H2O: Just Add Water

If you would have asked me in middle school what my favorite tv show was, easily hands down the answer would have been the Aussie tv show H2O: Just Add Water.

H2O: Just Add Water is a show about 3 different girls who live on the beaches of the Gold Coast. Emma Gilbert (Claire Holt), Cleo Sertori (Phoebe Tonkin), and Rikki Chadwick (Cariba Heine) (and later Bella Hartley (Indiana Evans)) are our heroines and together they navigate through normal teen life all while hiding their secret: they are mermaids with powers over water. Emma can freeze water, Cleo can shape water, and Rikki can boil water. No one execpt Cleo’s childhood friend (and love interest) science brainiac Lewis McCartney (Angus McLaren) knows about their secret and he helps them navigate everyday problems all while balancing it with mermaid adventures. The show ran from 2006 – 2010 with 3 seasons and 78 episodes.

When H2O premeired in the USA, it was March 2008. I was 11 1/2, and I believe I was the perfect age to get hooked on the show. H2O stood out from all the other teen shows I was watching because the show actually had a serialized storyline that was engaging. I made my own little scrapbook for the show (its gone now!), got the season 2 cd for my 12th birthday, and even had the dolls (they went to goodwill!).

Season 1 is certianly the best, as it had the most stakes and was organic for the story they were telling. With the transformation into mermaids needing to be kept secret, the biggest storyline is the fear of exposure, and the antagonist is a scientist, Dr Denman, who would exploit the girls for fame and money. The season also sees the best character journey of, “bad boy”, Zane Bennett (Burgess Aberthany) from rich snobby jerk, to being more caring and sensitive… especially after he almost drowns in a shipwreck (only to be saved by Emma, but after he catches a glimpse of a “sea monster”) and has a relationship with Rikki (ZIKKI IS MY FAVORITE relationship of the entire show!). Season 1 also has the best mythology backstory building, concerning the dynamics of how the girls powers work. 

Season 2 is pretty good, with the introduction of the infamous Charlotte Watsford (Brittney Byrnes) who becomes a third point in a love triangle with Lewis and Cleo. It’s kind of painful, as their relationship takes up some screentime that was dedicated to the girls friendship in season 1, but its really engaging and keeps you watching and asking when Cleo and Lewis will get back together. Season 2 also continues the myth building with Mako Island and the girls powers, as their powers change to also control weather. The biggest plot of the season is Charlotte becoming a mermaid and the girls having to accept her in their group, while she’s a bully to Cleo and alienating Lewis from having contact with her (and the rest of the girls). Season 2 is still enjoyable and it really strengthens the friendships and ups the ante on everything: the danger, the romance, the fun. I remember bootlegging episodes 14-26 on YouTube because they failed to play on Nickelodeon in America, and I was insanely upset about it. Nothing was going to keep me from this show!

Season 3 is honestly my least favorite. At the time of release, in 2009-2010, in the UK (it aired there first before Australia), I was one of the bootleg viewers. I would get home from 8th grade, and a recording of the new episode would be uploaded. I recall I had to be quick about it because they would be deleted for copyright claims, so that was always a problem. Nonetheless, I made sure exactly right when the videos were uploaded I was at the computer screen.
What I hate about season 3 is the whole friendship dynamic changes. Claire Holt left the cast due to a scheduling conflict being replaced by Bella, a new girl who moves to town with her never seen on screen family (I’m team Emma over Bella!).  Angus McLaren has reduced episodes and left the main cast, and Lewis was “replaced” by Will (Luke Mitchell), who in comparison is a dull character. The friendship of the 3 girls just doesn’t gel properly and it’s basically the case of, “Oh Bella! You’re a mermaid too, we must be friends!”.
The show also starts chasing some trends of other teen shows around this time: Bella has her own band and sings! Will takes of his shirt a ton! Zane now owns the local cafe (no boss to answer to) and calls it Rikki’s!

Add in Zane’s character just completely reverting back to being a total jerk due to lazy writing and it just sucks. Not to mention the overall plot of the water tentacle being the enemy and the payoff completely not following what they set up, this season is a frustrating watch. There are some highlights however: as Cleo and Lewis (Clewis!) are so adorable (until they write him out) this season, and Rikki has some strong emotional  development.

I’m no ordinary girl

Overall, H2O will always be that special show in my heart. It’s the only show from my childhood preteen years I genuinely still care about, and do not regret watching. I may have come to it only because mermaids are my favorite mythological creature, but in the end, this is what got me open to Australian TV. It planted the seeds for me to watch Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, A Place to Call Home, Dance Academy and for that I’m really grateful.

This post was written for the March 2023 Genre Grandeur of beaches hosted by MovieRob.

Dance Academy (2010-2013)

This post is written for Taking Up Room’s 2022 Fake Teenager Festivus Blogathon. Be sure to check it out here!

If you were (or knew) a tween girl in the mid 2000s, like me, then you probably are aware of my favorite Australian kid’s show called H2O: Just Add Water. However, if you kept digging around for more Aussie TV shows, then naturally you would stumble upon a show called Dance Academy, which ran from 2010-2013, and even turned into a movie in 2017. The two TV shows are somewhat related, as Samantha Strauss was a writer on a few episodes of season 1 of H2O, and then she created Dance Academy. H2O star Cariba Heine had a recurring role on DA season 1 and 3 as Isabel, and her H2O on screen boyfriend Burgess Abernethy appeared in season 1 of DA.

Dance Academy follows the life of 15-year-old Tara Webster, a naive country girl, who gets the opportunity of a lifetime when she is accepted to the prestigious (fictional)  National Academy of Dance in Sydney. Entering what Tara refers to be the, “minefield“, once she’s arrived, Tara and her new friends navigate rigorous dance training on top of your typical teenage problems (crushes, friendships, academics, family dynamics, peer pressure, self pressure, body image, mental and physical health, sexuality, etc). For me personally, this was a teen show that came out when I was a teen (I was 14, just the right age to watch it).

Upon arriving at Dance Academy, it isn’t long until Tara (and the viewers) meet the classmates: Christian Reed: a street boy who has a troubled past, but a heart of gold. Tara and Christian meet in the boy’s changing rooms (anyone who’s seen the show’s first episode knows this iconic moment). Kat  Karamakov: a free spirited ballet girl who hates being a ballet girl, but is naturally talented as her Mum is a professional ballerina. Abigail Armstrong: The not so typical mean girl. Abigail sacrifices a great deal in order to be a strong dancer. She’s not a natural dancer (in her own view she doesn’t have the body), but makes up for it with her determination and love for dance. She and Kat knew each other since they were little. Sammy Lieberman: the guy everyone wants to be friends with, and at the start, the weakest dancer on a technical level. He, Kat, and Tara all become close within their first weeks at the academy. Sammy also struggles with the fact his Dad does not support his dancing dreams, wants him to follow in the family footsteps and become a doctor. Lastly, there is Ethan Karamakov- Kat’s older half brother who is a senior at the academy with ambitions on becoming a choreographer like his Father. Ethan is a bit cocky, but looks out for his little sister. Tara develops an instant crush on him, which causes friction between her and her new best friend, Kat. Finally, there is the dancing teacher Miss Raine (Tara Maurice). Miss Raine is extremely tough, but underneath very caring for her students. All she wants for any of them is to succeed, but she’s not afraid to straight out embarrass them if they step out of line.

What makes this show work, is a combo of great elements: you have the cast, who genuinely care for each other, the dancing routines, the gorgeous on location scenery (filmed in Sydney), and most of all, flawed characters who are written like teens, and not like 20 year olds. The characters all make wrong decisions, they embarrass themselves, they don’t have extravagant clothing (compared to US teen tv shows) and there is a restriction on what they can do and where they can go because they are, well, teens! Star Xenia Goodwin (Tara) was actually 15 playing 15, but her co-stars were not. All of the following were also playing 15 year olds: Alicia Banit (Kat) was 19, Jordan Rodrigues (Christian): 17, Tom Green (Sammy) 18, Dena Kaplan (Abigail) 20. Tim Pocock (Ethan) was 25 playing 18.

My favorite episode of season 1 (my favorite season) is probably episode 11: One Perfect Day, because for the first time Tara gains confidence in her dancing and even has a mini romantic moment with her first ever crush, Ethan. Its sweet and embarrassing at the same time. Plus it has this insanely amazing dance in it:

The scene hasn’t left my mind since I first saw it (around 2012)

With that being said, I really also enjoy the final arc of season 1 which focuses on a Nutcracker Christmas pageant.

Season 2 was not afraid to up the stakes, as it killed off one of the main characters (I literally can’t spoil who 😦 ). Teen death isn’t a typical element on a teen show, as usually it’s an adult who dies on such shows. Three new students were also added: Ben Tickle (Thomas Lacey, 19 playing 16) : a childhood cancer survivor who got double promoted to second year from first year. Grace Whitney (Isabel Durant, 21 playing 17) : Miss Raine’s goddaughter from London. And Ollie Lloyd (Keiynan Lonsdale, 21 playing 18): a student who did not pass last year and must repeat the grade. Ollie is also openly gay (which for the time, in 2012, was major for teen TV).

Season 2’s main plot revolves around a prestigious dance competition “The Prix de Fonteyn” being held in Australia for the first time in 25 years. The characters all go through a process to see which dancers from the Academy will represent Australia all while completing their second year at the academy. (Note: I think looking back this season bugged me the most, there’s a lot of filler, and is a bit disjointed at first)

The third and final season deals with the characters still picking up the pieces of their friend’s death all while contemplating their futures, as its graduation year. Who will or will not get a contract with the company is never far from any of their minds and the possibility of not getting a contract (only 1 male and 1 female will) drives them to seek out alternative opportunities in dance. It’s a shorter season but very impactful and has a satisfying ending.

Overall, Dance Academy does have its flaws, the acting may bug some people, the story-lines in season 2 become a bit too drawn out, and lastly: the friend group continuously dates the friend group (this one bothers me the most as an adult), but it has a ton of heart. The dancing does take center stage and when there is a number, it tends to stay with you for a long long time. Certain dances from this show have been imprinted on my mind- as they are all so unique and in my opinion have more effort and emotion than anything any High School Musical ever did.

All in all, Dance Academy has a special place in my heart as one of 2 teen TV shows that will remain with me, as the other is H2O. Australian teen TV did something really magical, and it’s really cool I was the right age at when Dance Academy came out. I now leave you with some of my favorite dances from the show!

A Place to Call Home (2013-18)

The Australian tv show, A Place to Call Home, has one of the most fascinating stories of how I personally came to watch it. I came across it in 2015, when looking for more info on Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries season 3. A Place to Call Home pictures kept popping up and I saw an image of a cast with 1950s clothing, so I was curious about it. Upon Googling the show I had learned it ran in Australia for 2 years, got cancelled, but miraculously was uncancelled. I searched around for a trailer and watched the American one made by Acorn TV. It was in that very moment after watching the 1 minute and 50 second trailer, I knew the show was going to be a real winner. I just had an instinctive feeling about it, and bought season 1 DVD as basically a blind buy, taking a nearly $35 gamble on it.

This SOLD ME!

As I waited for the DVD to arrive, I didn’t have any doubts, which is unlike me, rather I was just so excited. I also had the benefit of knowing there wasn’t going to be an unresolved cliffhanger, as the show was locked in until at least season 4. I binged 1 and 2, watching 3 and beyond as it was airing.

This kept popping up!

Created by the man behind Packed to the Rafters, Bevan Lee, the premise of A Place to Call Home starts as follows: In 1953, Sarah Adams (Marta Dusseldorp) returns home to Australia after spending 20 years in Europe. On her journey back to Oz, working as a nurse for ocean liner passage, she meets the wealthy Bligh family, by taking care of the family matriarch, Elizabeth (Noni Hazlehurst) and it’s that encounter that changes everyone’s lives.

The series goes on to explore not only Sarah finding her home in the town of Inverness, but healing from her traumatic past. Other themes throughout the show’s run include Anti- Semitism and religious intolerance, public vs personal image, family disfunction, class divide, 1950s homosexuality, second chances, and above all, love and the meaning of home.

While A Place to Call Home is impacted by 1950s events, the show really is a character driven narrative. I’ve said it on Twitter and I will say it here, Marta’s character Sarah is one of the most complex characters I’ve ever seen on screen (Marta even retweeted me, I was so excited). Sarah Adams is Jewish by faith, (converting to marry her now deceased husband, Dr Rene Nordmann), defended the left in the Spanish Civil War, was a Nazi resistance worker, and is a Holocaust survivor. (Author’s note: I learned more about the Jewish faith and practices from this show than any class ever could offer.)

As for the Bligh family: Widower George Bligh (Brett Climo) is the owner of the estate Ash Park, although his Mother, Elizabeth is the real head of the family. George’s wife, Elaine, was a civilian war victim, passing away while their children, James (David Berry) and Anna (Abby Earl) were very young. In the first episode, James is newly married to his English bride, Olivia (Arianwen Parkes-Lockwood). Anna on the other hand is 20 at the show’s beginning with a long time crush on her childhood friend, Gino (Aldo Mignone), son of Italian immigrants.

Rounding out the cast is essential town busybody Doris Collins (Deborah Kennedy), family friend Dr. Jack Duncan (Craig Hall), family black sheep, sister/ daughter Carolyn Bligh (Sara Wiseman), rugged farmer Roy Briggs (Frankie J Holden), George’s sister-in law Reginia Standish (Jenni Baird) and starting in season 3, Dr. Henry Fox (Tim Draxl).

When A Place to Call Home first came to the USA- I went out & bought s1 based soley on its trailer- now I'm watching the final ep- I hope to see more great #aussiedrama in the future! #aptch

— Emily Graziano (@flapperdame16) October 29, 2018

Overall, if Douglas Sirk created a TV show, and was allowed to outwardly explore the darkness within the glossy 1950s facade, this is the TV show you’d end up; only this show is even better. A Place to Call Home has been compared to Mad Men, Downton Abbey, and even Dynasty, but I think it’s got a style all its own, with a tremendous 6 year run covering the time span of 1953- to New Year’s Day 1960.

Some fans claim the time jump to 1958 in season 5 weakened the show’s narrative, but I personally declare it gives the show more intrigue, of filling in the missing 4 years. Another critcism I have heard was David Berry’s limited availability in seasons 5 and 6, but compared to other shows I’ve seen, the writers handled it tremendously well. I have the upmost respect for David Berry as James still had an impact on the plot, and the fact he appeared on screen proved he didn’t cut and run the minute a fame offering role in Outlander was offered.

The bottom line is if you’ve never seen the show I highly recommend it. It’s one of the best family saga tv shows you’ve never seen, and it reminds us all just who and what the real meaning of home is.

This is an entry for the Home Sweet Home Blogathon hosted by Reelweegiemidget and Taking up Room ! Be sure to check out other entries! !