A female version of Last of the Summer Wine

It's a pity that Seinfeld has already taken the 'series about nothing' tag as it perfectly describes BBC1's Cranford. Little more than a selection of comic vignettes featuring an array of luvvie actors dressed like Mrs Tiggy-Winkle, Cranford is a hugely watchable and joyously comforting slice of Sunday night entertainment.

Pitched as a drama focusing on a small 19th-century northern town terrorised by the prospect of the railway coming anywhere near, it's more like a fully female version of Last of the Summer Wine starring every single actress ever to appear on BBC1. And thankfully the majority are taking the lead of Alison Steadman in Pride and Prejudice, playing up their comely characters into near grotesque caricatures. Sure there's been a bit of drama here and there, but the real pleasure is in watching Imelda Staunton's always-flapping wench and the gradual mellowing of Eileen Atkins' stern (and now sadly dead) spinster.

Of course, the men let the side down a bit. Simon Woods has marvelous eyes but he's every bit as stilted as he was in Rome, and there's no reason for Philip Glenister to play every character in the style of Gene Hunt. But Cranford must be doing something right if it means I'm Sky-Plusing the fabulously invigorated Smallville to tune in...

Uniqlo-clad Flumps

In these days where anything and everything is focus grouped to death before the supposedly dumb general public get the chance to see it, removing any ounce of originality and personal passion, it's brilliant when the occasional crazy idea gets through. Something that offers a terrifying glimpse into the minds of a disturbed few "creative" types that makes no sense to anyone but themselves.

The best example of this at the moment is the current crop of Curry's adverts. Thankfully now de-Linda-Barker-ed, we're now presented with three Uniqlo-clad Flumps who look like they've shown up a little too late to appear as extras in a new series of Coupling. Following the laws set by The Real Hustle - that for every two geeks you put on the telly, you have to add a glamorous blond - they just wander around talking about random electrical items, convinced everything they do is for the good humankind, as though they wouldn't try to sell you a dubious extended guarantee in a heartbeat. Quite who these people are, why they appear to live on a semi-CGI observation deck and what there role is in the company is left totally up to the viewers' imagination.

With Christmas approaching, things have got far more bizarre with a sinister Santa-type figure joining the posse, struggling to keep his reindeer in the stock room and making disturbing comments about mince pies. There is just no explanation for any of this, which is why it somehow works. The whole campaign is so childishly aimless that the Currys brand seems remarkably less cartel-ish and buying from them appears less immoral. Perhaps not that's not what the adverts set out to achieve, but inanity on TV should always be celebrated...