Argumental

It's an arguable point but without John Sergeant in the chair, Dave's Argumental would just be another supposedly spontaneous comedy panel game designed to keep the wolf from the doors of struggling comedians. But Sergeant's elevation from sharp political pundit to national cuddly toy thanks to his neo-Expressionist revision on the choreographic rulebook on Strictly Come Dancing has given Dave a surprising edge over its rivals.

OK, it's still an exercise in stand-ups striving to show how off the cuff they can be - come on guys, we all know most of it's scripted - but Sergeant's avuncular umpiring makes such a refreshing change from the snide Jimmy Carrs of this world. It's more of a warm belly laugh than the vindictive sneer that has become this genre's stock-in-trade.

Another Review of Argumental

The show was reasonably entertaining, but was pretty lazy too. It stuck to topics that are well-worn. The North-South divide, jokes about thieving Liverpudlians... and worst of all, Amy Winehouse.

He's already king of the repeat channels, but now our mate Dave could have a hit original panel game on his hands. The debate format means that there's a nice mix of prepared gags and funny improv, while having John Sergeant present is like resting the whole thing on a lovely velvet cushion.