The Straits
I was drawn to watch this Australian series because of its setting – Cairns in extreme northern Queensland, Papua New Guinea, and the Torres Straits Islands in between, a part of the world I hadn’t had much exposure to. Yes, the story itself looked fairly mundane, a gangster family going through a succession crisis, but I hoped the setting and script might transcend that mundanity.
Yes, it was really interesting to get a look at that part of the world, and we do get a basic introduction to PNG culture, but, alas, for me there was too much gangster and not enough PNG. Gangsters themselves are pretty boring, psychopathic serial killers. The Sopranos trumped that by giving the gangster a conscience, sort of, but there is no sign of any of that creativity here. There were also too many gunfights, something else I find boring. They have set up a second season which I am not sure if I will watch.
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The Defence (Chylka)
This Polish series is sometimes also called The Disappearance. I am not a big fan of legal series, and I generally find alcoholics boring, so it is a tribute to the scripts that I watched all five seasons that have appeared so far. In fact, though many of the central figures are lawyers, it generally feels more like a thriller.
Chylka, the central figure, is an alcoholic defence lawyer with a chaotic approach to life. Yet in spite of her many problems, she is still a brilliant legal mind who can pull off defences that no one expects would succeed. Along the way she manages to antagonize just about everyone, including her fellow lawyers, along with many powerful figures in Polish society
The writing in the series is very good, as is the acting. During the best seasons, I kept on being surprised when the credits rolled on an episode because it seemed like it had just started. Things did drag a bit during Season 5, because there was too much of the resident psychopath, who is much less realized than the rest of the main characters. I also don’t understand why Chylka reacts to his machinations in the manner she does, but maybe we will find out why in the next season as Chylka’s backstory unfolds further.
The version I watched came from Walter Presents, a very good source which always has professional quality subtitles.
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