Against the Wind

I am happy to realize that so many people share my personal feelings on these miniseries. I cannot add anything to the fine words said about the acting, the score or the story - I just can add another touch to the tapestry of opinions which I believe a few will be able to add.

Living in Bulgaria during the Communist regime certainly had its limitations :-), including not being able to watch most of the TV shows that the whole world grew with. For obvious reasons, Bulgaria's then-one and only state-run TV station did not care to show the working class of the country how did the working class in the US, Europe or Australia live at the time. Occasionally, the censure treated us with some British costume drama or historical miniseries so we could not really make any 'politically incorrect' parallels. Against The Wind was one of those series that kinda passed the censorship and I can remember streets of Bulgaria getting empty when an episode was on air. I was about 10 at the time but I still remember the score being played on the radio in a café and everybody hushing down to hear it. You couldn't buy the soundtrack it in stores then... A friend of mine still keeps a cassette tape with the opening theme recorded from the speaker of his TV set. It even has the Bulgarian voice-over reciting the title of the series and the names of the leading casts. The series had a huge cultural impact on me and many of my friends in Bulgaria at that time and was a measure for every new miniseries coming on Bulgarian TV for years.

Man, amazing how many of us saw this as kids and still remember it! Now that said, I mostly recall that I was totally hot for Greville (I must have been about 13) and I can't really remember details of the plot or much else except that I loved watching the thing.

I'm another one of those who would love to get this on DVD.

I'm actually going to Australia this Sept but wondering if the DVD will play on my American machine. Funny that I've been there twice before and never thought of this. Someone brought up Dr Who, another PBS import that I loved from that era, which made me get all sentimental about watching Poldark, Duchess of Duke Street and Against the Wind :)

I saw the series Against the Wind and have always maintained that it was the best mini series ever produced in Australia. The acting was brilliant which enabled the viewer to acquire a real empathy for what it was like for the convicts in our history. The drama and the romance throughout this unique series kept me coming back to the screen for the next part, every night it was screened right up until the last episode. I have often scanned the T.V guide just to see whether it was being screened again. I have had no success searching for an available video or DVD. I would definitely buy this if available. My children have learned about these times in primary school. I would love to share this magnificent mini series with them.

I would love to see this show back on TV or released on Video, They could do Anne of Green Gables, why not this. Jon English is a great actor (and his eye make up is real, not make up) He is also a great singer. Compelling story of our early times, fairly true to life and possibly based on a number of stories of convict days.

The Australian mini-series "Against the Wind" was by far one of the best I have ever seen on television. Like others, I would love to see this true and heart-warming story repeated which it hasn't been for years. Since a video was not released, perhaps PBS can be urged to re-run it.