The Walshes, BBC Four

Zany Dublin family comprising eccentric parents, neurotic daughter and dozy slacker son prepare to meet daughter's new boyfriend... Sound promising? No not especially, but The Walshes is written by Graham Linehan (with help from the "Diet of Worms" comedy troupe), and where there's Linehan there's always hope.

This first episode of three was entitled "Doctor Burger", a clue to the absurd case of mistaken identity that propelled it through its whimsical 30 minutes. Excitement gripped the Walsh household at the news that Graham (daughter Ciara's potential boyfriend, played by Shane Langan) was a doctor. Not quite - in fact he works at the fast food outlet Doctor Burger - but "he's always talking about how he wants to examine her," according to son Rory (Rory Connolly). With characters as daft as these, this offered more than enough rope (pictured below, Shane Langan with Amy Stephenson as Ciara).

There's a running gag about dad Tony (Niall Gaffney) and his recurring bottom problem, which he refers to as an "anal event". As a skint Dublin cabbie, he doesn't have cash to flash on costly medical consultations, so no sooner had the timorous Graham shuffled across the Walsh threshold than Tony was pulling down his trousers and bending over so the "doctor" could get a good look ("it's like a rubbery M&M behind me scrotum," Tony explained).

Likewise, mum Carmel (Philippa Dunne), who likes to fuss and interfere to the point of delirium, was soon imparting far too much information to the aghast Graham - "Ciara can be a little tricky when it comes to her monthly visitor..." When Graham sat down with the family for dinner, he was mortified to see Tony looking down at his lap and apparently addressing his aberrant male member ("get down, you!"), as the camera helpfully showed us viewers the dog sitting under the table.

Ridiculous (and somewhat gross) to be sure, and it was hard to imagine how the Walshes had ever got it together to buy a house, open a bank account, go shopping or master any of the other basic essentials of existence. Even when Graham eventually explained that he worked in a burger restaurant, Tommy took a while to get it. "As a doctor?" he blurted out. But it ended on a promising note, with Graham assuring Ciara that "I feel I've got a rapport with your dad now." The poor deluded fool.