The Strange Calls

The first thing that hits you upon watching the pilot is how strong their accents are. You know instantly where this is set and the tone of the show.

To label it as a comedy would be inaccurate, but thats the closest genre it fits in. There is no laughter track, and the music is subdue. You can tell they are trying to be funny with the situations and plot, but then the ruin it with ridiculous character actions that a police officer, or even a fellow human being would not do.

It feels very much like a Tuesday afternoon cable TV show, shot on a tight budget with a limited cast and crew. The beach surroundings are given limited screen time, as shooting at night they found was cheaper and had less problems. Thats fine, I suppose. But makes the show dark and the world quiet. Its hard to get absorbed into a world that you barely see or hear.

But our main character is barely interesting enough to hold your attention, being depressed for most of his scenes. His night guard / partner has his moments though and together they make the show watchable. But the way they portray the police department is embarrassing at times and how they disrespect their fellow officer is not funny.

I will say this show deserves a chance. Watch the pilot and decide for yourself whether its your cup of tea or not. I have to give the show a rating, but honestly this is one of those shows thats like marmite. Some people will love it, while others simply wont "get" it. But it ticks a lot of the right boxes and you can see the people making this have ambition to at least try and make it work.

I just love this quirky series. Barry Crocker reminds me of my late neighbor and Toby reminds me of one of my old housemates from college. Just enjoy it.

I love this type of humor. Outside the USA like the U.K. ,Australia and NZ they seem to be able to catch this humor on screen very well. Once in a while Hollywood USA is able to capture a similar feel like in the tv show Battlecreek. But then they canceled the show.... I wish this was a tv series instead of a mini series so it went longer than 6 episodes. Oh well, I enjoyed it. I only gave it 8 stars because of the occasional vulgar language that's seems to be no big deal in other countries outside the USA, in a show that is otherwise family friendly. Well done.

I read one of the previous reviews and could not disagree more! I loved the lead character, the down-on-his luck, Toby Banks. He is sent to Coolum by his dad, a high-up in the police dept. Toby is disappointed to realize that not only has he been sent to a small town in rural Australia, but no one bothered to pick him up at the bus station and he has been relegated to live in a caravan where a strange old man intrusively inserts himself into his life.

He starts getting strange calls during his night shifts and the old man, Gregor, insists that the strange occurrences need to be taken seriously and becomes his sidekick. They end up facing all sorts of strange and wacky and yet touching goings-on in Coolum. If you like Bryan Fuller comedies (Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls, Pushing Daisies) I think you'd like this show. I wish there was more than one season!

... Right out of their minds. Cuckoo. Looney bin. It begins with a (very) junior Police officer Banks demoted to a small resort town on the ocean. He forgets to bring his shoes. He longs for his old girl friend, but when he calls her, she has taken up with a loser who already has a girl friend.

Whilst manning the police trailer for the overnight watch, an old guy, Gregor, shows up & hits him with the water spray (this plot point is never explained). Gregory follows Banks everywhere. They meet a guy who has eaten so much fried chicken, that he is turning into one. All these people are wacko. Typical Aussie show. Delightful.