Ben Elton: The Man from Auntie

In 1990 the BBC, or `Auntie Beeb' captured Ben Elton in top form writing and performing stand up comedy in a sparkly suit. Nobody takes mundane things like taking out the garbage, doing the washing up or waiting in line at the post office (not to mention the female front bottom or "Tuut-tuut") and makes it as funny as Ben Elton.

During his fast paced rants, Benji would usually go off into hilarious diversions about advertising and other media as if he was making it up on the spot. But Ben always managed to get back to his original subject in the end and cunningly slipped in a bit of eco-friendly advise amongst the 'fart and knob gags' as well. The only things interrupting him were funny characters drawn on a person (also Ben)'s upside-down face.

The second series did not arrive until 1994. This time Ben wore a less flashy suit and the commentators were replaced by spoofs of commercials and unrelated recurring sketches like 'the Oompah Winfrey Show' This made the show a bit less focused than before and gave it more of a comedy variety feel. This trend would continue in the next series, simply called The Ben Elton Show, which featured special musical guests and a weekly appearance by Ronny Corbett. The first series however, was pure Ben Elton.

Series one: 9 out of 10

Series two: 7 out of 10