The best comedy on demand

The best comedy on demand.

Cumbo

Not for nothing has Cumbo been called the Marion and Geoff of Vimeo. For like Rob Brydon's bittersweet creation, much of this online series is shot from the dashboard camera of a car in which Steve 'Cumbo' Cumberland describes his romantic life, with more than a touch of sadness.

Cumbo is the nuanced creation of David Earl, best known for his Brian Gittins alter-ego. He's a man who boasts of blow jobs, of clubbing, of friends half his age, though the loneliness is palpable behind the bravado.

Here's the third of three episodes, though you'd be advise to check out the earlier ones, too.

Ronnie Corbett

The hour-long tribute The Many Faces of... Ronnie Corbett was repeated on BBC One on Thursday to mark his passing, and so is now available on iPlayer again. Ben Elton, David Baddiel, Rob Brydon, Barry Cryer, Jimmy Tarbuck are among the talking heads interspersed with classic clips and words from the man himself.

Corbett was also one of the few stars ever to have been on Desert Island Discs twice: with Roy Plombley in 1971 and Kirsty Young in 2007. The full episode of the latter is available on iPlayer, with an extract from the first – the only surviving clip – available here. His luxury the first time around was golf clubs and balls; the second time a hammock.

Martin Just Wants to be Beautiful

This touching and strange short film, with a twist in the tail, has just been released by comedy specialists Turtle Canyon... though it's less laugh-out-louf that some of their offerings. It's written by and starring Tom Golding, an actor who's been on Mitchell & Webb and Anna & Katy, among others.

Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle

As series four draws to an end, all three previous seasons of the superlative stand-up show have been made available on Netflix.... and hat-tip to the NewOnNetflix website for charting such things.

Published: 2 Apr 2016