Detectorists

Lance and Andy prepare for their open-mic spot at the White Horse; club president Terry suspects he knows what happened to Farmer Bishop's missing wife; and Becky may be keeping mum about a discovery of her own, in the latest chapter of this exquisitely well-observed Beckettian comedy. Given that both series showed up around the same time, and share a similar sort of wry charm, there's a pleasing crossover tonight with Channel 4's Scrotal Recall: the latter's Johnny Flynn makes a cameo as a fellow folkie.

Detectorists: Fellow saddos rejoice

Detectorists (BBC Four) is a sad git's niche comedy that would never have been commissioned if it hadn't been written and directed by Mackenzie Crook (who sort of counts as a Hollywood star, now, because after making his name in The Office he went on to appear in the Pirates of the Caribbean series). But I'm glad it was because I'm one of the sad gits it's targeting: desperate blokes who spend their every spare weekend at this time of year scouring ploughed fields for non-existent treasure.

Detectorists is what might be called a gentle comedy, if the adjective didn't imply a lack of bite and sophistication. Chronicling as it does the ordinary - even sub-ordinary - lives of metal detectorists Lance (Toby Jones) and Andy (Mackenzie Crook), it manages to capture the pathetic spite of detectorist territorial disputes ("Immature." "Are you?" "No you are.") without compromising the dignity of its main characters.

Last night Lance was thinking about getting the old band back together. "Did we have a band?" asked Andy. Apparently they did - it was called Pussy Magnet - and Lance had a new song he wanted to debut at the open mic night at the White Horse. The song itself - New Age Girl - was the perfect combination of not very good and terribly moving, not least because Lance accompanied himself on the mandolin the only way he knew how: badly, while sitting cross-legged on the floor. I rewound immediately to watch it again.

Detectorists: Go digging for this treasure hunt comedy

This is what TV looks like when the volume isn't turned up to 11. It's a rarity nowadays, but a refreshing one.

Filmed like a nature programme or a folk music documentary, Detectorists is that kind of comedy (like Silicon Valley or High Maintenance) that doesn't so much generate laughs as cumulative warmth. This week, Lance (Toby Jones) and Andy (Mackenzie Crook) are on to something in Farmer Bishop's field. While they try to play it cool, affection mounts for the details of their world: their enemies (the "beards" and "antiquisearchers"), their neat homes, and the tricks of their trade. As Andy says, "You can learn a lot from the amateurs".

Radio Times review

Lovably spoddish Lance and Andy are struggling to bring anything new to the table - the detectorist club's "Finds Table", that is - bar a couple of old Matchbox cars. But the dream to uncover a Saxon hoard is still alive, now that they've been granted access to some promising farmland.

This week's highlights include a rival gang (led by Horrible Histories' Simon Farnaby), the poignant moment when Lance privately dedicates his song for mandolin to his ex, and the filthy chuckle of Rachael Stirling as Andy's girlfriend Becky.

Detectorists is a breath of fresh air that makes a sunny virtue of its rural settings. It's naturalistic, gently funny and memorably sad.

BBC Four's Detectorists is written and directed by Mackenzie Crook who also stars in the lead role. Crook's Andy Stone is a likeable protagonist who spends all of his spare time with is metal detecting partner in crime Lance (Toby Jones). Together the pair spend time discussing University Challenge questions, QI Facts and hunting down retro ring pulls that Lance can then put on ebay. Whilst Lance uses his hobby for monetary gain, Andy is instead in it for the glory and is currently training to be an archaeologist. Although Lance is divorced, Andy has a long-term girlfriend in Becky (Rachel Stirling) who is happy for him to pursue his hobby as she sees it as part of his ultimate goal. However Andy and Becky's relationship looks to be tested by university student Sophie (Amy Ffion-Edwards) who takes a shine to him when he wows her with his metal detecting knowledge. Crook's script for Detectorists is packed full of gentle humour and wry observations about the obsession us Brits have for certain hobbies. This theme is particularly exemplified in the scene in which we see a meeting of the metal detecting society who are listening to a dreary talk about buttons from one of their members. I personally enjoyed Detectorists as more of an observational character study than a comedy with the only truly funny moment being a gag revolving around Google Earth. Crook proved himself to be a fine writer and a reliable leading man but it was Toby Jones who gave the best performance as loveable loser Lance. With his performances in both Detectorists and Marvellous; Jones has proven himself to be an actor who can take on a number of diverse roles and I felt that Lance was definitely the more intriguing of the two characters. Detectorists was definitely an amiable programme with plenty of heart but I'm not sure if there was enough on display to keep me coming back every week.

Charming show Detectorists (BBC Four), is a new comedy written by, directed by, and starring Mackenzie Crook. Apart from local eccentric Larry Bishop's land, which has never been gone over with a metal detector before, it's not especially new ground. A pair of oddball middle-aged men, metal detectorists working a ploughed field, find shotgun caps, blakeys, a ringpull ('83, Tizer) and - beep beep beep beep beep - ancient history student Sophie! Circa 1990, I'd guess, certainly much younger than Lance and Andy, whose collected dreams suddenly aren't just about Saxon treasures.

We're talking nerds, and nerdy male friendship, midlife crises, all that. But it's sharp, nicely observed, good to look at, with lovely understated performances from Crook and Toby Jones.

Detectorists, BBC Four, review: 'first-rate writing'

Mackenzie Crook's BBC Four comedy has all the makings of a classic sitcom.

'Detectorists' review

Never mind the detectoring that's given the show its title, this series is a glorious, unhurried celebration of comradeship in nerdsville, of sharing the burden of not daring to say the answers out loud on University Challenge - even when you're watching on your own (admit it, who's not been there?) - on being relieved when QI comes on, of mistaking the Google Earth watermark for a Saxon stone circle.