Jim Shelley

Phoebe Waller-Bridge achieved TV greatness

Phoebe Waller-Bridge achieved TV greatness, delivering a perfect ending emulating classics from Fawlty Towers to Girls. A brilliantly witty but touching finale of Fleabag.

It was with a heavy heart that we said goodbye to Harry Hill on Saturday.

For years now, TV Burp has pulled off the not inconsiderable trick of being both clever and stupid - often at the same time.

Gems from this week's show included "the Audrey back-pack" and telling Alan Sugar not to jump off the roof at the opening credits of The Apprentice.

The brilliant finale saw The Knitted Character, Amanda Lamb, two Hevvs from EastEnders, and Wagbo singing Adele.

Who could ever replace him (hint, hint)?

The Impressions Show saw Debra Stephenson miss two open goals with Hilary Devey and Tulisa. But with her physique, her Mary Portas, Claudia Winkleman and Fiona Bruce were exactly like the real thing - only foxier.

Jon Culshaw on the other hand was such a car crash his impersonations were more fascinating. His 'Bruce Forsyth' was bang on - if it had been Alex Ferguson, while his 'John Bishop', was the spit of Laurence Llewelyn Bowen. Final score? Debra Stephenson 5 - Jon Culshaw 0.

Jim Shelley's piece about The Inbetweeners movie provoked fierce arguments about whether the original TV show was a) truthful and hilarious or b) puerile rubbish. So we'll content ourselves with a gag from the show, posted by CousinBebop:

Simon: "No one brings a bag of shit to a pub."

Jay: "Your dad does."

Simon: "Does he?"

Jay: "Yeah, your mum."

Puerile? That?

Friday with Graham Norton better than Jonathan Ross

Friday Night With Graham Norton was a distinct improvement on the Jonathan Ross version. No sign of the Four Poofs or their Piano. No back-slapping with Ricky Gervais...

Channel 4's Alternative Election Night was good fun, if a little long. Still with only 3 results announced by midnight, it was better than all the endless, ill-informed, speculation going on over on BBC1 and ITV.

Gag of the night went to David Mitchell. "Does David Cameron actually find his wife attractive? Or, like everyone else, just feels he ought to?"

Predictably Jimmy Carr was rather less subtle, and came over all Ben Elton. "This is the most exciting election for 35 years. Margaret Thatcher can't remember a better election. Or the names of her children." Ouch!

The Thick Of It's Armando Iannucci revealed his abiding memory of the 1997 election. "I remember doing something not dissimilar to this - a live comedy show from this studio, went on for 3 hours," he recalled fondly. "My abiding memory of the entire election was sitting afterwards on a beer-sodden carpet next to Valerie Singleton watching Michael Portillo lose."

Bruce Forsyth cooks the comedy wannabes

Final score. Bruce: 5 - Modern-day wannabes: 0.

Advertising sitcom The Persuasionists was so imbecilic, you had to see it to believe it. Episode one centred on the marketing campaign for "Cockney Cheese" and the slogan "Cockney Cheese. Leave it aaaaaat !"

"If he's a Cockney man, strolling along in Cockney London," pointed out their client, 'Cockney Jim'. "He wouldn't be surprised to find some Cockney cheese ? Would he ?"
Er... no.

The Persuasionists stars Adam Buxton, Jarred Christmas, Simon Farnaby, Iain Lee, Lee Ross, and is written by Jonathan Thake. Boys, your friends are embarrassed to know you.

In Big Top, Amanda Holden plays Lizzie, owner and ringmaster of a down-at-heel circus in North Staffordshire. "Gather round," she began the series. "We have a problem."

We certainly did. We had (un-) magically gone back to the imbecilic sitcoms of the 1970s.

A bogus poster had been put up by their rivals calling Circus Maestro/Big Top "the UK's lousiest circus. Groan at our useless jugglers, yawn at our tedious clowns.."

"Who could possibly hate us any this much ?" she cried. "Well it could be anyone who's seen the show," one performer quipped. Quite.

"If we're so terrible, how come we get a huge cheer when we finish ?" asked one of the clowns.

There were: ferret-down-the-trousers gags, Lizzie's Aunt Helen setting her up with (wait for it) a bearded lady, and (of course) a shot of John Thomson's bum. There was even a Romanian trapeze artist worthy of Mind Your Language.

For all its BAFTAs, series three of Gavin & Stacey was about as fresh or contemporary as Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em. Sadly, it's all become a bit twee and stagey.

It began with Gavin starting his first day at work - an occasion that necessitated every other character to ring him up. "Hiya it's me, it's Stacey," announced Stacey - the Betty Spencer of the piece. "I know," grinned Gav, virtually rolling his eyes to camera. Mugging furiously, Rob Brydon (Bryn) even turned up to bring him a packed lunch!

James Corden meanwhile went into squealing pig mode, over-acting his socks off.
"I don't know who he is anymore! He's changed!" Smithy moaned preposterously. With Gavin & Stacey reduced to caricatures, this series should be called Dave & Ness who remained a masterclass in understatement. The baby was christened "Neil Noel Edmond Smith." The days when the vicar is due and the turkey isn't defrosted can't be far away.