Dara O Briain's Go 8 Bit

Have you ever been relegated to watching everyone else play a video game because they're one controller short? This show epitomises that feeling, as you watch comedians battle it out on everything from Tetris to Temple Run. Luckily, O Briain can host the heck out of a panel show, so it shouldn't work but somehow it does. This week, Jason Manford joins the teams for a game of Fifa 16 and the very retro Asteroids.

Go 8 Bit review

There's a touch of light entertainment appeal in the shiny floor and amusingly awkward way the set rotates 90-degrees for 'game time', but the budget isn't there to make this feel special.

Another pixel-packed episode, with captains Sam and Steve joined by two standups from contrasting ends of the video-gamer spectrum: Marcus Brigstocke's favoured gaming tipple being multi-dimensional physics puzzler Portal 2, while Gina Yashere gave up around the time of Snake. The mismatched mirthmakers duly do battle, along with quite possibly the tensest Sonic 2 battle since the days of imperial phase Hadaway.

Go 8 Bit episode 1 review

Dara O'Briain hosts a new videogaming TV show for Dave that turns out to be huge fun...

How comedy brought video games back to TV

Two comedians and a bit of star power have brought the gaming show back to British television, hoping to draw in gamers and non-gamers alike.

New panel-show fun, as gamers, comedians and series creators Steve McNeil and Sam Pamphilon take on a series of videogame challenges. This week's guests are Susan Calman and David James and, with O Briain reliably droll as host and Ellie Gibson excellent in a sort of Richard Osman sidekick role, it's 70% chat and very funny, too. So it's not a huge problem that, apart from beat-'em-ups, watching gaming on TV is confusing and dull.

Dara O Briain's Go 8 Bit review

There has been some advance criticism from hardcore gamers that Go 8 Bit won't cover their passion in depth. But it's not meant to... it's comedy entertainment, and as such worth, surely pausing your PS4 for an hour to watch.

Review: Dara O Briain's Go 8 Bit

The comedians may be the centre of the show, especially O Briain who seems to be conquering the market in geeky programming after hosting Robot Wars (at his current rate I was surprised he didn't get The Crystal Maze too), but of the regulars my personal favourite was Gibson, with her expert knowledge of games and wonderful wit.

Dara O Briain: why he loves being a nerd

The Mock The Week comedian also talks about his near-death experience on Robot Wars.