Harry Potter is dead – long live Daniel Radcliffe
November 29, 2012 § 2 Comments
Jon Hamm and Daniel Radcliffe play the same doctor at different heights in his life
Looking at the publicity images for this new comedy drama unsettled us, we have to say.
There, standing side by side, were Jon Hamm and Daniel Radcliffe, older and younger versions of the same character. The pedants in us cried: “They look nothing like each other. Hamm’s face is too long. Radcliffe’s ears are completely different, for god’s sake. Nobody will swallow it. They’re not even the same size.”
And yet swallow it we did. We even went back for more.
A Young Doctor’s Notebook is one of the most watchable, addictive offerings on the box – never mind just from Sky. It’s written by Mark Chappell, Alan Connor and Simon Pye, and if that wasn’t enough to make you tune in, then get this: Harry Potter is dead.
Sorry Hogwarts fans, but this really does prove, once and for all, that Radcliffe (for all his eyebrow issues) has shaken off the robes of the boy wizard once and for all, and is a good enough actor to more than hold his own against the spectacularly famous star of Mad Men.
Set in Russia, it follows the newly qualified doctor Vladimir Bomgard (Radcliffe) as he arrives in the arse-end of nowhere to begin his work tending to the local community. He’s bright-eyed, bushy eyebrowed and desperate to please, but looking like a teenager does little to endear him to his three colleagues, or his patients.
Luckily, his older self (Hamm) is on hand more often than not, to offer timely hints and tips about what he can expect, from the hot tap with a direct line to the centre of the Earth, to the fact all the syphilitic locals really want from their medical care is drops and gargles.
Over the course of four criminally short episodes, the story treads the finest of lines between high comedy and soul-destroying drama, as Bomgard’s naivete is replaced by something darker, more twisted, while at the same time, his older self reveals how much of a toll the pressure of his career choice has taken.
If A Young Doctor’s Notebook has a flaw, it’s that it ends rather abruptly, making us sneakily wonder if more episodes could be on their way. We really, really hope so.
THE WHO, WHAT, WHEN OF IT
WHAT’S IT CALLED?
A Young Doctor’s Notebook
WHEN IS IT ON?
Thursday, December 6th
WHAT CHANNEL?
Sky Arts 1
WHO’S IN IT?
Daniel Radcliffe (durr)
Jon Hamm (double durr)
WHO SHOULD WATCH IT?
Fans of great comedy and drama – and maybe JK Rowling.
WHO SHOULDN’T WATCH IT?
People who think Harry Potter is real
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
It's On The Telly, Stupid 
Being a fan of both of them, I hope we get to see this on my side of the pond…
I’d be surprised if it doesn’t make the transatlantic leap, given the calibre of the stars – and the fact it was something of a personal project for Jon Hamm.