2001.
My first year of the working world, out from the comfy blankets of a BA. My second year of the heady days of Astolat Manor. And it may have been the greatest year of television I can recall.
It was the year I discovered Spaced. The year of weekly Buffy gatherings in Kensington. And this.
Love Is A Four Letter Word.
In an Inner-West of Sydney, post-Olympics. In an era of nasty pokies laws and the death of live music venues. Set in a pub, following the dysfuntional and lovable pub crew (at the time when my then-amour was one such pub person) through expulsion and addiction and planned accidental pregnancies and the most vivid and beautiful image of a man destroying a pokie in the middle of the street.
It was simultaneous frantic and rambling (a bit like the Inner-West, I guess). It felt like Albie and Larissa and Angus were my life long friends and I wanted to spend more time with them than the half-hour on Tuesday nights on Aunty that I got. This show was a shining beacon for what was possible in the creation of Australian television, highlighting the incredible musical talent that Australia (and in particular Sydney) had on offer at the time.
The ABC site for the show has been archived, which means that nobody there has cared for it since 2001. And it makes me sad, because it is such a rich tangled site. Impossible to navigate, but that is pretty much the point of it. And in 2001 the web WAS still tangled, and sites were meant to engage and take dedicated exploration. And the
I don't really know if this post is a review, or a plea to the universe for other believers, or something I have just needed to opine about for years. I guess I feel better now.
My first year of the working world, out from the comfy blankets of a BA. My second year of the heady days of Astolat Manor. And it may have been the greatest year of television I can recall.
It was the year I discovered Spaced. The year of weekly Buffy gatherings in Kensington. And this.
Love Is A Four Letter Word.
In an Inner-West of Sydney, post-Olympics. In an era of nasty pokies laws and the death of live music venues. Set in a pub, following the dysfuntional and lovable pub crew (at the time when my then-amour was one such pub person) through expulsion and addiction and planned accidental pregnancies and the most vivid and beautiful image of a man destroying a pokie in the middle of the street.
It was simultaneous frantic and rambling (a bit like the Inner-West, I guess). It felt like Albie and Larissa and Angus were my life long friends and I wanted to spend more time with them than the half-hour on Tuesday nights on Aunty that I got. This show was a shining beacon for what was possible in the creation of Australian television, highlighting the incredible musical talent that Australia (and in particular Sydney) had on offer at the time.
The reviews I have found online universally slam it. Considered to be only for those with minute attention spans, thought to have too much explicit language, too much flash, too many close ups, too much fast motion. Too much style. Not enough substance.... Well that is just bullshit. These nitwit reviewers seemed elated that the show was canned. Baby Boomer Arseholes.
I found it entirely addictive television, and I have been desperate to get my hands on a copy of the DVD, pretty much since I bought a DVD player.
The ABC site for the show has been archived, which means that nobody there has cared for it since 2001. And it makes me sad, because it is such a rich tangled site. Impossible to navigate, but that is pretty much the point of it. And in 2001 the web WAS still tangled, and sites were meant to engage and take dedicated exploration. And the
I don't really know if this post is a review, or a plea to the universe for other believers, or something I have just needed to opine about for years. I guess I feel better now.
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