High Country

Ignore the other reviews... this is and should be a standalone series of its own accord and merit. Started off like so many other wannabe-mystery-thrillers and actually came to a very satisfying and logical conclusion, despite the red herrings along the way. Yes, the nit-pickers amongst us could argue the knackers off the side-stories including those of the teen gang and the native Bush tracker family but it all makes sense in the end. Beautiful, spooky, lush and emotive scenery utilised to its fullest potential with a well executed plot that kept me guessing all along. Not a disappointment in the slightest. Let's try not to be too cynical and hyper-critical here, OK?

The actors are excellent, the story on paper may have made sense, however, it had far too much busywork and pointless conversations, some of the characters were thrown in to keep us guessing, was it going to be a supernatural series, which is what it was looking like up to number four, when it did a 180 and went for a rather mundane practical and rather poorly delineated mystery. It seems like inexperienced writers threw in everything they could think of to make it interesting, and it was just confusing, too many directions and not tightly controlled, or focussed. It was, as an Aussie, great to see an unusual story, however, by the finish I didnt know who the crap one of the main characters was, and the actors credits on here dont even give the person a credit. I really hope it will be renewed, for all its missed opportunities, it was an intriguing watch. Tugged at the heartstrings, which is always necessary in a mini series.

There was a really good Aussie whodunnit in this, especially seeing the setting was so lush and expansive. However, the actual execution wasn't good.

Other reviews have said it but there's too much clutter. Too many characters and too many side quests. But these side quests (such as a cafe owner's son and the key suspect at the start being creepy to kids) just pad out the run time and then they go nowhere at the end.

In fact I have the biggest issue with the ending, it doesn't really have that satisfying wrap up at the end, there are some story points left in the air, like they expected they'd have another episode, bud didn't.

This can be really frustrating for a mystery series, especially when we don't know if Season 2 is coming.

This Australian crime drama is set in the mountainous 'High Country' in Victoria. Andrea 'Andie' Whitford, who was previously a detective in Melbourne, has just moved to the Town of Brokenridge and become the new police sergeant. One might expect this to be a quiet posting but soon she is investigating a disappearance that her predecessor is convinced is linked to the death of a child some years before... a crime he, and much of the town, blame on former teacher who claims to be psychic.

I really enjoyed this series. The mystery is interesting and kept me guessing and the characters are good. The setting really added to the story; previous Australian films and shows I've seen have either been set in cities or the Outback so this heavily forested, mountainous region was something new. There are some family concerns for our protagonist but these serve to give depth to her character rather than detract from the story. The cast does a fine job; especially Leah Purcell, who carries the series as Andie and Ian McElhinney as Sam, the predecessor who has difficulty staying out of the investigation. The main questions raised during the series, but not quite all, are nicely wrapped up by the end of the eighth, and final episode, hopefully that doesn't mean this will be a one season show as I'd like to see more. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to fans of crime drama looking for something set somewhere different.

I have delayed writing this review while I sort out my conflicting thoughts about this series.

On the one hand the eponymous high country is an impressive backdrop to the story, there is an interesting sub-text regarding the aboriginal heritage of the police sergeant and the plot is complex and the ending contains surprises.

On the other I did struggle to follow the plot, which is not usually a problem for me. Worse, the main characters were too often required to behave nonsensically in order to create the next moment of drama.

So this series has its merits and I did watch it through to the end. But it could have been better.