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Will Sea Patrol be Australia’s next big successful drama or will it be Australia’s next biggest flop? Despite the brilliant start in the ratings, this blogger doesn’t see a long running series in the makings yet. And despite all the promoting and publicity that this show has received, I thought that it was mediocre.
Okay, so it’s been three episodes now, and I thought it was high time that I gave this new Aussie drama a general review. I must admit, that the overall theme of ‘Cops out at Sea’ doesn’t really and never has appealed to me. I usually find shows such as ‘JAG’ dead boring. But I was willing to give this show a go, mainly because it’s the only new Australian show that we’ve had in ages and I for one, am sick to death of only having American show after American show flooding our TV screens. So I sit down on Thursday nights, hoping for something to fill the gap that Channel Seven’s “Lost” once filled (Although I still watch this show, it’s becoming tiresome to me), but sadly, I have to say that I was disappointed. Sea Patrol is very mediocre in my opinion.
There isn’t really anything bad about the show. There’s just nothing particularly good about it, either. For starters, the cast all appear very wooden and unnatural. It feels like they are simply rattling off their lines, rather than actually getting into their roles. This is such a shame, given the calibre of actors in Sea Patrol- Steve Bisley, Matthew Holmes, Saskia Burmeister and Jeremy Lindsey Taylor amongst others. But the cast just aren’t performing as an ensemble should- Although, in fairness, it is still early days yet. I also have to admit that initially, one of the factors that also put me off the show was the fact that Lisa McCune was the lead actor in it. I don’t have anything against her really, it’s just I don’t feel like she’s a terrible strong actress. Over the years, I’ve seen her in a few productions- Blue Heelers, Marshall Law, Tripping Over and now Sea Patrol. And in every role I’ve seen her in she just doesn’t show much depth and range as an actress. Indeed, in Sea Patrol, it’s just like seeing Maggie Doyle in a navy uniform. Obviously the role of Kate is meant to be very different from Maggie, but because of Lisa’s lack of ability to show a wide range of emotions, it’s like seeing the same character in a different uniform. So far, Lisa has been quite expressionless in her role and I really feel like a stronger actress could take the character in a better direction- Claudia Karvan, Tasma Walton or Rebecca Gibney, perhaps?
Next, the character development and storylines have been kind of stunted. Again, it is still early days, but there isn’t much character interaction or development happening. There are a few potential relationships floating around, but nothing major. And it doesn’t really seem like we will be getting much in terms of other development- What the character’s pasts were like, whose families they belong to, that sort of thing. I have to say that the main plotlines in each of the three episodes so far have failed to capture my attention- The rescue of a woman with spinal injuries, breaking up a drug smuggling plot and saving two men stranded out at sea in the third episode. Maybe I am expecting way too much too soon, but in my opinion the stories are predictable and mediocre. During the last episode, I actually picked up a book and read during a few of the scenes, but was still able to pick up on most things that were happening on screen. I think probably the main problem is that the plot arcs are nothing new- We’ve seen Water Rats and Blue Heelers do drug raids, arrests and search and rescues many times in the past, so it’s not unique in any way. But that’s okay: I do appreciate that coming up with unique plotlines is rather difficult to do. I find that viewers generally don’t mind similar looking plotlines if the characters are strong enough to make things a little different or give the plots an extra twist. But sadly, Sea Patrol’s characters aren’t anything special, so as a consequence, everything falls very flat.
For me, the only two positives that I can really give the show are the expensive looking beach/oceanic shots, which are very attractive to the eye, and the fact that there is an all-star cast, which might help to boost the ratings and give the show some appeal for a good while yet. (Of course, according to the ratings, it appears that a lot of other viewers would tend to disagree with my overall analysis of the show…)
It’s not that I hate this show. Bottom line is: its average- Average storylines, average acting, and average character development. In fact, it is average in almost every aspect of the show. Nothing stands out as being particularly spectacular. Like I said above, it’s all been done before. I do hope that Sea Patrol works out: Even though it’s not my cup of tea, we do desperately need another success story in Australian drama because we’ve had so few over recent years. But I’m saddened at the end result of this series. I can only imagine that the fifteen million dollar budget that was spent making it went on the expensive oceanic shots and navy uniforms, to the detriment of the storylines and characters.
(2 ½ Stars)
Looking to put the past behind him, Vincent checks out of All Saints for the last time. The team deal with a father and son who have been involved in a serious car accident and are hiding a huge secret and Erica and Bart try to cope with working together- A good dose of character development and storylines.
Charlotte is finding it hard to come to terms with the fact that Vincent is departing from All Saints. When he arrives for his final shift at work, she learns that he is heading back to Canada and that he hasn’t even bothered to apply for another job closer to home. All day Charlotte seems tense and snaps at Vincent over his treatment of a ten-year old boy who was involved in a serious MVA. At the end of her shift, Charlotte pleads with Vincent to rethink his decision. She doesn’t want him to go and will miss him like crazy. But although they make up, there is no changing Vincent’s mind. Later on, during a goodbye drink with Frank, he admits that he needs to move because of his feelings for Charlotte and the fact that he doesn’t think he can move on whilst working at the same hospital as her. She now has her own life and he doesn’t want to look back in twenty years and hold not being able to move on, against her. Frank seems to be having doubts about whether Vincent is making the correct decision, but Vincent is adamant that he must go, so after his final shift, he takes off for goodbye drinks down the road with his colleagues…
Joe and his ten year old son Hamish are brought into the ED, having just been involved in a serious car accident. Joe is stable, but Hamish is in a serious condition. He has internal bleeding and needs to be taken to theatre immediately or else he will die. The only problem is the father will not consent to any further treatment, leading the doctors to become suspicious. And with good reason: When Hamish’s Mother turns up in the ED, it appears that Joe took Hamish illegally after custody was awarded to his ex-wife. The accident was no accident at all, as the staff discovers that Joe and Hamish were not wearing seatbelts. When Hamish crashes and the team are unable to revive him, it becomes clear that his Father wanted him to die and was planning on killing himself too, rather than face the prospect of his ex-wife having custody of their son. I have to say that this storyline, whilst predictable (I picked that it was a suicide pact as soon as the Mother walked into All Saints), was still very intriguing to watch.
At the other end of the ED, Erica and Bart are treating Cathy Seabold, an elderly woman who simply refuses to follow post-op treatment, even at the risk of amputation of her leg. When Bart informs her that she has deep vain thrombosis, she simply refuses to believe him, even after he shows her the lab results. Erica finally manages to get to the bottom of the mystery: Cathy’s husband died whilst staying in hospital and nobody was able to give Cathy a straight answer about why he died and from what. Whilst straightening this case out, Erica and Bart learn to get along a little better since Bart declared his feelings for the young nurse. Erica realizes that she treats Bart differently from other doctors because she considers him a friend, rather than just a colleague and she hopes that despite the awkwardness between them, they can go back to being friends. And it appears that Bart agrees. This storyline was less interesting- Mainly due to the rude and obnoxious patient. She was a pain in the backside- Even if she did have problems.
Mike Vlasek is also tackling demons this week: Last week we were left with a shot of him holding a needle up, as if he were about to start using again. This week, he is walking around All Saints looking like an unshaven bum. Frank enquires if surgeons bother to shave anymore. Jack wonders why he has been sleeping in the surgeon’s lounge all night long instead of going home at the end of his shift. It turns out that Mike was simply staring at the needle to tell himself that he is stronger than his addiction. He wants to give up counselling, feeling that he has turned a corner, but his psychologist doesn’t think it’s a good idea because although he has had a good day, there will still be plenty of bad days ahead of him. Personally, I thought Mike’s behaviour was strange all episode long: I get that the writers wanted him to continue to tackle his demons in terms of his addiction and I get why he was simply placing the needle in front of himself to tell himself that he is stronger and in control now. But then what was the point of having Mike floating around the ED all shift long like a zombie? There must have been a point behind all of that…
Overall, a solid episode: Great character development, intriguing storylines and a tight script. It’s just a shame that Vincent didn’t get a bigger send out. He was, after all, one of the longstanding characters and it would have been nice to see a little more out of work storyline before he went. (More to come on this topic soon…)
(4 Stars)
In the aftermath of Sean’s death, Zoë is struggling to cope with work and life in general. Erica must deal with the fallout from Bart’s declaration of love towards her, and the ED face a possible Ebola outbreak- An average episode.
This was an average episode, in my opinion. It certainly wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t a standout episode, either. Some of the storylines had a lot of potential to them, but they seemed to be either cut off short or not followed through on properly. The best example of this was the aftermath of Sean’s death: Zoë seemed to be the only one grieving for him (Which makes sense, given that she was Sean’s partner). But everyone else seemed a little too chirpy in my opinion, given that their colleague and friend had just died. I thought that the mood could have been a little more sombre and that the staff’s reactions to their patients could have been a little more relevant to what went on during the previous week’s episode. I mean, we had Charlotte and Vincent chatting away happily at the ex-ray machine and Jack, Dan and Bart downing drinks at the end of their shift. I didn’t even really think that Zoë’s grief was addressed properly. Sure, she seemed down in the dumps, but she was coping enough to work. I was expecting her to burst into tears, shout at someone or to have some kind of reaction to the injustice of the situation, but no. Even her being angry at Mike for not telling her the truth about how serious Sean’s injuries were, didn’t amount to much. In future episodes I would like to hope that there would at least be a little continuation on what’s happening with the characters in the aftermath of Sean’s death: What’s going to become of the hoons who ran him down and took off? With the police capture them? Will they be brought to justice or get away with it? And what will be the lasting effects for Zoë? Alison Cratchley put in a top performance the week before, so we all know what she is capable of doing. Now it’s up to the writers to expand on her character with this storyline.
An archaeologist named Tim comes into All Saints. He has recently returned from Africa and is convinced that he has brought back a strain of Ebola with him and that he and the rest of the public are about to die from it. Zoë, who is treating the man, isn’t convinced that it is Ebola, but as the symptoms match up, Frank isn’t going to take any risks. Procedures are put into place to prevent a possible outbreak and Zoë and Dan are the only ones allowed to come into contact with Tim, since they are the ones who are treating him. Along the way, we learn that Tim’s wife had been killed whilst the two of them were honeymooning in Africa and that he is still grieving over the death of her. This case was more or less just used as a catalyst for Zoë’s own grief over Sean and as I stated above, the case didn’t amount to much. Another Ebola outbreak would have been exciting and interesting to watch, but it turned out to be something far less serious. The fact that I can’t remember exactly what was up with him just goes to show how uneventful this storyline really was and how much it fell short.
Nathan Phillips, a twenty year old man, is rushed to emergency having just attempted to remove the cast on his broken leg himself with a chainsaw, to impress his girlfriend. I honestly thought that this storyline went nowhere. There didn’t seem to be any point to it: The team worked on his leg, patched him up and that was that. It wasn’t like we got to know the patient any better and there really wasn’t much of a storyline to go along with it.
Poor Bart is having a hard time recently. He always seems to get the patient who is hell-bent on committing suicide rather than face an agonizing future because of a medical problem. This week is no different: A young woman named Mia is brought in by the ambos, suffering from acute stomach pain. Mia is at her wit’s end. She has been suffering from stomach pain for most of her life and just the simply tasks of eating and moving around causes her intense pain. This latest attack is the worst of all. When several tests that Bart does don’t show up anything, Mia attempts to kill herself outside in the hospital grounds by slashing her wrists. In the long run, it’s a good thing that she doesn’t succeed because Bart makes a break through in thinking that the soft drinks that she drinks to settle her stomach are actually making the pain worse, rather than better. It’s not a cure, but it at least gives Mia some hope.
Bart’s personal life, meanwhile, isn’t going so well. After his declaration of love to Erica last week, she no longer knows what to say or how to behave around him. Eventually she has no option left but to admit the truth to him: She doesn’t feel the same way about Bart as he does about her. She only likes him as a friend. Even though they part as friends, Bart is evidently crushed. We see him at the end of his shift, getting drunk at Dan and Jack’s place. In a softer moment, Bart admits to the two guys that this isn’t the first time that he’s lost out in love. When he was in high school, he was in love with a girl named Tara, who also only liked him as a friend, and now he feels like history is repeating itself.
As I’ve already stated, this was an average episode. The storylines didn’t really seem to go anywhere and the character development was minimal. It wasn’t a terrible episode, but there wasn’t really anything fantastic about it either. I only hope that we get more continuation with Sean’s death and how Zoë is coping during next week’s instalment, because there really wasn’t much in that respect during this week’s one.
(3 Stars)
Jodi Picoult has done it again, with her latest novel, ‘Nineteen Minutes.’ The book covers the topical issue of school shootings and how they affect the community. With an intriguing plotline, many twists and turns and believable characters, I highly recommend this book to all Picoult fans. It was well worth reading.
The plot revolves around the small community of Sterling, New Hampshire, who are all left devastated after seventeen year old Peter Houghton walks into Sterling High School with a bag full of guns and other explosives and kills ten people, injuring many more. Through flashback sequences to the past before the shooting, we discover that Peter was the victim of severe schoolyard bullying and harassment from many of his fellow classmates. The readers are also introduced to a number of other characters, hearing their sides of the story: Lacy Houghton (Peter’s Mother), Patrick Ducharme, the detective who arrested Peter Houghton and who is placed in charge of the case, Alex Cormier, a judge whose seventeen-year-old daughter Josie, also attends Sterling High School and who was present during the shooting
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As Sean’s life hangs in the balance, his colleagues try desperately to save him. Charlotte treats a woman dying from heart disease and Bart finally tells Erica that he’s in love with her. A thoroughly heart-wrenching episode, although well acted- Definitely the saddest episode so far this year.
We pick up where we left off last week: Sean, having just been struck down by a car, is wheeled into the ED in the dead of night. Zoë is in a real flap and it becomes obvious that she is in no state to even be with Sean, let alone treat him. As Frank drags her away, Mike, Dan and Erica begin working on Sean, who is in a real state. He’s got internal bleeding and his insides are a mess. He crashes, but the team manage to stabilize him. When Mike realizes that Sean has a bleed in his aorta, his patient pleads with him not to tell Zoë what’s going on. With no other choice but to respect his patient’s wishes, Mike and Frank are forced to keep the extent of Sean’s injuries from Zoë, who spends her time pacing back and forth around the front desk and in the waiting room
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Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightly are back in the third and final instalment of the movies all about pirating, double-crossing and heroism. Like many others, I had mixed feelings about this movie and walked away from the theatre feeling slightly dissatisfied.
For starters, like many other viewers of At World’s End, I felt mighty confused by the plot. Twists and turns in a storyline are usually a good thing and keep the audience interested. But there were just so many in this movie that I came out of it not having a clear idea about what had just gone on. If someone had asked me then and there what the movie was all about, I couldn’t have told them anything informative. I actually had to research the movie on Wikipedia to find out what I’d just seen. Shortened version: Wil Turner, Elizabeth Swan, Tia Dalma and the rest of the crew of the Black Pearl, travel to Davy Jones’ Locker to rescue Captain Jack Sparrow, whom they need in order to face off against Davy Jones’ himself. Meanwhile, Lord Cutler Beckett is plotting a plan to eliminate all piracy from the seas. He has enslaved Davy Jones in an attempt to get him to destroy all pirate ships that cross the waters
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This is the first episode of a two-parter that airs both this week and concludes next week. Zoë is still angry at Sean for spilling the beans about their relationship to everyone at work, Jack faces his abuser outside court and drugs go missing from the ED storeroom: An intriguing watch, with a few issues over continuation.
Zoë is still angry at Sean over the fact that he told all of their work colleagues that they are in a relationship together. Instead of sitting down and talking things out, Zoë spends the shift avoiding Sean or snapping at him. Sean treats Barry Mitchell, a man who has been involved in a serious MVA accident and has sustained serious injuries. When another man, Carl Woodman, rushes into the ED and tries to attack Barry, the truth is revealed: Barry has been sleeping with Carl’s seventeen-year old daughter, Erin. Erin insists that it was her that initiated the affair, not Barry. But Carl is having none of it. When Sean tries to pry Carl off of Barry, instead of being reasonable about it, Zoë snaps and sends Sean home for the shift
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Erica, Von and Zoë treat a mentally disabled man who they suspect is being abused by his carer, Mike has a falling out with Gabrielle over yet another patient and Jack’s history of abuse takes a more serious turn. Not the best episode ever, but still an interesting watch.
Mike Vlasek is starting to really annoy me to no end right now: John Waters plays the arrogant surgeon extremely well. I can just imagine that in some hospitals around Australia, there are probably tons of Mike Vlaseks walking around getting on the nurse’s nerves and treading on everyone else’s feet. So in this respect, he’s doing a fantastic job. But enough’s enough: I’m so sick of All Saints turning into “The Mike Vlasek Hour”- He comes in and takes over all the interesting cases, leaving the other doctors out in the cold. He seems to argue with everyone, simply for the sake of arguing. The list so far, stands as thus: Frank, Vincent, Jack and Zo
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I'm not sure if anybody else has had this problem...But none of my images seem to be showing up in my posts. I click on the images link in a post, click on the upload button, type in the necessary adjustments and nothing happens! Am I doing anything wrong or is it a problem with the site?
Any help would be greatly appreciated- Thanks in advance
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This is where the hit cult-TV series began, way back in 1997: Buffy rocks up in Sunnydale, trying to put the vampire slaying gig well and truly behind her. But she learns that this isn’t going to be quite so easy, as she discovers a new hellmouth, a new watcher, new destinies and new friends.
I’ve always wanted to review this series as a whole, given that I was a dedicated fan who would stay up almost until the crack of dawn to watch it when it was still airing. I’ve made it my mission to try and blog a review for each and every episode- No matter how long it may take. Fans definitely did not want to miss this opening episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer when it first hit screens across the world. The show opens with a boy and a girl breaking into Sunnydale High School in the dead of night. Whilst the boy is rambling on about where he used to sit during class when he was a student at the school, the girl tells him that she thought she heard a noise. We assume that the boy is going to kill the girl, given what we know about the show’s themes. However, when the boy’s back is turned, the girl morphs into her vampire self, sinking her teeth into the boy’s neck
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There isn’t really anything bad about the show. There’s just nothing particularly good about it, either. For starters, the cast all appear very wooden and unnatural. It feels like they are simply rattling off their lines, rather than actually getting into their roles. This is such a shame, given the calibre of actors in Sea Patrol- Steve Bisley, Matthew Holmes, Saskia Burmeister and Jeremy Lindsey Taylor amongst others. But the cast just aren’t performing as an ensemble should- Although, in fairness, it is still early days yet. I also have to admit that initially, one of the factors that also put me off the show was the fact that Lisa McCune was the lead actor in it. I don’t have anything against her really, it’s just I don’t feel like she’s a terrible strong actress. Over the years, I’ve seen her in a few productions- Blue Heelers, Marshall Law, Tripping Over and now Sea Patrol. And in every role I’ve seen her in she just doesn’t show much depth and range as an actress. Indeed, in Sea Patrol, it’s just like seeing Maggie Doyle in a navy uniform. Obviously the role of Kate is meant to be very different from Maggie, but because of Lisa’s lack of ability to show a wide range of emotions, it’s like seeing the same character in a different uniform. So far, Lisa has been quite expressionless in her role and I really feel like a stronger actress could take the character in a better direction- Claudia Karvan, Tasma Walton or Rebecca Gibney, perhaps?
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Comments (2)
Comment by Nicky 1
on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) – The Premiere Orble Review
TV Talk
I know this is a bit of a late response to this blog entry, but since I have not seen Order of the Phoenix yet, I wanted to give a general comment and say thanks for the review.
I'm looking forward to the fifth installment. Of the six books that are out so far, I like book three- Azkaban- the best, followed closely by Order of the Phoenix. The third movie was fantastic, so I expect this one will be too. I'm hoping that the special effects are good in all the fight scenes.
Great cast lined up- Imelda Staunton, Helena Bonham Carter and the return of all the other favourites. And heading towards much darker plotlines and teenage issues.
Can't wait!
Once again, thanks for the review,
Nicky