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.
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.