Jimmy Carr

10 O'Clock Live: Jimmy Carr is 'petrified' of live TV

Jimmy Carr has admitted that he gets scared when appearing on a live TV.

10 O'Clock Live has seriously high levels of Laverne

I tune in to 10 O'Clock Live on a Friday in the hope of a few laughs at the hands of Charlie Brooker. But in tonight's episode this comprised only five minutes of the hour which was otherwise given over to cheap one-liners from Jimmy Carr and the always-grating Lauren Laverne waffling.

The Horne Section: Songs in the key of silly

It's the perfect match. The improvised musings of the country's best comedians combined with the free-form noodlings of a five-piece jazz band. When The Horne Section debuted at Edinburgh this summer, it quickly became the talk of the Fringe. Punters clutching pints queued round the block for the occasional, lightly shambolic midnight shows. Jimmy Carr dropped by to rap out 10 one-liners over 10 different beats, Tim Minchin improvised a song about cheese and Tim Key performed a track by the Russian punk band Leningrad. There were burlesque dancers, shared bags of chips and 2am Bon Jovi singalongs, led by Josie Long with Mark Watson on drums.

10 O'Clock Live is That Was The Week That Was for now, and good fun because of that show's formidable heritage, as the four presenters are all competing to avoid being cast as the new Lance Percival, he of the laugh-free "topical calypsos".

David Mitchell and Jimmy Carr are jockeying for the David Frost role; Lauren Laverne is Millicent Martin, the not-so-dumb blonde. Mitchell didn't quite know whether to ask proper questions or go for gags during a discussion on bankers' bonuses, but he fared much better when interviewing the universities minister, probably because he's passionate about education.

Best joke? That would be Charlie Brooker on the unrest in Tunisia. He described the incident where a young vegetable seller set himself on fire as "an act of tomartyrdom".

One week in, there has so far been a mixed reception for 10 O'Clock Live, Channel 4's new satirical current affairs programme. Too slow, say some, lacking "bite", say others. Our principal complaint is this: as the show's only female host, can't Lauren Laverne be given more to do? She's whip-smart, funny, and she's the most experienced live broadcaster among them, yet she has been largely confined to providing the links between Jimmy Carr, Charlie Brooker and David Mitchell's set "comedy" pieces. Come on Channel 4, she's better than that.

There was a debate about banking in 10 O'Clock Live, C4's new satire show which, as the title suggests, goes out live. David Mitchell noted that anger at the banks has gone "way beyond the irritation at the pens on strings". It was the best line in what turned out to be a non-event discussion, and one of the highlights of what felt very much like a trial-run hour.

Both Mitchell and Jimmy Carr, who coined the imperishable double-entendre "Johnson out, Balls in" to mark the shadow cabinet reshuffle, enjoyed successful first nights. That's chiefly because they had the strongest monologues and, as it stands, 10 O'Clock Live is over-leveraged on contractualised diatribe obligations.

Charlie Brooker's rant on the egregious Sarah Palin was a frenzied rush at a door that had been kicked off its hinges a long time ago, and all he managed to hit was a brick wall. Whereas the fourth member, Lauren Laverne, had to make do with a lame skit on another mouldy target, American news anchors, and came across as a rather fey Tina Fey. Even the more up-to-date material, such as the revolt in Tunisia, suffered from over-exposure, not least in the show itself, where it featured in two almost identical riffs on tourism.

Although you only launch once, these are very early days. The comedic chemistry and sense of live urgency will take a while to develop. It was not helped by the blank spaciousness of the set, which leaves the participants looking removed not just from the audience but external events. The show's key asset, though, is four talented performers. Last Thursday they each looked as if they desperately didn't want to be the one that failed. Either they make more overt use of that competition or increase the opportunities for collaboration. More dialogue, in other words, and less monologue.

Building on the success of their Alternative Election Night earlier this year, the comic quartet of Charlie Brooker, David Mitchell, Jimmy Carr and Lauren Laverne return for a new series of informative and amusing takes on news and current affairs - although left-wing views are sure to dominate. Joined by guests from the spheres of politics, science and culture, as well as a live studio audience, the show mixes jokes with interviews and debates.

Jimmy Carr has said that Ofcom has set up a panic room in anticipation of this live hour of mirth on Channel 4 - a joke, ostensibly, though the evening will undoubtedly be juicy with Carr, David Mitchell, Charlie Brooker and Lauren Laverne at the helm. The same quartet hosted C4's excellent Alternative Election Night and it looks like more or less the same set-up: intelligent and funny chat with bright-spark guests discussing current affairs, plus interviews and topical comedy. Bring it on.

10 O'Clock Live, Channel 4, preview

David Mitchell, Lauren Laverne, Jimmy Carr and Charlie Brooker present a new live show with a satirical take on current events.

The brilliant election coverage afforded by David Mitchell, Lauren Laverne, Jimmy Carr and Charlie Brooker was viewed as such a success, they've decided to go ahead and sign them up for an hour a week of live topical comedy. It's bound to be hilarious.

Well, no, it isn't. Much as we like the four acts - alright, "like" is a bit strong for one or two - much as we acknowledge that the four main acts have some worth, we know that adding them together will be like making four decentish musicians into a rock supergroup and having them jam for a one-off Hall Of Fame appearance, i.e. a bit underwhelming. But despite our misgivings (not so much a misgiving as the certain knowledge it'll be rubbish), it's probably the kind of thing we should encourage. So, go on, team. Try to add up to the sum of your parts. That's all we ask.