Matt Lucas

Bad comedy is a peculiar thing, isn't it? Watching it is rather like looking at the emperor's new clothes - slightly uncomfortable, more than a little embarrassing, with the lurking dread that maybe it isn't them at all who's at fault, but you, you and your own lame-arsed sense of humour.

Disclaimers aside, I think we can all agree on one thing: BBC2's spoof-adventure Kröd Mändoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire is definitely not funny. Worse: it's boring. Had the emperor walked out wearing it, no one would have been fooled, though they may have had a few laughs, which is more than I got last night.

Basically, Kröd, for reasons unknown, is on a mission to free General Arcadius (no, me neither) who's been imprisoned by the evil emperor (him again!) for some or other reason. Of course, Kröd - played somewhat improbably by the Nineties pin-up Sean Maguire - isn't alone. With him he brings a hapless band of conspirators: Zezelryck the warlock, doing his best Eddie Murphy impression, Aneka the knickerless warrior princess who'd rather be stripping than duelling (incidentally, the only female character. Thanks for the thought, guys!) and Loquasto, half-man, half-pig. Or, possibly, just suffering from some kind of swine flu.

Speaking of emperors, what's Matt Lucas doing playing this one? He's actually funny, the only decent thing in it. I wonder if he gets to write his own lines? I could've sworn the script improved considerably when he appeared, playing a David Brent-inspired dictator, out to claim the blood of Maguire's Kröd. I don't know about you, but as far as I'm concerned the sooner he does, the better. Though I won't be sticking around in the meantime. Next!

There are some things you really shouldn't laugh at, like Matt Lucas sporting an enormous pubic wig and querying 'can I pull this off?' or jokes that depend on punning the name Horst Draper ('are you fit to mount a steed?'). But there was something so cheerily daft about Krod Mandoon And The Flaming Sword Of Fire that my sides were split.

It helped that the likes of Lord Of The Rings, Doctor Who and swords 'n' sandals epics such as 300 are ripe for a cheeky rip-off. If you take those kinds of capers deadly seriously then you'd best give Krod a wide berth. But if you enjoy fantasy adventure but wish they weren't so stuck up their own allegories then Krod, complete with its festival of umlauts, is right up your alley.

Buffed-up ex-EastEnder urchin Sean Maguire has carved out a surprising niche as a leather loinclothed spoof action hero - hey, it's a niche - and Krod is a blood brother to the muscle-bound hunk he played in Meet The Spartans. But this time with a much better script. Muscles popping out of his jerkin, Maguire's Krod is a new man in rebel hero's clothing, fretting about hostile work environments and political correctness when he should be sticking it to the bad guy. He makes a fine foil to deliciously evil Lucas, who has a big, bouncy ball as the evil Dongalor.

Subtle it isn't but Kröd works because, though this is satire drawn with a broad brush, there's still a strong story and juicy characters to sink your teeth into. Peppered with neat cameos (The Thick Of It fans will relish Roger Allam and Alex MacQueen taking turns at stealing scenes) and awash with saucy sorcery, it's the best rubbish comedy to come along in dark ages.

Think of a tale of swords and sorcery, sabotaged by inept heroes and driven along by a combination of snappy American wisecracks and exuberant British panto. That's more or less what is going on in Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire, in which the heroic son of a blacksmith and a stay-at-home mum (Sean Maguire) leads the resistance against the evil Meconian Empire and its ruler, the camp Chancellor Dongalor (Matt Lucas). It starts tonight with a double bill, which is probably too much of a good thing. But in small doses, it is very silly and great fun.

Here's a new sitcom that does for sword-and-sorcery adventures what Red Dwarf did for sci-fi. Set in an ancient empire, it stars Sean Maguire as Krod, a well-toned but clueless rebel warrior with an ill-assorted retinue - a sorcerer who can't do magic, a clumsy slave and a girlfriend who seduces baddies more readily than Krod would like. (Feminism hasn't got very far in this version of Middle Earth.) Their enemy is the evil but inept chancellor Dongalor, a part Matt Lucas plays with such glee it lifts the whole show several feet off the ground. The jokes mostly come from hearing workplace jargon in a medieval setting. In the best scene, Dongalor stabs the wrong rebellious courtier by mistake: "I thought we were going to get names carved in the back of the chairs? Did that not happen? Let's make that an action item, shall we?" he says, before sending out for juice and muffins. There are broader gags that will probably work better if you've been to the pub first, including a running bestiality gag around a character called Horst Draper, and a rebel general (Roger Allam) who turns gay after a spell in the castle dungeons. But there's just enough finesse to justify comparisons with the likes of classic film The Princess Bride.

Littler Briton Matt has baddie hair day

Slimmed-down Little Britain star Matt Lucas dons a hairy codpiece as he plays a baddie in a new show.

If you like your comedy very silly and rude then make sure you give this a try. It's a sword-and-sorcery spoof starring ex-EastEnder Sean Maguire as Krod, the vain leader of a completely useless band of rebels. There's his girlfriend who uses sex as a weapon, a sorcerer who can't do magic and a very clumsy servant. But the star of the show is Matt Lucas as Krod's enemy, the evil Dongalor.

I don't know what to make of Krod Mandoon - but it doesn't matter, because Sean Maguire looks absolutely amazing. I haven't been keeping a close eye on his career lately and I realise now that this was a mistake.

After EastEnders he went off to become a pop star and mope about in Dangerfield before becoming massive - in every sense - enjoying a successful TV career in the States and bulking up for movie spoof Meet The Spartans. All I can say is - wow! - in a professional sense, of course.

Krod Mandoon - also starring Matt Lucas as evil Chancellor Dongalor - is a medieval spoof. A bit Robin Hood, a bit Blackadder, a bit Shrek, a bit Monty Python And The Holy Grail - although sadly with much, much weaker jokes. This shouldn't come as much of a surprise as it was written by Peter Knight, whose CV includes something called Big Wolf On Campus. What is a surprise though is that the best thing about it is Maguire, who stars as the extremely buff, sword-carrying freedom fighter Krod Mandoon.

Just to underline the cheesiness of it all, he plays it with a flawless American accent, and his girlfriend, pagan warrior Aneka (India de Beaufort) will definitely get the guy vote too. You'll love it or hate it, but you'll be driven mad trying to work out who's under the pageboy bob of Chancellor Dongalor's henchman. Take a bow Holby City's snide (and bald) anaesthetist Keith Greene (Alex MacQueen).

Fans of Lord of the Rings who watch this quirky new comedy will be as disappointed as the time they booked a trip to the Orkneys and failed to spot a single orc, because this firmly tugs at the breeches of fantasy stories. And it's hard to see how it could do anything else with Matt Lucas off Little Britain playing the evil Chancellor Dongalor and Sean 'Big in America' Maguire starring as hapless hero Krod. Daft sword-and-sauciness fun.

Sean Maguire Interview

Sean Maguire chats about breaking the States, working with Matt Lucas and smacking himself with a flaming sword...

Sean Maguire, last seen in 300 spoof Meet The Spartans, rolls out his splendid torso again for this good-looking TV series parodying ancient times. Now we're in the realm of the Meconian Empire and he's a freedom fighter trying to vanquish evil Chancellor Dongalor (Matt Lucas) before he figures out how to work a baffling weapon of mass destruction called the Eye of Gulga Grymna. Maguire is on good form but the rotund, baby-faced Lucas steals the show; he's contrary, powerful, bloodthirsty, ridiculously attired - and clearly loving every minute of it.