First of all it is brilliant to see Vic and Bob back doing what they do best. Being complete and utter tits with a reimagining of the show where it all started, Big Night Out. This BBC version is said to be the show they wanted to make for C4 all those years ago. The trouble is that if they had made this show back then I'm not sure if I'd have been as seduced by them as I was.

Yes, there are fantastic genius moments in it that hark back to their golden era. Putting a Freddo under a Scart lead. Bob falling. And, best of all, Lister in the paddock on Novelty Island. It was worth remaking the original show just to see Bob as tinpot tyrant Lister again.

But something has changed in the quarter of a century and I can't quite put my finger on it. I think it might be to do with the dynamic between the duo. There's a theory I've heard that Vic used to be funnier but now Bob is funnier. Watching this I'm inclined to agree that maybe Mortimer has the edge.

Vic is no long the comedic dandy fop of old, he's just a silly northerner with a nice line in surreal paintings (which crop up frequently here). Bob, on the other hand, seems to have a more accessible sense of humour with a broader range and a wider appeal. Have my tastes changed or has Vic changed? Or both?

Elsewhere we get an opening song about trousers (naturally, I'd have preferred the original theme tune) and gags about Geordie Jeans and Bob's wig (from a company called "all about the blend" - which makes me think of Eric Morecambe saying of Ernie Wise, "you can't see the join").

The sketches are a bit on the patchy side. The policemen's sports day seems to owe a debt to Spike Milligan. But their First Dates take-off is first class though, with the twosome playing corny punsters who can't stop cracking dreadful jokes. And it's good to see Rod Stewart's "arse-kicking machine" (even though I don't think it was actually Rod Stewart). I'd have liked to have seen more of Matt Lucas as Rag 'n' Bone Man. It all feels a bit psychedelic where the original was more monochrome. Maybe I just prefer their monochrome Man-With-The-Stick surrealism.

All in all it's excellent to have them back and great to hear there are four new episodes in the pipeline (earlier this year there were some shots of Matt Berry on set with them - maybe they were filming skits that will crop up in one of those shows). I still love Vic and Bob and there are some deliciously disturbing odd moments here which I won't reveal. Maybe it's just hard to have the same gobsmacking impact the second time around. Particularly if it is more than a quarter of a century on.

Vic & Bob's Big Night Out, Friday 29 December, 9pm, BBC Two