Time Gentlemen Please

Shear genius!!! This sitcom just keeps getting better!!! 18 Episodes in (18! - you don't get that on terrestrial) & it still has me wetting myself every week. Catchphrases abound: "Its not normal","never confused","I'm cheeky me","Look at his face - its a picture","Back off Brussels","Damn my bean shaped face","COW! Never pulled a pint in her life","Mustards Yellow - not Brown!","They play bowls on gravel for pitys sake!" and "Do you remember when the Prof won £2 out of that machine". Funniest telly since the Fast Show.

Yeah it isn't the best comedy ever, but as someone who grew up watching shows such as "mind your language" and "Love Thy Neighbour" it is a refreshing return to the great sexist, racist un-pc British sense of humour that those shows had. For the most part the characters are amusing and I get at least a few laughs out of each episode. Considering how "nice" comedies have generally become in recent years it is a pleasant change.

The sheer amount of racism, sexism and general bigotry in this series is unbelievable - and it's all the better for it. Other shows water down their comedy to make it "acceptable", but this one doesn't bother and is absolutely hilarious. Great performances and some great lines.

This is without a doubt one of the funniest shows British television has produced in ages. Al Murray is superb as he translates perfectly his stand-up character, the landlord, into a sitcom star. His unusual and un-PC rantings almost always hit the spot and though his supporting characters are rarely given any material to work with who cares? He carries the show on his own with only Terry and, more recently, The Prof lending any comic support. Julia Sawalha is completely wasted. Steve is equally unfunny, and he's a stand-up comic apparently, but to be fair to them they haven't much to work with. The gags come fast and often and with most of them revolving around the pub trade (which has been meticulously copied, go to a real pub during the day and you'll see what I mean), the French and the landlord's own take on life, they're always good. A rare treat and I've become quite hooked, here's to a second series.

One of the funniest British comedies in a while. It has more episodes per series than the usual six so naturally it is less consistent than some comedies but most of the episodes are pure TV gold, the last episode in series 2 has to be one of the funniest pieces of television ever made.

Unfortunately, it was first shown on sky one, and as far as I know sky one has never released any of it's programmes onto DVD, so the only way you're going to be able to see this is a repeat. If you do see it scheduled you really should find some time to watch it, because deep down in every Englishman's heart, behind all of that fluffy, new labour PC, we all know that the best jokes are extremely xenophobic.