The Power of Parker review: Car Share's Sian Gibson is out for revenge
The six-part BBC comedy takes us back to '90s Manchester.
The year: 1990. The place: Stockport, Greater Manchester. The man: Martin Parker (Conleth Hill), an entrepreneur and local Z-lister who is about to get his comeuppance.
BBC comedy The Power of Parker, created by Car Share's Sian Gibson and Paul Coleman, takes its title from Martin's advertising slogan for his chain of electrical goods stores. From the outside looking in, he appears to have it all – a successful business, a solid family unit, a fancy car and lovely big house – but his financial situation is "badder than bad" and after turning to loan sharks to stay afloat - his house of cards is on the verge of collapse.
And to make matters even worse, Martin's long-suffering wife Diane (Rosie Cavaliero) and his perky mistress of 25 years Kath (Gibson) have also grown weary of his bad behaviour and team up to teach him a lesson.
The Power of Parker is an amalgam of premises we've seen before, but that didn't dampen my enjoyment. There are a number of laugh out loud moments scattered throughout and a string of committed performances from a cast who are clearly having a ball.
Hill is excellent as the egocentric, smug and vain cowboy boot-wearing businessman at the heart of the high jinks. He embraces everything that's required of him, including a toe-curlingly hideous dance with Gibson's character that you'll desperately want to tear your eyes away from, but won't be able to, such is the weird magnetism it wields. His Mancunian accent, which is a deceptively tricky one to master, also gets a thumbs up from this Stockport native.
Diane and Kath are chalk and cheese – the former dresses "like Maggie Thatcher", while Kath prefers double denim – which makes their scenes together a particular highlight. Watching them flip flop between hurling barbs at one another and slowly but surely finding common ground as they reevaluate Martin's gross misconduct makes for a satisfying watch.
A hat tip must also go Abigail McGibbon, a Northern Irish actor best known for her theatre work. Her no nonsense delivery, particularly when talking about a bean toastie, elevates her dialogue from mundane observations to comedy gold.
Not all of the humour landed for this particular Barbie, but there will be many who find it consistently hilarious throughout, such is the subjective nature of comedy. It's also worth noting that this is undoubtedly better suited to a viewership who remember the '90s and are familiar with the period-specific references.
But making viewers laugh isn't the sole aim of the game. The plot is just as concerned with keeping you on your toes, serving up lashings of jeopardy and episodic cliffhangers. And with a soundtrack full to the hilt of '80s bangers, The Power of Parker has more than enough in its arsenal to keep you locked in.
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The Power of Parker premieres on Friday 28th July at 9.30pm on BBC One. Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what's on tonight.
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Authors
Abby Robinson is the Drama Editor for Radio Times, covering TV drama and comedy titles. She previously worked at Digital Spy as a TV writer, and as a content writer at Mumsnet. She possesses a postgraduate diploma and a degree in English Studies.
