Ian Wolf

This documentary about George Formby was rather good, but personally, I would have preferred to have seen more of Formby and less of Skinner. Frank Skinner on George Formby appeared to be more to do with Skinner's love of the innuendo-filled singer rather than the actual man himself.

For those not fully aware of Formby's background there was a lot more to him than meets the eye. For starters his own father, George Formby Senior, was a successful music hall act, and as a result Formby Junior had a much more comfortable living than people think. Also, his father sent him to work at a stable because he didn't want Junior working in the music hall himself.

The show also covered his relationship with his wife and manager Beryl, a woman who was hugely jealous of any other woman approaching Formby. Then there are the stories of his performances in South Africa when he was told to play in front of segregated audiences, but he refused and decided to play in front of black audiences. As a result, the Formbys were kicked out of the country and man who organised the black performances was shot.

I'd have liked to have seen more - but since much of the programme was about how Skinner has learnt how to play the ukulele (and about Formby's fan club), there was a distinct lack of depth. I do know of more detailed programmes about Formby's life, though. I'd personally recommend the Radio 2 documentary George Formby - Britain's Original Pop Star presented by Stuart Maconie, which was broadcast earlier this year.

In terms of Skinner's contribution, it did give him the chance to play "With My Little Stick of Blackpool Rock" in a Blackpool rock factory, which itself is a fascinating process, starting with a massive roll of rock and working its way down to smaller sections, something which I didn't know about...

The good news is that David Suchet appears to be better at presenting documentaries than Sid Field. The bad news is that we didn't see much of Sid Field.

However, this is not Suchet's fault, as very little archive footage of him exists. He only made a handful of films, the most famous of which was London Town, a film panned by critics and which fails to show him at his best. Not only that, there is only one existing sound interview with him. Due to the lack of footage, very few people remember him, although he was one of the most popular comedians of his age.

Not only was he incredibly popular, he was an influence on both Tony Hancock and Spike Milligan. He invented character comedy and camp comedy. He was a popular singer and he could also do straight acting, starring in the lead role in the stage version of Harvey.

There was much to like with this show. My favourite titbit from it, mind, was the story of Field's wedding day. As his mother didn't approve of his marriage he got married on the quiet. His wedding day dinner was a cup of tea and some fish and chips from the local chip shop.

The best bit of news from this programme is that a previously lost feature film starring Field called That's The Ticket has been rediscovered, so we can see him perform in a more successful manner.

The first of the three programmes is The Story of Music Hall, which explores the history of music hall, presented by Michael Grade - something he has an interest in as his Uncle Lou had a music hall act, which consisted of dancing the Charleston on a table.

This documentary was a mixed bag. There were several nuggets about how the music hall led to the creation of modern comedy. The early comedians were comic songsters. Strange to think that the most traditional comedians in this sense today come in the form of performers like Bill Bailey and The Mighty Boosh.

Also it's interesting to know that music hall acts still had the same concerns about class as later generations had, and some might say still have. The acts were also sometimes political, although they had very little impact as not many people who attended music hall could vote. My particular favourite piece of information was that the vast majority of music hall entertainers and audiences were conservative. Considering that now just about every comedian tries to be left-wing and avoids anything that is remotely Tory, it's a big change to the way things were.

However, much of this programme was also quite dull. Rather than concentrating on the performers the programme was often looking at agents or the businessmen running things. Grade doesn't come across as a great TV presenter, either. Not that he was the worst person on it. That dishonourable title goes to Dr. Oliver Double, who is a professor of stand-up comedy. How much money would you pay to avoid someone with a title like that?

This comedy drama is an "accurate" retelling of the events surrounding the making of Monty Python's Life of Brian and the accusations against its blasphemy.

You know right from the start what you're letting yourself in for when Jesus comes onto the screen speaking Aramaic and then farts into a disciple's face. The main cast; Darren Boyd (as John Cleese), Charles Edwards (Michael Palin), Steve Punt (Eric Idle), Rufus Jones (Terry Jones), Tom Fisher (Graham Chapman) and Phil Nichol (Terry Gilliam) are great at portraying the original stars, or rather exaggerated versions of them. For example, Cleese is characterised as Basil Fawlty, Palin is the nicest man in the world and Idle is a "greedy bastard."

The programme was full of references to both Python and events relating to the modern day, and introduced by a rolling credit sequence akin to the way many episodes of Flying Circus had, which I personally found hilarious. There are other connections to the Python saga, too, like Palin's wife being played by Jones in drag (Rufus or Terry, take your pick).

Then there are the links to the actual film, such as the debate between bishops and devils which is akin to the People's Front of Judea talking about "what the Romans have ever done for us". Holy Flying Circus also refers to offensive comedy incidents in the present day, like Jerry Springer the Opera and just about anything to do with Frankie Boyle.

My favourite scene in the entire programme, however, was a cameo from Alexander McQueen as the BBC's Head of Rude Words. His wonderfully stiff performance as a typical Beeb executive reading out the rudest words he could think of was delightful. There was no racist, sexist or homophobic language - but there was a member of the Ku Klux Klan earlier on so you could argue that was covered as well.

I know many critics were dissatisfied by the fact it wasn't entirely factual. All I have to say to that is if you want something factual then watch a documentary.

For the first time in six years, The Comic Strip, the comedy which was broadcast on Channel 4's opening night, returns with a film noir spoof on former Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Stephen Mangan played the PM, who finds himself on the run from Inspector Hutton (Robbie Coltrane), who arrests him for a murder Blair claims he didn't commit. During his attempt to escape the law he pushes an Old Labour tramp off a train (Ross Noble), kills a spookily accurate predictor of the future (Rik Mayall) and ends up in bed with Baroness Thatcher (Jennifer Saunders).

This episode features some great performances, from Mangan as Blair, Saunders as Thatcher, Harry Enfield as an "f-word" fuelled Alistair Campbell (still think Malcolm Tucker is the better, ruder and funnier spin doctor), and Nigel Planer's spooky reincarnation of Peter Mandelson. There were plenty of laughs to be had, especially if you're a film noir fan; for example, Rik Mayall's Professor Predictor is a clear parody of Mr. Memory from Hitchcock's The 39 Steps.

There were also actual moments of tension. My favourite bit in the episode featured Blair in Thatcher's mansion, preparing to change for dinner and being told by the butler Tebbit (John Sessions) not to look in a cupboard. Blair obviously does and out of it pops the rotting skeleton body of Dennis Thatcher.

If I were to have any complaints about this programme, it would be that Tony Blair doesn't seem to be that much of a current satirical subject to mock. Not only is Blair no longer Prime Minister, he wasn't even our last Prime Minister. We've had two different people in the position since he's left. If this was made while Blair was still in power it would have had a much bigger impact.

It seems unlikely that the ultimate question to the ultimate answer to life, the universe and everything is: "How many series of Have I Got News for You have there been?" But this week saw the start of the 42nd series.

Jo Brand hosted the first episode back, with Victoria Coren alongside Ian Hislop and Graham Linehan with Paul Merton. When I learnt about the line-up my immediate reaction was, "Thank God!" It's something of a rarity for HIGNFY to have a line-up consisting of people who are all essentially humorists. No politicians, no journalists, just people who are paid to be funny for a living. That is who we want. It's generally one of the advantages that Mock the Week has over HIGNFY, in that all the people on MTW are nearly always comics.

Everyone on this week's show had their moments, whether it's Coren on her hatred of cat lovers, Linehan's in-depth knowledge of Twitter, or Merton suggesting confusion between Michael Winner smoking a cigar and a picture of a seagull doing a poo. What a wonderfully awful image.

However, the best bit was that this episode was the first in a while which didn't make any lazy jokes about Eric Pickles being fat. It won't last...

Gigglebox Weekly #21 - Buzzcocks, TV Burp

This week Ian Wolf witnesses a fight and Louie Spence dancing.

This week saw the return of what has been speculated by many to be the final series of TV Burp to be hosted by Harry Hill. My fingers are crossed that isn't the case.

Hill, after so many years in charge of the show, is still able to find the tiniest aspects of any show and make a joke out of it, keeping it going on and on, forming a centrepiece that you want to return to constantly; whether it be his half-time fights, the "TV Highlight of the Week" or "Poetry Corner".

In the first episode of this series, the main recurring gag was about a man called Stephen on Channel 4's [o]Coach Trip[/i], who seemed to be so emotionless that Hill claimed there was another man called Ian trapped inside him. However, my favourite moment in this week's show was from There's No Taste Like Home in which Hill was constantly trying to figure out who had really made Nanny Maud's rabbit pie.

TV Burp is without doubt one of the best shows on ITV. It is the most successful mainstream comedy of modern times - popular with audiences and critics - winning more awards than My Family could ever had dreamt of.

However, would the format survive without Harry Hill? I doubt it.

The 25th series of Never Mind the Buzzcocks contains some new elements from the previous editions: new rounds, new set. But it still sticks with ever-changing hosts.

This week, following his stint on Ask Rhod Gilbert, it was David Hasselhoff's turn in the hot seat. Guests included Peter Serafinowicz, Louie Spence, and the usual two musical guests than no-one has ever heard of and whose names I can't remember.

The only contribution these musical guests made that stuck in my mind is that one of them was able to read the answers on Hasselhoff's question cards (possible flaw with the new set design maybe?). Here we see the key problem with panel games - it relies on the right guests. Yes, they know a lot about music, but you watch the show for the comedy they're a bit of a waste.

Obviously there are some good moments, whether it is Hasselhoff making fun of himself, the panel making fun of him, or Louie Spence merely doing anything; but Buzzcocks has never been the greatest panel show ever made...

This new show on Dave features a mixture of documentary and stand-up. Here Jo Brand, a keen swimmer, looks at the British love of water, swimming and all things wet.

The problem with this show is that while Jo Brand is a very good stand-up comedian, her stand-up always gets interrupted by these documentary elements of the show. At times it is less a comedy, and more akin to the Channel 5 series Rory and Paddy's Great British Adventure, featuring lots of people taking part in silly challenges. Also, quite a few of these segments are either boring or disgusting. For example, at one point Brand goes down into a London sewer. One thing that I've always believed in is that excrement is a much funnier thing when it's talked about rather than seen. Seeing poo on screen is never funny.

However, some of the documentary elements are particular eye-catching. My favourite was the Maldon Mud Race, which involves running across a muddy river bank. Brand did this event alongside Sean Lock, with both of them wearing wetsuits, getting covered in mud, falling over, and in the end taking a shower together. I felt like I was beginning to watch some comedic fetish film.

Luckily, for those who are not interested in any of the documentary elements of this programme, the final episode of the series just features Brand's stand-up, so you can just wait until then.