Mark Farmer finds the livings of an apothecary's apprentice difficult enough, but given that he's apprenticed to Scrooge-like Paul Scofield, it's even worse. When he's sent on a delivery, despite it being after midnight on New Year's Day, he wishes Scofield dead, and customer John Huston (in his final performance) is happy to have it so, in return for appropriate payment. Farmer finds himself on a journey amidst the living and dead, with Scofield's ghost his needy dependent.
It's a lovely little bit of chaotic story-telling, where things don't make any sense. That's fine for an old fantasy fan like me, and the pleasure of seeing Scofield in anything -- alas, he devoted almost all his career to the stage, so his recorded appearances are sparse, even if they are larded with awards nominations and wins -- adds to my pleasure. Under the direction of his son Danny, Huston seems intent on playing it as big as his father had for him. Even Burgess Meredith shows up for one of his eccentric roles. The show ably combines Dickensian chills with macabre humor.
It's a lovely little bit of chaotic story-telling, where things don't make any sense. That's fine for an old fantasy fan like me, and the pleasure of seeing Scofield in anything -- alas, he devoted almost all his career to the stage, so his recorded appearances are sparse, even if they are larded with awards nominations and wins -- adds to my pleasure. Under the direction of his son Danny, Huston seems intent on playing it as big as his father had for him. Even Burgess Meredith shows up for one of his eccentric roles. The show ably combines Dickensian chills with macabre humor.