MDA

My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed MDA for the first two seasons. (The less said about the third season the better.) MDA is Medical Defence Australia, an insurer for doctors. Kerry Armstrong leads an excellent cast as a doctor working alongside MDA lawyers, headed by an ultimately endearing curmudgeon played by Shane Bourne in a dramatic turn from his usual comedic roles. Jason Donovan plays the plaintiff's attorney. Their characters are well-written, interesting, and solidly performed. The supporting cast is excellent. Although Armstrong left the cast part way thru the second season, the introduction of strong new characters played by Angie Milliken and Felix Nobis held our interest. Milliken won an Austrlian Film Institue award for her role. The stories were generally interesting and presented the difficult subject of medical malpractice insurance with considerable care. No black-and-white portrayals of medical practitioners or lawyers. Well deserving of the critical acclaim it got.

I just read a comment that made me want to register just to counter it. This drama series is what I would call a decent "DRAMA" series. To begin with, the acting goes beyond any bullS**t drama that we get from the US of ordinary. This is one of the highest examples of Australian talent we have, not only in directing, script writing and producing but also in acting.

MDA describes not only brilliant story lines from episode to episode but also describes an entire issue of crisis that Australia, and from what I am told, the ENTIRE WORLD, faces at present. Who protects those that would protect life.

Doctors and all associated with the practice of medicine in Australian life are represented in this brilliant drama and for those looking for a drama that represents human dignity and morality, and not the typical bullshit American trash that we are confronted with in the form of CSI, Law and Order, the Practice and all other meaningless forms of foreign (american mainly US) imports, please watch this show, it will give you something to think about, not just (sob sob) feel about.

This "dog of a series" as just described, has been nominated for four Australian Film Institute Awards in the following categories:

Best Television Drama

Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Television Drama - Kerry Armstrong

Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Television Drama - Shane Bourne

Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Television Drama - Angus Grant

The show was also recently named to the Hollywood Reporter's "A-List" - shows likely to generate strong buzz at MIPCOM 2002.

Initially I wondered how good a series must be to earn the approval of hexa-2. Then I realised that such erudite comments as "Ho Hum" meant that mindless American action fare is probably more to his (or her) taste. As for me, fine characterisations, excellent acting and thought-provoking stories have all come together in this superb package.

However, hexa-2 should be happy because the ABC, as part of its inexorable dumbing-down process in the chase for meaningless ratings has declined to commission a third series.

And the viewers who did bother to watch are the poorer.

This series is more delicately crafted than would appear at a casual viewing. Most story-lines continue - sometimes over several weeks - and are over-lapped by yet other stories, so you have to sit with it over several weeks in order to actually `get' what it's about.

I'm thrilled that there are no `goodies' and `baddies' in this series. You know, like: `We're doctors/lawyers, and there ain't nothin' we cain't do!' If anything, MDA presents its characters as people, before all else. It presents the law as it is - rigid and flawed, but it's all we have. We see doctors as people who can be anything from cold and arrogant professionals, to scared victims of a system - medical indemnity - which we've `inherited' from the US. This system appears to almost have developed a life of its own in our current society, which seems to believe that perceptions of wrong-doing can be `fixed' with money.

Scripts are tight and economical - you have to pay attention - and the acting is superb. Worth a special mention is Shane Bourne (previously known as a stand-up comic!) His character (`Happy' Henderson) is complex and believable. I found myself angry with him and at the same time sympathetic when he behaved less than nobly towards his son. It's also good to see that Jason Donovan has left Scott Robinson well and truly behind him. His Richard Savage - while a bit one-dimensional for my tastes - is suitably reptilian to satisfy the character balance.