The Comic Strip Presents...

Thirty years on from the first Comic Strip Presents episode - the Famous Five parody in which Adrian Edmondson, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Peter Richardson and Timmy the dog went mad in Dorset - here's The Comic Strip Presents... Five Go to Rehab (G.O.L.D.). Dick (Edmondson) is nostalgic for those happy days cycling in the West country, camping, lashings of you-know-which fizzy drink etc, so he gets the old gang back together to pedal down memory lane. The others' hearts aren't really in it though; they've moved on, they're alcoholics, they've got other secrets, they don't want to be there.

Which rather reflects the whole experience I'm afraid. Comedy has moved on; what was once anarchic now isn't. This kind of pastiche feels tired (was it ever that funny?), certainly laboured over an hour. Someone left the top off the ginger beer, for 30 years. No fizz left; it's warm and flat.

It's lashings of vodka for the famous five

The latest Enid Blyton spoof marks the 30th anniversary of high jinks from The Comic Strip team. Working together is just as fun as it always was.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Five Go Mad In Dorset - a brilliant hour-long satire of Enid Blyton which went out on Channel 4's opening night in 1982 - G.O.L.D. has commissioned a new Comic Strip episode featuring the original cast. Entitled Five Go to Rehab, it follows Julian (Peter Richardson), Anne (Jennifer Saunders), George (Dawn French) and Dick (Adrian Edmonson) as they reunite for one last adventure. Perhaps inevitably, it lacks the revolutionary zeal of the first outing, but is nevertheless genuinely funny.

Five Go To Rehab: preview

The reunion episode sees the quintet back together again for Dick's birthday in leafy Dorset - still a magical land of rolling hills, woods, ruined castles and dodgy villains in big black cars.

Marking 30 years since inaugural Strip offering Five Go Mad in Dorset, Peter Richardson reunites the team in cosy Middle England. Original cast members Jennifer Saunders, Adrian Edmondson and Dawn French (and canine Timmy) star again as the Five, back together after 30 years apart, a spell that has forced four-fifths of the quintet to confront the grim reality of modern life. Following last year's weak Hunt For Tony Blair, this is a pleasing return to form - funny, thrilling and a little touching.

Behind the scenes at The Comic Strip Presents...

The stars of Comic Strip have revealed the antics that went on while filming their classic Famous Five pastiche - including blowing their £5 daily wages on booze.

Comic Strip Presents cast interview

TV Choice caught up with the team filming Five Go To Rehab on location in Devon, which doubles for the Dorset countryside in the films...

Video: Stephen Mangan on the Comic Strip comeback

Stephen Mangan has spoken fondly of his role in the upcoming Comic Strip Presents... special, saying he wishes he could 'do eight of them a year'.

Is The Comic Strip still fit for purpose?

This year sees Channel 4 hit its thirty year anniversary. Free from the restraints of political neutrality forced upon the BBC, Channel 4 began life promising a platform not only for 'youth and entertainment', but for the youths themselves.

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Iconic comedy series The Comic Strip has moved home. The loose-weave collective of writers and performers will make a new film for UK Gold to be shown in November. Here's an introduction to the best of The Comic Strip team's earlier work.