TV review: Count Arthur Strong

Meanwhile, suspiciously uniform sounding laughter, far greater than should be warranted by the quality of the line, rung out over the top.

"Oh dear," I say to nobody in particular. "It's The Wright Way all over again."

Certainly, the BBC's pre-9pm comedy output requires some reputation building after commissioning Ben Elton's disorientatingly rubbish sitcom about a council's health and safety department.

It didn't so much blot its copybook as pour a whole pot of ink over it.

Given this is the same department which just will not let go of Miranda, work must be done to restore faith.

So I'm delighted to report that Count Arthur Strong, which completed its transfer from radio to BBC2 last night, is… not too bad.

Scripted by Father Ted co-writer Graham Linehan and its star, Steve Delaney, the show plots the relationship between the Count, a faded, discombobulated comedy star pottering about in suburban Doncaster, and his former comedy partner's son Michael, played by Rory Kinnear.

Kinnear, more recognisable for his role in the most recent Bond film Skyfall, turns in a very nice performance as the finicky, weasly author, who has been commissioned to write a book about his dad, with whom Michael shared a rocky relationship.

He doesn't remember, but he has met the Count before.

"Last time I saw you," Arthur splutters, "you burst into tears and urinated. I hope you've put that sort of thing behind you."

There's a few nice moments scattered about, and how better to measure the effectiveness of a sitcom than to apply the laugh test?

During the inaugural 30 minute episode, I managed two laughs, and seven snorts or snickers. I don't think that's all that bad.

My favourite moment found Arthur flirting with another patron of his local café.

"If you're not careful I'll chase you round the table," he smirks. "If you're not careful, I'll let you catch me," she replies.

Three or four seconds pass as Arthur stares blankly into space. "Then what?" he gasps.

Taking a gong to the toilet to mask any unwanted noise is a funny touch, as is his sign-off after Michael splutters through a memorial service for his father, snot dribbling down his face and hands, his eyes puffy and red, tissues stuck to his face.

"What a lovely speech," he says.

Arthur also has a fish tank in his front room, in which he appears to keep a trout. He is also on a lengthy quest to sell an old foot spa ("It's like putting your feet in an angel," he trumpets), which is eventually snapped up by Barry Cryer in a strange, brief cameo.

So Count Arthur Strong is not The Wright Way. It's not Miranda. It's pleasingly offbeat, and served up a few laughs along its way.

But earlier this year, the BBC excelled with another comedy series about a washed-up, self-deluding, pompous old windbag when it created Bob Servant: Independent.

The Beeb still has capacity for a really smashing comedy that will leave you beaming. Time will tell whether Count Arthur Strong can be one of them.

Thom Kennedy