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A Teacher is a new 10-part drama where each episode is just 25 minutes, so it may as well be five normal-length episodes.
Claire Wilson (Kate Mara – The Martian) is just starting her first term at Westerbrook High, teaching English, and since she doesn’t have a pandemic to worry about, she’s preoccupied with starting a family with her other half, but as middle age beckons, we see her early on, stealing a lipstick from a shop, which seems quite ridiculous for a teacher to do. However, as she confesses to her man, she justifies that she’s spent plenty in that store before.
But about the main plot, and everyone has a teacher they fancied at school, but you’d never have a chance meeting with them in a diner, which is how Eric (Nick Robinson – Jurassic World) and Claire meet outside of school.
However, what follows in the two episodes that I watched just didn’t make any sense. He sends her a friend request on Facebook (well, it uses Facebook’s blue colours, but says ‘follow request’ to avoid royalties), and later she can’t stop thinking aqbout him, to the point of fantasising that he’s in bed with her. Seriously, just keep work and home life apart as much as possible.
At another time, she attends a frat party with him. When I was in school, we never had hedonistic parties like these 18-year-olds have. Utter madness!
meanwhile, her better half is reverting to manchild status by buying up a load of musical equipment he’ll use once or twice before losing interest.
Frankly, it’s weird to take men playing high school kids seriously when they’re clearly in their mid-20s. In reality, Nick Robinson (not the BBC bod) is 25 and Kate Mara is 37, but since she looks quite young anyway, they both look around the same age, so it doesn’t sound anything like the illicit premise it’s meant to be.
Overall, this is pretty dull and there’s zero chemistry between the two leads. Still, it has LCD Soundsystem’s Oh Baby (below) as a theme tune in the first episode.
A Teacher starts tonight at 10pm on BBC2 and is shown over five nights. It isn’t yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD. However, after tonight’s episodes, you can then watch the entire series on the BBC iPlayer.
Episodes 1 and 2 Score: 0/10
Series Directors: Hannah Fidell, Andrew Neel, Gillian Robespierre
Producer: Leslie Cowan
Creator: Hannah Fidell
Writers: Rosa Handelman, Boo Killebrew, Andrew Neel, Dana Kitchens, Ruby Rae Spiegel
Music: Keegan DeWitt
Cast:
Claire Wilson: Kate Mara
Eric Walker: Nick Robinson
Matt Mitchell: Ashley Zukerman
Sandy Walker: Rya Kihlstedt
Logan Davis: Shane Harper
Josh Smith: Dylan Schmid
Kathryn: Marielle Scott
Nate Wilson: Adam David Thompson
Alison: Camila Perez
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.