Single Father

I've just watched the last episode of Single Father, the new miniseries starring David Tennant. We know him from Doctor Who, of course, but it's impressive how little he's been typecast. He's been a crazy Death Eater, Hamlet, an alien, and now a single father, and somehow every time all you think about is what he's doing now.

He plays Dave, married to Rita, with whom he has three children, plus they each have a child from previous relationships. In our make-believe of a beginning, Rita dies suddenly in a car accident. The show tells the consequences, which are numerous and messy and sometimes lovely.

Many of the twists and turns of the show would be melodramatic in other hands. The writing and the fabulous acting make this perfect. The characters are flawed and realistic, the kids are especially great, the relationships complicated. I loved the whole thing.