A good choice for comedy. (The Dave Channel)

Member Name: Holidaying

Product:	The Dave Channel
Date:	04/05/09 (106 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Enjoyable shows.

Disadvantages: Most are BBC repeats, long breaks in shows.

Dave is a television channel that is available to people with Freeview, Sky and Virgin TV. It is one of the UK TV channels and was previously one of the UK TV Gold channels.

Dave is marketed as being 'the home of witty banter' so for those that like their middle class comedies it sounds promising! I started to watch the channel a while ago after hearing this advertisement (because I like comedy!) and I haven't looked back since. Dave is now probably the channel I watch the most.

The television programmes that the channel shows include QI, Top Gear, Argumental and Never Mind the Buzzcocks. This is quite a mixture, but obviously some of those shows are originally BBC TV series. This means that the programmes available on Dave are usually re-runs. However, with so many episodes of shows like Top Gear and Mock the Week, I think most people will find that Dave shows episodes that they have not seen before.

One of the things that really annoys me about this channel and other similar channels is that the repeats are repeated! Sometimes in one day they will show the same episode of one series three times, separated by three hours or thereabouts. Then the next day they will show that episode at least one more time! This means that if you want to watch one particular series then you can't sit and watch a 'marathon' but can only see one or two different episodes every two days! On the other hand, new shows such as Argumental are not shown very often. I know that there are not so many episodes of this new show but I think it emphasises the fact that the channel needs to find balance.

The channel is not just about comedy, but includes programmes such as Fifth Gear. This has perhaps found a home on this channel because of the presence of Top Gear.

The channel has a lot of breaks in the programmes and it seems sometimes that no sooner has the programme begun that there is a break. The breaks are quite long, at least three minutes, and the cuts in the programmes can be awkward and I saw one once where Jeremy Clarkson was cut off mid-sentence (not necessarily a bad thing) so the channel could go to a break!

I don't know why they called the channel Dave but it is more catchy than UK TV Gold 2.

Overall I really enjoy the programmes on this channel. It is a good choice if you want to watch something that will make you laugh or if you like cars! However if you've seen many of the episodes then you might find yourself watching repeats, or not watching at all.

Dave is channel 19 on Freeview, channel 111 on Sky and channel 125 on Virgin.

If you miss the show you had hoped to watch, you can watch it an hour later on Sky channel 158, which is 'Dave ja vu'. On Freeview, the channel is Dave +1 and is on channel 25.

Summary: Recommended.