Tim Dowling

If the jokes are simple, they are also durable. ... Everybody needs a bit of festive stupidity at this time of year – pratfalls, broad humour, Christmas cracker wit – but too much of it can leave you feeling a bit bad about yourself. The Goes Wrong Show would, I think, wring laughs from just about anyone, young or old, sober or not so much. And you don’t have to feel guilty about your Yuletide-induced lack of discernment – there’s just too much to admire in it.

A strong and sprawling cast (Stephen Rea is also in it, as is Jennifer Saunders) work hard to keep all the balls in the air, and you will feel a strong urge to watch the second episode immediately, if only to clear up a few things. Without wishing to spoil anything, I can tell you that the second episode only muddies the waters further, and the third episode further still.

The character of Rabbit is a little hard to invest in: junkyard-dog mean, cartoonishly dissolute, coarser than wholegrain mustard. ... It may simply be a question of Year of the Rabbit finding its feet, for relationships between the characters to develop beyond the mere exchange of insults, and for the plot, which extends across the series, to take hold. There is too much proved talent behind the enterprise to write it off at this stage.

There are flashes of wit, slapstick, warmth and sadness sown all the way through Special, glinting out at you as the whole thing races by. I ended up watching the entire show in one go, and it would be no hardship to sit down at any point and watch it all again.

No matter which way you go, Grylls keeps up a constant monologue of exposition, laying out your options and repeating your decisions back to you. It’s diverting enough for a time, but it isn’t long before you think: if you’re going to make me edit all these programmes for you, I want to be paid.