In Out There, instead of a countryside doctor, Clunes is now a widowed farmer, Nathan Williams, facing down the many threats to modern agricultural life. Farms around his are being bought up by people with no intention of continuing to farm (one is being turned into a gaudy funfair) and developers are circling as debts build up. There’s also a group of local environmental activists protesting animal testing who seem unlikely to become farming allies any time soon.
Martin Clunes and Sharon Morgan in ‘Out There’ (Photo: Buffalo Pictures/ITV)Johnny is a typical 15-year-old, absorbed in video games, flaking out at school and making bad calls because of someone he fancies. In this case, it’s agreeing to hold on to an extremely suspicious-looking package for his dodgy mate Rhys.
Based on the first episode, the series is about the justified anguish many farmers are feeling over their precarious livelihood and dwindling finances – the climactic plot of the opener is the truly tragic (and sensitively handled) suicide of Nathan’s elderly neighbour, unable to see a way out of the mounting pressures.
For example, the first episode heavily features Nathan’s paranoia over drones that he keeps spotting hovering over his land, which I initially took to be related to the greedy potential developers but apparently seem more likely to be connected to the drug gangs.
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Read MoreClunes is (accent aside) convincing as Nathan, a kind but firm father and largely a sensible man harbouring unshakeable values and valid concerns that could lead him to reckless behaviour, whether it is taking out an ill-advised loan to buy his neighbour’s now-vacant farm or perhaps something related to the rifle he carries everywhere. Ashbourne Serkis is also impressive as a teenager teetering on the verge of terrible decisions, and the father-son relationship between him and Clunes is tender and believable.
If county lines is indeed to be at the show’s core, it needs to be bedded in early on to convince viewers to come back. As it is, though a perfectly fine episode of television, Out There just doesn’t do enough to stand out from the pack.
‘Out There’ airs on ITV1 at 9pm on 19 January
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