Harry & Paul

Friends reunited: Harry and Paul

An interview with Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse.

Past their date but by no means rotten

In recent interviews, Harry Enfield has been portraying himself as a grumpy old man, left behind somewhere in the mid-90s by a wave of cleverer, laugh-track free comedy like The Office and struggling to make a comeback. It's a little disingenuous.

Harry and Paul (BBC2), meanwhile, have been doing the same thing for so long that they've actually become rather subversive. It's also still funny. The sketch in which two old duffers sit in a club and speculate about whether or not David Cameron is a "queer" is audacious in its simplicity, but it's also perfectly pitched and beautifully executed. One might argue that for a sketch that deploys the word queer so many times, it is insufficiently satirical to warrant the offence risked, but it is the unapologetic nature of the comedy that appeals. Both Enfield and Whitehouse have moved, over time, away from social comment into pure characterisation, full of precision and nuance. As a mimic, Enfield is not as effortless and self-effacing as his partner, but his portrayal of a nervous Dragons' Den contestant is both spot-on and a little heartrending. It is the nature of sketch comedy to be hit and miss, but these two don't miss often. Their aim is still pretty good.

It's hard to believe that Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse once danced barefoot on comedy's cutting edge because the third series of Harry & Paul (BBC2) feels wearily old hat. Creating new sketches about Mr Bean and The Beatles - where are we, 1982? - make Nationwide's embarrassing Little Britain ad campaign seem cool and contemporary - and are a sure sign that the well of inspiration was running dry.

If it wasn't for the Dragons' Den spoof that topped and tailed the show - easily the best thing in it - the whole thing would have felt like a repeat that had been transmitted by mistake. But when a boss-eyed Evan Davis impression is the best laugh, you know you're in trouble. Armstrong & Miller cover this kind of territory - but they do it a whole lot better.

"And now, from the 1930s, the original When Harry Met Sally," announces Harry Enfield in his best period-plummy accent. Immediately you see where the joke's going. A scratchy black-and-white movie scene in a 1930s restaurant, with a very British couple discussing married life and hinting darkly at sex, or rather "what heppens in merridge." It's a promising idea but, like others in tonight's opener to Enfield and Paul Whitehouse's third series, the sketch slips off the rails. There are the Beatles 50 years on - grey-haired but still larking about in Nehru suits, a psyched-up version of Mr Bean and a spoof children's show about a traffic warden called Parking Pataweyo, but the belly laughs aren't as plentiful as they once were.

One for the diehards: veteran comedians Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse join forces again for their latest sketch show series. Unfortunately, the Soviet-era title sequence sets the tone from the outset - this is a throwback to the pair's Eighties glory days. There are some flashes of brilliance - Whitehouse's impersonation of Evan Davies sparkles in an otherwise mundane Dragons' Den skit - but not enough.

Harry Enfield & Paul Whitehouse on their new TV series

The comics, who display an appealingly self-mocking view of themselves, joke that in real life they might now be heading for a similar fate as Smashie and Nicey. The 49-year-old Enfield laughs: "I recently found out that there are a couple of old people's homes for retired comedians. That's what awaits us."

Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse's reunion a few years back was exciting, but also left many people asking one question - could they reproduce the material that saw them, along with Kathy Burke, define sketch show comedy in the 1990s? To many people's surprise they proved they were still capable of creating some fantastic characters, like the posh builders, and last year the second series garnered a Bafta.

With the start of their third series tonight, we hope we haven't already passed the high point of their reunion, because while this does feature plenty of understated chuckles, it rarely leaves you breathless from laughing. However, there are some ingenious ideas, including an 'original' 1930's version of When Harry Met Sally and a ditty to The Beatles 50 years on. Yet the sketches feel a little dated at times and, often after promising starts, seem to fizzle out before we reach the punchline.

Of course by the very nature of the sketch show format, it could all change next week, and Harry and Paul could return to deliver a show crammed full of raucous material that will have us sliding off of our sofas with mirth. Given their track record, we certainly wouldn't put it past them, and there's enough on offer in tonight's opener to justify tuning in for next week.

Not nearly as strong as their first return but with enough good moments to remind you of their talents. Particularly liked The 70-year-old Beatles, even if it went on a bit too long.

For a comedian, television can be both a blessing and a curse. Strike it lucky - land your own series, for example - and it can feel as though the sky's the limit. But stick around too long - or, worse, lose your cutting edge - and you can easily find yourself in the wilderness.

What's encouraging about the return of this sketch show, featuring Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse, is that it's brought the best out of two long-established comics who many may have felt were past their peak.

Not every sketch hits the mark - they never do - but by the end of the 30 minutes you'll certainly be forgiving Whitehouse for those appalling insurance ads. Well, almost. Look out for guest appearances from Charlie Higson, Simon Day and Timothy West.