1. What have you enjoyed most about making ‘Sea Patrol’? What have you enjoyed least?

It sounds a little glib to say ‘everything’ but it’s true! We loved going to work every day – working with a great bunch of people who worked incredibly hard but loved it too. It’s been hugely rewarding and the best producing experience we’ve ever had. As for the worst – hey, all of the lumps, bumps and problems pale by comparison – they’re part of this crazy world of TV and our role in it. But waking up in the middle of the night listening to the howling wind, knowing in a couple of hours we’d be sending 80 odd people out to sea, was a bit hair-raising.

2. What are your top three favourite episodes from the whole series?

Good question. We’re proud of them all, so hard to say. How about the fans vote for their favourites? We’d love to know how the votes line up.

3. It was reported that ‘Sea Patrol’ is the most expensive Australian TV drama ever made. What was the budget for each episode and how did the budget change over the years? What are the greatest challenges to remaining within budget?

Sea Patrol on a per episode basis was possibly the most expensive Australian produced series. However, if you exclude the Navy costs, our episodic cost would be similar to other Australian shows. And there’s been plenty of American/UK shows made Down Under that have cost more.

The total cost per episode was just over $1 million AUD, however as mentioned above, that included all the Navy’s costs which necessarily were high. Imagine a fully crewed (25 people) Navy Patrol Boat (worth $60 million plus) for 6 – 8 weeks for our use every year. We were so fortunate that succeeding Chiefs of Navy were prepared to recommend the exercise to their Minister each year. But of course it’s been a win/win for Navy too in terms of profile, publicity, politically, explaining what’s ‘involved’, etc. etc.

The greatest challenge was Mother Nature. Going to sea is elemental – you are entirely at the sea’s mercy which could have added to the overall budget if things went wrong. That’s why no-one has ever attempted to do a TV series set and shot on the open sea. It’s crazy, too risky – but that was part of the thrill of it all. Doing the impossible.

4. What was the most difficult scene to shoot during the entire series? Why?

Probably the terrorist bombing of the nightclub which commenced our last season (Series 5). Three different sets, pyrotechnics, fire, hundreds of extras, studio shooting, night shooting, explosions, fire brigade and days and days of shooting to get it right.

5. Are you disappointed that the show didn’t receive more recognition from the TV industry (eg. Logies, AFIs) or the public (eg. ratings) or the media (eg. TV Week coverage)?

Yes and No. We’re very proud of the show and believe it was a very accomplished display of a whole range of talents – acting, writing, directing, design , camera, editing, etc. Technically it was very difficult and dangerous to make. But it seems like the industry and the press kind of felt, ‘So what? You had all that money and you got great ratings, so shut up and be happy, other shows are more deserving’. We accept that outcome, but are sorry for our wonderful cast and crew who deserved the accolades.

6. In five seasons there must have been a lot of practical jokes on the set by members of both cast and crew. Any good ones played on you?

There were sooo many jokes every single day (particularly in the production office – rubber snakes on desks) so we can’t single one out. We like to manage with humour, use a lot of laugher and jokes – it relaxes people during stressful times. For example when things are really, truly horrible (nighttime, cold, wet, middle of the ocean) we all say to each other, ‘The reason we’re in showbiz is for the glamour!!!’

7. Are there any storylines which you would loved to have incorporated into the show but couldn’t? If so, what prevented you from doing this – budget? logistics? not enough seasons in which to do it?

The whole question of border protection has become an increasingly political issue over the eight years we’ve been working on Sea Patrol. Indeed today it’s an incredibly divisive political debate with both sides of politics over-simplifying a complex and very fluid issue. Navy has occasionally been dragged into this debate whereas really they are just doing exactly what the government of the day orders them to do – and doing a very hard job very well. So we started to veer away from too many refugee stories to avoid pouring petrol on the political fire. We did have constraints about relationships on board imposed by Navy initially which made it a little difficult.

8. There has been lots of discussion about the Mike/Kate relationship. Did you ever think that this pairing would be so popular? How long could the relationship have lasted in the event that the show went beyond Series 5?

When we conceive a show then define the characters, and cast the actor to play them, we’re always hoping ‘chemistry’ will occur. The word ‘chemistry’ is shorthand for something mysterious and magical that happens ‘on-screen’ (not always off-screen) between characters. We pray for it, look for it, feed it if we can and hope the actors respond to this, play with it and add to it. If you can ‘organise’ this (wrong word, but…) then it’s pure gold. So we hoped our casting choices would work and largely speaking they all did. Ian and Lisa are such clever actors and committed professionals. Who knows how long they could have danced – all night long?

9. Some long-time fans expressed intense frustration that the Mike/Kate relationship was left unresolved for so long, and because of this they stopped watching during the early part of Series 5. Do you think anything could have been done to retain this group of viewers?

We know we’re facing competition every night we’re on air. We know we win some and we lose some. Whilst we want to be popular and need (to survive) to get good ratings, we can’t chase after every ratings point based on a whim. We have to stick to our guns story-wise and not second guess ourselves. Besides, we had no choice as the show is really ‘A Day in the Life of HMAS Hammersley’, and for Mike and Kate to have a relationship, one of them would have to leave the boat and therefore the show. So we really were caught between a rock and a hard place.

10. ‘Sea Patrol’ has developed such a loyal and passionate fan base. Did you envisage that fans would be so enthusiastic and become so invested in the characters over the long-term?

Television is a powerful medium because it goes right into people’s homes – their living rooms and bedrooms. So, not surprisingly, people get very invested in shows, most often via the characters. That’s why we take such care with how they’re portrayed and how we tell the stories. We all know that audiences have favourites. The trouble is that they are all different – for different reasons! It’s very democratic that way. So we try to share the stories around and keep everyone happy.

11. Some fans are not happy that you’ve killed off popular characters (firstly ET and now Swain); they feel they’ve invested a lot of emotion with them to just have them die. Do you have any regrets about killing characters off?

With a lot invested in characters, it’s not surprising fans get disappointed when a character departs – no matter what the circumstances. However the actor is separate from the character. Actors make all sorts of life choices (as individuals) that are unrelated to their character. If they (the actor) choose to leave, they leave. But how they leave is up to the producers, not the actor. What we try to do if it’s inevitable, is to turn a loss into a win by using a departure to enhance the drama.

Of course this whole relationship between fans and actor (or is it the character?) is a little scary for the actor. Many actors hate the feeling of being captive or hostage to what the fans want or feel. It makes them feel weak or powerless. So they leave to get their power back. Funny isn’t it? Too much love can be destructive. The other important thing to note is that we can usually only contract an actor for a maximum of three years, so we can’t force anyone to stay.

12. There have been some great guest cast members during the five seasons of the show. Which guest characters and/or actors have you particularly loved? Why?

Don’t want to single out a guest actor as we had so so many good ones. We never had any trouble or tantrums from any of them. In fact often they or their agents would write to say that they had the best time, we have the best crew, that our regulars made them feel so welcome, etc. etc. Again, very rewarding for us – we all worked hard to make a tough gig fun.

13. How did you come to choose not to have an overarching Naval storyline throughout Series 4 but then return to that format in Series 5 with the terrorism plot? What factors were considered when deciding on the ‘big’ storyline each season?

The big overarching storyline is necessary if you’re making a mini series (of up to 13 episodes) but not if you’re making 16 episodes as we were for Series 4. Having said that, the selection process for all the big storylines is a combination of research and guesswork, i.e. what stories will people be interested in next year (when it goes to air) and how well will this storyline serve the dramatic needs of all the principal characters and their inter-relationship, and, needless to say, the budget!