Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Fair Dinkum Television Memories


Since it's Australia Day, I thought I'd look back at some old time Aussie television. Remember The Flying Doctors? Kingswood Country? The Thorn Birds? Yep, a dozen ocker classics. So take a seat, eat some pavlova, and check out the down under tv flashback.*

(*Of course, this list kind of shows my age... but I think television you're exposed to when really young can make a more intense impact, sometimes).


A COUNTRY PRACTICE
What Was It About? Followed the trials and tribulations of Wandin Valley locals. As hinted in the title, a lot of the action revolved around/passed through the medical centre. Most disliked character was old busybody Esme, who constantly caused trouble with her gossiping.
What I Remember Most: The character Molly died of a terminal illness and the whole country had to have counselling.
Interesting Tidbit: The actors who played onscreen couple Molly and Brendan were also married in real life. Oh, and Nicole Kidman guest starred back in the day.


E STREET

What Was It About? The adventures of a group of Sydney inner city residents. A bit of a different premise for Aussie television at that point, since most family dramas and sitcoms of the time were set in the outback, or the suburbs.
What I Remember Most: Being a teenager (barely) when this show hit screens, and deciding that living in a city was the ULTIMATE in cool.
Interesting Tidbit: A young Simon Baker was one of the shows stars, but his screen name back then was Simon Baker-Denny.


KINGSWOOD COUNTRY

What Was It About? Sort of like an early Australian version of Married With Children (but less smutty). Ted liked to sit in his chair, watch the telly, read the paper, and loved his car more than anything. Some complain about his sexist and racist ways, but the truth is, the joke was always on Ted.
What I Remember Most: The poor harried wife, who had the most hilarious lines.
Interesting Tidbit: There was a later spin-off, focusing on Ted in an old people's home, but it didn't rate well.


THE SULLIVANS

What Was It About? The Sullivan family, of course. The show was set in 1939, the beginning of the second World War, so there was a definite sense of gravitas to the story.
What I Remember Most: How beloved the series was, across multiple generations. You would hear people at the shops gossiping about the Sullivans as if they were real neighbours.
Interesting Tidbit: I don't have any. I was only seven when it finished its run, so my memories of it aren't as clear as some of the other programs. (But I do feel it made a very big impact on the industry, as a whole).


PERFECT MATCH

What Was It About? A game show where one contestant would ask three contestants behind a screen a series of questions, before choosing one to date. If you think about it, it's kind of like early internet dating. Without the Internet.
What I Remember Most: When returning from their date (which sometimes lasted for days, if they'd been sent away on holiday), the show would interview the two contestants separately, then get them to sit on the same couch and watch what they had both said about each other... In a word, brutal.
Interesting Tidbit: A 'robot' called Dexter would come out and calculate the compatibility rating of the final couple (before they went off on their date). Naturally (by which I mean ridiculously) he became the most popular thing about the show.


SALE OF THE CENTURY

What Was It About? Contestants would start with a $20 score, then compete to answer questions first (with big buzzers!) receiving $5 for every correct answer. The winner was the person who finished with the highest score, which they could then 'spend' on the prizes. Of course, there were other factors, like the Who Am I questions (which we LOVED). If you guessed the identity of the person, you got to choose from a game board of celebrity faces, all of which offered assorted prizes when spun around.
What I Remember Most: How obsessed it made everyone with general knowledge. Since this was pre-web, encyclopaedia sales surely benefited.
Interesting Tidbit: For some reason, the format really appealed to Australians. The show ran for over two decades, as well as a later reboot that ran for a few more years.


SKIPPY
What Was It About? A kid's show from the sixties often repeated on Australian tv. Skippy was a kangaroo in a national park who made friends with a ranger's son. Cue adventures.
What I Remember Most: The theme song, because "Skippy the bush kangaroo" always sounded as if they were clarifying Skippy was not, in fact, an urban kangaroo(??).
Interesting Tidbit: The main thing I remember about this show is that it had a HELICOPTER. These flying machines were pretty rare back in the day, so every time a storyline included a helicopter appearance, excitement ensued. Yes, we were simple folk. (Or maybe the crime rate was just lower?).


THE FLYING DOCTORS
What Was It About? The title's kind of self-explanatory. Alongside more traditional hospital story lines (including doctor/nurse romances, of course), the challenges of outback medical care provided a lot of story fodder.
What I Remember Most: Learning about the existence of The Royal Flying Doctor Service. I'm guessing the exposure was invaluable for them.
Interesting Tidbit: Check out a young Rebecca Gibney in this clip.


THE THORN BIRDS

What Was It About? A mini-series based on the Colleen McCullough novel. Think family saga, outback setting, and a priest in love. There was also a stellar cast. (Christopher Plummer and Richard Chamberlain are among the illustrious talent in the mix). The sum of these elements equalled massive ratings explosions.
What I Remember Most: Oh, the scandal. A priest in love (and lust)? Shocked was not the word.
Interesting Tidbit: Rachel Ward and Brian Brown met on set and later married.


SONS AND DAUGHTERS

What Was It About? Straight up soapie stuff. Arguing families. Lots of drama.
What I Remember Most: The theme song. It was weirdly catchy, even though some of the lyrics were less than challenging (ie we will find out our sons and daughters are what, we too, were once about...).
Interesting Tidbit: Actress Judy Nunn went on to write many novels, including children's books. I loved them so much when I was little that I wrote her a letter. And she wrote one back!


BRIDES OF CHRIST

What Was It About? A mini-series, set in the sixties, that takes place in a Catholic school. Both the students and the nuns face difficult decisions, cause, you know, times, they are a'changin'...
What I Remember Most: I went to a Catholic school and I can honestly say, this show really humanised the nuns and priests in our eyes. Up till that point, we'd never really thought about their lives prior to joining the church.
Interesting Tidbit: The fantastic cast included a youthful Russell Crowe and Naomi Watts.


BLUE HEELERS

What Was It About? The lives and loves of police stationed in the fictional Australian country town of Mount Thomas. Epically popular in Oz... there's no denying thirteen years is a long time for a cop show to run.
What I Remember Most: My dad was a policeman and he used to say, "Christ, if I was posted to Mount Thomas, I'd be asking for a bloody transfer". This country town saw a WIDE array of HIGHLY unusual crimes. Even the station itself was bombed at one point.
Interesting Tidbit: I remember someone telling me they used to watch Blue Heelers when they were growing up in Ireland, oddly enough.

...So there's the list. Honourable Mentions also to The Henderson Kids, Hey Dad, Prisoner, GP, Police Rescue and Acropolis Now. I could go on, but all this talk of Aussie television has made me want a lamington...


Thursday, January 12, 2012

A Lot Of Eyes For An Eye

With New Year's resolutions in full swing, now might be an apt time to talk about Revenge. (The tv show, I mean).

The saying hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, should really be changed to, hell hath no fury like a child betrayed, if this tale's anything to go by...

Some might say time and money are integral elements of a truly devastating, multi-tiered revenge. Luckily, the protagonist of this series has both in SPADES (I so want to work in some kind of Marie Antoinette "let them eat cake" joke, but my humour's not savvy enough):

Revenge is a strange concept (the feeling, I mean, not the show). We're taught at a young age that it leads to bitterness and ashes, but when truly wronged, the desire for payback can be a dominating emotion. Let's face it, there's almost something primal about the (occasionally) reflexive, thirst-for-revenge response to perceived injustice.

Likewise, Revenge (the show, not the feeling) is a strange little drama. Many dismiss it as a simple soap, but I think the overarching theme makes it a tad too complex for obvious labelling.

Sure, this saga has enough petty power plays, beautiful people, glamorous parties and luxurious locations to keep the average viewer happy. But for those who like a little more (intellectual) meat to chew on, scattered throughout each episode like little chicken nuggets for the brain (can you tell I'm hungry?) are quotes from ancient philosopher's and classic literature that ponder the nature of revenge and its myriad, inevitable repercussions.


Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.

Confucius


Here's the basic story:

An uber-rich young woman called Emily Thorne rocks up at the Hampton's one summer to party the season away (elegantly, mind you). Quiet, confident, beautiful and sophisticated, she catches the eye of the local pretty boy bachelor... and it's game on.*

(*This is all just surface fodder. The backstory is WAY more relevant.)

Emily Thorne is actually Amanda Clarke, who lived in the Hamptons with her father until he was framed for a terrible crime. Daddy's since died in prison, and now Amanda (slash Emily) is back, ready to exact her meticulously planned revenge on his enemies, via a sequence of devastating strikes culminating in an end game we, the audience, can't quite imagine just yet...!

One by one, our (sort of) protagonist destroys every person involved in the framing of her father, and god DAMN is this chick thorough. She decimates her targets personally, professionally and financially, dismissing battered innocents along the way (ie husbands, wives and children) as little more than collateral damage.

Keep in mind, she has one woman in her sights at all times. Through Emily's carefully timed machinations, her father's married mistress Victoria is slowly and irrevocably alienated from her best friend, husband, trusted security liaison, therapist, and children.

As a viewer, you can never quite decide at what point Emily crosses the line. She's been so brutally wronged that you're kind of cheering her on at first... but at the same time, is it truly okay for the aggrieved party to transform from persecuted, to persecutor?

Just to clarify- she is UTTERLY focused on revenge. No matter what happens, the character steadfastly refuses to change her path, which makes you wonder sometimes what's going on behind her guarded gaze, and if she just might be one diamond short of a tennis bracelet? (Or something like that. Cut me some slack, I'm trying to speak Hampton-ese here!).

Let's not forget, while Emily's been dealing with the terrible repercussions of what was done to her family, the guilty rich have lived with tortured consciences eating away at their souls, and occasionally (it would seem), their sanity. Almost every character in the show is written in a way that makes the audience perceive them as intensely flawed, and often conflicted.

So, yeah, the baddies aren't always a hundred percent, well, bad. But don't get me wrong- they're still, you know... bad. (Yes, pretty soon we, the audience, are as conflicted as the characters!).

The show not only looks at the ripple effect these acts of revenge are having on community members closest to the guilty parties, but also at the impact carrying out ongoing, staggered revenge is having on our (pseudo) protagonist Emily. In a way, it's both her greatest strength, and her greatest weakness.

Hardcore, much?

The important casting is impeccable. The actress in the lead role, Emily VanCamp, plays the part superbly, an understated portrayal that is so much more powerful onscreen than raging hysterics could ever be. Her emotions are heavily internalised (which let's face it, is the opposite of standard soapie practice).

Madeleine Stowe kicks ass as Victoria, the evil matriarch and Emily's arch nemesis. She knows something's off when it comes to Emily (no shit, Sherlock!), but since she's losing allies left, right and centre, Hampton's Wicked Witch is not at the top of her game right now...

Gabriel Mann puts in a great performance as billionaire computer programmer Nolan, a character integral to the story because he knows Emily/Amanda's secret.

Nolan is the angel on her shoulder, albeit a flawed one. He alternates between a) dabbling in Emily's 'games' because he's bored, hyper intelligent and socially inept, and b) trying unsuccessfully to lure her away from the lesser-worn, prickly path of revenge.

I also like Nick Wechsler as Jack, Amanda's childhood sweetheart and constant (emotional) thorn in the side of her Emily persona. (Thanks to Nolan's machinations, Jack is regularly thrown in Emily/Amanda's path, as a possible deterrent).

Don't get me wrong. A lot of the storylines, especially the sub-plots, still unfold in dramatic, soapie-esque style... but the motivation behind the overall series is quite unique, which helps hold audience interest.

And while it doesn't appeal to me, maybe some Americans kind of like the idea that fellow citizens rich enough to holiday in the Hampton's achieved their wealth through nefarious means? Morals and ethics seem in short shrift among the richies on the show. Is it possible that watching the monied up getting their asses karmically kicked (metaphorically speaking) appeals to the middle class psyche somehow? Who knows.

By halfway through season one, Emily's schemes are already unravelling. Unforeseen variables (ie the arrival of unexpected characters she hadn't anticipated and can't quite control), threaten to ruin everything.

Man, the vagaries of human nature really can mess with the best laid plans... it's true, Murphy's Law is a bitch.

Just ask Emily. Or is it, Amanda?