Mark Heap

The opening episode of a sitcom is always tricky, but Friday Night Dinner is particularly underwhelming so far, like a less interesting version of Simon Amstell's Grandma's House.

Dad gets the wrong end of the stick, mum's weird, the neighbour's weirder, the sons revert to childish behaviour when they return home, the sofa man comes on the wrong day, the sofa gets stuck on the stairs. Perhaps this is part of a new trend for gentleness someone was telling me about. I think it's taking it too far though; it's not funny enough.

But the cast is good: The Inbetweeners' Simon Bird, Green Wing's Mark Heap, and everything's Tamsin Greig. Writer Robert Popper has an impressive CV: Look Around You, Peep Show, South Park. Maybe we'll give it one more go. The sit's established, now let's have the com.

Surprisingly traditional family sitcom from Look Around You's estimable Robert Popper. Green Wing's Tamsin Greig, Paul Ritter, Simon Bird from The Inbetweeners and Brass Eye's Mark Heap star as the Goodman family and their odd neighbour respectively. It will draw comparisons with Grandma's House in that it's about a Jewish family, but the trad exterior slowly begins to yield Popper's distinctive comic voice as this first episode warms up. Superb stuff.

If you liked the cleverly played-out dysfunctionality of Grandma's House, you'll enjoy this new comedy. Newcomer Jack Rosenthal and Inbetweeners star Simon Bird play brothers joining their parents (Tamsin Greig and Paul Ritter) at the family home for dinner. The evening descends into enjoyable farce as a man unexpectedly comes to collect the sofa bed, Dad figures out how to avoid chucking away his New Scientists and a weird neighbour (Green Wing's Mark Heap) keeps popping in to use the loo.

Last year the BBC aired Grandma's House, Simon Amstell's acerbic sitcom about a dysfunctional Jewish family. The very mixed notices it received have clearly not deterred Channel 4, who keep the middle-class Jewish mayhem coming with this new series from writer Robert Popper. Each episode centres on Friday night dinner with the Goodman family. Bickering brothers Adam (Simon Bird, star of The Inbetweeners) and Jonny (newcomer Tom Rosenthal, son of sports broadcaster Jim) are reluctant attendees, while their mother Jackie (Tamsin Greig, fresh from appearing alongside Matt LeBlanc and Stephen Mangan in Episodes) and father Martin (Pulling's Paul Ritter) try to uphold some family values. In tonight's opening episode, Jackie is intent on getting the boys to watch the MasterChef final, while Martin is preoccupied with rescuing old copies of New Scientist from the dump. Things are further complicated by the continual interruptions from weird neighbour Jim (Mark Heap), who claims to have broken his loo. As a comedy, it's not mean-spirited and cynical, but actually rather sweet. Of course, It's too early to say if it'll be a hit - in particular it is unclear whether Bird has acting gears other than his sarcastic, awkward Inbetweeners persona - but there's certainly enough here to keep you watching.

Doing for rambling what Rev did for inner-city religion, The Great Outdoors debuted on BBC4 last autumn and now BBC2 is repeating the three episodes. Andy Riley and Kevin Cecil's charming sitcom meets a group of walkers led by Mark Heap just as they're joined by pushy new member Ruth Jones, who tries to make the gang go her way. Often literally. Also rambling are Katherine Parkinson, Steve Edge and Stephen "Skoose from Whites" Wight.

Ruth Jones and Mark Heap (whose CV stretches from Spaced to Lark Rise To Candleford) head up the cast of this superior, three-part sitcom previously screened on BBC4 last summer about a walking club.

The word walking club is a clue in itself to the kind of misfits youll find there you would only ever join one if you didnt have people to walk with. Its an irresistible combination of gorgeous scenery, very funny writing and a power struggle between walk leader Bob and newcomer Christine.

Rambling in the best possible sense.

Radio Times review

A lovely little three-parter, hiding on BBC4 but getting a repeat on BBC2 in the new year.

What could be more relaxing than a ramble in the gorgeous, grassy Chilterns? Many things, if you're a member of the walking group led by Bob, a fussy fighter of tiny battles.

Played by Mark Heap in incredibly Mark Heapy fashion, Bob was a textbook example of a sitcom character who craves control but is surrounded by uncontrollable kooks. The characters never became cartoons despite a welter of carefully constructed funny lines.

Like most comedy writers, I've tried to get a sitcom on television. And, like most comedy writers, I've failed (although older viewers can find a show I co-wrote, The Junkies, on YouTube). Naturally, this makes me bitter about those who've succeeded where I haven't.

So I was very much looking forward to hating BBC4's new comedy The Great Outdoors, written by Kevin Cecil and Andy Riley (Black Books, Hyperdrive).

But much to my distress, The Great Outdoors is brilliant. Not only is it the best comedy on TV right now - not difficult as we're in a midsummer trough of trash as usual - but it has the makings of a classic.

The almost actionless adventures of a walking club might not sound thrilling. But The Great Outdoors' genius is to unfold the lives of the members over several episodes, rather than lumber them with weak dialogue and willy jokes.

This week I was moved by the plight of Bob the walk leader (played by Mark Heap, the only man to star in both Brass Eye and Lark Rise To Candleford) and the stirrings of his affection for Christine (Ruth Jones).

Heap and Jones are great but the entire cast work together and every scene - every line - combines to make this something rather special.

Rats. Now I'll have to find something new to hate.

Mark Heap interview

Actor Mark Heap, 53, has appeared in comedy shows including Green Wing and also Chris Morris's Jam and Brass Eye. He stars as a neurotic rambling club leader in new BBC4 sitcom The Great Outdoors.

The Great Outdoors review

While not the best debut episode of a new BBC sitcom, The Great Outdoors benefits from some genuinely funny moments and the brilliant Mark Heap.