Pine Gap

Pine Gap is a compelling, well written and sharply produced mini series that deserves a view from everyone into spy thrillers and procedurals/mysteries. With strong production values, this is one of ABC (Australia's) better recent series. Pine Gap is not without its flaws - it nearly lost me early on with some painfully ham-fisted terminology goofs and technical misrepresentations of technologies central to the plot. The show manages to transcend these transgressions with its strong performances, tight pacing and otherwise tantalisingly layered plot and characters, and learns to mostly back away from the dangers of inaccurate specificity in later episodes... After binging the series in 2 sittings, I found myself wanting more...

This limited series takes a bit to rev up, but several threads emerge that are convincingly woven into a complex and convincingly real plot. The subject matter is high tech intelligence and the managers and analysts who staff a massive and isolated installation The references to current events and more or less obscure geography are on the mark and lend a sense of the real thing to the story line. The characters are nicely drawn for the most part with a few minor shortcomings. And, there are a couple of (mostly unnecessary) plot lines that are not up to the overall depth of the series. Hence 8 stars and not 9 or 10.

But, by the last couple of episodes, I was truly enthralled by the growing tension and continuously twisting plot. Very good cast - not a big name among them. Well-written. In a word, this series is smart - a rare quality in screen material these days.

I am not usually a fan of plot-driven series but this one is solidly directed with a good cast. The result, thanks to some good scriptwriting, is also entertaining primarily because it also manages to be character driven. The characters seem like real people for the most part, caught up in the ugly political maelstroms of the time.

Pine Gap is frightening because the show actually emphasizes that no one's hands are clean, that America, China and Australia are all players in a drama that will likely see the decline of the US and Europe, and the emergence of China as a world power. But one wrong move could easily make all our previous conflagrations look like minor skirmishes.

I'm not sure where the criticism comes from on this series. The comments critical about realism forget that this isn't a documentary. If that's your criteria then good luck with any series. It's a well crafted intrigue with solid characters with a great mix of an overarching major plot points with excellent subplots. Episode 5 and 6 are a fabulous wrap up that leaves you guessing until the final minutes.

I enjoyed it. It was long enough to be binged through but not slow paced so you'd get bored. There are enough elements there to keep you guess. Overall story is layered and strong, good background. Strong stakes. Smart bad guys and an interesting dilemma overall.

Few things, I suppose were a bit corny but I realize you can't have a plot with no holes or devices to get to it. I could care less about geopolitical agenda, because this is a tv series, not life. If you want to watch nice political/spy drama, then you'll never enjoy anything edgy.

Hopefully there will be season 2. I felt acting was good. Casting was well done.

8/10.