VERY VERY GOOD

How Peter Kay could ever follow up the brilliantly original, laugh-a-minute first series of Phoenix Nights is a bit of a mystery; but follow it up he has, and Series 2 is as sidesplittingly funny, as close to the edge of bad taste as you can possibly get, and as compulsive as its predecessor. There's a general feeling of a slightly bigger budget, and the shaky docu-soap-style camerawork of the original has given way to a more conventional style of cinematography and storytelling; but the jokes are as razor-sharp as ever, and in this series we begin to discover the depth of character in the wonderful supporting cast as well.