A Young Doctor's Notebook shows Daniel Radcliffe flex his acting muscles

The period drama starring heavy weights John  Hamm and Daniel Radcliffe is equal parts side splitting farce and heart breaking tragedy. The stellar adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov's collection of short stories of the same name has gone oddly unheralded, making it a joyous discovery of eccentricity and wit for any viewer who can stomach a gorey amputation and still find the funny side. The series follows the fresh medical graduate as he takes a post in a remote Russian hospital, naive and most unready he undergoes a trial by fire.

What I love about this series is the world it creates, the cast are fantastic througout and everything feels very real if often wonderfully over the top. Essentially this is a tale of a man reflecting upon his transformation into manhood and the Doctor he would become. with such hindsight we are able to gain a better appreciation for a very fallible but ostensibly good hearted man, a man who cannot forgive his younger self in many ways. The interaction between Hamm who plays the future Doctor and Radcliffe as his younger self is electric, they hold real chemistry and I can't think of a duo who I would be better suited to this role. They boyish nature of Radcliffe bounces of Hamm's machismo delightfully and shows the duality of all men between the heart and the head. By seeing his past and present self we the audience are drawn into deeper reflection of what it means to be made by experience and in many ways encouraged to forgive our own youthful naivities.

The pacing of the show makes it entirely watchable, unfortunately there are only four episodes in each season but they are edited in such a way that the story unfolds completely naturally. Its also has a wonderful soundtrack which keeps a sense of energy and the times. Indeed you become attached to the characters and their worlds, wondering about them long after the credits have rolled. You will laugh, cry but most importantly be inspired by this far away world created with clear care. If you take a chance on one new show on your weekend binge, this should definitely be it!