Fires

I really like this series. I thought there were scenes in the first few episodes that were riveting and true, particularly scenes depicting people stuck or seemingly lost in the Australian Bush on back roads at night with fires blazing all around.

However, I can't watch the AWFUL shaky camera it makes me car sick so don't know if I'll be able to watch all episodes sadly! :(

As a former firefighter I was very curious in the portrayal of the 2019-20 'black summer' in this ABC mini series. I will state my bias at the beginning in that I love to support Australian film and I am not a fancy critic. I can however offer some insight on the firefighting side.

Cons -Melodramatic. Very melodramatic, but then it's not a documentary, it's a mini series and that's why we're watching it-a form of dark entertainment, to learn, see things from a different perspective.

-Range of acting abilities and some great cast members but also some developing ones.

-A couple of the episodes drag on with the thriller aspect.

-Some one dimensional character portrayal in a handful of characters.

Pros -This mini series gives a good idea of so many perspectives of the people. From the firefighters, to those who decided to stay back and fight, to the recovering addict waiting on his methadone to those who were down the coast for a holiday thinking the fires would burn themselves out.

-It gives good insight to the many competing priorities during emergencies, on the ground and in the emergency command offices. The stress (while at times overblown and magnified by the dramatic aspect) goes part of the way into conveying some of the fear felt by everyone involved.

-While it is melodramatic, some people in the review section have stated how ridiculous it is that some of the firefighters stopped and had a swim at the end of the day. I can state from experience that whether or not it's ridiculous, it happened at the start (some water points are too good to ignore and the end of the day does come). No one could predict the seriousness of the situation as the summer progressed.

-Young love does sometimes blossom like that shown in Mott and Tash (I'm living proof).

-Once you've witnessed a pyrocumulus in action, you know how totally out of control and minuscule we are to stop it. This mini series gives some insight to the bushfires of that horrendous year. Whether or not people accept the science, scenarios like this are becoming more frequent and more extreme.

I would love to see more film come out capturing the Australian spirit like that found in this show.

While some plot twists may seem a little overused or predictable, I found the second episode, in particular, to be quite emotional. It captures the essence of searing grief with a brilliant performance from Miranda Otto. The pace of the series itself might seem a bit slow, but I'd argue it allows for an authentic narrative to be conveyed, staying true to the slow and horrifically inevitable nature of these fires. Looking forward to the rest of the series.

After three episodes, I think that I am getting the message from Tony Ayres. Other reviews seem to miss the point. Very few people predicted what the fires were going to be like. We have always had bush fires in Australia. The RFS has fought them with a fair degree of success. What those fire fighters faced in 2019-20 was, to use the word of the year, "unprecedented".

The young fire fighters in the first episode were behaving like typical teenagers until they came face to face with the reality of surviving. I found this episode to be the best so far, not knowing whether or not they would survive.

The uncertainty of knowing where loved ones were and the loss of communication was the focus of the second program. I found this part a little too slow. I felt like I was living the experience in real time.

Property owners in the third part were typical of people who have been told how to prepare their homes in the event of a bush fire. As with the fires in Victoria a few years earlier, the fires were too intense for preparation to make any difference. I thought that the ending was not satisfying.

This series has exceeded my expectations. "The Newsreader" was a hard act to follow on Sunday nights but "Fires" has proved to be a worthy successor.

I thought the acting, direction, effects and story we're all really captivating. I really like these types of shows that focus a lot of energy on the character development and dialogue. Realistically probably an 8 so far but thought it needed a bump up.