Perhaps it was the unfamiliar surroundings of the Starship Exercise, rather than more comfortable ground on Planet Earth, or perhaps the stop-start nature of the show, due to a couple of magic acts and a neon puppetry session being wedged in for good measure.
The best reaction was always for the Chuckles' tried and tested material – the opening song, promising something "pink and soft" for the audience, or the mums and dads up on stage for a messy rendition of The Three Bears, for instance.
The lads' bunk bed routine, where the top bunk's trapdoor drops Paul onto the bottom while Barry's avoiding an alien intruder, got the biggest contribution from the kids in a packed matinee house.
Every child was screaming "it's behind you!" before the inevitable payoff (where the alien takes one look at Paul and runs away). Simple, self-demeaning and fun. And it brought the house down.
Interventions from No Slacking and Gerroutofit (as Captain James T Burke and Dark Wader) pushed the boundaries a little. Patchy, yes – but I'll be back to see them at Christmas for a one-off panto. It's what they do best.
