\n\t\t\t\t\tPearce Quigley stars in an unexpectedly quirky series that will warm your heart from beginning to end.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
The definition of Homunculus, in case you are unaware, is a fully formed, miniature human body believed, according to some medical theories of the 16th and 17th centuries, to be produced in a flask by an alchemist.<\/p>\n
So what\u2019s it doing in a 2026 British comedy, you may ask? Fair question. And one I presume was part of a pitch meeting by writer Mackenzie Crook (The Office, Game of Thrones, Detectorists).<\/p>\n
Turns out it\u2019s a concept revealed to lonely, middle-aged Michael Sleep (Pearce Quigley) by his ageing father Brian (Michael Palin) as the answer to a plaguing problem: what happened to his partner Clea who disappeared seven years ago, never to return?<\/p>\n
For Michael, the humdrum of working everyday in a super DIY store and waking up alone in his suburban home is almost too much to bear. But he breaks the monotony by gently goading his customers, building a home shrine to Clea and daily visiting Brian in the local retirement village.<\/p>\n
But Brian, who has an eclectic brain of ideas and memories, dazzles his son with a secret alchemic conjuring to bring to life Homunculi: The King, The Queen, The Monk, The Seraph, The Knight & The Peasant. Upon reaching Divination they must answer the truth to any question posed\u2026. tempting Michael to ask, \u2018Will Clea ever return home?\u2019<\/p>\n
What seems a most unlikely premise in this most mundane of existences is complemented beautifully by socially observed supporting characters.<\/p>\n
Central to these is co-worker Stacey (Lauren Patel), with whom Michael develops an unexpected kinship devoid of any romance. Both work for DIY store boss Gordon (Mackenzie Crook), obsessed with workplace minutiae and staff breaks.<\/p>\n
Further sub-plots are quietly enhanced by cul-de-sac neighbour Clive (Jon Pointing), constantly berating Michael about his overgrown, ramshackle house and nosy wife Bev (Sophie Willan). But there is joy to be found in incidental characters such as his gerdening neighbour (Shola Adewusi) or the local teen bike boy (Adam Wright). Meanwhile Clea\u2019s \u201cskint\u201d brother Roy (Paul Kaye) will bring the conflict when he seeks to take ownership of Michael\u2019s property.<\/p>\n
The quirky humour by Mackenzie Crook is beautifully understated with Pearce Quigley simply outstanding in the lead role. Behind Michael\u2019s big bushy beard beats a warm heart and lively brain. Sadness is suppressed by wit, but never at the expense of malice. The scenes with Michael Palin, utterly convincing as a degenerative senior, are exquisitely handled by both.<\/p>\n
The friendship forged with Stacey adds another layer to the story, with Lauren Patel keeping it real and transcending generations (wait for her Neighbours reference).<\/p>\n
The dovetailing of story arcs is genius and the social observations are deftly imbued throughout. A soundtrack drawing upon banjo, fiddle and folksy vocals helps showcase the series like a warm hug, with laugh out loud moments and touching insights.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ll want to binge your way through this series, and it\u2019s easy to do, in the hope that Michael might get the answers he is seeking, and maybe even bring the Homunculi to life.<\/p>\n
Small Prophets is now screening 8:30pm Tuesdays on ABC Entertains.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pearce Quigley stars in an unexpectedly quirky series that will warm your heart from beginning to end. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":780377,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[64,63,134,427],"class_list":["post-780376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/780376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=780376"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/780376\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/780377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=780376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=780376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=780376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}