The Mayor of Simpleton - Ep1 A Warm Unwelcome

Despite being technically a part of Australia, the island state of Tasmania is jealously guarded by its quirky inhabitants. As a mainlander, the best you can hope for is to be tolerated. Leaving a failed marriage and a hectic life on the mainland, Barry does his best to find a fit in his new island home. Ironically, the innate quirkiness and sense of old world values that alienated him on the mainland still leave him alienated in olde worlde Tassie. He realises he is up against it from Day One when an angry duck chases him in his car on the way to work. Seems even the local wildlife is out to get him. With the duck badly injured, Barry dashes it out to the local vets; despite the urgings of his straight-laced and bookish town clerk Errol, who has recommended the despatch of the duck in accordance with the Wildlife Act. The mercy dash proves fortuitous for Barry when he meets local vet nurse Kate Manning and an offbeat romance steadily develops. In her own zany, carefree Harley Davidson riding way, Kate instils in Barry a sense of confidence and certainty. Barry conversely teaches Kate that sometimes a little uncertainty is okay in our daily lives. Barry finds himself crossing paths with local DJ Chris “the Bandtman” Bandt; a vindictive man whose birth certificate was probably an apology letter from a condom manufacturer. Following his unfortunate road rage incident with the duck, Barry is branded the “Mayor of Simpleton” by the conniving Bandt and is made the town laughing stock. It becomes a title he ultimately embraces with a sense of triumph. It seems that sometimes simplicity proves to be a winning formula. We learn that in Tasmania throwing your shoe at an endangered species is an offence, even if it stole your other shoe (Nature Conservation Act 2002); impersonating an architect will land you a $100 fine (Architects Act 1929), and meteorites do not belong to you even if they land in your back yard. And we navigate a set of first world problems; climate change, right wing nationalism and corporate greed as the new mayor progressively wins over the eclectic town with his own brand of quaintness and charm. The "Mayor of Simpleton" TV series is a comedic romp; a celebration of small town simplicity and innocent naivety in a world rapidly becoming harsh and complex.