Felix & Murdo

This new studio-based sitcom pilot from Channel 4 starring Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller is best described as a decent effort, but probably not worth returning to.

While the fact that it has a live audience would be enough to make most reviewers vomit in disgust, for me the main problem with this Edwardian sitcom is that it pales into insignificance following the BBC's showing of The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff last week.

Like the latter, Felix & Murdo uses silliness and satire as a focal point for its humour - my favourite moment was the cash machine operated by a young boy inside it - but it just wasn't as good as The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff. Of course, The Bleak Old Shop... has had a lot of practice - what with it first starting off on radio - and if it's given a full series it may improve, but I doubt it.

On the plus side, it was good to see Marek Larwood playing a straighter role than normal. It would be nice to see him continue in straighter acting as well as his more humorous and bonkers roles.

Disappointment of the week was the Armstrong and Miller sitcom Felix and Murdo. Written not by them but by "comedy legend" Simon Nye, which should have warned me - didn't he do Men Behaving Badly? Uurgh. It was about thick poshos during London's first (1908) Olympics and could have offered much. Given what the writers of 2012 managed to do last year with an Olympics that hasn't happened - ie make the funniest sitcom of the year - it should have been easy to win at least a smile from this concept. Nope. Scatological without being wittily so. Stereotypical without being wittily so. Um... terrible without having any redeeming features. The paid audience laughed until they stopped. Poor Ben and Xander: I do hope they didn't actually watch it.

Felix and Murdo, Wednesday 10.35pm, Channel 4

Immensely silly stuff, the gags both hit and missed, but Felix and Murdo was fast-paced enough to just about get away with any wobbles.

Felix & Murdo review

Overall, I really want Felix & Murdo to succeed, so we need to see more and hope Simon Nye improves on this confident but uneven start.

Last Night's Viewing: Felix & Murdo

Felix & Murdo was recognisably Blackadderish in its approach to history, silly and inventive and with a good line in visual gags. I'd happily watch more.

Felix & Murdo: Men Behaving Blackadderish

Felix & Murdo may well have legs for a full six episodes. Let's just hope we have less of the Men Behaving Badly naughtiness and slightly more of the Regency Prince wit. Its survival may depend on it.

'Felix and Murdo' pilot seen by 650k

Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller's new Channel 4 pilot Felix and Murdo made a quiet impact on TV last night, overnight viewing figures indicate.

You know that feeling you get when a brand-new sitcom arrives and spends most of its first series wobbling around, trying to find its comedy feet? Well you don't get that here. Simon Nye's pilot feels like an old favourite within seconds: two young gents in 1900s London exchanging smut, anachronisms and posh banter. Put crudely it's Edwardian Men Behaving Badly.

With Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller in the leads, the chemistry is as slick as one of their sketches, but writ large. Felix (Miller) is a banker with a sideline in inventing: he devises a terrifying "electricity toothbrush" and a cash dispenser (a small boy inside dishes out cash); while Murdo (Armstrong) is a cocky toff who takes up the javelin to compete in the London Olympics, hoping to impress Felix's suffragette sister. ("What is all this boats for women nonsense?")

The plot goes a bit loopy but the characters gel, the tone works and the rhythms are up and running. Roll on a full series.

Felix and Murdo review

The show is doing absolutely nothing wrong, and yes, might work out well for a 'festive treat' for people who care about that sort of thing.

Felix & Murdo review

What mainly goes wrong, is the script. Although Simon Nye's Men Behaving Badly was a decent sitcom when set in the context of the early 90s, many people's attitudes to that type of comedy have changed since then. Unfortunately, all Nye seems to have done with Felix & Murdo is take the Gary and Tony characters back 80 years and give them javelins.