10 O'Clock Live

10 O'Clock Live is That Was The Week That Was for now, and good fun because of that show's formidable heritage, as the four presenters are all competing to avoid being cast as the new Lance Percival, he of the laugh-free "topical calypsos".

David Mitchell and Jimmy Carr are jockeying for the David Frost role; Lauren Laverne is Millicent Martin, the not-so-dumb blonde. Mitchell didn't quite know whether to ask proper questions or go for gags during a discussion on bankers' bonuses, but he fared much better when interviewing the universities minister, probably because he's passionate about education.

Best joke? That would be Charlie Brooker on the unrest in Tunisia. He described the incident where a young vegetable seller set himself on fire as "an act of tomartyrdom".

One week in, there has so far been a mixed reception for 10 O'Clock Live, Channel 4's new satirical current affairs programme. Too slow, say some, lacking "bite", say others. Our principal complaint is this: as the show's only female host, can't Lauren Laverne be given more to do? She's whip-smart, funny, and she's the most experienced live broadcaster among them, yet she has been largely confined to providing the links between Jimmy Carr, Charlie Brooker and David Mitchell's set "comedy" pieces. Come on Channel 4, she's better than that.

There was a debate about banking in 10 O'Clock Live, C4's new satire show which, as the title suggests, goes out live. David Mitchell noted that anger at the banks has gone "way beyond the irritation at the pens on strings". It was the best line in what turned out to be a non-event discussion, and one of the highlights of what felt very much like a trial-run hour.

Both Mitchell and Jimmy Carr, who coined the imperishable double-entendre "Johnson out, Balls in" to mark the shadow cabinet reshuffle, enjoyed successful first nights. That's chiefly because they had the strongest monologues and, as it stands, 10 O'Clock Live is over-leveraged on contractualised diatribe obligations.

Charlie Brooker's rant on the egregious Sarah Palin was a frenzied rush at a door that had been kicked off its hinges a long time ago, and all he managed to hit was a brick wall. Whereas the fourth member, Lauren Laverne, had to make do with a lame skit on another mouldy target, American news anchors, and came across as a rather fey Tina Fey. Even the more up-to-date material, such as the revolt in Tunisia, suffered from over-exposure, not least in the show itself, where it featured in two almost identical riffs on tourism.

Although you only launch once, these are very early days. The comedic chemistry and sense of live urgency will take a while to develop. It was not helped by the blank spaciousness of the set, which leaves the participants looking removed not just from the audience but external events. The show's key asset, though, is four talented performers. Last Thursday they each looked as if they desperately didn't want to be the one that failed. Either they make more overt use of that competition or increase the opportunities for collaboration. More dialogue, in other words, and less monologue.

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