4 out of 5

Created by: Oliver Refson

Covers season 1

…And in America, we suddenly got an ‘About a Boy’ television show.  The ‘man-child’ songwriter who often finds himself caring for (and bonding with, awww) a pre-teen child…  I suppose variations on this theme have been done and done (boiled down to the unforseen partnership which causes mismatched partners to learn life lessons), so it’s not that ‘Uncle’ is a splash of brilliance or even all that emotionally effective, but writer / creator Refson and his stars – Uncle Andy Helm (as Nick) and nephew Elliot Speller-Gillott (as Errol) strike just the right blend of quirk and crass and cute to make things fun.  There are moments that are obviously trying to yank on heartstrings, but they don’t annoy, and thus on the occasions that do work, you appreciate it.  But most often through this 6-episode run, I found myself enjoying the surprisingly human chemistry and chuckling at the antics – occasionally laughing out loud – and looking forward to Helm’s songs, which are jarring at first but soon become something to look forward to (and something to look forward to having freaking stuck in your head).

Standing back from the show a bit and examining how the formula was tweaked, the unique brew is a bit more apparent: Nick and Errol are related, which makes their dynamic both easier and harder to shrug off.  The show doesn’t have to try as hard to convince us that there’s a reason for Errol to be there (Nick’s sister, Sam, played by Daisy Haggard – also great in the show – must foist the child upon him so that she can get her life back on track for a custody battle), nor does it have to play with teary-eyed conventions to make us feel bad if Nick resorts to his self-centered persona and brushes Errol off – Errol gets along fine on his own, and Nick will be there the next day if and when Sam needs him.  Also, Nick as sorta’ dumb slob and Errol as intelligent outcast was an inspired buddy comedy blend for the adult/child matchup.  We can actually relate to Nick, whose foibles are not only familiar but not covered with a veneer of a nice apartment or job, and we can trust that Errol’s not going to explode and do some deathly shit just ’cause Nick’s not watching.  Making Sam’s role integral to the plot (not just a side character) also proves important for gaining our viewerly buy-in: she’s equally screwy, almost as misanthropic as Nick but does pretty well as an ex-alcoholic mother and – thank god – isn’t the voice of absolute reason for Nick, but rather someone he can be open with and openly screwed up with.  The last important ‘twist’ I appreciated: not all the focus is on the duo.  In fact, a couple episodes in the middle are very Nick-centric, but still effectively use Errol as a juxtaposition.  It’s a nice breather that prevents the episodes from feeling formulaic.

Ultimate credit must be given to Elliot Speller-Gillott.  No idea what the kid is like in real life, of course, but his smarts and innocence but cynical awareness don’t feel scripted, the actor absolutely makes it his own and it’s key to getting in to Uncle, as almost any kid actor in an adult movie either has to be warmed up to (the movie ‘About a Boy,’ ‘Last Action Hero,’ and whatever other spin…), or, more often, you don’t give a fig about them and / or hate them and accept that they’re only being used as an emotional signpost to point the adult toward that life lesson.

So will you learn anything from ‘Uncle,’ or laugh yourself silly, or find that you must keep a box of tissues by the couch for the lack of dry eyes?  No.  Probably not.  If any of those things, you are a simple, simple person, and we maybe aren’t best friends but I’m sure you’re nice for whatever that’s worth but seriously we’re not gonna’ hang out anytime soon because I have more important things to do with my time like never going outside.  However, I always appreciate when a show or movie can just fulfill its tropes or genre successfully – that is, entertainingly – by putting its own spin on it and sticking to that spin with gusto.  And yes, ‘Uncle’ certainly does that.