TV Week

Bomber’s innocent prank takes a deadly turn when Kate falls unconscious.

The Hammersley could lose one of their own this week after Bomber’s well intentioned goes awry and leaves Kate fighting for her life.

After messing up douring the routine boarding of a foreign fishing vessel, Bomber (Kirsty Lee Allan) is eager to win back the XO’s respect. Seeking a second change – and a promotion – she volunteers along with 2DADS (Nikolai Nikolaeff) to join a steaming party to take the seized vessel and its incarcerated crew back to port. Kate (Lisa Mcune) agrees to let Bomber be in charge, but she says she will be joining the assingnement as an observer. Dring a moment of weakness, Bomber mucks around with 2DADS and goes to spray him with what she believes is water. “Bomber is in charge of the steaming party and wants to prove to Kate that she deserves a promotion” Kirsty explains. “2DADS is flirting with her, so she picks up a bottle of water to spray at him – but he ducks and it hits Kate in the face instead”. When the XO immediatley stops breathing and collapses, Bomber is at a loss as to what has triggered this episode.

“Bomber’s worried, she could be kicked out the Navy”

“Bomber has no idea what’s happened, “Kirsty says. “She’s way out of her depth. She’s sure it was water in the bottle and can’t understand what caused such a dramatic reaction. She and 2DADS are both really scared, so she radios Hammersley and asks medical officer Swain (Matthew Holmes) for help”. As Bomber follows Swain’s instructions, she remains clueless to the fact that she’s inadvertently sprayed poisonous cyanide at her boss. “The bottle has cyanide in it, which explains why Kate isn’t breathing”, series creator Di McElroy explains. “It’s illegal but the fishermen were using it to stun the fish before hauling them in. Now it’s up to the crew to find the antidote for Kate to save her life.” With the clock ticking, the surch for a cure is cut shorth when the ship is re-taken by the imprisoned crew, who lock Bomber, 2DADS and an unconscious Kate below deck. “Kate is an a lot of danger and is dying,” Kirsty says. “Bomber is in a state of panic and feels helpless. She’s also worried she could be kicked out of the Navy. She’s definitley screwed up her chanches of a promotion and may have killed the XO!” Can Bomber make up for her mistake and save Kate’s life ?

TV Week

Bird’s life is on the line yet again this week when she collapses onboard the HMAS Hammersley. With medic Swain off tending to another emergency, Bomber (Kirsty Lee Allan) is out of her depth when Bird (Danielle Horvat, right) lapses into unconsciousness.

“Bomber establishes that Bird is paralysed and she’s stressed because there is only so much medical equipment onboard,” Danielle says. “Bird’s in a lot of danger, and she could die if she doesn’t get treated.”

Meanwhile, on a remote island, Dutchy (Conrad Colby) notices a bunch of kids playing ball with a hand grenade. Before he can stop them, the device explodes, leaving a young boy with serious head injuries. Together with Swain (Matthew Holmes), Dutchy attempts to help- only to be shot at! Will they get out alive?

TV Week

When a terrified Bird is threatened by a violent ex, Dutchy takes it upon himself to shield her.

Bird’s past comes back to haunt her this week when her drug-addicted ex shows up, determined to win her back. With Bird clearly shaken by Darrel’s sudden appearance, it’s up to Dutchy to protect the young recruit from harm.

The nightmare begins when floodwaters block major highways and HMAS Hammersley is called in to load emergency supplies. While the ship is docked, Bird (Danielle Horvat) is stunned to see the volatile Darryl (Ryan Johnson) –who she ran away from- standing in front of her.

“Darryl tries to convince Bird that he didn’t follow her and it’s fate that they crossed paths. But she knows what he’s capable of and that he’s dangerous, so it’s possible that he’s been watching her for ages,” Danielle says. “While they were together, Darryl got involved in drugs and became this totally different person. He was very controlling, to the point where she couldn’t leave him. She had to run away to join the Navy.”

This encounter is the first time the rest of the crew have heard about Bird’s troubled past, and it’s not long before Dutchy (Conrad Colby) is forced to rush to her aid when Darryl shows his true colours.

“She’s really shaken up because the Navy is the one place where she’s safe, and now Darryl’s there. Bird talks to Kate (Lisa McCune), who’s shocked by what she’s been through,” Danielle continues. “Dutchy gets involved when Kate asks him to keep an eye out for Bird. When Darryl tries to convince the sailor that he’s a new man and Bird should take him back, he gets violent- and that’s when Dutchy steps in.”

Bird is visibly distraught by the exchange as heroic Dutchy puts Darryl in his place.

“Darryl’s older than Bird and very strong, so she’s in quite a bit of danger,” Danielle says. “Dutchy tells him to rack off and is quite fierce about it, but Bird worries it’ll only make things worse. She knows that when Darryl wants something, he’ll do anything to get it.”
Dutchy does his best to protect his young shipmate, but could his heroic deed have sparked a schoolgirl crush?

“Bird’s the youngest on the Hammersley, and with adolescence comes a lot of infatuation- and she’s completely smitten with Dutchy,” Danielle reveals. “But she’s also of the aware age gap- she’s not 18 yet- and so knows nothing would ever come of it.”

TV Week
by Andrew Mercado

Any TV series that starts with the words “honour, honesty, courage, integrity and loyalty” is never going to count me as a regular viewer, given most of my favourite shows – Nip/Tuck, Breaking Bad and Outrageous Fortune- deliberately eschew those very values.

This year, however, Sea Patrol has made many changes to its format – and the result is impressive. With all those props on loan from the Australian Navy, the series has always looked good, but now it also is good, thanks to the less cheesy scripts and more stand-alone episodes.
The best thing Sea Patrol has done is abandon its seasonal-long story arc, which in the past came with titles like The Coup and Red Gold. Apparently, a miniseries vibe meant more funding from the government film bodies – but the cash came at the expense of suspense, with viewers able to pick the bad guy too early. Now every episode is self-contained and while that works better structurally, the challenge remains for the writers to find fresh stories – we’ve had our fill of people/drug smugglers!

In terms of the show’s cast, this year’s newbies are spot-on. There’s more for the female characters to do- I’d compliment Tammy MacIntosh (“Knocker”), but why bother, since she claims to have never read this mag – and the male sailors are keeping up their end of the deal by providing more beefcake. Given how formal and rigid those crisp uniforms look, any excuse to whip them off is welcome!

Sea Patrol has matured nicely and is improving with age, which is more than I can say for Underbelly.

TV Week
Story: Yvette Chegwidden, Carolyn Stewart

Convinced he has rabies, has RO taken his life?

After grieving the loss of ET (David Lyons) last year, the Hammersley crew look set to lose another shipmate this week when RO overdoses on sleeping pills in the dead of night and falls into the ocean.

The drama begins during a patrol in the Arafura Sea, where the HMAS Hammersley encounters an illegal fishing vessel skippered by Hannibal (Lap Phan). Mike (Ian Stenlake) and Kate (Lisa McCune) have deported the notorious fishermen several times before, but in each instance, he’s returned to exact revenge in an increasingly nasty way.

RO (Kristian Schmid) has particularly bad memories of their last encounter, as he was stabbed with a spear, so he’s been keen to be included in the boarding party being sent to investigate Hannibal’s ship.

“Robert (RO) meets up with his nemesis, Hannibal who has tormented him for years,” Kristian explains. “He drives RO insane! Last time they boarded, Hannibal hit RO in the backside with a defence pole – and he’s been angry about it ever since.”

Despite RO’s eagerness to settle the score, Hannibal enjoys the conflict and starts to taunt him. While the crew finds no signs of illegal activity onboard, RO has yet another frightening encounter.

“RO’s bitten by a rabies-infested dog that belongs to Hannibal!” Kristian reveals.

Back on deck, as Swain (Matthew Holmes) tends to his panicked crewmate’s wounds, RO confesses a morbid phobia of needles. And Swain has further reason to worry about him when he shows a crazed fear of contracting rabies.

Desperate to calm his nerves in front of the crew, a distressed RO purposely swallows a handful of sleeping pills. Later, rising from a restless slumber, he walks out to the deck and tumbles straight into the sea!

“Nobody sees him take the sleeping pills and nobody sees him fall into the ocean,” Kristian says. “It’s really dangerous and could mean the end for RO.”

In the morning, the sailor’s absence is quickly noticed – and the horrified crew have no choice but to conclude that he’s taken his own life. They soon blame themselves for RO’s apparent suicide, and Bomber (Kirsty Lee Allan) in particular struggles to cope after finding a farewell note.

Will the Hammersley crew find RO or is it simply too late?