Adolf Had New York In Mind, Too, And Not For A Holiday
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday July 13, 2007
AS IT HAPPENED 8.30pm, SBS: We haven't had a Hitler doco for a few weeks so lovers of the genre - and it is unquestionably a discrete branch of documentary filmmaking - will be keen to see this program, cobbled together in the now-familiar manner, about Adolf's plans to lay waste to New York with what the narrator terms "weapons of mass destruction". Newsreel clips, old documents and blueprints, reminiscences from war veterans and views by historians are combined to conjure a September 11 scenario 60-odd years before the events of 2001. There's speculation on suicide bombers but, more significantly, an examination of Hitler's directive in 1937 to begin design work on the Messerschmitt 264 bomber. This was while a non-aggression pact with the US was in place. Hitler's War on America reveals that neither Germany nor the US invested terribly much faith in the sentiments contained in such treaties, with American planners anticipating the prospect of Greenland being used by the Nazis as a staging post for air attacks. The style and conjecture of such programs give rise to all nature of lurid scenarios. It would be eminently feasible, for example, to compile a convincing program revealing Hitler's plans to eliminate Paris Hilton half a century before she was born.
FOR THE WEEKEND THE CIRCUIT 9.30pm Sun, SBS: Lawyer Drew Ellis (Aaron Pedersen) arrives in Western Australia's far north to work as a defence advocate on the District Court circuit centred on Broome. He's a city boy looking to connect with his indigenous roots and to put something back for the perceived privileges he enjoys in Perth. So far so good. Pretty typical stuff. But what makes this drama series so watchable is its topicality in light of the recent Federal Government initiative to do something serious about Aboriginal health and welfare. The operation is not without controversy and, as ever, deep cynicism attends any major manoeuvre undertaken by a government with a fairly shabby record in this area. Ellis finds himself caught between two cultures and while accepted by the white community - magistrate Peter Lockhart (Gary Sweet), legal aid lawyer Ellie Zdybicka (Marta Kaczmarek) and others - he is regarded with suspicion by Sam Wallan (Kelton Pell), an experienced Aboriginal Legal Service liaison officer whose passion for justice is equalled by his anger but not, alas, tempered by any sense of fulfilment as a father, a police aide and a footballer. Bella Noble (Tammy Clarkson), a gregarious clerk of the court in her late 20s, is a vibrant single mum whose name describes her perfectly. She warms to Drew as he feels the connection with his wife, Dianne, strained by distance and by his growing sense of identity with those whose battles he tries to fight. An SBS initiative under the guidance of Debbie Lee, The Circuit is well-made drama that slipstreams the talents of untrained actors with the formidable talents of Pell, Kaczmarek and the other principals. Terrific scripts, employing understatement and silence to great effect, muscular music from David Bridie and local musicians including the Pigram Brothers and direction that doesn't intrude or paternalise the action. This is Right Now stuff and it illuminates far more effectively than news bulletin clips, the awful injustices so many good people are trying to address. BIG LOVE 8.30pm Sun, SBS: A subtle reminder that mobile phones aren't the only cause of unsafe driving.
© 2007 Sydney Morning Herald