"Britain, Britain, Britain, land of technological achievement. We've had running water for over ten years, an underground tunnel that links us to Peru, and we invented the cat," narrates Tom Baker gleefully at the beginning of Little Britain, introducing the first hit show for fledgling digital channel BBC3 and the best new comedy since The League of Gentlemen. In fact, creators and stars Matt Lucas and David Walliams acknowledge a large debt to the League, not only in the gallery of grotesques all performed by the duo, but also in the way in which the familiar sketch-show format is expanded by clever use of locale: not Royston Vasey here, but "Britain" itself in all its perverse splendour: from Darkly Noon, where chavette Vicky Pollard seems all too frighteningly real ("Yeah, but no, but yeah. Shut up!"), to the Welsh village with only one gay, to the council estate where buck-toothed Lou looks after apparently wheelchair-bound Andy ("Yeah, I know"), to Kelsey Grammar School where pupils are baffled and confused by their fusty teacher, and many more besides. It's unashamedly puerile stuff and, as with The Fast Show before it, many sketches rely on a single incident or catchphrase repeated over and over in only slightly different contexts. But it works brilliantly, thanks to the characterisations of Lucas and Walliams, their sharp eye for the eccentricities of modern life, and of course that surreal voiceover from Tom Baker.

On the DVD: This is a handsome two-disc set chock full of tasty extras. Lucas and Walliams provide a surprisingly serious commentary, joined in turn by producer Myfanwy Moore and director Steve Bendelack (a League of Gentlemen alumnus). There's the original pilot episode, plus plenty of deleted scenes, live sketches, several behind-the-scenes segments, an interview with Jonathan Ross, and a half-hour Best of Rock Profiles, the hilarious spoof series in which Walliams and Lucas impersonated various rock stars. If that's not enough, you can also select from a gallery to watch all the sketches featuring your favourite characters. Another triumph for Auntie Beeb. --Mark Walker

OK, I may be on my own on this one, but I just don't get it. How Tom Baker was ever coerced into appearing in this annoying dross is beyond me. Don't get me wrong, I love comedy - I'm a big fan of Eddie Izzard and Bill Bailey amongst others. But there is something wrong with this sketch show. After all the hype surrounding Little Btitain, my girlfriend bought me a copy of this series one DVD, but it just isn't to my taste. Favourable comparisons with great British sketch shows such as Monty Python's Flying Circus, The Two Ronnies and even more recent output such as Big Train and Mitchell & Webb's recent ventures are hugely unjust - this is a show that relies mainly on tacky innuendo and cheap catchphrases. It reminds me a lot of "When the Whistle Blows", the sitcom penned by Ricky Gervais' character in Extras. Having been unfortunate enough to have recently seen some of the more recent series 2 and 3, it has only got worse. The same old catchphrases now sound even more tired and the scenes have taken their shock tactics further to try to "push the boundries" - an incontinent elderly lady and a vomitting racist do not make good comedy. Poor, poor quality.

Whilst I appreciate Matt Lucas' comedy acting - he is very versatile and definitely the best thing about this series - David Walliams seems to play the same character over and over, but with a slightly different lisp. There is a huge quantity of inventive and genuinely funny comedy out there that doesn't strive to appeal merely to the lowest common denominator - please buy something decent rather than this rubbish. I'm sure that for most prospective purchasers, my opinion will count for very little, but for those who have not seen this program and have only heard the hype - you have now been warned!

The first series is BRILLIANT x3...Brilliant characters, Brilliant original catchphrases and brilliant humour...definately the best series for me!

Nowhere near as good as the second series or the third series, but I kind of enjoyed this one. Some of the sketches were not really necessary since they weren't that funny, but most of the sketches are hilarious. Well done, Lucas and Walliams!

Excellant. Little Britain isn't to everyone's tastes, but this DVD is full of special features plus all 8 episodes from season one, so it is a good deal. This was easily the best series of Little Britain, containing not only all the on-going characters (Lou and his wheelchair bound friend Andy, out gay Welshman Daffyd, teenage chav Vicky Pollard, and the prime minister and his aid, Sebastian), but also many well loved characters who were later dropped - Mad Scottish hotel owner Roy McCooney, stage hypnotist Kenny Craig and singing midget Dennis Waterman. It also was without much of the grotesque and obscene jokes found in later series. This is British sketch show comedy at it's best, akin to the works of Catherine Tate (The Catherine Tate Show) and Sacha Baron Cohen (Ali G, Bruno, Borat), and whether certain people like it or not, thousands find this hilarious, and it hit Britain by storm. This is where it all started...

They said that Freddie Star only had one joke. These two (Lucas & Walliams) also have one joke each - and they aren't very good.
This is a poor relative (and rip off) of the League of Gentlemen and the Fast Show - both of which were infinitely superior.
Thankfully, most people are starting to realise this is not funny and turning towards decent comedy written by people with talent!