Andy Zaltzman resembles the lovechild of Art Garfunkel and Mike "Womble" Batt, which is a good start if you are planning a comedy career. The geeky, flame-haired jester has the requisite wit too. His ingredients are the basics of contemporary humour - topical, occasionally warped observations - but he gives them an engagingly fresh spin.
The Perrier Best Newcomer's gimmick is his Dog Of Doom, concealed in a box - Orville to his Keith Harris, although the voice comes from an offstage stooge. The gig is a showdown between the comic and this canine realisation of all our deepest fears. The audience votes on various issues: victory for Zaltzman means we've had a laugh, victory for the dog means global oblivion.
Zaltzman's modest proposals include horse-racing with pitstops where their legs are pulled off. Daft, but there's an eclectic, political edge here. Gags about colonial imperialism jostle with references to Kurt Cobain. In one ingenious aside, the school playground card game Top Trumps is played with Bush and Bin Laden instead of cars or planes.
It is a clever concept, with quick-thinking papering over the not-so-wise cracks.
Despite a gift of a comic face, his monotone delivery threatens to make him one of the least charismatic stand-ups around. But, apart from the odd shaggy-dog story, which outstays its welcome, this show bristles with vivid ideas.
The result of the voting? A win for Zaltzman. And paws for thought all round.
Andy Zaltzman Vs The Dog Of Doom
