Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
Directors: Various, Via Vision Entertainment.
Cast: Gary Sweet, Sonia Todd, Steve Bastoni, Marshall Napier, Tim McKenzie,
Peter Browne, Doug Scroope, John Clayton.
A much-loved ‘90s television show, this special DVD collection will surely be instrumental in engaging a whole new generation of fans. It’s the explosive drama involving members of a police rescue squad, on-and-off duty.
Filmed on location around Sydney, Police Rescue was one of Australia’s most loved and multi-award winning drama series. It dealt with the NSW Police Rescue Squad and their work attending to various incidents from road accidents to train crashes.
Members of the squad are the real-life action heroes of the police force, following the brave individuals who are constantly laying their lives on the line to save others.
The action and suspense provides a perfect backdrop for this drama series where everyday emergencies are a constant. It could include attending traumatic motor vehicle accidents, daring skyscraper rescues, collapsed buildings, exploding tankers, exploring the wilderness for lost adventurers and flooded cave rescues.
The boxed set, with 18 discs, contains every episode from Seasons 1-5. Even though the adventure, action and adrenalin-based tales will draw you in, the focus is on the characters and their stories that result in winning emotional reactions.
The box set features all 61 action-packed episodes plus the original 90-minute Police Rescue telemovie that started it all, establishing the background of the protagonist of the series, Sergeant ‘Mickey’ McClintock (Sweet). Several issues were raised in the pilot, such as women’s discrimination, sexism and street violence. The plot revolved around the entrance of the first woman member to the Police Rescue Squad, Constable Georgia Rattray (Todd) and then the search for a missing boy in Sydney’s sewer system.
Featuring a stellar cast, it stars Sweet as fearless adrenalin freak Sgt McLintock; Todd as the tough and ambitious Constable Rattray, who won’t let her past love affair with Mickey get in the way of doing a good job; and Steve Bastoni as Constable Yiannis ‘Angel’ Angelopoulos, the cool guy with a heart of gold and a devilish temper.
While the characters interrelate intensely and there is intrigue in their personal relationships, their stories are elevated to a deeper level as we watch the methods they employ in dealing with the trauma they encounter in their daily lives at work.
As a famous Australian drama of its time there are also some great cameos of some of our brightest acting talents. For example, in Season 2 you will see a fresh-faced Russell Crowe, Season 3 a young Cate Blanchett and Season 4 Miranda Otto.
Made with guidance from the real NSW Police Rescue department, the dynamic stunts and action sequences are breathtakingly realistic!
You could win the 18-disc DVD collection of Police Rescue, The Complete Series, if you correctly tell us the number of seasons in this box set.
Entries should be sent to [email protected] by next Monday, 5 November 2018. Names of the winners will be announced in Frank Cassidy’s PS-sssst…! column next week.
