Rebecca Nicholson

Has the BBC lost its nerve over this dark comedy?

You loved Julia Davis in Nighty Night. You loved Jessica Hynes in Spaced. So why is their new pilot on at 11.45pm?

Taking a leaf out of Skins' character-per-week structure, the second episode of the series hones in on cheeky chap Nathan. He's ended up with the double blow of being kicked out of home and not appearing to have a superpower, though given Alisha's "abilities", he might be better off without one. While dealing with the aftermath of killing their support worker - and discovering that somebody else knows about it - the gang help out at an OAP tea dance, which brings a little light to Nathan's situation. Not safe for work, but very funny.

Home Time proves BBC's comedy credentials

The BBC sitcom about a local girl returning to her home town after 12 years is a brilliant, sophisticated, low-key show.

Lunch Monkeys is a dog's dinner

Even Nigel Havers can't save BBC3's new show. But a bad comedy on the youth channel shouldn't come as a surprise.

Human Remains: a macabre comedy masterpiece

Rob Brydon and Julia Davis may have gone on to bigger things, but this six-part black comedy remains their finest hour.

Bafflingly, this has made the move to BBC2, so in case you didn't see the first run of the sketch show that earned the ever-present Mathew Horne and James Corden such a mauling, here's a second chance. It's hard to know what's more bleak about it - how witlessly crude it is, the air of nastiness that comes with characters like gay reporter Tim Woodall (in a war zone! In tiny shorts!) or, crucially, the lack of anything even resembling humour - unless the repeated sight of a jiggling belly is your thing.

Boy Meets Girl: plot meets fail

When you put so much effort into following a TV drama, the last thing you want is for it to fall apart at the end...