Sea Patrol

I'm watching this show after it's had its run through the Australian markets and making its way outward on HULU. It makes me want to see more Australian TV shows. The characters in Sea Patrol are great, and superb acting is the norm. I know to some it seems unrealistic, but of course it should be, as it's a fictional show. Whatever the case, it's very exciting, fun, funny, dramatic, romantic, and though not always heavy on the plot, it's great fun to follow the procedural events and military ventures. I am a military veteran myself though not a sailor, but it seems very real to me, despite the negative reviews that claim the contrary. On a personal level, the characters to me seem very real and remind me of many people that I happened to serve with myself, and some of the best memories of my life. The characters in this show interact so well that at times it's simply a blast to watch. It seemed that the show took somewhat of a hit after Season Three, which is my favorite so far, when it lost the first "Buffer", "Spider", and "Nav",but I still enjoy the show and will watch till the end. I hope to see more excellent Australian shows like this in the future, along with the many British high productions that my wife and I favor over the mindless, trashy junk that predominantly flows out of my own country.

Here I am in the USA in 2020, & despite so many other reviews (& I tend to agree with most -- the good, and the bad) feeling compelled to write my own review. I stumbled across the series on Amazon Prime just a few weeks ago, being somewhat intrigued because I'm interested in military stuff, and as a youth, I lived in Australia for about a year. The first one or two episodes were kind of slow, but I was fascinated by the show obviously having access to a modern Australian Navy Frigate or Patrol Boat, and the Australian accents and various coast/ocean shots made me nostalgic for Australia.

Over the past two months, I've watched all the episodes except the last couple, and absolutely, the plot lines have gotten somewhat stale & some of the tactics shown seem more like they're for the United Nations than the Australian Navy. I don't appreciate some of the political-correctness preaching either (illegal immigrants & fishing), but what's kept me enthralled is the plot lines between the people, and the the appreciation for a a show that can be popular, without having to resort to very graphic violence or sex, like most American shows have resorted to.

Feels weird to be so engrossed in the show & characters, knowing that what I'm watching is from 10+ years ago, and I know I'm going to be going through withdrawals in a few days, when I end up watching the final episode of the series.

Over here in the Netherlands this series is behind the decoder. So no Dutch channel airs this show. While zapping I came across it and I got hooked. Of course it is not life in the war zone, but with the general problems: drugs, gunrunning. illegal aliens and all those islands nearby you can do a decent thing. OK, I admit, some episodes are a little obvious and boring but in general it is very watchable. Better than some US series we have over here. The interaction of men and women confined to a ships hull is nicely done and very recognizable. No gunslingers or nautical wonders, but just a group of people doing their daily job on the high seas. Just watched the last episode of season four. Hopefully it ill be continued next season

After watching season one which was so refreshing to watch because not only Australian but an action drama set in on a navy ship and best of all the cast are all quality actors- which i remember watching Jeremy as Kurt in HeartBreak High! I was so happy to hear nine had comissioned a second series and you can tell that channel nine has put in more money into this show as each episode goes along there's more and more action and not to mention the guest stars like Alan Dale and Ditch Davey among others.

I've been tuned into every episode so far- which is on the same time as Desperate Housewives which i've dumped cos it's getting tiring- I also look forward to seeing who else makes a guest spot.

Nothing but great things to say about this show. After a bit of a slow start in Series One, Series Two is off to a cracking start - improved pace, improved writing and the actors have clearly settled into their roles.

In particular, I'd single out Jeremy Lindsay-Taylor (Buffer) and Sacha Burmiester (Nav) for great performance characterisation. The romantic tension between Flynn (Ian Stenlake) and Kate (Lisa McCune) is much more believable this time around.

There's obviously some suspension of belief required: in the second series at least one crew member gets into an extreme life-threatening situation each episode, and almost everyone on the crew is a heck of a lot prettier than any soldier I've come across, but you take these caveats at the outset and sit down to enjoy the drama.

One thing that the show could work on is a better calibre of guest actors - while there have been some standouts (well-known actors like Ditch Davey and Alan Dale) there have been a few guests this series that have really let the writing and the regular actors down.

If you haven't checked out series 2 of Sea Patrol I would highly recommend it.