Review for Luke's Kingdom: The Complete Series

This gritty drama, quite controversial on its release in 1975, will be a welcome release for some. Little aired since that date, it's a surprisingly lavish affair with a large cast, huge scope, and plenty of production value. I'm guessing this was created with international sales in mind.


It's an expansive tale of Nineteenth Century 'squatters' in News South Wales, Australia - those pioneers who took the land by occupying it, despite many hardships and much danger.


Though Australia was already fast-filling with expelled criminals, the Firbecks, a fine upstanding family, leave their Yorkshire home for the promised land. In fact, the first episode shows the journey as well as the initial arrival in Sydney.


The programme's popularity at the time (and no doubt part of its enduring appeal) is the smolderingly handsome Luke himself, played by a pre-'The Bitch' Oliver Tobias at his physical prime. However, to his credit, he adds much more to the role than merely this. He seems perfectly cast as the quietly determined Luke.


Luke's father Jason (James Condon) is representative of a more naïve generation who somehow believe that all the righteousness of the empire will follow them into the wild, and he is constantly disappointed that the old guard often turn out to be the most corrupt, Fortunately for him, and the family, Luke is under no such delusion.


To begin with, these opposing views cause great tension as it is unclear who will be the eventual patriarch. By episode four, Jason concedes that his son's more brutal view is the right one and he somehow falls in line. This subtle tension is just one illustration of the ambitious scope of this epic drama. This offers far more than swashbuckling action and romance. Though don't worry - there's plenty of that too.


Though this may have more in common with 'Rawhide' than 'Pride and Prejudice', the show is clearly historical drama nonetheless, and there is much to be learned about the early colonisation of Oz. Naturally all of the residual British military are cads, bounders and buffoons, though the convicts are often portrayed as decent of desperate men, still struggling to get an even break.


Women are used as a barometer for the brutal toughness of the task, with many reduced to whoring or the equivalent as the mistresses of much older men.

It's all tightly directed, including some episodes directed by none other than Peter Weir (Picnic at Hanging Rock) and fan favourite Peter Hammond (The Avengers). Archive TV fans may also like to know that the series was produced by Tony Essex of 'Follyfoot' fame.


The series, made 'in colour' in 1975, looks a little dated now and I suspect was shot on 16mm. The print is, untypically for Network, absolutely appalling with low contrast, horribly speckled and damaged stock and a very low grade transfer rendering this almost unwatchable on anything other than a small screen. It looked almost comically bad on my 42" plasma - like the fake trailers at the start of Tarantino's 'Planet Terror', only worse. Maybe this is the only print available and the market for such a series so marginal that any investment in cleaning it up would never be recouped. Whatever the case - be warned. Also, it's a shame that there are no extras (unless you count the 'picture gallery').


Overall, I would say that, for those who remember this with affection and who are able to look over the flaws of the print, there is much here to enjoy. It's a sprawling, epic of a story spread out over 14 hours and there is rarely a dull moment. If only it wasn't such a poor print. Oh well - you can't have everything, and I guess if it wasn't for Network's admirable 'release it anyway' policy there would be many gems which would never see the light of day. So maybe I should be thankful for small mercies.