Mock The Week

Do I detect a slightly more relaxed and free-handed atmosphere now Frankie Boyle's not around to dominate proceedings? Mock The Week still can't match 8 Out Of 10 Cats' jovial atmosphere, but it's certainly getting there. The guests all got a chance to shine, which was the main thing. Chris Addison (best known for his role in political satire The Thick Of It, but also a stand-up comedian) got a few big laughs (mainly with his suggestion that we counter a tidal wave created by the Chinese jumping simultaneously with a similar wave borne of the UK's obese children), and stand-up comedians Sarah Millican and John Bishop both made enough of an impression to prevent total domination by the regulars.

But I'm still disappointed MTW even has so many "regulars" - because what's wrong with the traditional two team captains format? It just feel unbalanced and, frankly, I've grown tired of Hugh Dennis and Andy Parsons' shtick. And it still irritates me when the stand-up round features topics designed to give the guests the opportunity to reuse their stand-up routines (I mean, "Language"? The broadness of "Politics"?), but otherwise this was a fun episode - if still something you'll have forgotten about by ten o'clock.

Frankie Boyle's been lanced, Russell Howard's wearing specs, but it's otherwise business as usual for satirical news quiz Mock The Week; a fusion of Have I Got News For You? and Whose Line Is It Anyway?, with irrelevant scoring and a weird mix of rounds that go from sitdown quiz to stand-up performances. It's all a mere conduit for ribpoking of the week's news stories, and MTW is perhaps more consistent than its contemporaries because four of the pannelists are regulars.

The downside of that consistency is that Hugh Dennis stopped being funny in the mid-'90s and Andy Parsons has never been funny, leaving host Dara O'Briain and Russell Howard to shoulder most of the comic burden. And, like a great many modern panel shows, a lot of guests just become glorified audience members, desperate to shoehorn in paraphrased segments of their standup material. This week, Mark Watson coped well as a guest (he's a veteran of this format), Patrick Kielty had the confidence to soldier through any difficulties he encountered, and while Milton Jones sometimes struggled to recycle his material appropriately, he at least didn't just sit back and do nothing. It helps that his stage persona is a spaced-out weirdo, so his weaker moments and slipups could be forgiven as part of his "act".

Alas, we'll miss the dark humour of Frankie Boyle, who recently announced his departure from the programme, but this new series of the comedy panel show retains wit aplenty in the form of Dara O'Briain, Russell Howard, Andy Parsons and Hugh Dennis.

The top-notch panel show returns with guests Mark Watson, Patrick Kielty and Milton Jones - but how will it fare without the savage brilliance of Frankie Boyle?

Mock The Week may become less vicious

Dara O'Briain seems genuinely curious when asked whether Mock The Week can survive Frankie Boyle's departure. "I don't know," he says. "It could be the ushering in of a new era. We may change the theme music to, Ding, Dong, the Witch is Dead and then we the munchkins will appear and sing our happy munchkin song.

Dara O'Briain presents a festive edition of the comedy panel show. The series's regulars - Hugh Dennis, Russell Howard, Andy Parsons and Frankie Boyle - offer their reflections on Christmas and review highlights from the series. There are also contributions from other nimble-witted comedians, including Fred Macaulay, Holly Walsh, Milton Jones and David Mitchell.

This isn't just a Mock the Week festive special - it's a piece of comedy history. Frankie Boyle has already resigned from the panel in a blaze of bile because he feels that the show - and the BBC - want to cover "celebrities meeting meerkats" rather than real news. Here we'll see how much of the sting is left in his tail as he gives one final seasonal turn - and whether, as they review the best moments of the MTW year, they'll include that Rebecca Adlington comment.

The empty chair on Mock the Week

History will recall that, late in 2009, Mock the Week faced a dilemma that many of the major panel shows have had to face before them; that is, how best to deal with the departure of one of its stars.

Dara O'Briain: 'We won't replace Frankie Boyle'

Dara O'Briain has predicted that producers will not seek a permanent replacement for Frankie Boyle on Mock The Week.