Dog's Head Bay

David Williamson has a reputation for being a fine Australian script writer. He isn't, but we are not allowed to say that else we be accused of the 'tall poppy syndrome'. This is the defence of mediocre Australians who get their big-heads lopped off when their pretensions are just too over-bearing for the rest of us and we decide that a little humility might be called for.

Williamson has written one or two things that are of mild interest to us 'down-under' but winner of the Booker prize he ain't.

The kindest way of writing about Dog' Head Bay is by assuming that Williamson wrote it at a time the electricity and phone bills were overdue and he had just endured a prolonged quaffing session involving the emptying of several cardboard boxes of Château Yackandandah sparkling non-vintage anti-freeze.

It is badly written, badly produced, and with appalling production values. The tapes of the series, if not already consigned to some other hades, should be put into a container, towed out to sea and used as target practice by the Navy.

Watch only if someone ties you to your armchair and superglues your eyelids open. You have been warned!

I know that Dog's Head Bay was panned by the critics. But it was a programme that I really enjoyed for its fresh humour and dramatic ironies. I rated it very highly and made sure that I did not miss an episode. The series took strong but good natured jibes at the aspirations of those who put property values as the supreme quality of all aspects of their lives (and how Australian is that!). But the critics panned David Williamson, and had other opinions, which leads me to reflect on the role of the critic as one who manufactures aspirations for the artist to meet, and then castigates them when they are not met! As Jean Sibelius stated: "Remember, a statue has never been set up in honour of a critic! "

Famous Australian playwrite David Williamson is not consistently good with his work. It is a case of when he's good, he's really good, but when he's bad, he writes "Dog's Head Bay"

Whilst this show has potentially wonderful, exuberant characters, it is poorly acted, poorly scripted, poorly shot and to cut a long story short it's poor. Gary Sweet has never looked worse. And as for the guy who plays his son (loud fart noise).

It is supposed to be a comedy, but instead it is more of a joke. We suggest you don't bother.