Five Go To Rehab

Michael Moran rolls out the red carpet for comedy royalty…

When Channel 4 was launched in 1982 it was an exciting time for British television. Four whole channels seemed like the wildest, most decadent luxury. The highlight of that first night’s schedule was The Comic Strip’s Five Go Mad In Dorset. The affectionate parody of Enid Blyton’s books was a huge hit at the time, and brought the original, slightly dated, books back into a sort of vogue.

Indeed, we all remember the original Five drinking ‘lashings of ginger beer’, even though the phrase never appears in the books. Many of the original Comic Strip gang went on to become today’s comedy royalty, with hit shows of their own.

Now they’ve reunited to make a sequel. But it’s not, as one might expect, on Channel 4. It’s on Gold. That’s Channel 20 on Freeview and number one hundred and something on Sky. Perhaps it’s because we have such an embarrassment of riches these days that we appreciate the TV shows we have a little less. Five Go Mad In Rehab (9pm, Thursday) is a jolly enough affair and we all would probably have raved over it if it had been shown in the 1980s but the jokes seem a trifle stiff today, as if the scriptwriters were using muscles long left unexercised.

Still, it’s a genuine pleasure to see that talented bunch together again. Original ‘Dorset’ cast members Adrian Edmondson, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Peter Richardson and Robbie Coltrane are all on board. They’re joined by Comic Strip stalwarts Rik Mayall and Nigel Planer, too. It’s defi nitely worth a look, if only for nostalgic motives. And besides, all Channel 4 has in that slot is Grand Designs.

At 10pm on Sunday nights, Harry Enfield and Paul Whitehouse are flying the flag for that same alternative comedy generation with a sketch show that, while not uniformly thighslapping, hits signifi cantly more often than it misses. This week, Harry & Paul (BBC Two) features some priceless stuff from the Minor Royals, the quite unconscionable box-set-watching couple and a nicely-observed Mike Leigh skit.

It’s not all about the elder statesmen (and stateswomen) of comedy though. Handily timed for half term is a new ‘reimagining’ of Nicholas Nickleby. Set in the present day, Nick Nickleby (Monday to Friday, 2.15pm on BBC One) seeks to do over five days what Sherlock does for the Sherlock Holmes stories.

It’s rather fun, with a great cast including Adrian Dunbar as the amoral Ralph Nickleby. The updating of the story is deftly done, and it’s chilling just how little the writers have needed to change Dickens’s story of good people laid low by social injustice.

If you’re trapped indoors by foul weather and run out of ways to entertain younger family members, this is a great option. And you can always dress it up as ‘introducing them to the classics’.