TV: Thank God You're Here - Season 1, Episode 2

Paul Merton's new improvisational sketch show seems to have turned up with no fanfare, until this week when adverts have started cropping up all over the place. I presume it's filmed in the week leading to transmission, then, as the only clips in the trailer were from last week's episode. Which was a shame, because the fact that likes of Ben Miller (who seems to be bloody everywhere at the minute) and Fern Britton were among the first guests helped persuade me to watch. But no, that was last week's.

Nonetheless, the concept is a good strong one. Essentially, four celebrities each walk into a comedy sketch with absolutely no knowledge about it, bar the costume they've been put in, then have to improvise their way through it. It seems such a simple idea that you wonder why no one's done it before (or maybe they have, before my time). You might also assume that it's all a big act and written for them, but judging by the mixed quality of the performances and the genuine struggle on their faces at times, I'd guess it's done for real. (Of course, in the current atmosphere of distrust surrounding TV, it would be a brave producer who put a scripted show on the air claiming it was improvised!)

As you'd expect, the sketches are bit of a mixed bag. Australian comedian Hamish Blake made a good job of a tennis player trying to get into Heaven, while as a shopaholic housewife Sally Lindsay barely got through the scene. Michael McIntyre was forced to resort to being confused and useless as his character, a technique which got him by with a few laughs and no real effort. Clive Anderson was deemed the best of the bunch though, for his World War Two RAF commander... and also playing a giant beefburger in a final ensemble scene. The final scene -- featuring all four guests as fast food restaurant employees -- made for a decidedly lacklustre finale.

Also disappointing was the sketch attempted by host Paul Merton. Under the same rules as everyone else, he played an irresponsible butler. I expected much from Merton, as his improvisation on Have I Got News For You is so good and he's one of the few people to have managed a whole minute on Just a Minute, but he struggled to get through this one. But that's the problem with the show's format: whether it's any good relies on the performers' abilities to improvise, which will always make it inconsistent, not just from week to week but from sketch to sketch. They weren't always aided by the scripted parts of their scenes either, which all too often seemed to get in the way more than help.

All that said, it was still fairly amusing and quite entertaining. Knowing the setup means the audience's empathic sympathy for the guests helps gloss over any lack of comedic ability in favour of a "well they tried; it's not easy" reaction, making it easier to forgive weak sketches than it would be on a fully scripted show. It's also nice to see something funny on ITV again -- you wait years for something to make you laugh on ITV and then two come along at once! Ain't it always the way.