Three Men Go To Venice @9pm Tuesdays- BBC2- 8 out of 10

On BBC 2 every so often, a show is broadcast that features three middle-aged men fart arsing about, doing silly things, taking on challenges and praising the merits of a type of motorised transport. This is a show that runs along very similar lines.

The 'Three Men' series is a lot like a more refined version of Top Gear with less shouting and less casual racism. The three middle aged men who star are Dara O'Briain of 'present-of-every-other-show-on-TV' fame, Rory McGrath of 'being-more-cultured-than-he-lets-on' fame and Griff Rhys-Jones of 'don't-mention-Monty-bloody-Python' fame.

In previous episodes, they have punted up the River Thames, explored Ireland through its rivers and canals, sailed around the East of England in Jones' yacht, taken in the Western Isles of Scotland and travelled to the furthest Western point on the British Isles via the Isles of Scilly.

This time around, the triumvirate are going from the Balkans to Venice to compete in a gondola race. On the way, they go on some boats varying from ferries to yachts to converted oil tankers, do some deep-sea diving, travel in a plane, race some gondolas, take part in some cringey middle-aged man flirting (very Top Gear) and take in some heartbreakingly beautiful scenery that makes you look around your surroundings and feel about as annoyed as seeing an ex with someone infinitely more attractive than you'll ever be.

It's a very good travel type show as you learn lots of things like the histories of various islands in Dalmatia, the sheer number of tourists that Venice gets (annually, 60 tourists for every resident of the city) and that Rory McGrath can speak just about any language in Southern Europe and drink just about everything in the world that has alcohol in it. Alcohol has played a big part in the shows in the past and this time is no different, leaving Jones as the conspicuous teetotaller once again.

Points are knocked off for excessive use of the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack (yes, the show is set on the sea, we get it) and Jones getting naked on a boat with just a bag of nuts to cover his man place.

Next time, the show is off to Somalia for "Three Men go to Mogadishu" where the jovial mood of the show will be difficult to keep up.