Kristen Schaal

Kristen Schaal will be familiar as superfan Mel from Flight of The Conchords, but she also writes and performs in this comedy pilot, Penelope Princess of Pets. The premise is bizarre: Penelope can talk to the animals and, on a sightseeing trip to London, learns that an MP called Stone (Julian Barratt) plans a war between the humans and the animals.

Kristen Schaal, the amusingly creepy/kooky obsessive fan woman from Flight Of The Conchords, plays Penelope, a sort of Prozac Nation Saint Francis Of Assisi, and Julian Barratt is her nemesis, an evil Tory MP. Quirky rather than hilarious, but worth a squizz on an off-night for telly generally.

The Comedy Lab strand showcases up-and-coming comic talent, allowing comedians the chance to experiment and the right to fail. But, my goodness, it's a hit-and-miss affair. Take tonight's two sketch shows. You would be well advised to give iCandy a wide birth, but the second, Happy Finish, is a much funnier affair and showcases show fresh new comedic talent. On Wednesday the Flight of the Conchords star Kristen Schaal stars in the very silly Penelope Princess of Pets, before Jack Whitehall carries out a Secret Census to find out how honest Britain is. Filth (Thursday) is a crude comedy set in the offices of a lads' mag and stars James Buckley from the The Inbetweeners and Danny Dyer. On Friday, MovieMash spoofs film magazine programmes, while Hung Out follows four friends newly arrived in London from Bristol.

Interview with Kristen and Kurt

Hilarious, energetic and refreshingly surreal. Meet award-winning double-act Kristen Schaal and Kurt Braunohler.

This latest pilot has enough comic pedigree to split the funny atom. David Cross (Arrested Development) and Monkey Dust's Shaun Pye write - the cast includes Sharon Horgan, Will Arnett, Russell Tovey and even a blink-and-you'll-miss-it shot of Kristen Schaal. Cross is Todd, a desk monkey who's sent to London by Arnett to promote a hideous energy drink. It doesn't quite hold together, and is short a laugh or five, but the talent suggests it could still be worth a series.