Max And Paddy's Road To Nowhere

To answer the predictable question first; no, Max and Paddy's Road To Nowhere isn't as good as Phoenix Nights. However, for those who can forget about Kay's critically-acclaimed, culturally-adored and endlessly-rewatchable take on clubland, this spin-off has plenty of laughs to offer.

Deciding to leave their old lives behind, Bolton doormen Maxwell Bygraves (Peter Kay) and Patrick O'Shea (Patrick McGuinness) head off in search of adventure. Travelling round Britain in a camper-van, the pair try to have a little fun and meet some ladies, getting into numerous scrapes along the way...

Deciding to focus just on bouncers Paddy and Max might be an obvious choice given their departure from the Phoenix after a bungled hitman attempt (which, strangely, isn't mentioned), but it's also the right one given how often they nabbed laughs. There are well-used catchphrases ("dink dank doo" for the former, "how dare you!" for the latter), a few memorable moments (the Rock The Boat dancing is a doozy) and some coarse dialogue you'll want to recycle as your own later on (the best being Patrick's post-pee "I needed that, my teeth were underwater").

Sure, the duo undoubtedly worked better on the door, harassing the female clientele and musing over which movies Connery wore a wig in, but there's mileage enough in Max's tight rambling shorts and cricket top to justify new exploits. Interestingly, though the whole show dynamic is obviously different given that we've moved from a dark-tinged ensemble to a lighter double-act, there's comfort to be taken from the fact that the giggles are still occasionally punctuated by surprising flashes of emotional punch.

Still, just when you think the shadow of Jerry the Saint and co. is starting to fade, a few of the old gang pop up and it's a swift reminder how bloody good Kay's working man's club-focused predecessor was. For all the laughs on show here, it's telling that the standout laugh comes from Archie Kelly's deadpan liar-supreme Kenny Senior.

Good but inevitably not as good as the sublime Phoenix Nights. Not so bad as to necessitate asking Kay how dare he, but not quite dink dank do.