Sea Patrol (TV series)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sea Patrol | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre | Crime drama Action-adventure |
| Created by | Hal and Di McElroy |
| Starring | Ian Stenlake Lisa McCune Saskia Burmeister Matthew Holmes Jeremy Lindsay Taylor Kristian Schmid David Lyons John Batchelor Jay Ryan Kirsty Lee Allan |
| Composer(s) | Les Gock |
| Country of origin |  Australia |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 23 (as of 2nd June 2008) (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Hal McElroy Di McElroy Jo Horsburgh |
| Producer(s) | Julie Forster |
| Story editor(s) | Susan Bower |
| Editor(s) | Marcus D'Arcy |
| Location(s) | Queensland New South Wales |
| Camera setup | Single camera |
| Running time | 42 minutes (without commercials) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Nine Network |
| Picture format | 576i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) |
| Audio format | Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Original run | 5 July 2007 – present |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Sea Patrol is an Australian television drama, set onboard a fictional Royal Australian Navy Armidale class patrol boat, the HMAS Hammersley. The series focuses on the ship and the lives of its crew members. The series debuted on 5 July 2007 on the Nine Network, who invested $15 million into the programme.[1] A second season of Sea Patrol, titled Sea Patrol II: The Coup is currently airing. It started 31 March 2008. Executive producers of the show, Hal and Di McElroy, hope to see at least six seasons of the show produced and have a ten-year plan for the series.[2]
This series is intentionally not a follow-on to the 1979 series, Patrol Boat.[3] The Nine Network intends to air at least three seasons of Sea Patrol, with an upgrade from the Fremantle class to a newer Armidale class boat at the start of the second season.[3]
Before its debut in 2007, Sea Patrol was one of the most anticipated shows in Australia and marked many monumentous events: Lisa McCune's return to television and Nine's attempt to reclaim the market with this, the most expensive television programme produced in Australia. Over its broadcast in Australia, Sea Patrol has received a variety of reviews and a mix of good and bad opinions.
Contents |
[edit] Cast
[edit] Current main cast
| Actor/actress | Character | Rank | Position | Tenure | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ian Stenlake | Mike "CO" Flynn RAN | Lieutenant-Commander | Commanding Officer | 2007–present | 001–present |
| Lisa McCune | Kate "XO" McGregor RAN | Lieutenant | Executive Officer | 2007-present | 001–present |
| Saskia Burmeister | Nikki "Nav" Caetano | Lieutenant | Navigator | 2007–present | 001–present |
| John Batchelor | Andy "Charge" Thorpe | Chief Petty Officer | Chief Engineer | 2007–present | 001–present |
| Jeremy Lindsay Taylor | Pete "Buffer" Tomaszewski | Petty Officer | Bosun | 2007–present | 001–present |
| Matthew Holmes | Chris "Swain" Blake | Petty Officer | Coxswain | 2007–present | 001–present |
| Kristian Schmid | Robert "RO" Dixon | Leading Seaman | Radio Operator | 2007–present | 001–present |
| David Lyons | Josh "ET" Holiday | Leading Seaman | Electronics Technician | 2007–present | 001–present |
| Jay Ryan | Billy "Spider" Webb | Seaman | Seaman Boatswains Mate | 2007–present | 001–present |
| Kirsty Lee Allan | Rebecca "Bomber" Brown | Able Seaman | Chef | 2008–present | 014–present |
[edit] Former main cast
| Actor/actress | Character | Rank | Position | Tenure | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Lawson | Toby "Chefo" Jones | Able Seaman | Chef | 2007 | 001–013 |
[edit] Semi-regular cast
| Actor/actress | Character | Tenure | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sibylla Budd | Dr. Ursula Morrell | 2007 | 001–013 |
| Steve Bisley | Commander Steven 'Steve' Marshall | 2007–present | 001–present |
| Morgan O'Neill | Lieutenant Darryl Smith | 2007-present | 001–present |
| Christopher Stollery | Federal Agent Gregory 'Greg' Murphy | 2007 | 002–013 |
| Martin Lynes | Richard 'Rick' Gallagher | 2007 | 006–013 |
| Tye Harper | Seaman John 'Jaff' Jaffah | 2007 | 001–004 |
| Pearl Tan | Federal Agent Alicia Turnball | 2007 | 002–011 |
| Yvonne Strahovski | Federal Agent Martina Royce | 2007 | 013–013 |
| Alan Dale | Ray Walsman | 2008–present | 014–present |
| Ditch Davey | Jim Roth | 2008–present | 017–present |
| Dajana Cahill | Carly Walsman | 2008–present | 015–present |
| Geoff Morrell | Lieutenant Commander Jack Freeman | 2008–present | 024- present |
[edit] Plot
 |
Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. |
Both seasons of Sea Patrol have consisted of standalone episodes dealing with small breaches of Australian law, such as illegal fishing, asylum seekers and other problems the Navy encounter on typical patrols. The premiere of each season usually introduces a larger event which is expanded on and connected as the season goes on, before being resolved in the finale.
The first season's premiere began with the introduction of Bright Island, which was positioned as a type of mystery island, and the death of a marine biologist. Over the duration of the season, the CO and some of the crew became suspicious and later entwined in a conspiracy invloving water containing a deadly toxin.
The second season, known as Sea Patrol II:The Coup, has so far revolved around insurgents on the fictional Samaru Islands attempting to overthrow the current government, and a group of Eastern European mercernaries and smugglers who near-fatally stabbed Charge and are in cahoots with the insurgents and Samaruan constabulary.
[edit] Production
[edit] Origins
"Every hour of every day in all weathers young men and women of the Royal Australian Navy Patrol Boat Service battle the elements and the odds to defend Australia's borders and enforce its economic zone. They provide security, support, and relief for the world's largest island..."[4]
This series has been said[who?] to show the gender and cultural diversity of the Navy, and deal with contemporary issues such as illegal fishing, boat people, drug-running, immigration, and people-smuggling, and have an underlying mystery that runs throughout the series.
Filming for "Sea Patrol II: The Coup" started in late September, 2007,[5] and wrapped up on 8 February 2008.[6]
[edit] Ships
The first season features two real Fremantle class patrol boats, whose appearance have been conflated to become HMAS Hammersley (PTF 202).[3] HMAS Wollongong was used for filming in Sydney, while HMAS Ipswich was used for six weeks of filming off Dunk Island in Queensland.[7] Hammersley serves under the fictional naval command structure of "NAVCOM", and was decommissioned during the final episode of season one. A second fictional Fremantle is mentioned in several episodes and appears in the ninth episode: HMAS Kingston (PTF 205). Kingston shares her pennant number with real patrol boat HMAS Townsville.
When the first season was being filmed, it was predicted that later seasons would replace Hammersley with the newer Armidale class patrol boat.[3] The second season did use an Armidale, also named HMAS Hammersley, with the hull number 82.[8] Again, footage from two ships was conflated to represent Hammersley: 42 of the 86 days of the series filming were spent aboard HMAS Broome (ACPB 90), with later pick-up filming aboard HMAS Launceston (ACPB 94).[8]
[edit] Locations
- Cairns, Queensland
- HMAS Waterhen, Navy Base, Sydney, NSW
- Dunk Island, Queensland
- Mission Beach, Queensland
- Cowley Beach, near Innisfail, Queensland
[edit] Reception
Before Sea Patrol started airing, it was one of the most highly anticipated programmes in Australia, partly due to the episode budget of over AU$1 million, twice that of other Australian dramas.[9] Sea Patrol also marked the return of Lisa McCune to television acting.
Sea Patrol received mixed but generally positive reviews. The debut episode received the second highest ratings for an Australian drama premiere, behind 2001 series Always Greener.[citation needed] Ratings were not as strong for later episodes, with the first season receiving a 1.5 million viewer average, however during the second season ratings have so far picked up to 1.5 million, up from the 1.2 million Sea Patrol averaged toward the end of season 1.
Many critics claim that the scripts are not well written and that the actors are not given the opportunity to shine.[10]
I don't really get Sea Patrol... the general gist of it leaves me somewhat cold.
—Marieke Hardy, [10]
Michelle Over, a reviewer for militarypeople.com.au, scored the first episode a disappointing 6.5 out of 10. Over also predicted that the series would begin jumping the shark at episode 5, primarily due to a lack of quality scripts and an unlikeness to the real life of a Navy officer.[11]
Shortly after the series began, the Royal Australian Navy created "The Real Sea Patrol", an interactive website about the activities and personnel on board the Australian patrol boat HMAS Larrakia, designed as a promotional and recruiting tool to capitalise on the series.[12]
[edit] Episodes
| Season | Ep # | Season premiere | Season finale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 13 | 5 July 2007 | 4 October 2007 |
| Season 2 | 13 | 31 March 2008 | 23 June 2008 |
| Season 3 | 13 | Not Confirmed! | 2009 |
[edit] DVD release
The first season of thirteen episodes has been released on DVD and was released in Australia by Roadshow[13] on October 17, 2007.[14][15][16] The DVD was rated M by the Australian Media Classification Board.[17]
[edit] Internet download
Starting of 1 April 2008, full episodes of "Sea Patrol" are offered as a free download, as part of ninemsn's catch-up TV service. But to view them the viewer must download a third-party player which includes advertisements in the file, disables the ability to rewind, and will disable view after the season is over on free-to-air television.
[edit] Broadcasting
On 26 March 2007, Portman Film & Television acquired the international broadcast rights to Sea Patrol.
| Country | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
| Australia[18] | Nine Network |
| Canada[18] | Super Channel |
| New Zealand[18] | TV3 |
| Romania[18] | Hallmark |
| Slovenia[18] | Hallmark |
| United Kingdom[18] | Hallmark |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Murdoch, Alex. "TV Bosses Bank Local", The Courier-Mail, 9 October 2006.
- ^ Editors. Sea Patrol F.A.Q.. Sea-Patrol.com. Retrieved 24 April 2008.
- ^ a b c d Rollings, Barry. "Navy's starring role", Navy News (Volume 49, Number 18, 2006-10-05. Retrieved on 2007-01-08.
- ^ Sea-Patrol.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-08.
- ^ Sea Patrol resumes filming in far north Queensland, The Courier-Mail, 20 September 2007.
- ^ Sea Patrol II wraps in Queensland, Pacific Film and Television Commission, 31 January 2008.
- ^ Barry, Rollings. "Ipswitch switches over", Navy News, 2006-11-02. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
- ^ a b Idato, Michael. "All ship shape", SydneyMorningHerald.com.au, Entertainment (TV and Radio) section, 2008-03-31, p. 2. Retrieved on 2008-04-10.
- ^ Warnecke, Ross. Australian television drama in strife with loss of its most successful product, The Herald Sun, 14 January 2006.
- ^ a b Hardy, Marieke. Sea Patrol just too wet, The Age, 30 August 2007.
- ^ Sea Patrol Review - disappointing Launch for Channel 9
- ^ The Real Sea Patrol
- ^ Sea Patrol - Season 1, Roadshow Entertainment. Retrieved 25 May 2008.
- ^ Sea-Patrol.com - Merchandise, <http://www.sea-patrol.com/content/view/219/90/>. Retrieved on 23 October 2007
- ^ Sea Patrol - Season 1 (complete) DVD summary, ezydvd.com. Retrieved 22 May 2008.
- ^ Sea Patrol - Series 1, DVD Orchard. Retrieved 25 May 2008.
- ^ Australian Government. Media Release: Sea Patrol Series 1 classified M upon review, Australian Classification Review Board, 26 September 2007. Retrieved 25 May 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f Editors. On Air. Sea-Patrol.com. Retrieved 24 April 2008.
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Sea-Patrol.com
- "Sea Patrol catch up TV", official webpage for full episode download of "Sea Patrol"
- Sea Patrol at The TV IV
- Sea Patrol at the Australian Television Information Archive
|
|||||||||||||||||||
