Saturday, September 10, 2011

Episode 1083: Australian TV Holds Its Own

Have just watched the finale of Torchwood: Miracle Day. Won't spoil it for people in the UK, except to say that it wasn't very satisfying. Kind of like the rest of this fourth series, to be honest. Oh, emotionally speaking, it was plucking all the right strings by the end so any attempts at processing the plot logically were stymied (this is a typical Doctor Who/Torchwood tactic), but I agree with the critics who're saying that compared to Torchwood: Children Of Earth, Torchwood: Miracle Day doesn't feel focused enough, despite its arguably even more epic scale. In short, too many threads that 10 episodes couldn't wrap up sufficiently. (That's what the emotional climax was intended to distract the audience from, obviously.) Thing is, I really liked how epic everything was, and that the sociopolitical elements got so, so, so unsubtle. Oh well. We'll see if this one comes back for a fifth series, Starz co-production or not. Meanwhile, I've been discovering interesting Australian TV productions. SLiDE and Wild Boys, to be exact. The former is the Australian Skins, but much more light-hearted, and consequently, even more enjoyable. The only weird thing is that it's set in Brisbane, which hardly strikes you as the wildest place in Australia, right? The latter is about, well, bushrangers. Surprisingly entertaining, thanks to the soapy elements.

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