It’s tempting to write “computer says yes” at this point, but, happily, I won’t. Instead here’s the just-shy-of 10 minutes trailer (below) put online in the US by HBO, and then reposted for the benefit of UK viewers by some enterprising soul.

Little Britain USA is due to hit BBC1 at the start of October.

I first saw Lucas and Walliams late one night on the Paramount Comedy Channel. They were appearing on Paramount Presents under the moniker “Mash and Peas”. I recognised Danny Mash as being Matt Lucas from Shooting Stars, but Gareth Peas was a new face to me. Their sections involved a series of fantastic spoofs of late night ITV shows, like Littlejohn, Gaz Top Non Stop, and Bushell on the Box. Other episodes included nightmarish Americanised versions of familiar UK shows, and Walliams’ spectacular performance in a spoof of the pre-downfall Michael Barrymore. This sketch alone was enough to convince me that he was the finest comic talent I’d seen in years.

My love of Lucas and Walliams (or more precisely, of David Walliams) continued with Sir Bernard’s Stately Homes, in which Lucas’ Sir Bernard Chumley attempted to host a series of historical documentaries despite being far more interested in a competition that offered a year’s supply of free crisps. Next came Rock Profile, which had the odd duff episode, but generally worked well, particularly the episodes that allowed Walliams free reign to steal the show. I still smile at the moment when Lucas’ George Michael is talking solemnly about his solo work, only for Walliams to burst onto the set as an over-enthusiastic Andrew Ridgeley, who can’t accept that Wham ever split up.

Little Britain didn’t really work on radio for me. Without the sight of Walliams either staring blankly into space, or flailing his limbs through the air, much of the comedy was lost. Nevertheless, the prospect of a TV version was something to relish. Indeed, the pilot episode, shown in the early days of BBC3, suggested there was a lot of potential for the show to turn into something quite extraordinary. What I did not expect, however, was for it to become anywhere near as popular as it eventually did.

Now, Little Britain has become a lumbering behemoth. There would have been a national outcry if the first episode of series three had been without the likes of Daffyd, Vicky Pollard or Lou and Andy, despite the fact these one-joke characters have clearly run out of steam. How many times can Andy get out of his wheelchair and run around behind Lou’s back before people start to tire? Or to put it another way, how many times can Lucas and Walliams retell the same gag and get away with it? Dare I be the first to suggest that Little Britain could do with resting these characters for a while? Dare I even suggest that Tom Baker’s narration has gone from a masterpiece of comic subtlety to a garishly unfunny mess?

Watching this first episode of series three was a strangely joyless experience. All the ingredients were there, but without any hint of subtlety. The attempt to develop another one-joke character, Bubbles De Vere, was dismal, with a sense of severe desperation as she began to pronounce words phonetically (the “i” in marriage, for example). The “computer says no” sketches have been transferred from a bank to a travel agent, but made no tangible difference to the skit.

Even my favourite characters, Sebastian and Anthony Head’s Prime Minister, had lost any sense of subtlety. The sight of Head having to bend over in a studded leather thong perfectly symbolised where Little Britain is headed. Sebastian used to be a tragic figure, full of unrequited love for his boss. Now he has become an unlikeable, manipulative monster. Where can the character go from here?

Things weren’t all bad, however. Anne’s impersonation of Celine Dion on Stars in their Eyes was superb, especially given that sketch retained its predecessors’ sense of there being a definite limit to how long the character can stay sane. This was more the Walliams I remembered from all those years ago, playing it totally straight up to a point, and then going instantly to the opposite extreme.

The new characters were a mixed bag. A stuffy looking politician giving convoluted excuses for his scandalous behaviour has been done countless times before, but Walliams’ straight faced delivery made the sketch shine. Mrs Emery, Walliams’ highly incontinent pensioner, was funny, but seems likely to join the long list of Little Britain characters whose one joke will be milked beyond exhaustion, so to speak. Dudley and Ting Tong, the lonely single man and his mail order Thai bride, shows little cause for optimism, given that Lucas lacks Walliams’ ability to successfully carry off such over-the-top characters.

When Little Britain began, the most obvious way to describe it was as a “cartoon” version of The League of Gentlemen. The difference between the two, however, is that the League seized the opportunity to let the concept develop. By series three, the sketch format of old had evolved into a more story-led structure and the characters were interacting with each other. They were willing to risk alienating their existing fans by presenting familiar characters in entirely new contexts. Lucas and Walliams, by contrast, seem content to sit in a comfort zone, churning out near-identical jokes over and over and over again. Whereas the League’s characters became deeper and more complex over time, Little Britain turned into The Fast Show. Characters would come on, do the same old routine, say their catchphrases and go.

On the plus side, it looks like the duo were being truthful when they said the new series relies less on shock value to win a reaction, with no sign of the dismal “bitty” sketches, nor of some of the less iconic characters who have run their course, like Kenny Craig or Dennis Waterman. It would be nice to see some of the series one creations brought back (particularly the former Olympian Denver Mills, who had real potential to become a great three-dimensional character). Walliams has always been perfectly capable of turning on the magic when you least expect it, so Little Britain will always be worth watching in the hope he’ll shine again. After all, I still maintain that an on-form David Walliams is one of the most spectacular comic sights you’ll ever see, and most episodes of the programme offer at least one chance to see how great he is when let off the leash.

Alas, I have become that pub bore. While everyone else is roaring with laughter every time someone says, “Yeah but no, but yeah”, I’ll be the one staring into my packet of crisps and mumbling an impression of Sir Bernard Chumley. Oh what the hell, just for the dozen or so people who saw it: “Ooh, I do love crisps, you know!” You just try and tell me that wouldn’t make a great catchphrase.

Armed with a new director in Matt Livesy and script editor in Rob Brydon, Lucas and Walliams continue the high standard they set in the first season. Not much has changed in the presentation of the show: the opening titles are in the same format and twinned with Tom Baker’s superb narration. The brief scenes in-between the main pieces are slightly different, but serve to introduce the character in the subsequent sketch a little more clearly than before.

In this opening episode most of the more popular characters make an appearance, starting with young offender Vicky Pollard who uses her pram to steal a cash register from a supermarket; “Emily” Howard has an apprentice this time around in the form of moustachioed “Florence”; Lou is still being duped by the ever indolent Andy; and Dayffd still believes that he is the Only Gay in the Village.

Things move on in the Prime Minister and Sebastian sketches however, with the leader of the opposition – played by Nigel Havers – becoming the new object of the aide’s lust after he believes the PM has fallen for “black boy” Gregory. Similarly, the pirate memory game man returns in a new situation (now christened Mr Mann), this time as a customer at a dating agency who has some very specific requests for the long-suffering chap behind the counter and the never-seen Margaret.

Not ones to rest on their laurels, Lucas and Walliams have also crafted a number of new, sicker characters. The two WI ladies, Judy and Maggie, are probably the standout attractions of the fresh batch. In this instance, the pair are busy judging jams and cakes at the local fête, with an unfortunate occurrence taking place whenever one of the two hears something unpleasant about the produce being sampled. The best line of the show comes here, when a projectile-vomiting Walliams exclaims: “no more lesbian jam – I can’t keep it down!”

Bubbles de Vere is another new character portrayed by Lucas, wearing a quite remarkable, yet utterly repulsive fat suit. Bubbles “lives” in the Hill Grange Health Farm and as she cannot pay her bill, attempts to use her ample feminine charms on the unsuspecting manager. Hopefully all of this added unpleasantness isn’t there merely to shock for the sake of it, although it’s frequently hilarious, too much of a “bad” thing can prove fatiguing.

Elsewhere, the sketch in the bank where a man attempts to get a loan smacks of a concerted attempt to come up with a new catchphrase to rival the success of “I want that one”, or “eh-eh-ehhh!”. On this occasion it’s: “computer says no”. Expect to hear it your local office wag coming out with that one over the next few weeks.

So, the order of the day seems to be more of what went down well last time, coupled with a bunch of new characters who are sicker than any of their season one counterparts. Alongside that, the number of guest stars has increased too, with Havers also joined by Ruth Madoc, Geraldine Alexander and Vanessa Feltz. But when is there going to be a cameo by Tom Baker? He would be ideal for a supporting role that isn’t limited to narration.

How the show will fare when it eventually pitches up on BBC1 is a matter of some small speculation. Will the mainstream channel’s audience take to the highly stylised, repetitive humour and glorious bad taste, or will a move into the big league prove to be the ruin of this fence-posted section of our green and pleasant land?

Combining a series of wickedly funny sketches observing life in modern Britain with Tom Baker’s sublime narration (“What is them, who do they and why?”) the series is a triumph for BBC3 and will most likely go on to enjoy as high a profile as, for example, The League of Gentlemen. Matt Lucas and David Walliams write the entire show and play all of the main characters, be they men, women or children (although, it has to be said that the hairy 6″2′ Walliams cuts a somewhat bizarre image as a woman – a fact which is cleverly played on in the Emily Howard sequences).

Episode two is a marked improvement on the already excellent episode one and featured some magic new characters. Best of all was the hilarious scene in the Chinese restaurant featuring the married couple Clive and Liz, who was apparently Molly Sugden’s bridesmaid. Along with the long-suffering Clive, we are never allowed to forget this fact as Liz takes every single opportunity to remind us. Surely it can only be a matter of time before Mrs Slocombe herself makes a guest appearance in one of these sketches?

The other standout characters are Lou and Andy. Wheelchair-bound Andy too visits the above-mentioned Chinese restaurant, but wants to go dressed in his Smurf outfit. Andy displays no emotion whatsoever on any occasion, but clearly enjoys having endlessly taking advantage of his helper’s tireless good nature. And then there’s Dame Sally Markham, a Barbara Cartland spoof whose days are spent lying back, eating truffles while dictating her latest romantic masterpiece to her secretary (“Chapter One – The End”).

There appears to be a running theme of institutions in the show: one character is the master from Kelsey Grammar School (Flange) who tells his pupils to be silent during an exam, only to start playing the saxophone, do the hoovering and setting off fireworks; we visit the Steven Spielberg residential home for psychiatric patients, such as the clearly barking Anne; the St God’s Hospital in Shireshire where David Soul and Bay City Roller Les McKeown pay a visit to a sick little girl purely to satisfy her obsessive fannish parents; and we meet a retired police officer who is now a driving instructor who stops his own pupils for motoring offences.

Slightly more disturbing viewing are the Gary and Jason sketches. Jason is madly in love with Gary’s nan, and while this idea makes for funny viewing, it feels a little uncomfortable to watch Jason removing the spilt gravy or performing his “Heimlich manoeuvre” on an old lady in an overly sexual fashion. It doesn’t bear thinking about where this particular sketch will ultimately end up by the end of the series …

The scene featuring Anthony Head’s Prime Minister being “protected” by the obsessed civil servant Sebastian was culled from the pilot show, but this is a minor flaw in an otherwise excellent episode. In Little Britain Lucas and Walliams have a vehicle with which they can finally break free from their more usual roles as stooges for Vic and Bob. It is a better, much funnier programme than the last major comedy sketch show from the BBC, The Fast Show, with less repetition and hopefully it will go on to enjoy just as much popularity as that overrated vehicle did. Lucas and Walliams’ Rock Profiles for the now-defunct UK Play was pretty good (and was just as acute in its observation of people), but it somehow never seemed to capture the imagination in the way that Little Britain does – probably due to erratic scheduling and endless repeats. The input of The League of Gentleman‘s Mark Gatiss as script editor and League director Steve Bendelack imbues the series with the some of the darker and more warped elements present in that series, although thankfully they never overshadow the purely funny bits.

Terrific stuff! “Goodbyyyeeeeeee!”