Patrick Baladi

ITV2's new comedy No Heroics is fast, funny and a little ingenious: a collection of very British superheroes gather in a pub to compare war wounds and see who is most famous after a day of fighting crime. Like Heroes, then, but with cheese and onion crisps. Their superhero suits are a bit rubbish.

Patrick Baladi's Excelsor is the smarmy frontrunner, but Drew Pearce, the creator/writer, established an engaging collection of pretenders to the throne: The Hotness, a sexually inadequate 'cape' with a penchant for heat; Electro-clash, who let a shop owner get shot and suffer from his injuries because he was sexist; Timebomb is Spanish, depressed, unhinged; She Force is a superhero with the twittering insecurities of Carrie Bradshaw.

Ever wondered what superheroes get up to when they're off duty? That's the premise of this new comedy series starring, among others, Patrick Baladi (The Office) and James Lance (Moving Wallpaper and Teachers). But forget about Superman or X-Men, these 'capes' are a lazy lot who spend most of their spare time drinking in their local. They have cool powers, though. I love the idea of being able to control machines with your voice, like Electroclash or - even better - being able to summon avenging simians, like Thundermonkey. But what the show really needs is a superhero with the power to make us laugh.

Call it the Heroes effect. Perfectly normal people, not just comic-book geeks, are getting excited about superheroes, and superheroes are becoming more like normal people. Here Nicholas Burns (off Nathan Barley) and James Lance play slacker supermen who would be perfectly happy wasting their lives in the pub, were it not for the irritatingly flawless Excelsor (The Office's Patrick Baladi) who never stops reminding everyone how Super he is.

Packed with in-jokes for the fans and normal jokes for the rest of us, No Heroics will keep the long autumn nights safe for Truth, Justice, and the Comedy Way.

Sex-obsessed comedy about a group of off-duty superheroes. Given our ultra-competitive society, the superheroes have a chart with the most successful heroes at the top. Excelsior, played by Patrick Baladi, is a pain and loves taking the mickey out of the meek Hotness. Good idea but needs fewer superheroes and more super jokes.

What do superheroes do on their days off? If they're British they go to the pub of course - a shabby boozer called The Fortress with a strict door policy: No Capes. No Powers. No Heroics.

As the first sitcom to be commissioned for ITV2, No Heroics comes out fighting and boasts a gaggle of sitcom veterans as costumed crusaders.

Being Brits they're all ever-so-slightly rubbish, and probably none more so than The Hotness/Alex, played by the appropriately named Nicholas Burns. What this man can do with a ready meal is nobody's business.

Then there is Patrick Baladi as Excelsior/Delvin who can fly, and who rates the most headlines in New Power Express, the Superheroes' magazine.

They are all fame-obsessed and can often be found glued to their own TV channel, The Power Hour, to see if they get any mentions.

Claire Keelan is Electroclash/Sarah, who can speak to machines, She-Force/Jenny (Pulling's Rebekah Staton) is super-strong, except when it comes to men, where she's a push-over.

And James Lance's hero is a gay Spaniard called Timebomb/Don and can see one minute into the future.

The brainchild of comic book fanatic Drew Pearce, the affectionate yet satirical tone is gauged just right to appeal to super-nerds and regular viewers, and is packed with tiny details to reward aficionados. But you need Supersight to spot them. Or a pause button, maybe.