Rush

This show had everything - Politics, relationships, blood, and action. I loved every episode and can't believe it didn't continue. There are so many inferior shows that have lasted longer and it's just not right.

I absolutely loathe most American shows of this broad genre (Bones and CSIs spring to mind) because the characters are often so stereotyped, plastic and generally uninteresting that I want to puke. (Most HBO shows stand excepted.) Aussie shows often get slammed for various reasons I honestly can't fathom - Rush, City Homicide, Wildside and East West 101, to name a few, are all excellent shows. They were/are all populated by real people with personality and flaws galore, so that the viewer readily becomes involved with and can easily empathise (or not) with them. In Rush, the dialog is entertaining and natural, the relationships are complex and believable.

I have taken off one star for the weapons handling as commented on elsewhere by someone who says he knows about these things. However, for me, this is a minor detail because my knowledge of procedures and weapons is superficial and what I see (99% of the time) is plausible enough for me as a general viewer. I am more than happy to suspend belief in those areas - I just want to watch a show with the right mix of drama, action, characterisation and dialog. I LOVE all those aspects of Rush. And needless to say the acting is of the usual extremely high Australian standard - Catherine McClements is a standout in a generally superb lineup of talent.

The first couple seasons were really good, but after that it got increasingly stupid. By season three the characters got more and more childish. None of these people would ever even be a real street cop let alone an elite unit member. That and the firearm handling were amateurish at best. I gave it five stars because of the first two seasons, if they would've kept up the quality I'd have given it much more.

We so wanted to watch and like this given some of our favorite actors are in it. However, the camera work is like a first person shooter game. And it's constantly flipping back and forth. It actually makes you nauseous. It reminded me of the chase scenes in the Jason Bourne movies but worse. We watched beyond the pilot (which starts with a 4 min 30 sec chase scene and future episodes were filmed the same way. Too bad.

I really enjoyed this series. It's interesting watching shows from other countries. It's not the greatest show ever but it was entertaining.