Phelim O'Neill

Bev and Sean are having more rich people's problems as Matt LeBlanc tries to sweeten them with gifts of expensive cars. Sean, still angry with LeBlanc for wrecking his marriage, is reluctant to be bought off. Meanwhile the ratings are taking a dive thanks to Pucks! being scheduled against a talking dog show. This leads to some of the best jokes as the executives swarm in with helpful suggestions on how to make the show better: "What other animals can talk?"

Seb Cardinal and Dustin Demri-Burns's sketch show already seems gentler and perhaps funnier after the first week's crude attempts at attention grabbing. This time we get a great take on a scripted reality show, and an urban poet who rhymes about the most mundane problems. The latter sits well with their (intentionally) boring, suburban take on Banksy, who is "up at silly o'clock" to do one of his street paintings. Other welcome returnees include the office flirt whose routine is thrown by the arrival of a new receptionist.

Your next box set: Ripping Yarns

Charming, insightful and very silly tales of Englishness, empire-building and high adventure from Michael Palin and Terry Jones.

As the title more than suggests, this is a spoof of all things Dickensian, or rather, a lampooning of the starched-corset period dramas that British telly has always produced. Robert Webb leads as Jedrington Secret-Past, a shop owner who has his entire business - building, family and all - sent to debtors' prison on Christmas Eve. With Webb's comedy partner David Mitchell popping up, it does have the air of a sketch that goes on far too long, but there's plenty of silliness to hold the interest.

During his tenure as host of Never Mind The Buzzcocks, Amstell really got under the skin of some prickly pop stars. They could easily shrug off the more basic, blunt bullying of previous host Mark Lamarr, but Amstell was more charming, insightful and vicious - a killer combination. It's refreshing that he casts the same relentlessly cutting view to his own life. This stand-up routine from last year sees him tear his awkward existence apart with a winning lack of smugness and ego. It's not a gag-athon, just a very funny, philosophical look at how ridiculous life is.

The series where comedians return to their hometowns and perform a local gig is back. As a format, it's never really worked as intended because the comedians never reveal anything interesting about their formative years. O'Hanlon turns his set into a routine about accidentally killing the family dog and re-enacting a scene from The Godfather with his emotionally distant dad. What it does deliver is O'Hanlon's standup to an easy crowd as he performs at Dublin's Point, with fellow comics Gary Delaney and Josie Long filling out the bill.

The sitcom about the couple who don't really get up to much is back. This new series sees Becky finally moving out of her parents' and into Steve's flat. Hardly a seismic shift, but it does almost immediately allow them to find out a little more about each other's character traits: "All the hangers have to face the same way ... it's neater." Flat-warming drinks let new viewers meet the supporting cast in one go as they all pop round to welcome Becky to her new home, but mostly so they can inform her that Steve's old girlfriend is back in town.

Ex-computer salesman turned accidental spy Tim finds his luck is in this week when The Examiner trains the new spies on hacking. Tim's knowledge of basic computing marks him out as the class Top Gun, but unfortunately basic computing is as far as his "expertise" goes. He also manages to get himself into strife with his son when he doctors his school records, downgrading the precocious little tyke as revenge. Spy performs some reliably familiar comedy moves but it's all held together nicely by Darren Boyd's likable turn as Tim, who's only the lead in this show because his character is marginally less stupid than those around him.

They may not have expected the Spanish Inquisition, but the Monty Python team must have foreseen the backlash over The Life of Brian. Now, it's considered one of the most intelligent, satirical and downright funny films of all time, but it was a different story back in 1979 when it was laid into by the church and groups of do-gooders, none of whom felt the need to actually see the film they were complaining about. It could make for grim viewing, but this comedy drama is light, funny and ultimately quite sweet, riffing off plenty of famous Python sketches with some note-perfect performances from the actors playing Palin, Cleese, Muggeridge and others.

Everyone likes Richard Bacon, don't they? Don't they? Oh, well, maybe the beer and pizza will attract some viewers. Here, Bacon invites his "celebrity mates" (what ever happened to a show simply having guests?) to his cosy pretend apartment to chew over the issues that affect all celebrities these days, in a hopefully comedic way. Guests - sorry "mates" - tonight include Rufus Hound, so extra toppings will likely involve too much cheese.