So, two middle-aged celebrity friends take a road trip to experience new things and find out something about themselves and each other.
Along the way, it’s been arranged for the pair to take part in unusual activities that will put them in naturally funny situations.
On their car journey around Britain, they have a playlist of songs from their youth to which they do some seated dad dancing.
Yes. You’ve seen it before in a dozen other buddy shows, it’s formulaic and as original as a couple of pints on a Friday night, but despite it all, Will and Ralf Should Know Better is fun, warm and at times touching.
Will Mellor and Ralf Little first met on the set of Two Pints of Larger and a Packet of Crips two decades ago.
They’ve been buddies since and decided to make this show because... well... U&Dave asked and were paying.
Their road trip consists of finding out what parts of modern life they can change for the better.
The general idea is that 21st century life is too fast, too busy and too stressful. The lads are now in their mid-40s and are open to considering other possibilities.
First up is a trip to meet the world’s strongest woman, Rebecca Roberts.
Not quite sure how this fits with the plan of stripping life back, but the lads have a good laugh trying to match Rebecca in their own car lifting and truck pulling competition for three. She destroys them of course.
Next up it’s back to the pub where the Two Pints series was filmed, which has now been converted into a Buddhist Temple. That’s more like it.
Will and Ralf practise meditation, breathing techniques to bring inner peace and get a Thai massage from the ‘ninja nun’.
There were plenty of laughs but some things to think about as well.
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The calming breathing technique became “tactical breathing” when they went to get some lessons from an ex-military team in ‘hostile environment training’ for people heading to a war zone.
There was a pit stop at an eco-restaurant which served only insect-based meals and then it was back to the wild with Shanti and Greg in the middle of a Welsh forest.
The couple live in a teepee tent with their four children and found most of their food from foraging in the forest.
Will loved it until he was introduced to the bathroom provisions, which included a fork in a tree at a sufficient height above a plastic bin.
Will was horrified as Greg demonstrated the squatting position required in the tree.
To be fair, Greg was an engaging character and a warm host, not to mention his convincing medical explanation as to why squatting is better for the body than sitting on a toilet.
Our heroes make numerous other stops in their four-episode journey, including wearing an ageing body suit to get some understanding of what lies ahead of them. It mimics the reality of getting older, from decreased muscle mass to failing eyesight and hearing.
There’s a visit to the Dreamboys male strip team and a ‘man camp’ where Will and Ralf learn to put their male resistance to emotion one side and open up about their feelings.
It’s particularly cathartic for Will who lost his dad during Covid.
It’s not ground-breaking television but there’s nothing wrong with some male bonding and a few laughs.
And then there’s the almost Thelma and Louise imitation finish.
