Nigel Farage

As is always the way with sketch shows like Newzoids there were some hits and misses but on the whole there were more of the former than the latter. The highlights of episode one were North Korean light entertainment vehicle 'The Un Show' and a very funny sketch involving Andy Murray's wedding night. One thing I appreciated about Newzoids was the fact that it was written quite close to transmission so that the majority of the skits felt topical. At the same time this sometimes felt like more than hindrance than a help with the writing team picking a story then trying to work a joke around it. A prime example of this was the use of Nigel Farage's controversial comments at the leaders' debate which the writers turned into a stand-up comedy routine. This felt like an incredibly ill-judged sketch that wasn't as cutting edge as the writers thought it would be and instead it just felt a bit crass. I don't think Newzoids will have the same impact as Spitting Image partly because of the fact that it's going out at 9pm on Wednesday night. Whilst Spitting Image had somewhat of a cult appeal, Newzoids appears to be going for a more mainstream audience which is exemplified by the focus on the Jeremy Clarkson firing from a couple of weeks' ago. The attacks on the three main party leaders also felt a little tame with Ed Milliband's failure to eat a bacon sandwich and Nick Clegg's claims of abuse being two more examples of weak sketches. But I'm going to give Newzoids the benefit of the doubt for now as it must be hard to write a show of this nature and there were some sketches that gave me hope that Newzoids could at least turn into something that would be worth checking out on a weekly basis.

Who says satire is dead? After this, I would imagine just about everybody.

According to Jon Culshaw, one of the prime movers in ITV's new puppet-CGI farrago Newzoids

Al Murray sues Nigel Farage

Al Murray is suing Nigel Farage. Lawyers have been called to the bar after the UKIP leader accused the Landlord of breaking strict election rules by spending too much cash on his campaign.

As a younger show with an "open door" submissions policy - meaning that anyone can send in material for consideration - the topical sketch series Newsjack (Radio 4 Extra, Thursday) ought to be edgier, weirder, less formulaic than The News Quiz; but ends up, somehow, being just as complacent. Currently fronted by the comedian Nish Kumar, with assistance from a revolving cast of comics and actors, it's one of a small group of original, non-archival series on 4 Extra.

This week's half-hour instalment was dispiriting in the way that only really unfunny comedy can be. A skit about a plane that had been forced to land at Heathrow because of a broken lavatory careered out of the radio and landed with a tin clunk on the floor. The nadir was reached during a skit about politicians doing drugs, in which Nicola Sturgeon was represented by someone doing a generic Scottish accent, David Cameron by someone who sounded vaguely like Ed Miliband, Ed Miliband by someone who sounded like a young Janet Street-Porter, and Nigel Farage by a woman making no attempt to do an accent at all.

Why does BBC radio so consistently fudge this kind of thing? Neither series is doing anything that pushes a boundary, finds an edge, or ventures anywhere outside of an ideological comfort zone. Chris Morris's On the Hour, commissioned by Radio 4 nearly 25 years ago, retains more bite in a single sketch than they managed across an hour of broadcast time. Here's hoping it doesn't take another quarter-century for the BBC to try something different.

Video: Pub Landlord Al Murray campaigns in South Thanet

Comedy candidates are a great feature of British elections and this year is no different.

But rarely have these candidates ever attracted as much attention as the Pub Landlord Al Murray who is standing is South Thanet in Kent.

He just happens to be up against another beer-loving character by the name of Nigel Farage.

Adam Fleming went along to his campaign launch.

Al Murray to publish a political tract

Pub Landlord Al Murray has signed a book deal to publish his political manifesto. Let's Re-Great Britain will be released on April Fool's Day - a month before he stands for election in Nigel Farage's constituency.

Radio Times review

Political prankster Jolyon Rubinstein from The Revolution Will Be Televised tries making a serious documentary. He ask why young people are not voting -- apathy, disenchantment, Russell Brand...? But what can be done to renew interest in the democratic process? While he does talk to politicos Vince Cable, Len McCluskey of Unite and, er, Peter Stringfellow, he can't resist a stunt and there are some corkers.

The game of cat and mouse with Nigel Farage is hilarious. But he wants to make a serious point: a distrust of politicians is actually feeding young people's marginalisation. His solution? Start a campaign to make lying to Parliament a criminal offence.

Al Murray hits the campaign trail in Thanet - video

Al Murray, the Pub Landlord, hits the campaign trail in Thanet South, where he is standing at the general election against Ukip leader Nigel Farage. The comedian-turned-politician says he decided to run in Thanet, Kent, after hearing 'destiny's call, like a trumpet in the far distance'. Among his election promises are to brick up the channel tunnel and save Manston airport.

Mark Thomas: I want to do something different

The news that Pub Landlord is to contest this year's election in Nigel Farage's constituency might be blurring the distinction between comedy and politics, but Mark Thomas has been traversing the line between the two since his performance career began, with serious intent.