Britain's Best Sitcom

In theory, Britain's Best Sitcom should have been interesting viewing. What prevented it from being so was the insistence on dragging out a two-hour countdown to become a 12-week bore; the shameless attempts to persuade the public to keep heightening their phone bills; and the very simple fact that it is extremely difficult to keep talking about why you love a particular sitcom without endlessly repeating yourself.

As if to underline how amusingly self-important we are about our comedy, Britain's Best Sitcom will have a ten-week run, presenting hour-long lectures on entries for the title of "Britain's Best Sitcom". Then there 's to be a vote -- calls 80p per minute, mobiles will vary -- followed by the deflating realisation that, in fact, nothing of any use has been achieved whatsoever.