontyberry, Jones plays the title character, a woman in her mid-40s who is divorced and with three kids (like in Spy, divorcees appear to be a recurring theme in Sky comedy). Stella's eldest son is in prison, the middle child is a troublesome daughter and the youngest son is bullied for being too clever.

The series follows her life and those of her friends and neighbours, which include Paula (Elizabeth Berrington), an undertaker with a love of booze, and Alan (Steve Speirs) the school lollipop man - and rugby coach - who has loved Stella since school.

Again, another similarity with Spy was the good use of visual humour. There's one scene in which Paula tries to sober up by taking some flowers out of a glass vase and drinking the water that's inside. Then there are the neighbours across the road, who for some reason have a pet donkey.

The characters, however, are more likable than those in Spy. I love Alan's pathetic attempts to win over Stella's affections - like getting her a jar of anchovies. And while the drama can be a bit predictable, I do prefer Stella over Spy. It's more realistic, more likeable, and the created situations are just a lot more fun.

Since Pick TV is handing over Thursday evenings to Sky programming, two comedies are currently being shown to Freeview audiences for the first time. One of these is Spy, a pre-watershed sitcom starring Darren Boyd.

For those who haven't seen the past two seasons, Boyd plays Tim, a divorced man working in an electronic store, who just wants to please his precocious son Marcus (Jude Wright). Tim decides to get himself a new job, but due to a mix up he ends up being recruited into MI5. And due to the Official Secrets Act, he can't tell Marcus about his exciting work...

The opening episode had a fair few laughs in it, mostly visual. It has to be said that some scenes, especially the one in which Tim takes an exam and covers his desk in stationary and good luck items, reminds me somewhat of the opening episode of Mr Bean which features a similar scene, albeit with the absence of studio laughter (which some would argue to be an improvement).

The characters, however, are the key. Tim's MI5 boss, "The Examiner" (Robert Lindsey), is a fun creation and from what I understand is very good. However, Marcus was totally unbearable; I just didn't like him at all. It's a pity that Tim didn't have an actual licence to kill and do away with the annoying little monster.

I'd like to think I'd keep watching Spy, but to be honest Marcus is so off-putting I'm not sure if I would...

Having become something of a success during the Paralympics last year, Channel 4 has brought back this live chat show looking at the week's events - and trying to ask questions no-one else would.

Hosted by Adam Hills (disabled - one foot), and featuring contributions from Josh Widdicombe (not disabled) and sports journalist Alex Brooker (disabled - one leg, hand deformities), The Last Leg features interviews with guests (this week it's actor Idris Elba - not disabled), as well as topical discussion.

However, the main feature is the contributions from online, especially under the Twitter hashtag #IsItOk, where people are encouraged to ask more uncomfortable and difficult questions, without fear of judgement. In this case I would like to ask my own question: #IsItOk that the mentally disabled get so much less TV coverage than the physically disabled?

I ask this because I'm disabled myself, but my disability is Asperger's syndrome. It's something I have written about before but I'm willing to bring it up again; the only disabled people you ever see on TV are those who look different, whether it's in terms of their appearance (e.g. missing limbs) or whether have to use some form of equipment (e.g. artificial feet). If you're disabled but look perfectly normal - because the part of you that's been affected is your brain, like mine is - then you might as well forget getting any coverage.

Over the next few days the Winter Special Olympics, which are the games for the mentally disabled, will be held in South Korea. The amount of coverage being given to it is minimal. The British have got seven alpine skiers going to the games, but will we see their efforts on national television? I somehow doubt we will. I fear that the names Wayne McCarthy, Jane Andrews, Mikael Undrom, Elizabeth Allen, Luke Purdie, Clare Lines and Robert Holden will not be remembered, or even acknowledged by most people.

However, for what it does, The Last Leg seems to cover most things rather well. My main problem, other than what I have already mentioned, is that half-an-hour seems too short. A live show like this needs more airtime to get comfortable.