TV review: Uncle, series two
Everyone’s got a favorite uncle.
Unfortunately, most of my actual, proper uncles are knobs, so I’ve decided my official favorite uncle is Andy, the eponymous uncle of BBC Three comedy, Uncle.
Has the word uncle become warped and unfamiliar yet? Give it time.
It was an easy decision to come to; Uncle‘s first series, shown this time last year, immediately became a jewel in the dysfunctional family-heavy crown of British sitcoms.
A warm, refreshing spin on the classic odd couple scenario, it followed the burgeoning relationship between luckless musician Andy, and his somber nephew Errol.
Encompassing custody battles, drug abuse, and modern relationships, Uncle was a darkly funny caper peppered by occasional, and always excellent, musical numbers. It debuted to affectionate praise, and a second series was announced just as the last episode aired.
And now, just like those real uncles you only see once a year, it’s back with a new series.
The finale of series one saw Andy, played by rising comedy star Nick Helm, and Errol, kept apart by a restraining order after a teensy accidental drug overdose mishap under Andy’s watch.
Skip forward a year, and it transpires that Errol, now slightly ganglier as he hurtles into puberty, has been sneaking round to his uncle Andy’s for the past twelve months to play video games.
In between creeping around with his nephew and his job as the world’s worst carpet salesman, Andy is struggling with writer’s block. Errol endeavors to help him get back on the musical horse, setting the pair on a cathartic road to creative freedom.
Uncle‘s season two opener boasts more of the same wonderful elements seen in the first series; gloriously overblown songs, crude gags and a wonderfully deft melding of the hilarious and the poignant.
With new avenues such as Errol’s budding adolescence, and his mum Sam’s fledgling career as a therapist promising to move the show forward, the show already appears to be on track for another great series.
Long live Bear Maximum.
