A Place to Call Home

We found this Aussie series, about a wealthy "grazier" (sheep rancher) and his crisis-prone family back in the 50s, to be just about impossible to resist. It's hard to say too much without spoilers since practically everyone starts out with a secret sorrow, a clandestine romance, a wartime trauma they don't care to talk about, a stigmatized sex pref, an unacknowledged illegitimate child or somebody's else's child they're raising as their own, which can only be revealed in the fullness of time.... Suffice it to say that the first two seasons focus mainly on the efforts of the Bligh family matriarch to prevent any of her brood from marrying beneath them or forming some other unsuitable attachment, despite the abundance of tempting distractions (a hunky Italian farmboy, a gorgeous blond nurse with a murky past) and the deficiencies of the eligible candidates (snobbish, vindictive playboy, deceased wife's treacherous sister).

We're total suckers for the shameless cliffhangers and out-of-left-field plot twists. The first-rate cast plays it straight for the most part; there are a few stock Aussie characters--including a salt-of-the-earth farmer who declaims "bush ballads" about bandicoots and billabongs--but nothing too clichéd or kitschy. (The source novel reflects some odd midcentury attitudes about bi- and homosexuality that might deserve a trigger warning.)

Oldsters and TCM fans may be reminded of Douglas Sirk and vintage primetime soaps like "Peyton Place"; we get a brief glimpse of one of the younger Blighs reading "Giant" at one point, which seems exactly right, and the actress who plays the nurse with a murky past is a dead ringer for Dorothy Malone in "Written on the Wind."

The show survived a cancellation scare at the end of season 2--which seems to have spooked the writers' room, since they turned out a couple of dud episodes right after that--but since then it's all been good....

PS--I was wondering if these fictitious Blighs were meant to be related to the real-life Captain Bligh, of "Mutiny on the Bounty" fame, who was briefly governor of NSW; that would make them one of the first non-convict settler families in Australia and would explain why Mrs Bligh, initially at least, is so terribly snobbish.

I started to watch this amazing television programme with a friend, through her recommendation, while I was in Australia on holiday (I am from the UK). Unfortunately, the series was half way through the story. But the more I watched it, the more I liked it. The cast were terrific and while the series, unlike so much of the local television, looked like an A-grade period drama. Nostalgia is a potent sentiment, one that transcends even the most stubborn cringers. As the season come to an end, I found myself happily reporting that, despite my assumptions, A Place to Call Home actually explores with real sophistication the stuff that resonates powerfully in our national consciousness – a longing for the past, and a longing for home – and that makes for great television. Luckily I have been able to get the DVD not long after it was released. Unfortunately, I won't be able to see the second series next year. But, hopefully I will be able to purchase the DVD once it gets released.

There's still a lot to like in this show if, that is, you are willing to throw credibility out the window. Like most soaps, the writers pour on the drama, but at times they don't just pour on the drama, they drown you with it. Think of anything that could happen to one family and it will happen to these poor Blighs -- and anyone else who happens to enter their orbit. What redeems the show is the good cinematography and period costumes and, for a soap, some occasional, terrific acting. Elizabeth is excellent, as are Jack, George, Carolyn, and Sarah, who basically carries the show. However, some of the men and and the women who play the younger generation aren't up to the task -- Harry and Henry are both good, but not James, Anna, and, worst or all, Olivia, who is either a very bad actress or is just stuck playing an unredeemable stock soap opera part (the eternally perky, always terribly concerned victim). Still, if you're looking for completely mindless entertainment, and willing to put up with more dastardly deeds that Mrs. Fletcher ever found in Cabot Cove, it's certainly worth a look -- and, of course, you can also look at all the young men who sport 2020 gym bodies and take their shirts off every opportunity they can. (One odd detail: the actors' accents all seem to switch back and forth from Australian to English to neither, or both. Very strange.)

My husband and I are very much enjoying this series, (not nearly finished) but since the '50's were the decade where we reached maturity, served in the military (he) moved to NYC (me) and generally left the nest and entered into our own lives, we have some observations on the '50's as depicted here. The first is the total absence of anyone smoking. Most people smoked in the '50s and it looks very odd for no effort to have been made to depict that. (Pregnant women could smoke in obstetricians offices and the doctors smoked too!) The other thing is the wearing of hats by men during social events, that may be an Australian custom. Finally is the clothing. The clothing IMHO is spot on; an excellent job, except for one thing. We wore casual clothes a lot and I don't see any here. Dress was definitely more formal, (no slacks to work,) gloves, hats, small pocket books etc. However for leisure time we wore shorts, slacks, pedal pushers etc. Not jeans so much but still everyone owned at least one pair. And given the country life they lived surely they would have worn casual clothes? The other observation is the character of Sarah, who of course is wonderful. Since I lived in NYC, I met and worked with many survivors. (one woman who was 46 looked at least 66) they were mostly beaten down or at least bitter. I certainly never met anyone with the spunk and determination and fearlessness of Sarah, but she still is a wonderful character and we are enjoying this series very much.

..so it's over.. it will be missed... it wasn't always great television, but for sure it was mostly all very good TV

..the cast was solid across the board, and all production values high

..when there is just sooo much not worth watching that seems to never end... to loose one that was looked forward to week to week leaves a void..

..Australia keeps putting out high-quality shows... keep 'em coming.. you have a most grateful North American audience thanking you..!!