Comedy is a craft that takes many years to master. Many of the comedians we adore today were working at it for many years before their names became household ones. With this slow and steady approach to stand-up comedy, it is rare to see a young comedian break through and gain success early. Though few and far between, young comedians are slowly making a name for themselves and here are the top 3.

Hannibal Buress

Having released his first stand-up comedy special in 2010 at the age of 27, Hannibal Buress is a young comedian who is definitely on the rise. Well respected by the older generation, Hannibal Buress started performing in his hometown of Chicago Illinois, opening for the legend that was Mitch Hedberg. With a similar relaxed style to Hedberg, Buress quickly made a name for himself after moving to New York, writing for television shows Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock.

Aziz Ansari

The face of Aziz Ansari is one that you may find popping up on your screen more and more these days. After a part in Adam Sandler's movie Funny People and being one of the cast members of NBC's Parks and Recreation, Aziz has continued to grow as a comedian and an actor. Like Hannibal, his debut comedy CD/DVD Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening was released in 2010 to critical acclaim and his second special Dangerously Delicious was independently released in 2012.

Donald Glover

For the first few years of the new millennium, the landscape of comedic television went through a bit of a lull. In the 90's, sitcoms seemed to have hit a high with monstrous hits like Friends, Seinfeld, Everybody Loves Raymond and Frasier. With network television having these hits ratings wise, and sometimes creatively, they attempted to recreate them and failed many times.

Critics and fans alike were dismayed at the monotonous and repetitious nature of the new comedies such as Joey, Freddie, That 80's Show and Do Not Disturb. These sitcoms were both critical and ratings nightmares and many network executives saw this as a sign that something needed to change. Pilots started to be commissioned by writers and comics audiences would not have expected in an attempt to bring a new type of humour network television seemed to be lacking.

Smart, witty and surreal comedies started to rise and some of the best television of the 20th Century was being made. From classics such as Arrested Development, a mockumentary style single-camera comedy about a corrupt and narcissistic family to the American adaptation of British hit show The Office, also a mockumentary styled show. Although these shows were not reaching the behemoth numbers its predecessors were reaching, they were loved by fans and critics alike, sweeping up awards along the way.

Women were also getting new voices for this new generation of comedy. Tina Fey's 30 Rock, a surreal show within a show about the writers and performers of a Saturday Night Live styled show called TGS: With Tracy Jordan. Fey, a Saturday Night Live alum herself, became an even more respected writer and won Emmy after Emmy for the show and paved the way for another female SNL alumni to get her own critically acclaimed show; Amy Poehler's Parks and Recreation.

Humour has always been a special ingredient to the fantasy world. The two things simply go together, nestling inside one another like a babushka doll. The bleak war-driven plot of The Lord of the Rings would have been a lot more depressing had there not been the occasional burst of humour in the script to light the way. And at the other end of the spectrum, writers have created entire fantasy worlds based on humour, such as Douglas Adams.

For Terry Pratchett, humour combined with fantasy forged the Discworld – a disc-shaped planet sat on the back of four giant elephants, who are in turn standing upon the shell of a gigantic space turtle – the Great A'Tuin. It is a ridiculous, yet highly amusing notion. The Disc serves as an environment for Pratchett to create stories – from murder mysteries to amusing farces, each with their own generous dollop of humour. Not for nothing is Pratchett the second most-read writer in the UK.

And where would we be without the humour of Harry Potter? JK Rowling's novels entertain readers with occasional light relief, usually in the form of Ron Weasley and his brothers Fred and George. Poltergeist Peeves also plays a part in this vital role. But the best humour comes from characters like Minerva McGonagoll and Professor Dumbledore, because they seem old enough to know better. Rowling recognises this of course, and so keeps humour from her older characters scant enough, and proving that humour is only useful if you know where to use it.

With television, Youtube clips and viral videos to seek out, the radio often gets left by the sidelines by the younger generation when it comes to comedy. But comedy doesn't have to be visual to be absolutely hilarious, and sometimes radio comedy has its advantages. You can easily experience it on the train, for example, without having to squint at the screen on your mobile phone. So here are a few shows that you really ought to download to your iPod/portable audio device of your choosing next time you go on a long train journey. Just try not to laugh out loud. People might think you're a bit strange.

When it comes to panel shows, no-one does it better than The News Quiz. This venerable radio show has been going for decades, and while it started out as a largely unfunny genuine quiz on the weeks news amongst journalists, the show has evolved into a full laugh-out-loud fest, with comedians making up the bulk of the panel. Almost-national treasure Sandi Toksvig currently hosts, and she is utterly hilarious. Other regular panellists include Sue Perkins, Susan Calman, Fred McCauly and Andy Hamilton. If even one of them is on the show, it's bound to be a barrel of laughs.

Sitcoms have also been popular – the Sony-award winning Think the Unthinkable is based around the hilarious antics of a management consultancy firm. Starring Marcus Brigstocke and Catherine Shepherd, the characterisation is absolutely excellent. The bumbling incompetent boss Brian frequently lands them in trouble, whilst Owens' attempts to lust after Sophie's body have a tendency to end in tears. In short, it's a great sitcom, sure to entertain.

Terry Pratchett is one of the most prolific and well-known authors writing today. His fantasy Discworld series, despite taking place on the back of four elephants standing on the shell of a giant turtle hurtling through space, manages to tackle real life issues whilst being utterly compelling. Not only that, but they're also absolutely hilarious.

Pratchett's strength lies in layering different types of humour on top of one another, and thus ensuring that fans of all comedy can enjoy his writing. Much of Pratchett's most obvious humour is based around characters. Who could fail to laugh at the ridiculous cynicism of Sir Samuel Vimes, Duke of Ankh and commander of the City Watch? Equally, the lewd antics of Nanny Ogg never fail to amuse, especially if Granny Weatherwax happens to be nearby to reprimand her. Or perhaps it's the odd hilariously inappropriate quote from The Grim Reaper himself: “I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I COULD MURDER A CURRY” (Death always speaks in capital letters). Pratchett's range of characters is as diverse as they are witty, and there's someone or something for everyone to enjoy.

Pratchett also relishes in parodying popular culture and various famous figures – both fictional and real. The character Jeremy Clockson, for example, is obviously based off of Top Gear presenter and car enthusiast Jeremy Clarkson. Lord Vetinari is often said to be based upon the great dictator Machiavelli. In a similar way, Pratchett also comments on the ridiculousness of opera in his glaring parody of The Phantom of the Opera.

Matt Groening has purported his incredible series The Simpsons over our screens since 1989, and one of the most incredible aspects about the show is its enormous cast. Posters featuring every character are common and Groening also has another long-running animated sitcom with a now-enormous cast – Futurama. Without further ado, let's examine some of his best – but not necessarily leading – characters.

The character of Lionel Hutz was a regular on The Simpsons up until 1998 when voice actor Phil Hartman died and his characters were retired out of respect. Hutz is a bumbling incompetent lawyer and there are few things more fun than watching him up against Mr Burns' army of educated and intelligent suits in the courtroom. He also offers expert shoe repair for those not interested in his dubious legal advice.

Professor Farnsworth is obviously a fantastic character to write for. Pushing 180 years old, he is not only very old and crotchety but also completely insane. Although technically an inventor, he only seems to come up with pointless, but nonetheless interesting inventions. His scant attention for health and safety is also a big laughing point and the crew have learnt not to trust his attempts to experiment on them. “Professor?” asked Leela, as he prepares an experiment. “Is this some sort of device for examining my brain?” “Some sort, yes,” replied the Professor. “In France, it's called a guillotine.” Which caused Leela to get up from the bed very quickly indeed!

Following in the trend of hilarious yet elderly characters, Monty Burns is next on the list. Voiced brilliantly by Harry Shearer, Homer Simpson's boss is an evil, scheming but largely incompetent old biddy stuck in the nineteenth century. Known for his ominous catchphrase ‘Excellent!' Burns is the owner of the nuclear power plant, an occupation which, he says, has left him with a very healthy glow.

Finishing up last is Doctor Zoidberg, which is a position he is used to finishing in, to be fair. Resembling some sort of giant crustacean, he is the ship's doctor for the Planet Express crew in Futurama. Like many of Groening's best characters (and rather unfortunately for the crew), Zoidberg is completely useless at his job. Despite claiming to be an expert on humans, he mistakes Fry for a woman and then asks him to open his ‘other mouth'.

Trends in situation comedy have always been viewed and remarked upon by journalists and audience members. For writers hoping to pitch a pilot to the UK audience, observing them can be the difference between a full TV series and a firm rejection letter. As such, it's important to be aware of what the public turned onto and what they turn off for.

The current trend for sitcoms has been lurching towards the fly-on-the-wall ‘mockumentary' style popularised by the award-winning series, The Office in 2001, which achieved fame in the UK and the US before the show was sold to various other countries. Overall international viewership is now estimated to be millions worldwide. So it's no wonder that others have tried to copy its format, with varying success. Examples include Angry Boys and Summer Heights High, by Australian comedian Chris Lilley, as well as Little Britain and Come Fly With Me by award-winning duo Matt Lucas and David Walliams. The latest to joining these naturalistic fly-on-the-wall styles is Twenty-Twelve, which portrays the challenges met by the committees and individuals in charge of organising the London: 2012 Olympic Games.

This type of sitcom is modern, flash and often good viewing in today's age, as long as the script is well-written. But there is a more old-fashioned type of sitcom which is making a come-back to challenge it.

The old scripted studio-audience sitcom with a healthy dose of laughs and one-liners and slapstick has been through a long period of being written off by the critics as ‘out of date'. Ancient but classic comedies have made it work. Blackadder and Fawlty Towers regularly come up in ‘Best British Comedy' compilations, and more recent successful examples include Channel 4's Black Books and The IT Crowd, which have garnered almost universal praise despite the studio audience format and somewhat surreal inclusions. They tend to strike a fantastic contrast with the fly-on-the-wall mockumentary style – the ridiculous to the naturalistic, the surreal to the Stanislavski. The return of Jennifer Saunders' Absolutely Fabulous this year and the promise of more Miranda, which has been insanely successful, has only heightened the style and increased its chances for viewership.

A look at the release schedules for the coming twelve months should let you know that there is plenty of comedy on the way in 2012. As well as a slew of sequels (some expected, some not so expected) and remakes, there is also lots of original comedy movies on the way for laugh-fans to get their teeth into.

Fans of gross out fodder will be happy to know the kings of gross out Peter and Bobby Farrelly will be returning this year with their update of The Three Stooges. The Farrellys received some pretty rough reviews for last year's Hall Pass, so audiences will be hoping for a return to form. The Stooges were one of the most popular comedy acts in America for almost 50 years, beginning in the vaudeville era of the 1920s. Their raucous brand of physical humour and broad slapstick is considered a national institution in the States (though they are less well known here in the UK) so pressure is on the Farrellys to get it right.

The Men in Black franchise will also return with its third instalment this summer. Though both the first two films in the series were big time box-office hits, the second has generally being accepted as a big disappointment so it will be interesting to see whether or not Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones and director Barry Sonnenfed will be able to return the franchise to its early form. 

Fans of Johnny Depp's early nineties youth orientated cop show 21 Jump Street will be interested to note that there is a remake on its way in March. Scripted by and starring Superbad's Jonah Hill early indications are that it is going to be heading in the cop-spoof direction as opposed to the somewhat more serious tone taken by the series.

Eddie Murphy is also due to return to the screen this March in high concept comedy A Thousand Words. The story of a Hollywood agent who is cursed to speak only 1000 more words in his life it certainly comes with an intriguing premise. Though Murphy has been in plenty of solid box-office features in the last few years he hasn't had much critical praise since 2006's Dreamgirls, so perhaps this film will turn the tide.

There is something about the sport of golf that translates into comedy gold. Just think about how many great movies and comedians use golf as the starting point from which they deliver all-time great laughs. Whether it's Rodney Dangerfield upsetting the country club elite in Caddyshack, Adam Sandler wreaking havoc on the PGA in Happy Gilmore or Bob Hope's classic golf material, the sport seems to touch a comic nerve. Perhaps it has something to do with golf's reliance on regulations, dress code, conduct and sportsmanship that makes it so ripe for lampooning. Perhaps it is the old ideas of golf being the sport of the elite which makes it such a soft target for laughs. Or perhaps it is just because it can be such a damned frustrating game to play! Whatever the reason, this collection of funny golf quotes proves just how much mileage can be got from the sport. 

It's contagious, hopefully.

It can be thunderous, reverberating, continuous and uncontrollable - with any luck.

And in recent years it has been prescribed as an ally in combating stress.

Laughter. The innate, enigmatic expression of happiness is, according to a researcher at the Brain and Perception Laboratory at the University of California, uniquely human.

‘Expectation, building tension and ending with an unexpected twist' is the fundamental logic structure of jokes, claims the four-page paper on the neurology of laughter.

Success rests on the elusive punch line says the author, and without it the listener will not experience the necessary ‘flash of insight' - and if it's delivered too early, the joke's life will end prematurely. Vilayanur Ramachandran points out that the best comedians know how to manipulate the timing of a joke perfectly, drawing out the tension to almost unbearable magnitude, leaving the listener throbbing for the explosion and subsequent relief the punch line eventually delivers.

Freud's view is that laughter serves to ‘discharge' pent-up tension. Perhaps the peculiar noise one cannot help but expel is simply the noise of a ‘valve' being opened – letting our emotions flood out.

Clinical evidence suggests laughter sits in the limbic system, as a seizure here can lead to uncontrollable laughter - one such case having resulted in a man laughing himself to death. Damage to the insular cortex has also provided clues to where laughter originates, but the neural basis of humour is still not fully understood.

Researchers at the Institute of Neurology at London University found certain areas of the brain activated when subjects were experiencing joke telling. The areas activated related to learning and understanding. Stanford University researchers pinpointed these regions to an area called the nucleus accumbens. It seems the body rewards the behaviour of laughing by releasing a dose of dopamine - a natural opiate.