The Alice

Australian Drama. Hmmmm.... It may seem so corny because this is where I live, but surely Aussie drama can do a bit better than this.... the scenery is real, the characters a little unbelievable. As a mini series? Doubt you would pull the viewers on the second night. As a series (as I have heard may happen), doubt much would be shot locally in the future. Very average performances all round I thought.... Nice to see my local town on Tele tho..... The spectacular scenery is shot well, giving an idea of what the area has to offer.

What more can I say .... take in the beauty of the scenery and half an eye on the actors.

This is most clearly a pilot. If not, why not name it "Eclipse" or the like. It really had noting to do with Alice Springs other than a conveniently central point to bring the characters together. There was too much unanswered or left open or just not explored at all. The series may be worth watching to see the quirks of some of the characters explored a little more. It would have been hard for the actors to ply their trade as there was little opportunity with a very watery storyline. Not much character development either, really a pilot needs a bit more meat to want you to come back to the series when produced. Erik Thomson's character seems to swing from loony former hard rock idol to sensitive new age guy with no real reason why. Jessica Napier gives a creditable performance as the young woman trying to find her way alone while fighting the demons planted by her demented mother.

The mix of excellent acting with the Australian outback as a backdrop (or was it the other way around ?), together with a musical score supporting a quirky script can only bode well for the Australian film industry. And it was the quirkiness which made this movie a success.

Good to see Anne-Louise Lambert again, not sighted since Changi. Erik Thomson and Caitlin McDougall stole the show, but were ably supported by Brett Stiller, Simon Burke and Jessica Napier. And not to forget the the sheep, which could fall asleep on cue !(or did they use one of Mark Latham's policy speeches to put the beast to rest?)

"The Germans" may have been straight out of Fawlty Towers, preparing for their worshiping of the Eclipse, shot in the beautiful Rainbow Valley, discovered only in the 1970s by Europeans. Let's hope this was the pilot of a series with many episodes to come ! Black comedy, under the Eucalyptus trees (Eucalyptus phenax), perhaps not understood by many viewers, passion and compassion in the bush, with characters from all walks of life - a must see - even for people from South Australia.

This is a telemovie that spawned an Australian TV series. The draw for me was Jessica Napier (MCLEOD'S DAUGHTERS) but what captured me was the wonderful weaving of the stories of 5 disparate strangers into a cohesive centre. The characters are all just a little off centre but in a captivating way. Great performances. I'm looking forward to seeing the series, now. I give this telemovie a 7 (good) out of 10. {Drama}

Beautifully filmed in what looks like the real Alice Springs, the use of colour and light is quite exquisite and, in my opinion, the high point of the film. In fact I would go so far as to say that I believe that even Claude Monet would have pursed his lips in approval at some of the takes.

Four groups of individuals are going to meet in Alice Springs. Some are going there for the eclipse, some other reasons, some passing through, some are going home. But all of them are going to interact with each other in a "six degrees of separation" kind of way. And when the eclipse is over, not all of them will live to see the Sun emerge from behind the moon....

Bit of a bizarre movie, this one. Has a bit of a Peter Wier feel to it when, in fact, the production crew seem to be only the Nine Network regulars who are behind "McLeod's Daughters".

The story is slightly improbable, in fact somewhat fantastic in some places. The characters are reasonably believable, only slightly exaggerated. But as an entertaining two house of adventure in the outback, it seems to work fine.