New Delhi, May 2 -- There is a screenwriting technique referred to as "Saving the Cat". This suggests that a hero, before plunging into the story, perform a small act of pure goodness that instantly makes the viewer root for them, no matter how flawed or foolish they later become. This is narrative seduction at its shiniest and most basic: think of Aladdin giving his stolen bread to starving children, or Ripley tenderly (and literally) saving Jonesy the cat amid the carnage of Alien. In short, it's the cinematic equivalent of buying the first round before the bar brawl breaks out.

The delightful Australian romantic-comedy series Colin from Accounts (with both its seasons finally streaming in India on JioCinema) goes in a diametrically op...