THAT MITCHELL & WEBB LOOK

Series 1. BBC 2, Thursdays, 9.30 pm

Viewers of Channel 4's Peep Show will be familiar with David Mitchell and Robert Webb. They play loser flatmates Mark and Jeremy in the cult comedy that by rights should be a household name, but remains a hidden gem in the schedules... and perhaps just as well -- although its snubbing at the BAFTA's was unforgivable...

David Mitchell is also a familiar face on panel shows, with notable appearances on Have I Got News For You, as well as being a team captain on Best Of The Worst. Robert Webb stars in BBC 3 comedy hit The Smoking Room as laconic office worker Robin, and had a lead role in the wedding comedy flick Confetti.

Together they're a double-act that regularly embark on solo projects, but only now have they been given a chance to shine for primetime audiences. The BBC 2 vehicle hoping to catapult them to mainstream success is That Mitchell & Webb Look, a sketch show based on Radio 4 as That Mitchell & Webb Sound (clever, eh?)

With Little Britain perhaps on the wane after a disappointing third series (although the Live Show and merchandise still make their creators millions) there's the possibility that audiences are ready to embrace a new batch of comic characters. So can Mitchell and Webb deliver the goods?

On the evidence of the first few episodes of their new series, they certainly have potential. Mitchell is an undeniably clever and quick-witted man, single-handedly rescuing many lowly chat shows from total disaster in the past (FAQ U, anyone?), while Webb has a sort of bitter everyman appeal. In fact, forget comparisons to David Walliams and Matt Lucas, it's clear they owe more to Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie.

While there's the unmistakable air of university-bred comedy in their material, akin to A Bit Of Fry & Laurie, particularly in characters such as Sir Digby Chicken-Caesar (a homeless drunk who's convinced he's living the exciting life of Sherlock Holmes), thankfully the smugness of Fry and Laurie is missing.

I particularly like the housemates whose lives clash with fictional worlds: a work colleague of theirs is Miss Moneypenny, while Shaggy and Scooby Doo are said to be in the kitchen "assembling the two tallest sandwiches I have ever seen..."

It's classic absurdist humour performed with an intelligent lightness of touch, but it's nothing revolutionary. The only sketch show of recent memory that shook up the genre was The Fast Show. Even the Little Britain phenomenon just combines Harry Enfield-style characters, Dick Emery-esque cross-dressing, and stirrs in political incorrect attitudes.

That Mitchell & Webb Look takes no great risks with its format or style. The only semi-original idea is to occassionally show Mitchell and Webb on-set between takes discussing absurd topics, such as "is levitation possible?" and "the use of the word 'gate' to denote scandal". But it's mostly just another generic sketch show with influences taken from all its predecessors (well, no evidence of cross-dressing thus far...) It's slick and polished, but not terribly inventive with its medium, and none of its characters have that immediate quotability or relevance to our culture.

But, crucially, is it funny? Well, it's hit-and-miss like all sketch shows, but there is thankfully less reliance on recycling jokes/characters like most other modern sketch shows week after week. The mismatched superheroes Angel Summoner and BMX Bandit sketches are fun, the drunken snooker commentators less so, but unfathomable maths quiz Numberwang is a real highlight (although something The Adam & Joe Show did with Quizzlestick), the soldiers realizing their skull-head insignia's might mean they're "the bad guys" was beautifully played, and the office worker able to move biscuits with the power of his mind was a silly treat.

Overall, I think TM&WL has the potential to evolve into something quite special. Personally, I'd prefer to see Mitchell and Webb embrace their intellectual sides more, as high-brow laughs disguised as low-brow comedy is an area that has gone undernourished since the early-90s. There are signs with a sketch about two actors warring over playing Sherlock Holmes, but too often a clunker arrives to burst the balloon -- such as the dangerous river rapids organizer.

While both are talented performers, David Mitchell looks more comfortable out of costume and speaking in his own voice, whereas the more extrovert Webb clearly relishes dressing up in banana suits, etc. Still, the sketches that work best usually involved the pair just talking naturally. This could perhaps be a hangover from the show's radio beginnings, or maybe the dialogue-heavy Peep Show is still influencing the writing (indeed, Peep Show creators Armstrong and Bain are staff writers on the show).

Whatever the reasons, Mitchell and Webb have a decent show that manages to provide 30 minutes of entertainment and a smattering of laughs. It isn't perfect, it isn't cutting edge, but it's from the heart and should make you giggle...