W
henit comestotelevision,thephrase
“everythingoldisnewagain”has
appliedforquitesometime.Overthe
past few years, we’veseeneverythingfromWill
& Grace and RoseannetoPrisonBreakand 24
to Dallas and GilmoreGirlsrevived,continuing
the story years andevendecadeslater.There
have also been countlessreboots– seriessuch
as Wentworth, MagnumP.I.,Dynastyand
Charmed – whichhavebeenreimaginedfora
new generation,oftenre-tellingthesame(or
a similar) story witha newcast.ButI’mtalking
about the formercategoryofshowshere
– those that pickbackupwiththesame
characters after alengthyabsence.
Until now, therevivalphenomenonhas
largely been confinedtoAmericanshows,but
this week sees thecomebackofa turn-of-the-
millennium Australiandrama:SeaChange(starts
Tue., Aug. 6 at 8.45pm;Nine).I livedoverseas
between 1998 and2000,whentheseriesabout
a city lawyer relocatingtoa smallcoastaltown
ran for three seasonsontheABC,andsoforme,
this fourth seasonismyfirstexposuretothe
goings-on in PearlBay.WouldI beabletojump
in at this point inthenarrative?Wouldanything
make sense? Surelyit wouldbethesameas
trying to watch anyshowstartingatSeason4 –
kind of an odd thingtodo– right?Having seen the first episode of the new
SeaChange, I can say that it is quite easy to start
watching at this point. For one thing, it’s not
exactly the most complicated of shows. And
any relevant backstory is sufficiently explained
to bring newcomers up to speed. For another,
this season is really a brand new plot that just
happens to concern some characters who
have been involved in other stories on screen
before. To understand and enjoy the new
storyline, you really don’t need to have seen
any previous seasons.
And that’s the key, I think, to a successful
revival – having a balance of nostalgic elements
to appeal to the existing fanbase and
compelling new stories anyone can appreciate.
It’s a tricky balancing act to get right. The recent
fourth season of Veronica Mars (on Stan now),
for example, did a better job than the stand-
alone VM movie five years ago, which was really
for die-hard Marshmallows. This time around,
the bombing mystery felt designed to draw in
new viewers, while existing fans were catered
for by all the returning characters and callbacks
to previous storylines.
I would say that the revivals of Arrested
Development and Twin Peaks weren’t as
successful at welcoming new viewers (and in
both cases, they’ve kind of alienated someexisting fans by being so impenetrable).
So yes, you can enjoy SeaChange if you
didn’t watch the original – provided light and
breezy Australian drama is your thing to begin
with. And, depending how it rates, this may
well be the start of a flood of old local hits being
given a new lease of life. Packed to the Rafters:
The Next Generation, anyone? •YOU DIDN’T WATCH THE ORIGINAL?
New cast
member
Brooke
Satchwell
plays a
character
from the
original
series.THE
William McInnes
and Sigrid
Thornton in
the original
SeaChange.Gavin ScottBob Jelly (John
Howard, second
from left) is still
morally wobbly.