Against the Wind

I would love to see this show back on TV or released on Video, They could do Anne of Green Gables, why not this. Jon English is a great actor (and his eye make up is real, not make up) He is also a great singer. Compelling story of our early times, fairly true to life and possibly based on a number of stories of convict days.

I first saw Against the Wind when I was 10 and for the last 20 years it has remained my favorite mini series to date. In fact the few times that it has aired since then I have invited several people over to watch it and they too have become as hooked as I. The story is both fascinating and compelling to watch. The acting is fantastic as well as true to the characters. I truly felt as if I was an onlooker in the Garrets life. It also gave me a historical look at life in Australia when it was still basically a penal colony.

The writing and the music also meld well together. Creating a smooth flowing and completely compelling piece of Television art. I can only say that I highly recommend this to anyone.

I am happy to realize that so many people share my personal feelings on these miniseries. I cannot add anything to the fine words said about the acting, the score or the story - I just can add another touch to the tapestry of opinions which I believe a few will be able to add.

Living in Bulgaria during the Communist regime certainly had its limitations :-), including not being able to watch most of the TV shows that the whole world grew with. For obvious reasons, Bulgaria's then-one and only state-run TV station did not care to show the working class of the country how did the working class in the US, Europe or Australia live at the time. Occasionally, the censure treated us with some British costume drama or historical miniseries so we could not really make any 'politically incorrect' parallels. Against The Wind was one of those series that kinda passed the censorship and I can remember streets of Bulgaria getting empty when an episode was on air. I was about 10 at the time but I still remember the score being played on the radio in a café and everybody hushing down to hear it. You couldn't buy the soundtrack it in stores then... A friend of mine still keeps a cassette tape with the opening theme recorded from the speaker of his TV set. It even has the Bulgarian voice-over reciting the title of the series and the names of the leading casts. The series had a huge cultural impact on me and many of my friends in Bulgaria at that time and was a measure for every new miniseries coming on Bulgarian TV for years.

Man, amazing how many of us saw this as kids and still remember it! Now that said, I mostly recall that I was totally hot for Greville (I must have been about 13) and I can't really remember details of the plot or much else except that I loved watching the thing.

I'm another one of those who would love to get this on DVD.

I'm actually going to Australia this Sept but wondering if the DVD will play on my American machine. Funny that I've been there twice before and never thought of this. Someone brought up Dr Who, another PBS import that I loved from that era, which made me get all sentimental about watching Poldark, Duchess of Duke Street and Against the Wind :)

I saw this mini-series in the late 70's and fell in love with the characters and story, which told the tale of English and Irish convicts transported to early Australia. It was extremely romantic and had plenty of adventure for non-romos. If it were available on video, I'd buy it. It is a really g ood story.