The Mimic

Series one, episode two
Martin Hurdle continues to hide in plain sight in this week’s second episode of the comedy drama, his vocal abilities employed to seduce a swimsuit model over the phone (as Christopher Walken), to socialise with strangers in a pub (as an Irishman) and to amuse his long-lost son (as Ian McKellen), whose mother he re-encounters tonight. Who the real Martin is, however, remains an engrossing mystery: unless his entire personality can be constructed from life’s little disappointments, setbacks and missed opportunities.

The laughs come mostly from Mynott’s spot-on impressions or his deadbeat pal, Neil (Neil Maskell), who’s considering dating someone he met online who has a chocolate lab, (‘Some kind of Willy Wonka shit’). It’s another beautifully judged blend of humour and pathos: one false step and it could be either dismal farce or ‘Taxi Driver’-esque alienation horror. No danger of either just yet, though: in Martin, Terry Mynott has created a tragicomic character it’s impossible not to root for.