Sunday, 15 March 2009  Don't miss!  If you watch nothing else
this week, make time for Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle, on BBC2
at 10pm on Monday, the first of a new series.  It's been quite
heavily written up in the papers over the past few days, with
several of the writers wondering, as I have for years, why Lee
has been off our screens for so long, but good on the BBC for
seeing sense at last. I'd guess that the long absence has
something to do with Lee's style - a distinct lack of actual
gags, and a reliance instead on superb structure, timing and
repetition - as much as his often controversial subject matter.
But anyway, make the most of it.  Funnily enough, when I got
back the other night, I went to see Lee's erstwhile comedy
partner, Richard Herring, on his new tour, The Headmaster's Son.
He's probably a more conventional comedian than Lee, but equally
unafraid to tackle difficult subjects, and equally willing to
trust his audience's intelligence. Like his last show (Oh F*ck
I'm 40!), this one actually ma