Total Control - Rachel Perkins & Wayne Blair
This is part of my unedited thoughts series.
Season 1
Alex Irving, Deborah Mailman (The Secret Life of Us, Bran Nue Dae), has one goal at the start of this series and that is toget a good deal for the native title holders in her hometown. The US wants to build an airbase and the Australian government is set to support them – no matter the cost.
Alex is royally screwed over by her new ‘allies’ who have dropped her into the senate. With this first cause lost she champions the death in custody of an Aboriginal girl for the remainder of the season.
Party politics and skulduggery are rife throughout the show and can be eye opening or stomach churning depending on how close you watch this sort of things in your day-to-day.
All of the political stuff present in this season is pretty on point with little explanation. I think this is a great approach. People in the know can be rewarded by seeing something done correctly. A viewer who doesn’t understand the nuance isn’t left out either.
This is especially true in the final episode when the vote on supply is happening in the senate. It is well built up to be something very important but you don’t need to know exactly what happens if the government looses this vote. This placys out beautifully as the news reaches the lower house and a vote of no-confidence is called.
Deborah & Rachel are brilliant throughout. Deborah’s support staff are a really interesting cross section of society. All the supporting staff have an air of political smarminess which is impressive.
Season 2
Everything is higher stakes than in season one. All the plot lines have interesting intersections with each other.
The main plot lines for all the characters is the election that has been caused by the votes at the end of season one.
The major parties are overshadowed by a number of independents and members who are threatening to leave the parties. Lots of dirty tricks from all sides.
Alex’s main storyline is to do with online harrasement and threats to her and her son. Their relationship is the focus of a lot of this part of the story.
I really disliked how the parliamentary rules are disregarded in this season when they were used so well in the first season. Specifically I’m referring to the locking of the doors for the vote. There are ways that they could have used the normal procedures and rules without Alex needing to force her way into the chamber – which would not have been allowed.
