Ian Jones and Bronwyn Binns had a huge hit with Against the Wind so Channel Seven ponied up for another historical miniseries... the tale of Ned Kelly. It didn't do as well ratings wise -but then Ned Kelly stories are never that popular. The material is too problematic - he's too half-good half-bad I think.
This has Crawfords factor all over it - the same old actors (Gerard Kennedy, David Bradhsaw), the bad Irish accents and beers, the on the nose dialogue... but quite skilled story telling.
Ep 1 - a slow ep, with Ned (John Jarratt) going to work for Harry Power (Gerard Kennedy). A lot of women with Irish accents putting their hands on hips. Cornelia Frances in Man from Snowy River 2 -- that sort of vibe. Elaine Kussak is Kate Kelly. It's clear Kelly had a knack of getting into trouble - being apprenticed by bushrangers, getting involved in passing messages and scuffling with cops. Hall, the cop who arrests Kelly, was played by Steve Millichamp, who was the tubby cop at the beginning of Mad Max. Paul Mason has charisma as George King. It's also clear the authorities like giving him a hard time. It ends after the famous Kelly fist fight.
Ep 2 - Kelly meeets his gang. There's lots of greeting people. This builds up to the massacre at Stringybark Creek. The Kellys suffer and also bring a lot of it on themselves. Steve Bisley always looks as though he's going to do something interesting as Joe Byrne but never does. He's stuck with the same accent acting as the rest. Kaarin Fairfax has X factor. Sigrid Thornton has the beauty but is more conventional.
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