New Gold Mountain

Was to be expected I suppose with all the hype in promotions.

After recording and binge watching in one sitting.

Within minutes I was feeling disappointment, the acting was lacking and although a lot of work was done with sets. Authenticity was seriously lacking with many out of period props, not to mention the poor choice of locations with many scenes shot in area not typical of the bush in that era.

The plot and story line being a muddling of believable, unbelievable and the totally didn't happen in that era. The script was written in the same manner very lacking.

Kudos for cinematography which was of exceptional quality and shot in a manner I very much appreciate.

Over all with better casting, directing this could have been something I would recommend and wanted to watch again but not this one, 5 Stars only and and that's low for something out of Oz for me.

An intriguing story, very watchable and gripping. I liked the incorporation of Western and hardboiled crime mystery elements in a setting I'd never seen before. It's a fresh perspective and a nuanced look at a part of history that often gets brushed over. Gorgeous visuals too.

Was looking forward to watching this series and stuck with it, but only just.

The script, and subsequently the spoken language, feels like it was written for high school students. In fact, it could easily have been developed to supplement the Australian history component of the Australian Curriculum.

Not enough mystery and not enough explanation of the Chinese culture of the time. Although it was interesting that the PC brigade hadn't put their stamp all over it with the language used to describe the different cultures in the story. Some of the Australians were far too over the top and much of the swearing felt like a 15yo was at the core of the written dialog.

Knowing the series was filmed at Sovereign Hill should have meant authenticity. Unfortunately being filmed somewhere that is basically a theme park of sorts, visited by many Australians, made the series feel like it was filmed "at Sovereign Hill", meaning it felt like it was on a film set rather than natural.

Hopefully Australian productions will continue but with a bit more thought about the intended audience.

Women did not say s h i t in 1855 and men did not say s t u f f and probably not F bombs either

Why can't anyone write an authentic script?

Happens all the time.

Apart from this quibble am liking the series, I refuse to watch anything without subs now so not a problem at all for me. Like the lead guy, he's doing a fine job.

This was not quite what I expected, I guess something more deadly serious and lecture-y, but it was actually really engaging, funny a lot of the time, but also really tense. The characters are all interesting and act in ways that surprised. Reminds me quite a bit of Deadwood in a good way, which was a mix of serious and fun. Doesn't have the same American style dialogue, but had a kind of slightly theatrical vibe like Deadwood. Also: had to LOL at bad reviews and ratings. People complaining about the "sound" (ie Chinese accents), and complaining about having to read subtitles. I think there are a lot of people who just don't like Chinese point of view and just come on to attack what it stands for.