John Robinson

Does mainstream necessarily have to mean poor? As something like Miranda has shown us, absolutely not. However, Watson & Oliver, the sketch show from Lorna Watson and Ingrid Oliver, is the counter-argument. There are some original and amusing ideas here - the carnival dancer condemned to perform mundane non-carnival tasks, such as crossing the road or visiting the cashpoint, while imprisoned in her sequins and headdress - but it's hard to see how some of these skits (a spoof of The Killing? Really?) ever made it off the hard drive.

It's not a revolutionary sitcom, but that may well be the clandestine unique selling point of Heading Out: it places a gay character unremarkably at the centre of things, and lets her get on with it. Tonight, Sara (Sue Perkins) builds up to coming out to her own parents, by first telling someone else's: in this case, the Wodehousian eccentrics who gave issue to Toria, her life coach (the ace Joanna Scanlan). Best friends Jamie and Justine are, of course, on board for the reasonably amusing ride.

Last two comedy shorts of the series. There's a slightly patchy one - Nell, Ted And Marlon - about a member of So Solid Crew helping out with a community choir, but the real treat here is Alex Lowe and Fraser Steele's Barry, featuring Lowe's octogenarian character Barry from Watford. In his 80s and determined to live life to the full now his wife has left him for a local entrepreneur, he checks things off his bucket list with the help of his grandson. Joyous and such skilful character work. Full series please.

Sue Perkins writes and stars in her first sitcom, playing a vet whose parents don't know she's gay. It's her 40th birthday and her friends have got her a surprise. It's a nice break from the whimsy-strewn stuff that passes for sitcom these days; it's full of actual gags and Perkins's extensive comedy vocabulary always throws up a surprising word when a less inventive one would do. "Your cat is essentially a windsock," she tells one distraught pet-owner who won't accept it's gone. Hugely likable.

There seems to be a bit of a Charlie Brooker backlash at the moment, as the former poacher of irreverent TV criticism turns gamekeeper of satirical TV drama. Tonight's series finale of Black Mirror, however, plays to his surprising covert strength - writing a deeply twisted romance. Jamie, the voice of an Ali G-style cartoon bear called Waldo, is put in a tricky situation when Waldo turns on his would-be new girlfriend in a Network-style meltdown. Good stuff, but Brooker is probably still funnier mocking media "players" than political expediency.

Stella's helping out at the undertakers while Paula takes some time off to commune with the divine spirit, but her first funeral doesn't go to plan. Luke is unwisely seeing Zoe behind her maniac boyfriend's back and Dai isn't missing Paula half as much as she thinks he is. There's a bit of a scene at a Got To Dance audition, allowing Ashley Banjo to make another creaky cameo (Sky1 are masters of cross-promotion), while even Paul Kaye tones it down a bit this week in his one scene as the zany Dutch therapist. Nice.

This is a full series spun-off from Lapland, the festive com-dram one-off about the titular Eileen (Sue Johnston) and her sprawling Merseyside family, coping with life after her husband dies. Instructions for use: simply rub beloved TV actor between both palms for approximately 10 seconds and place next to a framed photo of a smiling dead husband. Within minutes you will have an effectively warmed heart that can last up to 30 minutes. Do not deviate from instructions on pack. Repeat as required.

A show that seems to have been pitched as Cold Feet for Oasis fans, Great Night Out is a comedy-drama that fails to deliver on both of those promises. For sure, there are some good people in it (Craig Parkinson in particular). Even the premise (four mid-30s lads from Stockport meet weekly to mull over their dilemmas) is not an unappealing one, but the unfunny stag night-style plot japes that surround them makes it all feel bogus. This week, Hodge votes with his feet, so to speak, when Kath suggests they "make a baby".

The creation of writer Neil Forsyth, Bob Servant is a character who has - through his email exchanges with internet spammers in Africa and Russia (he tells them, perplexingly, about the details of his life in Broughty Ferry, a Dundee suburb) - become a kind of Scottish national treasure, albeit a fictional one. This series, starring Brian Cox, attempts to bring this Pooter/Partridge-style creation to life on screen, and follows Bob as he campaigns to become an MP. Much like support for Bob, actual jokes are very thin on the ground.

Of course, Miranda is mainstream, gentle, mum-and-dad comedy. But it is very good mainstream mum-and-dad comedy. As ever, it's Miranda's chronic want of an edit button from which most laughs derive, but in tonight's episode Penny's political aspirations (a right-wing crusade in which she is ably assisted by Tilly) is a great sideshow. Meanwhile, envious of Gary, his new girlfriend Rose and their very public displays of affection, Miranda is spurred into direct action to find a boyfriend: going clubbing. The most over-acted show since Ab Fab - but no worse for that.