“Hello Old Friend……it’s good to see you back again”

I have no idea why it happened, but these words from an Eric Clapton song started ringing in my ears when replaying this series which I fell in love with back in 1998. Strangely (and joyously) it has not lost any of it’s magic.

The storyline evolves into a myriad of directions, too convoluted over 13 episodes for me to precis into a couple of paragraphs. In a nutshell though, the story involves the trials and tribulations of ex high-flying corporate lawyer, Laura Gibson (Sigrid Thornton) who accepts a post as a magistrate in Pearl Bay, a coastal Backwater, to escape career and marital disappointments. Her hopes of reconnecting with her somewhat neglected children (Miranda and Rupert) are frustrated for some time by setbacks arising from the resettlement and continuing problems with her spouse and her sister - not to mention coming to terms with the local inhabitants who are a very interesting bunch, to say the least.

By way of illustration, let’s run through a parade of the principal characters (in no particular order):

Bob Jelly (John Howard): Unscrupulous real estate agent and property developer, shire president and resident ‘meanie’.

Angus Kabiri (Tom Long): Court clerk, reluctant suitor of the local policewoman, part-time surfer.

Heather Jelly (Kerry Armstrong): Bob’s long-suffering wife, could be cruelly classified as the ‘blonde bimbo’.

Daniel Della Bosca a.k.a. Diver Dan (David Wenham): Part-time master chef, school ferry operator, love interest of Laura - so laid-back it is amazing he can stand up at all!

Meredith Monahan (Jill Forster): Hotel manager, local oracle with photographic memory, aunt of troublemaker Carmen Blake.

Harold Fitzwalter (Alan Cassel): Disgraced ex-magistrate of Pearl Bay trying to rebuild his credibility. Lover of Meredith with whom he shares a dark secret.

Kevin Findlay (Kevin Harrington): Local handyman, fall-guy (dare I say air head?) and part-time philosopher.

Indeed I could add the term ‘part-time philosopher’ to all of these, and other characters in this series. I could have also listed a dozen more ‘principal characters’, such is the strength of the writing in this series.

Some people will note from the cast an interesting mix of evergreen performers and a raft of new talent - that many of the above have since gained prominence in the cinema is testament to their achievements in this series.

Before I forget - and there’s a lot to consider and enjoy in this series - part of the beauty of it is that despite some stereotypical images I have imparted in the profiles, each character has his or her own integrity and individuality. At some stage during the series each character casts aside any perceived ‘image’ to become a solid character in his or her own right. As a perfect example, this draws me to the role of Kerry Armstrong who has been critical in the media of roles presented to her prior to the movie ‘Lantana’ - she should be proud of this!

In casting and/or characterisation there are NO weak links - each being an important component to the ‘mix’. I can also say (and I surprise myself on this one!) that the roles of Laura’s children do not irk me - most strange!

The series is self-contained, barring a BIG query in the last episode that was answered (but I missed it the first time around!) It should be viewed in chronological ORDER as each episode intermeshes with the previous, though the casual viewer should still get a ‘kick’ from a single episode. In most cases the story gently ‘drips’ in new characters that will have equal prominence in the future.

The joy of this series is to follow the travails of Laura and the townsfolk over the entire 13 episodes. It’s rather like a really good book - most viewers will want to finish once they start.

The series is rated PG, but apart from ‘adult’ innuendo it is certainly safe for the kids to watch (given the current fare on TV). It combines elements of high/intellectual drama, subtle and in-your-face humour, whimsy, sentiment, politics and homespun honesty.

I can’t really put this series in a ‘box’ - it is certainly not ‘Home and Away’ or ‘Neighbours’! Those who follow ‘Always Greener’ will see similarities (apart from the cast) but to me it lacks the subtlety of Sea Change. Those who enjoy the humour of ‘Yes Minister’ and its ilk should have no trouble coping with the simple, yet real, honesty of this series.

There are four discs to the set, neatly packaged into a foldaway holder in a slipcase. A synopsis of each episode is contained in the casing flyer (though difficult to read at times).

THE EXTRAS

Each disc begins with promos of other ABC videos and DVD’s available - no other information provided - it’s a pity that each disc did not have a different promo (why not?)

On each of the four discs is the following:

Main menu: allowing access to each episode.

Sub-menu: featuring scene selection and synopsis to each episode.

All of the menus are quite easy to use once you ‘blot out’ the moving graphics contained therein. It’s actually good to see a real live menu - congratulations to the ‘perpetrators’ of these diversions!

In addition, on one disc is a rather curious ‘Cast’ window which provides the names of the main characters of the series - these are not linked to the actors’ names - all amid a cascade of cameo faces without names of any sort!

Each episode is provided with a synopsis of considerable length and depth - with title, writer, director and copious notes. A criticism is that the notes, because of their length, cause the text to be quite small - this could make it difficult for people with vision problems. No faulting the information provided, though! Note that the screen synopses differ markedly from the printed notes and are worth reading.

I know that it isn’t appropriate in the context of this program, but I’m glad there’s no ‘Making Of’ doco; though strangely enough I think I would have enjoyed a ‘vox pop’ of the cast members about the series - they seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely throughout. It would have been the icing on the cake.

CONCLUSION

I think I’ve given the game away on this one - I loved it! Excellent cast and casting, excellent storyline and the package is very well presented in a box set. It’s heartwarming, escapist, reflective, funny and very Australian - a landmark in Australian film/TV entertainment. Note that six different directors made this series (and who knows how many writers!)

A quick guide:

Action fans: don’t bother.

‘Soap’ addicts: don’t think so??.

Mills & Boon readers: When this gets hot, the pages burn!

Sentimental fools (like me): Sit back, relax, and you will enjoy!