Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle...

Most television is shit. And as a professional journalist working on the TV sections of several national newspapers and on several national TV magazines for the past 20 years this is my honest-to-goodness professional opinion.

It's mostly mind-numbingly awful shit masquerading as human interest in the case of the never-ending stream of reality TV and in the case of pretty much anything ITV chooses to screen it's just irredeemable shit. Mostly...

Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle on BBC2, however, is the sort of show that provides hope that TV can be funny and articulate and entertaining and make people think. That's right... think. Think... while watching... telly.

The format's pretty simple. Stand-up comedian Lee delivers a 30-minute routine on a chosen theme and this is interspersed with a few sketches to underline the points he's making. And that's pretty much it. No fancy gimmicks, no celebrity guests, no quirky format surprises... just a man talking to a studio audience and saying intelligent things that are funny and thought-provoking.

The opening show was on books and Lee ripped into the rise of the celebrity biography while the second show was on the medium of TV itself and Lee waded into all manner of celebrity shows and reality TV.

Some of the material is culled from his stand-up shows over the past few years but as they were fantastically good it's hardly a trauma to see it repackaged annd presented again for TV, especially as there is plenty of new stuff too.

Basically it's the most intelligent and entertaining thing on TV at the moment, an oasis of brilliance in a sea of mediocrity. Watch and enjoy...