Comedy series in four parts: Three of them have aired (on ABC1 Wednesday evenings), the last one coming up this week.
Julia is Julia Gillard, our current Prime Minister (and the first time we have had a woman in the role). When I heard that they had made a satirical TV series about her I had no idea what to expect!
Britain has Yes Minister,
the USA
has The West Wing…. What were the Australians putting together?
In a word ~ Sweetness.
I love this show.
There isn’t much sweetness
in Australian TV. It is there in spades in Junior Masterchef, it surprised me
in our first Big Brother series... but in satire? At Home With Julia has the kind of
sweetness Jane Turner and Gina Riley gave Kath in Kath and Kim. And then extends the sweetness to her partner Tim Mathieson.
I am so sorry that so many
people think it unfunny and/or tasteless. I have enjoyed all of it, and (big
test of comedy series) believe it will get even better with rewatching.
I adore the home base of the
show. Listen to all of the people complaining about Tim being shown as the home
bound partner with his hairdressing skills! It’s a fabulous subverting of the
politics we all know best: politics in the home.
Why are people saying ‘they wouldn’t show male Prime Ministers and
their wives in that way’ with their lips all pursed and their eyebrows
lifted. OF COURSE THEY WOULDN’T! Look again! It’s fantastic! Everytime you see
a busy working man with his girlfriend home alone and bored, remember this! You
wouldn’t even notice if the Prime Minister was the man! They aren’t teasing Tim
Mathieson; they are teasing us, people!
It is the brilliant fact
that we have a female Prime Minister and her partner, unmarried, that allows
this delight.
So there is the heart of the
story, and it is never brutal, always poignant.
I wonder how it will end.
And to make this show extra gorgeous, its tender heart is set amongst the back drop of taking the piss out of federal politics. What fun they have had with the characters and the issues, the slogans
and the gossip. Perfect.
That swinging between domestic Australia and domestic Australians, the national stage and the home kitchen, all perfectly
embracing the essential sweetness of two good people doing the best they can.
And the piece that has
caused the greatest outcry is the portrayal of Julia and Tim who have made up
with each other after a bitter morning and used the Australian flag to snuggle
under (they are on the floor of her office!).
What a beautiful symbol of domestic politics meets federal! Go guys!
I hear all the complaining
about this show, and the falling numbers who watch it, but for me it is
priceless. I am so glad it was made. And I think that more and more people will
see it for the gem it is as time goes on.
