Last Days of the Space Age

The reviews are not doing the series justice. Recall (mentioned by this reviewer and others) that our current obsession with feeding the "maw" of streaming media has resulted in a great deal of product which should have been done as film ending up crammed into a series format. Yes, there are flaws and weak spots. But taken as a whole, top to bottom, tip to tail, this series is an excellent, bittersweet, coming of age story for people, and possibly a country as well. The ending in particular is spectacular, the actors are brilliant, and there are scenes you will never forget. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

Being an Aussie myself, I really wanted to like this show. Sadly, I found it to be lacking in so many ways! The acting is so awful, even Radha Mitchell cannot save this one. And Iain Glen must have been really desperate for work when he agreed to be part of this show.

The characters are not at all likeable, I don't even care what happens to them. I can't fathom how other reviewers are giving this a 10 out of 10 rating - it's terrible! I feel I am being generous by giving it four stars - that's only for the 70s music.

I have watched three episodes and that's it, I can't watch any more . . . A shame when there are so many excellent Aussie dramas. This is NOT one of them!

Here we go again I don't know what's wrong with people honestly I swear I don't this should not be below a seven for sure it's a really good series and good acting with good actors sincerely playing their roles roles that tell a story of a time and place which seems perfectly realistic to me and yeah oh yeah it does cover some topics about Aboriginal people and their suffering that are still relevant I'm quite sure today but some people just don't want to be bothered with it and it also has family family family stories a Russian beauty queen of Vietnamese family who are struggling yeah they're all struggling just like me just like we give it a chance it's beautifully filmed and they are good stories even if sometimes they seem scripted so it is that life is such and art mirrors life.

At a time when we're all fed superhero's, adaptations and existing IP over and over again, it's so great to watch something new, human, fresh and real. And the fact that this extraordinary series of events all happened in Perth at this time is so quirky and unlikely - a great premise upon which to base this drama.

The cast are amazing - I've never been too fussed about Radha Mitchell or Jesse Spencer before, but their performances are so convincing, as are those from the rest of a really strong ensemble cast. Especially Deb Mailman who is as good as ever.

I wasn't in Perth in '79 so can't comment on how realistic this rendition of it actually is. But I'm digging the 70s vibes generally, and the humanity and warmth in this show. The music is excellent too. They've really done their research and used some banging tracks.

The families they've portrayed are grappling with so many issues relevant today. It's very lovingly and sensitively portrayed.

The second half of the series really ramps up - worth watching.

This is not historically accurate, so go into knowing that.

What is true about Perth in 1979 - Miss Universe contest was held, there was industrial action, and Skylab did come crashing back to Earth.

Also in the show there is (sort of) another incident that happened in 1979, but this other incident happened in Sydney.

Writers have bought this Sydney incident, massaged it a lot, and put it into the Miss Universe plotline.

Performances are all great. Not really sure why Iain Glen is in this (to flog it to the UK I suppose??), but does a good job. Radha Mitchell can only do so much with the writing she is given. For the most part, handles things, but she is on a hiding to nothing.

Deborah Mailman and Jesse Spencer have the more meatier roles, and both go on a bit of a journey.

The younger actors all do well.

Unfortunately the writing lets it down. This is besides the widely historical inaccurate story, which I can deal with. It is fiction, for the most part, after all.

White hat/black hat syndrome. "Bad" guys are just cut out cardboard characters. Poor Sam Delich must be wondering if he is being type cast, as I recently saw him in "Territory" in a similar role. Least he had more to do that series than this.