Expect plenty of svelte bodies and angsty underwater screaming in Barracuda, a new Australian drama series that takes a look a the competitive world of gay swimmers.
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Based on a novel by Christos Tsiolkas, the four-part series sounds like a seriously diverting guilty pleasure:
Melbourne 1996. The Golden Age of Australian swimming is beginning and a scholarship to an exclusive boys school brings 16-year-old Danny Kelly one step closer to his ultimate goal – winning Olympic gold.
Initially, Danny struggles to find his place in the prestigious social circles of the private boys school. However under the charge of highly regarded coach Frank Torma and a friendship/rivalry with teammate Martin Taylor, Danny is soon on track to become Australia’s youngest swimming champion, the unstoppable Barracuda.
Soon, everyone has a stake in Danny’s success and as he swims closer towards gold, he finds himself being drawn into a world where the only thing that matters is winning. When he gets his shot at victory, with all of Australia watching – can the ‘Barracuda’ live up to everyone’s expectations and realise his dream?”
Judging by the promotional skills, it looks like a diverting guilty pleasure, too:
Watch a teaser for the series here:
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Ron62
An Australian drama series? Good. I was afraid it was going to another movie phoned in by David DeCoteau.
Ron62
Oopsie. An Australian drama series? Good. I was afraid it was going to be another movie phoned in by David DeCoteau.
OzJosh
Just watched the first episode. Cute guys. Lousy storytelling.
Dave Downunder
The first episode seemed rushed in it’s efforts to establish characters to the point of seeming improbable. Christos Tsiolkas is known for long winded yet sloppy writing which labours the point. I am hoping this adaptation of his book will flow more smoothly in the coming episodes. Episode 2 is on tonight.
strix1
Just downloaded the 4 eps…let’s see what I got myself into…
strix1
Watched all 4…it was pretty good…kind of hard to tell what demographic they were aiming for, but it kept me watching. Happy to see Rachel Griffiths as Martins mom took me back to Sarah Walker from Bros & Sis. I guess it was airing now as a lead-in to Olympic season. Only thing that turned me off was that the lead actor (Elias Anton) said (regarding playing a gay role), “I know I’m going to cop a bit of shit over it at school, but I only have a few months left so who cares.” (from eikonline) So if you had another year left you would have turned the role down? Sorry, this will probably be your last role.