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    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Television»Drama
    Drama TV Shows - 1980s 3 Mins Read

    Dirtwater Dynasty, The

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    1 9 8 8Β (Australia)
    4 x 150 minute episodes

    This 10-hour Kennedy Miller production (makers ofΒ BodylineΒ andΒ The Dismissal) is arguably the most tear-jerking, heart-breaking story ever told.

    Never before has so much tragedy beset one man – Richard Eastwick, a fictitious cattle king upon whom the story is based.Β There is so much death inΒ The Dirtwater Dynasty that by the end of the 10 hours you can see it coming a mile off. YouΒ know this man is destined to have everyone he loves die.

    But depressing as it may be, Dirtwater, unlike most mini-series, was compelling from the word go. The story starts in the late 1800s with Hugo Weaving as Richard, an unnamed child of unknown parents growing up on the streets of Dickensian England.

    He works in the coal mines of Bradford where he meets the Eastwick family, who take him in and show him love for the first time. He takes their name and eventually, inspired by a landscape painting of the Australian outback, takes off to start a new life with grand dreams.

    dirtwater

    In the strange new land, he meets his first wife Kate McBride, (a lovely role played well by Victoria Longley) with whom he desperately wants to found an empire for future generations of Eastwicks.

    The strength ofΒ DirtwaterΒ lies in its panoply of colourful characters.

    Harold Hopkins is excellent as Kate’s revolting father, the Reverend McBride, who is obsessive about his godly mission and obsessive too – but in a disgustingly indecent way – about his beautiful daughter.

    Bruce Spence is superb as Lonely Logan, a feisty outback character who travels with droves, cooking and injecting much humour along the way.

    Dennis Miller plays another colourful character, Hasky Tarbox, a slimy bastard who becomes Richard Eastwick’s neighbour and greatest enemy.

    Steve Jacobs turns out a fine performance as the reliable, steadfast Josh McCall, Eastwick’s lifelong mate.Β DirtwaterΒ also boasts fine performances from Judy Morris, Anne Louise Lambert, Peter Phelps, Scott Burgess, Ernie Dingo and Leverne McDonnell.

    Richard Eastwick becomes one of the richest men in Australia, having forged the outback (and possessing most of it), and his greatest desire is to pass it all on to further generations.

    The storyline is so complex that you can’t even begin to describe it. Let’s just say thatΒ DirtwaterΒ has more than its share of cruel twists and turns.

    Above all, it’s a rattling good yarn.

    Richard Eastwick
    Hugo Weaving
    Kate McBride
    Victoria Longley
    Reverend McBride
    Harold Hopkins
    Josh McCall
    Steve Jacobs
    Lonely Logan
    Bruce Spence
    Hasky Tarbox
    Dennis Miller
    Mrs McBride
    Jenny Lee
    Esmerelda
    Kristina Nehm
    Frances Eastwick
    Judy Morris
    Emma Tarbox
    Anne-Louise Lambert
    David Eastwick
    Peter Phelps
    Guy Westaway
    Scott Burgess
    Richie Eastwick
    Robert Menzies
    Billy
    Ernie Dingo
    David Eastwick II
    Ned Manning
    Christine Candy
    Leverne McDonnell
    Young Richard Eastwick
    Hayden Topperwien

    Video

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