Something rich and strange...
updated 28 August 1999
Guest Cast
Paul English as Jack Gibson
Greg Stone as Matthew
Christopher Christo as Constable Kelly
Tony Nikolakopoulos as Rodney
Claire Howell as Eileen
Matthew Green as Lionel Guthrie
Lyn's Spiel:
The episode opens on a deserted country road. A group of police have set up a road block. The atmosphere is intense. The suspect vehicle appears, and is immediately surrounded by officers sporting enormous guns, shouting 'Police! Don't move!' The car is pulled over, and the drug squad closes in like a pack of vultures. Just as I started thinking surely I can't have switched to Blue Heelers by mistake, it all goes a bit strange. Or as the superintendent at the scene puts it; 'Sergeant Grey, the drug squad has a fairly relaxed attitude towards tomato growers.' Welcome to Pearl Bay. . . .
After this rather enigmatic beginning, we hear Diver on his loudspeaker: 'Attention please. In celebration of Chilean National Day, there will be no lunch served today. Unless you want to make it yourself.' What a lifestyle. Unfortunately for Laura, she actually has to work, and the scene shifts to court where she's hearing a wife-basher's pathetic arguments about being provoked. She sends him to jail, the first jail sentence she's issued in Pearl Bay. Being Laura, she goes straight into reflection mode. 'What right do I have to confine someone to a small dark room for six months of his life?' she asks her office in general. 'Aren't you the magistrate?' answers the literal minded Angus. To be fair, he then tells her that she made the right decision . . . 'not like Bucket last week, you got that very wrong.' Apparently Laura fined Bucket, whilst the entire town was aware that the charges were fabricated by Gordie and his mates. Laura is shocked, and demands of Angus why he didn't tell her. 'It's against the law', Angus reminds her. Laura then suggests he could try to signal her, next time she's about to do something wrong. Or stupid. 'Like this?' Angus asks, vigorously gesturing thumbs up / thumbs down. 'Perhaps something more subtle', Laura suggests.
Their new system is put into practice when Matthew Riley - the driver of the car in the opening sequence - comes before the court. Although Graeme couldn't get him for drug-trafficking, he instead books him for driving without a licence. When Karen states that he's had four prior incidents of the same offence, Laura starts shifting into punitive mode. 'This could well warrant a custodial sentence', she says, and its at that point that Angus breaks out into a coughing fit. Mr Guthrie, Matthew's lawyer, suggests Laura visit the outreach farm that Matthew runs: 'I really don't think that's necessary' Laura begins, at which Angus starts sounding like he's about to lose a lung. 'We'll adjourn so the court clerk can clear his throat' Laura finally concedes, and she and Angus have a little confrontation in her office. Despite her insistence that Angus can't kick up a fuss every time he thinks the defendant is a 'good bloke', Laura agrees to go and see Matthew's farm. Her subsequent decision to fine Matthew only $200 is endorsed by the whole town (except for Graeme, who storms out of the courtroom in a rage).
But Laura starts asking a few questions about Matthew Riley. Angus tells her that he doesn't know much about Matthew's background; then pours out details: he's from New Zealand, his parents run a newsagency, he broke his knee playing footy, etc. 'I thought you said you didn't know much about him?' Laura says, startled. Angus looks hopelessly out of his depth, and evades badly. A cryptic scene between Angus and Diver follows, in which Angus warns Dan that Laura is curious. 'What did you tell her?' Diver asks. 'The official story', Angus answers. The viewer's suspicion and curiosity is thus inescapably aroused . . .
And we're not the only curious ones. Sergeant Grey, yet to become extremely funky in later episodes, is like a bloodhound on the trail, probably motivated by a desire to redeem himself from the humiliation of the tomato plants. 'It has to be drugs', Graeme muses to himself as he pieces together the financial resources of the outreach farm. Unfortunately for Graeme, his sidekick in these moments of reflection is the dopey young constable, who always seems to be a few paces behind the mark. But whilst the constable gets very good at fetching coffee, Grey starts to piece together some unusual facts, not least that Matthew Riley HAS a current license. So why does he keep getting booked for not having one? muses Graeme. 'Huh?' elucidates the Constable. Why indeed? we all wonder.
Meanwhile, Rupert's twelfth birthday is at hand, but all he really wants is his Dad to come and visit. It's a bit sad, really: Rupert is miserable, but every time he mentions Jack, Laura just looks pained. And as she was filled in on the sordid details, Miranda sympathises with Laura. There's actually quite a good reason (apart from undying hatred that is) that Jack can't come and visit them: namely to do so would be to breach the conditions of his bail. Laura tries to compensate for Jack's absence, amongst other things she decides to cook a cake. In a rather funny scene she drags Diver up to her house to advise on the process, only to find another limitation to his cooking skills.
Dan (before an array of cooking ingredients): OK, I've looked at them, want do you want me to say?
Laura: Well, I need an opinion. Will these ingredients make a decent birthday cake for Rupert?
Dan: I don't know.
Laura: (incredulous) You're a cook!
Dan: No I'm not! I'm a fisherman. Look, every now and then I make a curry at the local pub. I don't make cakes. I've never made a cake, (growing more reflective) in fact I've never really seen it as part of my life plan.
Laura: Look, I've always bought the kids birthday cakes before. This time, I would like to make it myself. Now all I need to know is will these ingredients make an acceptable birthday cake.
Dan: Well, knowing nothing about cakes, my guess is probably no, that'd make a fairly boring cake indeed.
Laura: Alright, tell me, what do I add?
Dan: Curry powder?
Laura: You're no help at all.
Dan: God, yes, I feel awful. Here I am, passing myself off as the world expert on cakes and I've let you down.
Diver proves useful for all sorts of things this episode, as in a later scene, Laura surreptitiously attempts to buy Rupert a birthday present from the rods arranged outside the boathouse. Which are for sale, Diver informs her, as everything's for sale, including the business if she wants it. If he was more laid back, he'd be comatose. Anyway, the conversation turns to the imminent pool competition. And as Laura knows Matthew is Diver's partner, the focus switches. 'Interesting bloke . . .what do you know about him?' casually enquires Laura. Diver informs her that he has a tragic history, his father killed his mother in a knife act at a circus. 'Angus told me his parents were newsagents', Laura counters. 'Well, why did you ask if you already knew?' an unperturbed Diver responds. Tense moment. We're all still in the dark.
In a rather disconcerting twist, Jack turns up on the doorstep. Rupert's ecstatic, Miranda's ambivalent, and Laura alternates between hostility and concern that Jack will be caught. I have to say that Jack evokes a certain of sympathy in this episode. Responding to Laura's anger, he says 'I haven't seen (our) kids in ages. How would you survive?' Although you can fault Jack for a lot of things (and Koala would find a problem with his simply appearing in an episode!), he's consistently loved and expressed concern for his kids. Even though I would argue that you can't separate out abuses of 'husband' from one's role as 'father', Jack is at least well meaning towards Rupert and Miranda. Rupert certainly appreciates his presence, and is happy flogging him mercilessly at computer games. But Jack picks up on Miranda's discomfort. He asks her what's wrong: and good for her, she tells him: 'you cheated on Mum with Aunty Trudi and wrecked all our lives. Thanks very much!' Go Miranda! Jack is of course less than thrilled that Laura told Miranda this little detail, and grills her about her revelations: 'you turned our marriage into a farce just as much as I did. It's about time you wore it.' I think that was the moment that my short-lived sympathy for Jack died. Oh well. It felt strange anyway. Jack leaves abruptly, worried that Sergeant Grey has spotted his car, and Rupert's disappointment is only slightly mollified by Laura's promise to play pool with him in the upcoming competition.
Whilst all this is going on, Bob thinks his moment of political glory has come: the Value Australia Party is trying to recruit him. His family has a few reservations about their policies: 'aren't they anti-Asian?' Heather asks. 'Heather, you'll believe anything you read', Bob replies. 'They're not anti-Asian. They're . . . pro-Australian.' Sound familiar, anyone? When the party leaders come over to the Jelly household for dinner, the party leader is a redhead who looks VERY familiar. The political hacks, fortunately not disconcerted by Heather's remarkable neckline in this scene, fall for Bob's smarmy self-promoting self-effacement. So Bob decides to set his sights high. As he explains to Kevin of his decision to run for the Senate, 'I might have to postpone personal ambition for the greater good.' Whatever.
Bob turns up at the Outreach farm to hand Matthew a cheque. Ostensibly the cheque is to support the worthy project, but it's actually a publicity stunt for the Value Australia Party, and the video cameras are rolling. Unfortunately for Bob, Matthew isn't a fan of the party. 'Bob, what are you doing with these psychotics? Piss off!' he says, direct to camera. To make matters worse for Bob, Graeme then pulls up in a police car and arrests Matthew. Graeme has by this stage discovered that Matthew Riley is actually a different guy with really bad hair, and the person we thought was Matthew Riley is a fugitive ex-high-flying businessman who went underground when his empire collapsed.
We see it all on a news segment showing on the TV in the bar (and it sounds so much like an ABC newsreader!). Diver, Meredith and Phrani are watching, and all look devastated With exceptionally bad timing, Laura turns up asking about the pool competition, and their cold reactions to her indicate their conviction that she was behind Matthew's arrest.
The next scene in jail is beautifully done: Diver visits his friend in a small, narrow cell. The shot / reverse shot close-ups of both actors' faces are prolonged and poignant. 'You could have brought me a cake with a file in it', says Matthew with a smile. 'I don't make cakes', answers Diver, 'I'll stick one in a curry.' But as they talk about how long Matthew will be in for, it gets less simple. Diver is optimistic, but Matthew's thoughts are elsewhere: 'I remember sitting on a plane with my financial advisor, and we were drinking champagne and tearing up a whole caseful of incriminating documents. And we were laughing.' Matthew is quietly reflective on this point: he obviously regrets his behaviour, but more, he seems to think that he might deserve the imprisonment. In a fairly contrived end to the scene, Matthew reveals that Grey, not Laura, was behind his arrest. Diver has the grace to look a little guilty. And so he should!
As a peace offering, Diver makes Laura coffee, which is brought to her office by Angus and Meredith (who also have apologies to make). Understandably, Laura is a little annoyed by their 'you didn't dob in Matthew, so it's alright' attitude. She points out to Meredith that if she had known Matthew was John Gower, she probably would have: and that their friendship can't rely on Laura making decisions that Meredith will like. This is left quite up in the air to my mind, as Meredith doesn't respond, and I think it's something these two are still grappling with. When Laura returns the coffee cup to Diver, he pulls some fish out of the fridge: 'Trevalley, filleted, even you could cook 'em', he tells her. The two then have a quiet, but semi-intense argument about the ethics of how the town hid Matthew. 'You all knew who he was, didn't you?' asks Laura. Dan reveals that some of them did, but didn't report it 'because we could see that he was more use to the world outside than in.' 'He hurt a lot of people you know?' Laura tells him. 'I know. He was a real bastard. It's tricky', Dan responds. When Laura scathingly rejects Dan's attitude, he surprises her by asking her about Jack: if he was found guilty, would she be glad if he went to prison? When Laura replies no, Dan presses her: 'do you think society would be better off?' 'I have to think that', Laura answers, 'it's the law. It's what I do.'
Does anyone else feel all these answers and arguments are still not letting you form any opinion on anything whatsoever?
Well, maybe the next scene will help. We finally get to see the pool tournament (billed on the blackboard as the 'Tropical Star Fifth International Gala Pool Tournament). Laura and Rupert enter as a team. But as they're sitting outside pre-game, Jack suddenly materialses. He only has time to hug Rupert and say 'Happy Birthday', before Sergeant Grey starts wandering in their direction. Laura switches into panic mode again, and they all rush into the pub. Grey comes in the other entrance, and it's all looking rather bad when suddenly Diver walks up to Jack and says: 'Dougie! How's Nan, how're the kids?' 'Fine', a strangled Jack manages to mutter, when Meredith approaches saying 'Dougie, how is Nan, I hope she liked that jumper I knitted her . . .' Angus then gets in on the act, and in a particularly adept stroke, introduces Jack to Laura. 'Dougie's' parents own a newsagency at Port Deakin, it turns out. Is this just the stock excuse? Anyway, Graeme is vaguely suspicious, particularly as Kevin wanders up and starts saying that Jack's a travelling salesman. But as it's Kevin, no one takes him particularly seriously. The danger passes! 'Thank you', Laura breathes quietly aside to Dan as Graeme leaves. 'Well, I wouldn't want to see a good man go to jail', Dan says. The significance being lost on no one.
And the tournament begins. This sequence is one of the most infectious of SeaChange to date. To the tune of Paul Kelly's Maybe This Time For Sure, Laura and Rupert play pool up against Kevin and Trevor, Craig and Bob Jelly, and a number of teams of extras, who haven't been seen since. Maybe they took defeat badly. Between shots, Laura discovers that the form she signed commits her if she loses, to running down Main Street in her underwear. 'You never said anything about parading downtown semi-naked!' she mutters at Diver. 'Well, you signed the entry form', Dan replies. 'Can't ignore the law. You are wearing underwear, aren't you?' In a later scene, still trying to get out of the stipulation, Laura complains about the possible effect on her reputation of wandering around 'in bikini underpants and a bra.' 'That's funny', replies Diver, 'I had you pegged as more of a cottontails girl.' Laura chooses not to notice that he's put thought into this! The final game is, predictably, between the Jellys and the Gibsons: and Rupert has the deciding shot. The black just misses, everyone has time to groan, but then Diver subtly yanks on a cord, which through a little system of hooks and fishing wire, has the effect of pulling a chock out from under one of the legs of the table. And the ball goes in. Elation! The Gibsons emerge victorious.
The downside of this is that we have to watch Bob Jelly strip. Not the most attractive sight. But although he didn't compete, Diver decides to join in the run down main street. 'Matthew would have wanted it this way', he explains, as he pulls off his shirt. Matthew and the entire female population of Australia.
The episode ends rather poignantly: Jack and Laura back at Laura's house. They argue about Laura's ability to play pool, and have an easy camaraderie which is obviously an old, lost habit between them. Then they remember their current difficulties. 'I've really screwed up on all fronts, haven't I?' muses Jack. But when he stands to leave, Laura asks him to stay. 'It's a big bed, it doesn't mean anything', she says. The look she gives him is quite moving: vulnerable, needy, sad.
On a slightly brighter note, Diver puts up a photo of Laura and Rupert in the pool trophy, which (inexplicably!) is kept in the boathouse. Shades of things to come?
I know that I've blathered for longer than usual about this episode, but the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that this is actually really well put together. The obvious parallel running through the whole thing is the treatment of Matthew and Jack: both of whom were sheltered by the town from the effect of their illegal behaviour. But everything's more complicated than that, as I really don't think we were ever meant to feel unambiguously that Matthew didn't deserve prison. As Diver puts it: 'it's tricky'. When Laura tells Angus early on to signal her in court if she's about to make a mistake, this is really just like the town's actions in hiding Matthew: putting aside the legality to pursue 'justice'. Likewise, the town's attitudes towards Laura as the enforcer of the law get a full treatment, as characters are alternately approving or censorious of her decisions, and treat her differently on a personal level as a result.
I have to emphasise that one of the reasons that this episode worked so well was the wonderful actor who played Matthew. Pity the episode that introduced him also got rid of him, but if SeaChange lasts another two seasons or so, Matthew could conceivably get out on appeal. And we could have him back. Please?
Some obscure, fun facts:
In a great courtroom scene, Karen reads the facts of a case whilst Laura is utterly abstracted (thinking about Jack). Pity she didn't listen to the facts, because even though they were irrelevant to the episode as a whole, they were hilarious!: 'When Dygan was advised by Constable Merriman that the vehicle he was driving was missing a door on the passenger side, Dygan replied he was unaware of this as he had only just borrowed the car from his brother-in-law. Dygan said that he had consumed half a dozen glasses of beer at the BBQ, and this may have impaired his judgement vis-à-vis the door.'
In a moment of clairvoyance, Kevin as caravan park manager asks Jack for some personal details in case something should happen to him. 'Like what?' Jack asks. A caravan 'coming off its blocks and rolling into the sea', Kevin suggests. Check out the occurrences in If Fish could Fly, and consider that Jack is actually staying in the Continental Deluxe. Spooky . . .
If anyone's tallying Diver's languages, I think this is the first episode where we Diver's linguistic capabilities, as he greets Angus in Italian.
Lyn's Spiels © 1999 Lyn
Koala's comments:
I watched this episode again today, but I'm not going to do a spiel right now as I'm under the influence of antihistamines which always make me incredibly drowsy. Even the ones that aren't supposed to make me drowsy.
Quick comments are as follows:
- I didn't mind Jack in this episode. For one thing, Paul English portrays a much more likeable Jack and he had a genuine love for his family, and displayed a genuine affection for Laura - even regret for his mistakes.
- I loved Dan's little announcement about Chilean national day
- I liked how the town covered up for Laura
- I liked the glimpse into the Continental Deluxe. It looks very luxurious and spacious indeed!
- I really really love Diver's mild, unhurried way of speaking. He's such an unlikely renaissance man.
- I really think Rupert needs a smack. He's such a brat.
- Who had any idea that David Wenham was so .... ummm .... appealling under all that appalling clothing????