Australian Epic

This is the best show the ABC has made in a long, long time, and one of the best Australian comedies ever. If you liked Andrew Hansen and Chris Taylor's work on The Chaser, then you'll love this too. In fact this might just be their finest work yet.

Witty, informative and often very pointed, the series balances documentary storytelling with hilarious musical numbers - all carried off by a brilliant ensemble cast featuring Hansen alongside some new faces as well.

The Tampa and Wheel episodes in particular should be regarded as "must-watch" life lessons for all Australians, reflecting who we really are as a country. Bravo to all involved, and can't wait for more!

The team that has produced this has done brilliantly. They are without doubt very talented and experienced and the takes on the stories are insightful in many ways, and for the most part extremely funny. I was wondering how they would get comedy out of these stories in some cases particularly the Tampa and that may be the exception that proves the rule. The dark aspects of that situation are for the most part well explained.

I was surprised there is no acknowledgement that the show at least appears to be strongly based on 'Stories from Norway' which was also brilliant and very similarly done and shown on SBS a year or two ago.

Clearly the stories have a political angle and the team seem to have trod the line there quite well considering Australia's recent and long running political divisions. How they got an interview with Ruddock in on Tampa given the (in my view quite correct) angle I'm not sure.

The series is an interesting adaption of "Stories from Norway" which was created by Vegard and Bård Ylvisåker and released in 2018.

It´s a good approach but the musical numbers are not as masterfully done as we've seen it by the Ylvisåker brothers. Australian Epic has a lot of highlights and is fun to watch but some of the songs feel repetitive and uninspired. Part of the brilliance of the original was the high quality of the music and the absurdity. There was comedy in the lyrics and situations but the quality of the compositions was dead serious. The australian version did not manage to reach that, unfortunately.

Due to the obvious similarities, it´s surprising that the original show does not get credited anywhere. That almost feels disrespectful to the people who created the unique concept of a comedic musical documentary.

Each episode has music and lyrics that make sense. If you find the Bradbury Episode a little sketch-comedy-ish for your liking then I suggest you persist because the music elements really come alive in Princess Mary.

You'll feel Hamilton, Aladdin, Pocahontas vibes but there are enough clever lyrics and melody here to get those ear-worms wriggling.

The episodes don't overstay their welcome and although I don't usually like celebrity talking-heads telling me what I already know, there were enough real witnesses and experts included to teach me a few things I didn't know.

The cast are fun to watch and there is some serious musical talent there. You'll find the occasional laugh-out-loud moment and even some poignancy every now and then. Worth a watch.