The Oasis of Australian Television

Say what? When winters are dismally dull, I turn to Australian television. I have seen a lot of criticism for various shows and I am not sure some people are snobby or that they're overthinking it a bit. I'm not saying that all Australian shows are brilliant but I have found a few gems that profoundly alter my mood depending on the show and my mood. I think this all began when I was quite young. In the early 1980's HBO had slim pickings when it came to movie selection and availability. So when they got their hands on a movie they would play it and play it to death. One such example is the movie Dot And The Kangaroo. I constantly watched that movie whenever it was on. About a decade ago I was able to snag it on dvd. Watching the movie again as an adult I could see why I loved it. The movie has action, a little girl as the main character and kangaroos! That movie made me obsessed with kangaroos. I would watch Dot and the Kangaroo over Winnie the Pooh any day when I was a kid. The movie, based on a children's book is a classic just as the book the movie is based on. I love that it has a cartoon drawn over actual footage of the outback. I actually learned a bit about Australian fauna when I watched the movie. To this day, I am still creeped out by the Bunyip scene.
In adulthood, Netflix, Hulu and Tubi became treasure troves for Australian guilty pleasures. The first began with McLeod's Daughters. It was a bit like CBC's Heartland, which I love. I was all about seeing the sunshine on the "Drover's Run" ranch on a bleak winter's day. Then, I discovered Doctor Blake Mysteries on PBS. That show was a mix of Murdoch Mysteries mixed with House. Set in Ballarat, the period show has fantastic costumes and props and that is right up my street. Also, that show rarely featured a rainy day and how could you not love Doctor Blake's relationship with his inherited house manager Jean. Next, I discovered on Netflix the show "Glitch." I think it was recommended to me because I watched the show Les Revenants.  This show was equal to Les Revenants in the way that it was eerie and mysterious. I couldn't stop watching this show, I had to know why the characters dug their way back to life. I loved that with each episode you learned a little more about each character's backstory, again very similar to Les Revenants. What separates this show from the French feature is the lack of subtitles (French is not my first language, though still learning) and the sunshine. Les Revenants was filmed with a bit of blue tone. The show had a lot of mist and fog, which added to the creep factor, but Glitch being located in such a sunny seemingly happy place, it was a stark contrast and created mixed emotions.
I forgot to mention the show Up To The Rafters. I found that on hulu and watched that every day when my husband and I first moved in together before we were married. I watched it while I settled into our rental home and it was a nice silly show that didn't have any mystery about it, just a sort of sitcom that helped me giggle. I thought the parents were great and they had a cute house. It isn't my go-to anymore but it served its purpose. On occasion, I will watch Miss Fischer's Murder Mysteries because I love period mysteries.
Lately, though, I was hooked and I mean HOOKED on the show Puberty Blues. I discovered this one day while searching through shows on Tubi.  The show was set in the 1970's and was based on a book of the same name that I assume was a bit like the Judy Blume book "Forever" which was basically "Lady Chatterley's Lover" for tweens in the 80's. I love the main characters "Sue" and "Debbie." The parents were great, too. I like that the series shows the parents experience juxtaposed with the teens. It proves that being a teen is rough, but being an adult is challenging and once more, being an adult with your own adult world while being a parent of a teen when you were a teen not too long ago can be very complicated. As rough and a cringe-worthy as some scenes were, the setting was in a sunny beach town which lightened the mood. Surfing played a huge role in the show; so did drug use, drinking, and awkwardly bad sex. However, I loved the friendship between Sue and Deb, they were not Anne and Diana, but it was very real. I loved the wardrobe of the show and the mid-century modern houses featured were fantastic. Would you ever be able to pay me to be a teenager again? Heck no, and this show proves why, but I still loved the show.
Between most of these shows were many actors that overlapped between the shows over the years, their recognizable faces made me want to watch the shows even more. Kind of like watching Canadian television. No, I have never been to Australia and due to my paralyzing fear of flying I hardly doubt I will ever go, sadly, but thank goodness for Australian television- it offers a lovely escape. Until next time~ Toodahloo!