Kinvig (1981)

Kinvig (1981)

Dir. Les Chatfield | 7 episodes, approx 25 mins each.

I expected more from Kinvig, given that it's written by Nigel Kneale, the creator and author of the Quatermass films, but, sadly, it's a weak sci-fi comedy with mostly forgettable characters.

The titular Kinvig (Tony Haygarth) is owner of a corner repair shop in a typical British town. A man with a self-proclaimed "flair" for fixing things, he is in fact a lazy and largely useless sod who wings it most of the time. His life is unstimulating and routine, and because his shop doesn't generate much income he struggles to pay the rates.

Kinvig's best friend is Jim Piper (Colin Jeavons), a man with an unhealthy interest in aliens and unexplained phenomena. If Jim dropped his toast and it landed butter side up, he'd probably think it was the work of extra-terrestrials. But in Kinvig's life Jim is the foremost authority on such things.

Jim's input is a factor that becomes relevant when the headstrong Miss Griffin (Prunella Gee), a woman whom Kinvig believes to be from the planet Mercury, unexpectedly calls one day into his shop. Beautiful but bossy, Miss Griffin needs help to repair her spaceship and, as unlikely as it sounds, she chooses the bearded one.

- The two sides of  Miss Griffin: in shop (left) and on ship (right) -

The most positive things I can say about the series is that there's continuity from one episode to the next - such as the shop owner's ongoing battle with Bingleton Borough Council's town hall employees. (Note the initialism: BBC. Purposeful? The show was made by LWT, part of the rival ITV Network). And I liked that it's deliberately ambiguous about whether Kinvig is daydreaming his adventures to escape his dreary existence or if he's actually experiencing them for real.

The fact that Miss Griffin frequently berates him in his store but romances him while in space suggests the latter scenario, but the same action could also be interpreted as her keeping up appearances, playing a role that masks her true identity to onlookers. Either way, the relationship lacks depth - more than just lighthearted, it's positively light on laughs, warmth and interest.

The final episode is perhaps the best of them. Kinvig's wife Netta (Patsy Rowlands) features more than usual. Her input gives the show the comedic spark that it needed throughout.