Every now and then you find a programme comes along that somewhat defies catagorisation. Is it a drama, is it a light comedy or a light comedy drama or light dramatic comedy? The BBC appears to believe Leonard and Hungry Paul is primarily a light drama. Whereas other programmes which exuded a similar tone as Leonard & Hungry Paul, such as The Detectorists, were defined as comedy. Where ever we eventually decide to place it, it sits there somewhat winsomely smiling back at you looking mildly embarrassed and lightly shrugs its shoulders, putting its hands in its pockets and walks away.
The novel this series is based on, was written by Irish writer and blues-folk musician Ronan Hession and became a word of mouth bestseller. Its subjects are quite ordinary people, with relatively uneventful lives. Two men in their thirties Leonard and Hungry Paul are friends who meet regularly to play chess. Leonard lives alone in his Mothers house who died recently, and works as an underappreciated and underutilised editor for a children's encyclopedia publisher. He is attracted to Shelley who works in the same office, and wants to ask her out. Hungry Paul, has very low ambitions for himself, living at home with his parents, and his sister Grace, whose about to get married. He can't quite work out how to launch himself on the world, and whether indeed he should do so at all. He spends his time making hospital visits to hold patients hands and the occasional day postal delivering.
Though that is pretty much the basic set up of the series, this cannot capture the subtle underplaying of its wit and perceptiveness of its dialogue, and how the voice over narrator ( voiced by Julie Roberts ) is an essential part of how the humour is delivered. Leonard, is played by Alex Lawther, who is having a bit of a career moment this year. having already had central parts in Andor and Alien Earth, all exploiting his geeky nervous style of acting. To which he can now add, the socially inadequate Leonard. Ably supported by Laurie Kynaston as Hungry Paul and Jamie-Lee O'Donnell as Shelley.
This series manages to create and hold its very pleasurable tone steady. Its not an easy thing to write about ordinary lives without that becoming at some point trite,tedious or vaguely patronising. And Leonard and Hungry Paul avoids falling into any such pitfalls. It is quite the most simple hearted and kind little light comedy drama. One that emits oodles of warmth for its characters, their foibles as well as their charms, as it takes you for a modest gently meandering walk through its world. I wasn't entirely sure about its tone for the first quarter of its running time, but by the end of twenty nine minutes I was won over by it, completely hooked. I am currently trying to resist guzzling down all its six episodes far far too rapidly.
CARROT REVIEW - 7/8
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