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The It star Richard Ayoade goes down the irony-heavy route for his directorial debut – but his comedy about a Swansea teenager's love life is also sweet and very funny.

Richard Ayoade probably first came to public attention by appearing in Garth Marenghi's Darkplace, a spoof horror television series by Matthew Holness about a psychogeographically troubled Romford hospital built over the gates of hell. Since then, he has written, directed and acted in TV shows including The Mighty Boosh, Nathan Barley and The It Crowd, and also directed an Arctic Monkeys video. But nothing in his CV prepared me for the confidence and panache of the debut movie feature now being sprung on us.

It's a dark coming-of-age comedy about a lovelorn teenage boy in 1980s Swansea, written and directed by Ayoade, adapted from a novel by Joe Dunthorne, and executive produced by Ben Stiller, who appears in a subliminal cameo.

"The Trial Of A Time Lord" - Part 1

After what seemed like an eternity, Doctor Who was finally back on TV in September 1986. The 18-month hiatus had not been welcomed by viewers and fans, after the likes of Grade and Powell saw fit to ‘rest’ the show which they felt had become stale and violent.

So not anything like EastEnders then.

Season 23 was awaited with bated breath - but was it worth the wait? Hmmm, the jury’s out on that one - literally, since the end product was, of course, the notorious Trial Of A Time Lord.

The Trial Of A Time Lord is the show’s longest story - a 14-part epic that’s generally regarded as three four-part stories and a two-parter to tie up the loose ends. Given that the fans were really looking forward to this new run of stories, you can imagine the sighs...