The live comedy DVD shelves are a veritable league of nations at the moment, even if (as has been noted on these pages before) the Democratic Republic of Women is sorely under-represented. For Outstanding in His Field (●●●), the Canadian one-line merchant Stewart Francis delivers another stream of clever jokes and juicy puns with more physicality and special effects than before. Observational comedy might be as antithetical to Francis as shaggy dog stories but this doesn’t stop him doing a neat gag about it here.

As does Englishman Stewart Lee in Carpet Remnant World (●●●●). His routine, as you’d expect, is an elongated section in which he simply runs around the stage for no reason whatsoever, other than to throw more muck at his roadshow-driving nemesis. All the Lee ingredients are chucked in the pan for this one, which you will either love or hate, depending on your Guardianista levels.

Whether it’s social media, Loose Women or international cuisine, the material of UK-Indian comic Paul Chowdhry in What’s Happening White People (●●) tends to veer towards the weak, while the ‘twist’ in the opening segment might remind some of Tim Minchin’s Albert Hall DVD. And as for the burqa/black ghost gag: haven’t we been exactly here before? Local hero Kevin Bridges unravels another chapter as The Story Continues (●●●●) with a show that is solid, dependable and just downright funny as he picks apart various financial crises (Rangers, the world) and imagines having his own chat show.

Apparently, Rhod Gilbert is a more mellow individual these days having let go of the petty irritances that regularly set him off into various stages of conniption. You could be fooled while watching The Man With the Flaming Battenberg Tattoo (●●●) as he vents fury after rage, in particular when discussing an expensive toothbrush he once received as a gift. Next to the boiling Welshman, Dara O’Briain is calmness personified. So warm and cuddly is the Mock the Week host, that Craic Dealer (●●●) is perhaps the only DVD you could comfortably watch in front of your more sensitive relatives despite its propensity for over-fecking the sweary pudding.