On a deserted back road in Australia an English widow literally bumps into and teams up with an ex-police inspector whilst investigating her late husbands death in the middle nowhere. She has a few clues gleaned from his phone which set them on their travels through the outback solving a series of mini mysteries, if you can call them that, involving an assortment of potty characters, ex-loves and the now obligatory diversity storyline. Along the way we get the odd glimpse of what should be the main storyline: why was her husband in Australia in the first place and why did he end up dead in the middle of nowhere?
Bryan Brown and Greta Scacchi are both excellent actors but not in this little excursion. They play the eponymous characters, Joan and Jack, like a pair of cardboard cut-outs with no chemistry whatsoever between them despite the storyline hinting at a developing relationship with each successive episode. Then there are the supporting characters in each episode who are in an entirely different league. Made up of every ridiculous archetypal Aussie personality that the scriptwriters could stuff in, they are often way over the top. The actors portraying them, apart from the odd few better known names, appear to have been plucked off the street so dire is the acting as they spout poor dialogue with all the expression of a Gerry Anderson puppet. And I'll not mention the irritating lesbian daughter, yawn!
To make up for the less than mediocre plot, poor character development and sketchy acting we are treated to long scenes of the outback; from long straight roads traversing miles of flat red earth linking quirky townships to lush green forests with secret waterfalls to rolling waves breaking on pristine beaches. In fact, a good percentage of each episode plays like a holiday company travelogue advertising "Visit Beautiful Australia". All very pretty but unnecessary to the plot.
The only good thing that can be said for this series is that it is a take your brain out of gear, easy watch with no gratuitous sex or violence. You can indeed watch it with your granny!
Bryan Brown and Greta Scacchi are both excellent actors but not in this little excursion. They play the eponymous characters, Joan and Jack, like a pair of cardboard cut-outs with no chemistry whatsoever between them despite the storyline hinting at a developing relationship with each successive episode. Then there are the supporting characters in each episode who are in an entirely different league. Made up of every ridiculous archetypal Aussie personality that the scriptwriters could stuff in, they are often way over the top. The actors portraying them, apart from the odd few better known names, appear to have been plucked off the street so dire is the acting as they spout poor dialogue with all the expression of a Gerry Anderson puppet. And I'll not mention the irritating lesbian daughter, yawn!
To make up for the less than mediocre plot, poor character development and sketchy acting we are treated to long scenes of the outback; from long straight roads traversing miles of flat red earth linking quirky townships to lush green forests with secret waterfalls to rolling waves breaking on pristine beaches. In fact, a good percentage of each episode plays like a holiday company travelogue advertising "Visit Beautiful Australia". All very pretty but unnecessary to the plot.
The only good thing that can be said for this series is that it is a take your brain out of gear, easy watch with no gratuitous sex or violence. You can indeed watch it with your granny!