Small Prophets Review: Mackenzie Crook's Magical Comedy Delivers Pure Pleasure
Wonder lies below the surface of Small Prophets, the new comedy series from Detectorists creator Mackenzie Crook. This truly fantastic sitcom represents an impossible marvel of television making that offers viewers pure, unadulterated pleasure.
A Premise Best Discovered Fresh
Try not to be told about the central premise before diving into this magical new series. In a show brimming with gorgeous surprises, the main narrative development serves as a precious gift waiting to be unwrapped. What audiences should know is that this delivers everything Detectorists fans could wish for from Crook's new project, with familiar sensibilities taking on phantasmagorical new shapes.
An Urban Hero's Extraordinary Journey
Our gentle protagonist is Michael, portrayed by Pearce Quigley with lank hair and a long beard, living as the sole occupant of an overgrown semi-detached house at the dead end of a south Manchester cul-de-sac. His daily routine has remained unchanged since Christmas Eve seven years earlier, when his girlfriend Clea mysteriously vanished. Her car was discovered near the Severn Bridge, but she was never found.
Michael's existence follows a predictable pattern:
- Waking from strange dreams about birds
- Coaxing his battered Ford Capri to life
- Working his boring job on a DIY superstore shop floor
- Visiting his father's nursing home for repetitive conversations
- Returning to his silent house to repeat the cycle tomorrow
Finding Wonder in the Ordinary
While this setup could easily become a bleak sadcom, this is a Mackenzie Crook production, meaning wonder inevitably surfaces. Where detectorists discovered treasure buried in soil and nestled in trees, Crook sets himself the more challenging task of uncovering something truly fantastic within urban ordinariness.
We soon discover Michael possesses talents that confound those who might dismiss him as merely a raggedy eccentric. At work, he maintains sanity through elaborate wind-ups targeting gullible customers, demonstrating a mischievous mind matching that of his father Brian, played by comedy legend Michael Palin.
A Beautiful Friendship Forms
When Brian suggests an improbable scheme for confirming the truth about Clea's disappearance, Michael and his much younger colleague Kacey open their hearts and minds to the possibility. Their relationship represents a sort of platonic, gender-flipped take on Harold and Maude, forming what may be television's most beautiful friendship in years.
Crook masterfully unspools a tale that would dissolve into facile whimsy in less capable hands, making exactly the right decisions in every moment, both large and small.
Perfect Casting Choices
The casting proves absolutely crucial to the series' success. For Michael, the outsider whose charms reveal themselves to those who look properly, Crook elevates Pearce Quigley from his supporting role in Detectorists to the lead position he richly deserves.
Lauren Patel, previously seen in Waterloo Road, delivers a sensational performance as the thwarted yet hopeful Kacey. As for Brian, the eccentric father who understands precisely what he needs to? Michael Palin's casting speaks for itself.
Delightful Supporting Characters
The creations further down the cast list provide singular delights. Jon Pointing portrays Clive, a millennial version of the classic curtain-twitching neighbor who keeps attempting to persuade Michael to trim his rambling hedge, yet ends every encounter bewildered and outfoxed.
Crook himself appears as Michael's officious but ineffectual boss Gordon, complete with a ponytail long enough to reach behind his back and pull straight with greasy fingers.
Sunbursts of Imagination
Various mysteries gradually resolve through sunbursts of imagination that seem fantastically unlikely yet perfectly rational once revealed:
- Kacey's own improbable dream
- The last thing that made Michael cry
- What Michael does in his house to preserve Clea's memory
- The deal with the sullen teenager endlessly cycling circles around the close
If viewers could predict how Michael's mugging scene unfolds—how it becomes utterly absurd, then deeply moving, then both simultaneously—they would deserve a chest of gold, though nobody could possibly claim such a prize.
A Message of Hope and Wonder
If Small Prophets contains a message or moral, it suggests wonderful things remain within reach in a world that might appear to be running out of them. The series' very existence proves this point: that British television can still create impossible marvels like this provides compelling reason to keep believing in magic.
Small Prophets originally aired on BBC Two and remains available for streaming on BBC iPlayer, inviting audiences to discover its unique blend of urban fantasy and heartfelt comedy.
