What's the most nauseatingly offensive thing about the exploits of Johnny Knoxville and his Jackass crew?

Is it the fixing of a leech onto a human eyeball? Possibly. The swigging back of fresh horse's semen? Could be. The clamping of a snake onto a Jackass team member? Maybe.

No, the most objectionable element of this debasing prank-fest is the self-congratulatory back-slapping of seven men you suspect subscribe to the mantra you-don't-have-to-be-mad-to-work-here-but-it-helps.

Those who've seen the Borat movie might recognise Knoxville, Steve-O, Wee Man and the rest as types represented by the drunken redneck frat boys encountered in an RV.

Every stunt is greeted with a self-conscious snigger or an eruption of guffaws as each member of the team is subjected to yet another humiliation.

Praise for the thin series of skits has included the words "cathartic", "liberated" and "vicarious"...but what it really represents is that old chestnut - a rampant craving for celebrity based on the flimsiest - if most painful - pretext.

Occasionally, the surreal nature of the challenge - penny farthings doing BMX stunts or a Guy Fawkes-style rocket catapulting Knoxville into a lake - have a certain curiosity value. But not often.

The only really intriguing member of the team is Steve-O, a whipping boy who displays an almost psychotic devotion to the most dangerous stunts.

Why he should want to run a fish hook through his cheek and get hauled behind a speedboat while sharks snap at his ankles is anybody's guess.

One member of the team says: "Please God, don't let there be a Jackass Three. Amen to that.

Tim Evans