Ash Park, Farewell
“Did you watch our friends last night?”
By “our friends” I meant the characters in A Place to Call Home, a wonderful Australian television series that we happily allowed to take over our lives.
My question about watching the program was purely rhetorical, of course, as I couldn’t imagine either one of them watching anything else on Friday evenings.
And I wasn’t kidding about the “friends” part because over the course of 67 episodes these characters did indeed become our friends--or at least some of them did.
There were others in the show we hated with a passion.
We spoke about them as if they and all their troubles—and God knows they had a ton of them--were quite real.
The lives of the wealthy Bligh family at their estate Ash Park in the town of Inverness took on a very personal meaning for the three of us.
I honestly can't remember the last time I've been so caught up in television show.
I watch plenty of good shows, but there was something about this one that just drew me in and wouldn't let me go.
Sadly, I won’t be asking that question about our friends anymore.
On Friday, one of our local public television station broadcast the final episode of A Place to Call Home.
I know everything must come to end, but this one really hurts.
Debuting in 2013, A Place to Call Home was created by Bevan Lee for the Seven Network, a commercial free-to-air television network in Australia.
Reaching Home
Lee said he got his inspiration for the series Douglas Sirk’s 1950’s films such as Written on the Wind and All That Heaven Allows.
“At the end of the day, conflict is drama, and we live in relatively conflict-free society. I had to go to a place where there was pain and damage and hurt; after the war there was,” Lee said.
I was shocked to learn that the show was cancelled after its first season.
How could anyone possibly get a taste of all this joy, heartache and misery and not ask for more?
Luckily the program obtained further funding, finished its six-season run and eventually made its way to these shores.
My sister and I became fans caught the “Home” bug from our auntie, who couldn’t speak to us on Friday evenings at 8pm because she was watching some TV show.
It didn’t sound very appealing to me at the time, but fortunately my sister kept an eye out for it and when Channel 21 began running the show again from the beginning, she made sure to let me know.
The program begins in 1953 when Sarah Adams, our heroine, returns to Australia after 20 years in Europe.
Her life intersects with the Blighs on a ship traveling back to Sydney when she stops James Bligh, the heir to the family, from throwing himself overboard.
James is gay, which wouldn’t be a problem today with so many people openly expressing their sexual orientation, but this is the Fifties when being gay was a criminal offense.
Sarah immediately develops a connection with George and the hatred of George’s mother Elizabeth.
I cannot begin to summarize what happens next with this bunch, but it includes divorce, deaths, post-war trauma, birth, rape, poisoning, stabbing and a Nazi prison matron.
I got so caught up in all these storylines that I was almost annoyed with my aunt for turning me to the show.
Most of the TV shows I've watched--Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, and Ozark to name a few--are about crime, and while I enjoy them it’s nice to get away from all that mayhem for a little while.
The last moments of "Reaching Home," the series finale, describes what becomes of the major characters in their later years, leading up to their deaths in some cases.
It’s painful imagining these people I’ve grown to love growing old and eventually dying, but that is life, something this show captures so beautifully.
So, I’m going to have to find another way of greeting my sister and auntie on Saturday mornings.
And to my friends at Ash Park, all I can say is thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Comments
There are so many shows out there and so many platforms--Netflix, Hulu, Apple, Disney+--it's insane!
I feel lucky that we stumbled upon this program on public television. I'm going to chill for a while and then I'll search for the next epic.
Take care!
You are right in saying there are way too many shows out there on so many platforms. We have Netflix, AcornTV, Britbox and also PBS Passport so more than enough to keep us occupied. There's also Kanaopy which is free from the public library.
Now, all we need is MORE time.
Oh, this is great, Dorothy!
I've told so many people about this show and they look at me like I'm crazy. It's nice to meet another Home lover!
My sister has Acorn I believe the show is still on the site.
The characters were believable and I couldn't get enough of them. It seemed that each episode ended with some new disaster, some new drama.
I've enjoyed the episodes of Midsomer Murders that I've seen, but my auntie and sister watched it more regularly.
Tale care!
@Unknown: thank you so much for stopping by
I didn't want the series to end either and very few TV shows make that list.
All the best!