Still Game

Profile of Scott Reid, who plays Methadone Mick

Scott landed his part as a new face in the Craiglang community after being spotted in musical production The Choir at Glasgow's Citizen's theatre last year.

Good deeds abound in this week's visit to the codgers of Craiglang. Jack, Victor and Isa make over Methadone Mick for a job interview, Boabby is due to receive a citizenship award at the council chambers, and an uncharacteristically selfless Winston offers to accompany the perennially unpopular barkeep on his big evening. Could the latter have anything to do with Winston and Shug staking out the council offices? A Scottish sort of Ocean's Over-75s, if you will.

Kevin Whately on why he couldn't turn down Still Game

Playing a dodgy dentist in tonight's Still Game is a role Kevin Whately has been dying to get his teeth into.

Jack and Victor get rid of some old stuff at the charity shop, including a souvenir teaspoon from Troon. There they meet Methadone Mick, who's trying to get some clothes for a job interview. Jack hopes he won't buy his recently donated silverware as he'll no doubt be "cookin' up junk on ma wee Troon spoon". Instead, they loan him clothes for the interview and take him to a dodgy dentist (Kevin Whately) to get his teeth fixed. He needs to spruce himself up to impress his prospective employers, though Methadone Mick's best suggestion is that he change his name to Methadone Michael.

Elsewhere, Winston gets a demand from the council for a £4,000 debt or he faces jail, so he manages to tag along to the City Chambers with Boaby, who's there to collect a medal for looking after Pete the Jakey. Winston intends to slip away to the council offices to sort it out while Boaby is up on stage "getting his stupid badge".

Still Game interview

Still Game's Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill on the hit show's timeless nature - and why they want to make everyone happy.

The revival of this comedy continues with Jack and Victor dealing with booze-related problems. Not only has Boabby decided to quit The Clansman, to be replaced by a fearsome new barman, but grog prices are up and Craiglang's residents have turned to bootleg "hoochie-coochie", which is having unwanted side effects. A comedy that should, by rights, be past its sell-by date but still reliably delivers laughs, this episode is dedicated to the late Jake D'Arcy (Pete the Jakey).

I fear this once brilliant sitcom is turning into Mrs Brown's Boys. Just like an auld yin in the Clansman, its teeth have been removed and it's gumsy and ineffectual and a bit of a bore. Maybe the wings have been clipped to make it more palatable for a UK audience or maybe the famous falling out between Hemphill and Kiernan has taken its toll? Or maybe it should just never have been revived, having blazed brilliantly in its time, but that time is now history? I watched the old series on Netflix, and the gulf between them and this new one is astounding.

This week, Pete The Jakey dies and there are only 15 people at his funeral. That's what comes from being a jakey who lived under a bridge ... Winston limps along as a pallbearer, prompting tears not of grief but "of pishing yerself". And Boaby decides to resign from the pub. Prices are rising and there's "bootleg garbage floating aboot". How will he cope with being a civilian? And how will the regulars cope with his terrifying replacement?

Instant review - Still Game episode 2

The strong series opener was followed up with a bang as the Craiglang gang sample some moonshine.

Ford Kiernan was once encouraged to be 'egg packer'

Still Game star Ford Kiernan has revealed how a careers teacher once recommended he become an egg packer.

Still Game returns to TV with record audience

Scottish comedy Still Game has made a hugely successful return to TV after almost a decade.