Review - Uncle

Uncle
BBC 3 Monday’s 22:00pm

By Haydn Gleed - @HaydnGleed

Uncle is a comedy starring Nick Helm as Andy, a musician by trade, who is forced to look after his 12 year old nephew Errol (Elliot Speller-Gillott). Andy could not be a worse choice as a role model uncle. He smokes, he drinks, he uses his phone while driving, and Erroll could not be anymore different being a dweeby, skinny kid who is scared of life, but somehow this unlikely duo form a great bond. If they are not bunking off football practise to go to a strip club they are causing problems at a 12 year old’s birthday party.

Uncle is just fantastic, and probably the best new comedy show I’ve seen in a long time. There are plenty of laugh out loud moments, but a lot of subtle dark comedy that just appeals to me. Andy is a bit quirky in an awkward way, and he does remind me of me in lots of ways, which is why I think I enjoy the program so much.

I’ve heard some people complain that the plot is somewhat predictable in terms of two people who are the complete opposite forming a bond, but the reason the storyline has been done so much, where two complete opposite people form a bond, is because it works so well, and in Uncle it’s so well written and acted that it feels there is a genuine shift from hatred to friendship between the two of them.

The series is only a few episodes in, but it’s definitely an early front runner for my favourite TV show of 2014. Nick Helm with his unique delivery of comedy is fantastic, as is his random music video moments in each show. Elliott Speller-Gillott is a real gem of a kid actor, and his delivery at the birthday party in episode 2 stole the show.

Seriously, if you get the chance to watch the first episode on the BBC iPlayer before it disappears do it. You can usually find the new episodes broadcast at 10pm Monday’s on BBC Three.