High Country

I have delayed writing this review while I sort out my conflicting thoughts about this series.

On the one hand the eponymous high country is an impressive backdrop to the story, there is an interesting sub-text regarding the aboriginal heritage of the police sergeant and the plot is complex and the ending contains surprises.

On the other I did struggle to follow the plot, which is not usually a problem for me. Worse, the main characters were too often required to behave nonsensically in order to create the next moment of drama.

So this series has its merits and I did watch it through to the end. But it could have been better.

A police sergeant ups her urban family and moves to the Aussie high country to run a local station. A murder case and a few run-in's with the locals keeps Sergeant Whitford on edge, and it only gets complicated when she involves a psychic with a dubious past.

It's a run-of-the-mill story of police officer moving to an inhospitable country and challenged every step of the way. What makes it interesting is the indigenous heritage of the sergeant, and the relationship with her partner, Helen. These elements will no doubt weigh in heavily as the series progresses, and hopefully improve it.

Leah Purcell does the best with the material on offer, that lacks an edge, or even any conviction. It is a mystery series with a few thrills that has moments, but no real creative tone or structure until the last part of episode two. Worth staying for further episodes to see in what direction it points.

The actors are excellent, the story on paper may have made sense, however, it had far too much busywork and pointless conversations, some of the characters were thrown in to keep us guessing, was it going to be a supernatural series, which is what it was looking like up to number four, when it did a 180 and went for a rather mundane practical and rather poorly delineated mystery. It seems like inexperienced writers threw in everything they could think of to make it interesting, and it was just confusing, too many directions and not tightly controlled, or focussed. It was, as an Aussie, great to see an unusual story, however, by the finish I didnt know who the crap one of the main characters was, and the actors credits on here dont even give the person a credit. I really hope it will be renewed, for all its missed opportunities, it was an intriguing watch. Tugged at the heartstrings, which is always necessary in a mini series.

There was a really good Aussie whodunnit in this, especially seeing the setting was so lush and expansive. However, the actual execution wasn't good.

Other reviews have said it but there's too much clutter. Too many characters and too many side quests. But these side quests (such as a cafe owner's son and the key suspect at the start being creepy to kids) just pad out the run time and then they go nowhere at the end.

In fact I have the biggest issue with the ending, it doesn't really have that satisfying wrap up at the end, there are some story points left in the air, like they expected they'd have another episode, bud didn't.

This can be really frustrating for a mystery series, especially when we don't know if Season 2 is coming.

I so wanted to love "High Country"! I've travelled this region for decades and was so excited to see a mystery set in the Mansfield region.

"High Country" is a disappointing TV series marred by lackluster acting and uninspired writing. The performances are wooden, with characters failing to evoke any real emotion or depth. The dialogue feels forced and unnatural, making it difficult to connect with the storyline or the characters' motivations.

Despite these shortcomings, the series does boast stunning scenery and locations. The Australian landscape is showcased beautifully, providing some much-needed visual appeal amidst the mediocrity of the rest of the production.

Overall, "High Country" falls short of its potential, failing to deliver engaging performances or compelling storytelling. While the breathtaking backdrop may momentarily captivate viewers, it's not enough to redeem the show from its significant flaws.