Not Going Out

Lee, Lucy and Daisy spend Christmas in a ramshackle, remote country house once owned by Lee's now-dead aunt. But it's a creepy place - a chair rocks by itself, there's strange music, a locked cellar door and a legend involving an unhappy boy.

Anyone who enjoys Not Going Out's quickfire, you-can-see-them-coming gags and its soft-centred smut will be in heaven. It's hard to resist such a straightforward, coarsely old-fashioned sitcom and Lee Mack's immaculate comic timing, despite or possibly even because of the scatalogical gags. Though everything is assiduously telegraphed, just give yourself up to a bit of ribald fun, one that stars the fabulous Geoffrey Whitehead as Lucy's magnificently austere dad.

When Lee's dad offers him the use of his new yacht, he leaps at the chance to help Lucy "overcome her fear of water", while, in reality, steering her towards the yacht's double bed, in the series finale. Alas, Frank's seafaring beauty turns out to be a leaky tugboat ("Why buy a big boat to impress a woman when you can go for a little tug instead?"), ultimately leading to a Titanic-style scenario. Still, at least Daisy is able to tell the time just by looking at the stars: "It's ... night-time."

When Lee's dad comes knocking at the door, the best thing would be to shut it in his face. But that would mean depriving the audience of some fishy marine puns - and Lee the chance of sharing a double bed with Lucy. Daddy Mack has bought a boat and invites Lee, Daisy and Lucy to spend the night on board. It's moored up, so it's not going anywhere - not anywhere that would activate Lucy's fear of water, cause Lee to gear up in a wetsuit, and Daisy to learn some new sailor's knots. Oh no. That would just be silly.

In BBC1's Friday-night run of Would I Lie to You?, Have I Got News for You and Not Going Out, it's the sitcom that is starting to feel like the weak link. But Lee Mack's old-school set-up-gag, set-up-gag rhythms still attract audiences of well over three million every week, even if some of us still miss Tim Vine. This week, it's once again Katy Wix's Daisy who provides the funniest scene, as she helps Lee practise his magic show before a kids' party, but takes things a bit literally, warning him, "You shouldn't mess around when dealing with the occult."

Lucy's strait-laced parents arrive from their local amateur dramatic group, and they need actors for a new production. It sounds terrible, with a villain described as an "evil, impotent, wart-ridden narcissist". Naturally Lee (Lee Mack) is everyone's first casting choice.

After too many so-so episodes Not Going Out slides back onto its well-worn tracks with an increased quotient of funny gags, though you'll see most of them telegraphed from about five miles away. Mack is great as he froths with jealousy at Lucy's insufferable leading man.

The unashamed old-fashionedness of Not Going Out can be a virtue. This week, for instance, Lee finds himself clashing with a snooty waiter in a posh restaurant. Cue various simple-but-effective puns such as, Waiter: "Entrées?" Lee: "It's up to you how you carry them."

Lee also does a trying-the-wine routine that is pure Eric Morecambe. The trouble is the storyline propping up the comedy feels particularly tired and cartoony: Lee goes out on an unlikely date in the hope of making Lucy (the true object of his affections) jealous, but the woman he chooses turns out to be a relationship weirdo out of 1980s cliché. Luckily, Katy Wix keeps turning up in superhero costumes to lighten the load.

Good news: the wonderful Geoffrey Whitehead is back in the series. He plays the stern, disapproving father of Lee's flatmate Lucy, just as he played the stern disapproving father in Worst Week of My Life (which starred Ben Miller) - and every bit as well. It's a shame the script feels more strained than usual as Lucy (Sally Bretton) visits a trade conference to try to pick up new clients - "pick up" being, to Lee's horror, the name of the game.

How he tries to intervene before she can go too far and how that gets him into trouble with her parents leads us through an enjoyably old-fashioned farce. And Whitehead gets to say the line: "I used to box for Surrey, you know!" as only he can.

Lee Mack's second BBC1 show of the night also features a welcome return for the brilliant Geoffrey Whitehead. With this and The Worst Week of My Life, he's definitely the go-to man every comedy should call on to play the stern, disapproving father.

Lucy's mum and dad are encouraging her to go to a trade conference to pick up some much-needed new clients, and as she's pretty desperate for work, she agrees. But when she lets slip to Lee that she's been using him as a fake husband in work situations, he turns up at the conference and scuppers a potential lead for Lucy.

It's the most far-fetched of set-ups - even for this show - but it does (finally) lead to some enjoyable farce. And a simple gesture from Lucy at the end provides one of the more entertaining moments, proving yet again that this sitcom doesn't need to be big or clever to be funny.

Lucy is taking a course in counselling. This, of course, is a red rag to Lee's pawing, snorting, unreconstructed bull, who soon takes up the challenge to be her guinea pig, with the ultimate aim of getting his leg over. It's an overly familiar setup and one that makes those frequent comparisons between Not Going Out and Men Behaving Badly seem justified. At any rate, it soon transpires that Lee has father issues, in the shape and size of Bobby Ball, who might well be able to shed some light on matters.

In the first two episodes, the gap left by the departed Tim Vine's character was filled with farcical plots. Tonight, things calm down and we veer as close to emotion as this endearingly flippant series gets. Lucy is doing night classes in psychotherapy, so Lee (Lee Mack, a Graham Norton guest tonight) mocks the whole idea - before submitting to counselling himself. Perhaps his failure with relationships has roots in his upbringing?

Enter Bobby Ball as Lee's dad. There are deeper waters than usual under the gags, but dim friend Daisy keeps it light. Daisy: "You said you wanted to damage the bike!" Lucy: "No, I said I wanted to break the cycle."