Benidorm

This hour-long special of the colourfully chaotic comedy series picks up the action in the aftermath of the wedding between Madge and Mel on the beach. Mel is taken to hospital after being knocked unconscious by a paragliding Geoff (Johnny Vegas) - "East Lancashire's indoor paragliding champion" - and Madge and Janice, in their desperation to get to the hospital, get into a car with a man who is the spitting image of Javier Bardem's character in No Country for Old Men, right down to the haircut and limp. So begins an inspired homage to the Coen brothers' movie, as the Bardem character turns out to be violent drug smuggler Enrique "The Rat" Lopez, who kidnaps Madge and Janice at gunpoint. (He does have an air canister and hose but not as a weapon - his car has a slow puncture.) The trio then return to the hotel where all the familiar grotesques become embroiled in the action. Roll on series three.

ITV's comedy big gun, Benidorm, is back for a one off special ahead of the third series. The show is an acquired taste, but thankfully it has more texture and depth than the middle class flummery of Reggie Perrin over on the BBC. The cast play it with gusto, even if some of the material, centring on a bunch of mis-matched holidaymakers, doesn't quite hit the mark. Not dreadful, not great. Perhaps that's a perfect thumbnail of the modern ITV?

Benidorm filming disrupted - Vegas gets gout

Comic Johnny Vegas has suffered another bout of gout while filming his hit series Benidorm. Production of the Costa del Sol sitcom was suspended last week after the 37-year-old star was struck down with the condition.

Sadly the final episode [of series two] is a bit of a let-down, after what has been an exceptionally strong series. Surely the difference between an ongoing soap and a sitcom is that the latter should offer us some resolution (however temporary) at the end of each episode, and especially in the final show of the run?

With a third series clearly in the offing, the producers have been at pains to keep the storylines open for development, with the result that we're rather left hanging in the air. In fact, some might say the plots have started to flag a bit lately, with the unlikely reappearance of Kelly - who would surely be giving the place a very wide berth after her betrayal at the hands of Mateo last year - and the inexplicable introduction not only of her mum but Gavin's too.

But niggles apart, series two has been a terrific success. With sharp, laugh-out-loud (and/or reach-for-your-hankie) scripts from Derren Litten, superb casting and excellent performances all round, at its best it's been on a par with the work of Mike Leigh, and that takes some doing. It's also been notable for what it hasn't got: no fancy camerawork, no special effects, no unwarranted music, no laughter track.

So hats off to all concerned. My towel's already on the sunbed in anticipation of the next run.

Benidorm has long exercised a sickly fascination, but it has always been a vaguely nasty pleasure - like one of those bright-green cocktails with an umbrella on top that splits open your skull the next morning. But as the series has developed, sympathy for the characters has taken over from cruelty, helping to make it one of the highlights of the week.

For some reason, some folks here at thecustard.tv don't enjoy Benidorm so I'm here to come to its defence. When I nine, we lived in Spain and I saw the same kind of characters flock to Benidorm for their summer holidays watching Only Fools and Horses in a Spanish pub called The Red Lion and complaining to the locals you couldn't get a decent bacon butty.

Benidorm relies on one liners and perhaps over-the-top stereotypes but it does paint a rather true picture of the Benidorm I remember. One gripe: Johnny Vegas is underused.

Benidorm was lame, hackneyed and cliched first time round, and it doesn't seem to have gone anywhere new. It says something about the quality of the writing when the funniest thing about a show is Johnny Vegas failing to dive into the pool, again and again. I think he's trying to tell you something about the show: it's a big, wet belly flop.

Return of the sometimes tasteless and occasionally funny comedy set in a Benidorm holiday resort, featuring eccentric working-class characters playing out their darkly peculiar lives. Like Five's Suburban Shootout, the comedy is hit and miss, but the performances are universally good, and so Benidorm deserves points for trying.

When this broad sitcom was launched last year it definitely seemed to have something. Painting a tacky picture of life at a Spanish resort hotel, it created a memorable allery of grotesques.

OK, it was a vision of holiday hell, but performances from the likes of Kenny Ireland (as a predatory swinger) and Steve Pemberton (as the father of a chaotic family) gave it comic bite. It was never quite going to be Royston-Vasey-by-the-sea, but there was a hint of that.

Sadly, the opportunity to take that to the next level for series two seems to have been fumbled. The vivid characters are all back (including a strangely under-used Johnny Vegas), but the "sit" part of ther com never quite sparks into life.

A sitcom that harks back to early-1990s BBC drama Eldorado (basically EastEnderson-Sea). Take a cast of crazy characters and put them in a Spanish resort. In the case of Benidorm, add some intentional jokes. And stand well back.

The idea had promise, but no amount of real Spanish sunshine is going to disguise a certain lack of conviction from its makers.

The trouble is, it's hard to know whether we're supposed to be laughing at or with these people. Are we with the posh lot stuck in package holiday hell? Or do we love an allinclusive deal and wonder why so many of the jokes are on us?

That said, Benidorm does have its genuine sunny spells. There are some great exchanges between members of Steve Pemberton's chaotic extended family. And Johnny Vegas's stunt diving is a thing of awe.

Baywatch it ain't. But despite the unfit body count, it's still able to raise a smile or two.