Reece Shearsmith

More comic horror of the exceedingly surreal variety from The League of Gentlemen veterans Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton. Following on from the dastardly denouement of series one, we open tonight with the survivors of the explosion at Ravenhill Psychiatric Hospital reuniting, graveside, to bury one of their number who was killed in the blast. But now it seems they face a new threat in the guise of the mysterious Grace Andrews (Imelda Staunton) and her grovelling henchman, Kelvin (Daniel Ings).

The barmy brainchild of League of Gentlemen alumni Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, comedy thriller Psychoville returns for a mildly disappointing second series, in which their army of grotesques is plunged into a new set of mysteries.

Despite feeling short-changed by its ending (an anti-climax knowingly mocked within this opening instalment), I thoroughly enjoyed series one. But having watched the first four episodes of this sequel, it appears to be treading water. It just doesn't feel as fresh or compelling as before, which is to say, it's still more inventive and amusing than most current comedies, but rather patchy by its creator's usual high standards.

Nevertheless, there are moments of inspired lunacy - such as recurring intrusions from a hilariously unnerving apparition known as The Silent Singer, and a ludicrous storyline detailing Mr Lomax's relationship with a certain dead comedian - that redeem the weaker material. Plus, I'll always have time for the twisted pathos and coal-black comedy of Pemberton and Shearsmith, who remain two of the best comic actors in the business: the latter's deranged Tina Turner impression in episode two has to be seen to be believed.

And any comedy in which the epithet "tea-leaf" makes me giggle, no matter how often it's uttered, has to be doing something right.

Ask the Psychoville agony uncles

It's not easy being a children's entertainer with a prosthetic hand. Or a millionaire with Paradise Syndrome. Thankfully, Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton are here to help.

Reece Shearsmith & Steve Pemberton interview

Psychoville, the dark and demented comedy starring and written by Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton, returns for a second series...

Psychoville 2: Reece & Steve interview

Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton - co-creators, writers and performers behind dark comedy classic Psychoville - talk about Series 2...

How We Met: Jeremy Dyson & Reece Shearsmith

'I'm known as the grumpy one, while he is like an aromatherapy candle'.

Having always been immune to those Halloween episodes so beloved of US sitcoms - they always turn out to be rubbish, even if it's Family Guy - I approached Psychoville's Halloween Special with a certain air of trepidation. But this turned out to be a psycho marriage made in heaven.

Upholding the proud horror tradition of the portmanteau spine-chiller - separate tales only loosely interlocked at the edges - this Psychoville special played as both a sophisticated trailer for the much-anticipated second series and as a pumpkin-packin' thriller in its own right, perfectly timed to give every childish tap on the door an extra edge of menace.

Featuring the juicily demented star characters from the first run of Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith's macabre comedy, including the bonkers midwife and the mother and son who are way too close for comfort, the show oozed black humour like treacle with a set-up that delighted in ripping the mickey out of Most Haunted while putting the willies up you with the image of Dale Winton hosting such spooky shenanigans.

Electric shocks and dead babies abounded in a classy treat that had plenty of tricks up its sleeve, not least getting the balance between horror and comedy pretty much spot on. It confirmed Psychoville as a worthy successor to The League Of Gentlemen and you can't say fairer than that.

It's Halloween tonight. And that means you'll be hoping to go to bed spooked and on edge, creepily conscious of every door-creak and curtain-rustle. On that front it'll be hard to beat this special instalment of Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith's sick comedy horror show. As always, it stirs up a witches' brew of gross characters and hilariously horrible plot details that make it unlike anything else on TV - except the darker urges of The League of Gentlemen given free rein. To give you the flavour of it, early on, a child exploring a dilapidated psychiatric hospital stumbles on an old tobacco tin and discovers, inside, a severed human tongue... Fans of the first series (a second is on the way) will be shivering with pleasure; newcomers can expect unusually vivid nightmares.

Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton return with a portmanteau offering. Framing the stories, we watch as a location manager on a Most Haunted-style show inspects the dilapidation of Ravenhill Psychiatric Hospital. This is spooky enough in itself, but not nearly so nasty as dark tales starring the likes of Mr Jelly, Joy and David. In context, the script has to work harder than usual to provide light relief. Which it does. Lomax offers a lady customer a fiver for some soft toys: "And that's only because I'm curious about your Bagpuss."

A Halloween message from Reece Shearsmith

Well - it's finally upon us. All Hallows Eve - the one night of the year when it's alright to inject apples with poison and hand them out to children...