In
episode 2, “more than a little off” increasingly becomes Luke’s dominant
trait. The man is rapidly unraveling at
the edges, thanks to the one-two punch of his crusade and a lot of unfinished
business with his ex-wife. The police
have picked up the Marion trail, and Luke is convinced that they’re wrongfully
trying to string him up for the murder.
As such, he can add paranoid to his laundry list of neuroses, which also
includes unhinged, hypochondriac, and delusional. If he doesn’t solve his mystery in the final
episode, the guy might actually implode.
Even aside
from the obvious mental instability, Luke and his story continue to be tons of
fun. This episode involves surreptitious
calls to an anonymous tip line, a sanatorium siesta, and the full undercover
monty (we’re talking hair dye and false mustaches – Luke don’t mess
around.) There’s also a brief appearance
from Miranda Richardson (Queenie!) as a prostitute/potential lead, and I should
mention the late Richard Griffiths (Uncle Vernon from Harry Potter) in a supporting role as the porter for Luke’s
building. The jocular doorman seems
well-meaning and friendly, but Luke clearly regards him as one of several banes
of his existence.
PC is
delightfully off-kilter in this, just balls-out crazy but still kind of sweet
and sympathetic. While I don’t know if
this role could unseat any of my top ten performances of his, it could
definitely make its way into the top twenty.
I’m so glad that PC’s casting as the Doctor has brought these
little-known projects to light, because some of them are really great. It’s wild, the kind of stuff that can slip
through the media cracks (although at least PC’s work has survived better than
the Second Doctor’s!)
Plus, that
hair ought to have its own screen credit.
Ah, the ‘90s…
Warnings
Add
prostitution to the sexual content – no sex scenes, but plenty of talk and
implications.
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