Austraila's version of Dr. Who..

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by MANT!, Feb 2, 2020.

  1. MANT!

    MANT! Vice Admiral Admiral

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  2. Redfern

    Redfern Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Mant!, thanks for bringing this to our attention. I've just watched the first episode, the one you embedded, and I must admit I'm quite intrigued. I glanced at the article you also linked, but I abstained from reading it thoroughly. Why? I think I want to watch this series without "spoilers" much like the original 1964 Australian audience did. As such, I will likely hold off returning to this thread until I've got several episodes "under the belt".

    I how it was a different age and maybe people were just a bit more trusting 50+ years ago, but I just find it highly dubious the headmaster would have hired this "Stranger", what with his claiming amnesia and his arguably "paranoid" behavior. But I particularly enjoyed the classroom scene when "Mr. Swiss" went all "Sherlock Holmes" on the trouble-making student, deducing exactly why he was such a d*ck.
     
  3. Miss Chicken

    Miss Chicken Little three legged cat with attitude Admiral

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    I have also watched the first episode. For a 1960s show I thought it is quite good and I will watch the rest of it. I would have been 6 years old when it aired but I don’t think I ever saw it.

    I also wondered about the headmaster’s decision to hire Mr Swiss but I think if I had watched it as a child in the 1960s I would have easily accepted it.
     
  4. JD

    JD Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Sounds interesting. I love checking out series from outside of the US so I will definitely check this out when I get a chance.
     
  5. Mr. Adventure

    Mr. Adventure Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Did he later regenerate as Colin Baker?
     
  6. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    I found out about this through Facebook a couple of days ago. Right now they only have 6 episodes up (half the series), but apparently they're adding one per day or something like that.

    I've seen the first two episodes, and they're interesting, but a bit paradoxical. On the one hand, it's very slow-paced, taking two episodes before revealing any overt science fiction elements. Yet in other ways it seems to rush through the plot; in early episode 2, it's supposedly been just over a week since Adam started teaching at the school, yet the kids are talking about how he "always" goes bush-walking on his days off.

    I'm struck by how subtle the Australian accents are; it seems the actors are mostly trying for something closer to Received Standard English, with just a bit of an Australian tinge to the vowels.


    That was kind of contrived, yes. Part of the rushing through the plot I mentioned. But they did try to justify it by saying that two teachers were out sick and the headmaster was kind of desperate to fill the vacancy. I guess we can read between the lines that Adam did so well as a substitute teacher that they decided to keep him.

    Still, it's a story that could never work in today's age of routine background checks for job applicants.

    Edited to add: In episode 3, it becomes clear that
    Adam has a hypnotic ability not unlike a Time Lord's; he's able to push people into doing what he wants them to, even when they're reluctant. Thinking back, there were hints of this in the first two episodes, scenes where he spoke intently to someone and they ended up going along with what he suggested. So his getting the job so easily wasn't a plot shortcut, it was an intentional clue to his ability to manipulate people.



    It's Adam Suisse, by the way. And yeah, now that you mention it, the actor (Ron Haddrick) would've made a good Holmes.
     
    Last edited: Feb 3, 2020
  7. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    I'm up to episode 8 now, and it looks like they got a budget upgrade somewhere along the line. The first couple of times the characters visited Soshuniss, it was represented by a sparse cave set. Now, we've got location shooting in a quarry (of course there's always a quarry) and a fancy computer-room set, plus more exterior shooting overall.

    I'd also think there'd been a writer change if the credits didn't prove otherwise.
    The Soshun being replaced by a more belligerent model offscreen was rather abrupt, and Adam's sudden hardline stance in favor of the new, tougher leader seems like a change too. But I suppose it's consistent; Adam was willing to hypnotize and manipulate people from the start, so I guess he's always had a darker streak, and as he sees it he's fighting for his people's survival. Still, it feels like an abrupt transition.

    Anyway, the story about Americans and other Earthlings reacting with xenophobia and hostility toward needy refugees feels very relevant today. I wonder if there's an ulterior motive to the decision to release this series for free viewing now. If so, I approve.
     
  8. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    All 12 episodes are up now, and I just binged the last few. I hadn't realized it until looking at Wikipedia just now, but the show actually had two 6-episode seasons aired over a year apart, even though they tell a continuous story. I guess that explains why the storytelling changes midway through, with the news of the aliens suddenly going public, and why the second half seems to have a much bigger budget with much more location work and a more elaborate Soshuniss.

    Indeed, the last half feels much more cinematic than the first, with some terrific location shooting at the Parkes Observatory in the outback, including a really suspenseful (if slightly gratuitous) chase sequence across the dish of its big radio telescope in the penultimate episode, compelling because the actors (and stuntmen in long shots, no doubt) are actually up there for real. I'm amazed the observatory allowed it.

    There were also some pretty clever forced-perspective shots of the Soshuniss saucers landing. There was one night shot that credibly appeared as if a full-sized saucer was landing on the lawn in the background between two actors in the foreground, but then I noticed a slight wobble in the "landed" saucer that revealed it was actually a model hanging on wires close to the camera. Aside from that wobble, though, it was a convincing illusion. They even made it look as though the pilot stepped out of the saucer -- presumably the actor was on a ladder in the distance behind the foreground model. (This is why I love pre-CGI effects. The results are imperfect, but the various tricks they used to create the illusions were ingenious.)

    The story got pretty suspenseful too, following the Doctor Who-ish formula of an ideally peaceful situation being sabotaged by fearful and militaristic factions on both sides, plus a devious billionaire trying to exploit the situation for profit and adding further complications. Although I feel
    that after all that buildup of danger and threats and ultimatums, the whole thing ended up being resolved a bit too easily and happily in the final part.

    All in all, this was a pretty good show, allowing for the occasional clumsiness of mid-'60s TV production with scenes shot straight through as if live. I do think a few of the actors had a tougher time with that kind of acting than others, fumbling a fair number of their lines (like when Owen Weingott's Professor Mayer was commiserating with Walsh about his kids and said "I have a teejaner back home myself"). So it could've done with better casting in some cases and some improvement to the story pacing. But overall, it's an effective series that handles the premise of first contact and the reaction to alien refugees in a plausible way, both scientifically and socially, and the second half is impressive from a production standpoint as well. I'm glad we got to see this.