In Our Blood

My Review - In Our Blood Complete series on ABC I view

My Rating 9/10

In Our Blood is a very clever concept to present a vital part of Queer History with a combination of fact and fiction in a four part series.

The characters are fictitious but the events that propelled Australia into leading the rest of the World by its example of progressive and responsible Community involvement in fighting the battle to minimise deaths in the AIDS HIV Pandemic are fact.

Thousands of lives were spared because of our prompt and sometimes controversial and radical approaches.

Another very clever technique in this production are the story tellers in the style of a Greek Chorus taking the viewer through the timeline of the early to late 1980's with music humour and dance which I think makes In Our Blood an entertainment as well as a thoughtful docu drama .

It's a very impressive ensemble of fine Australian actors including Tim Draxyl cast as David a researcher and Political assistant to the Federal Labour Minister for Health . His career takes David away from his Sydney home and Colombian partner and lover Gabe played so well by Oscar Leal .

When these boys are together they enjoy all the excitement music and colour of Sydney's Oxford Street bar scene revelling with friends and just living for today.

David's boss the Federal Health Minister played by Matt Day shares his concern in the continuing health updates from America that document a so called Gay Plague that is responsible for multiple deaths and spreading rapidly .

Unfortunately the White House Administration is practically ignoring the epidemic with then President Ronald Reagan not even delivering a major address on AIDS till May 31st 1987 even though it has been written up in The Medical Journals in 1981.

It was perceived by many to be just a disease affecting the Gay community or IV drug users .

Some even going as far as saying it was God reeking vengeance on their hedonistic life style however red alerts sounded when reports of women and baby's who had blood transfusions began to filter down .

In Our Blood details a lesser-known section of that history: the Australian response to Aids, which saw an unprecedented collaboration between gay activist groups and both state and federal governments.

The great thing about our local film and television industry now is that fine actors like Tim Draxyl and most of this cast can experience excellent career success without having to venture abroad .

The series is a credit to the ABC and Screen Australia in producing this excellent series with great skill and great talent.

This activism depicted in this series was responsible for the effective grim reaper add campaigns plus the public funding of Community groups like ACON and the Bobby Goldsmith organisation named after the Australian athlete and Gay Olympic swimmer who died in June 1984 of (AIDS) acquired immune deficiency syndrome .

Both these charities are still working tirelessly 40 years on assisting people living with HIV in a very different environment to the 1980's when AIDS was a death sentence.

There are many impressive performances in In Our Blood it was obviously a labour of love for script writers and storytellers Jane Allen, Adriano Cappelletta and Jonathan Gavin who all have many impressive screen credits to these names.

Directors John Sheedy and Nicholas Verso have steered a very steady course that is a tribute to a generation who left us far too early.

Of course In Our Blood is emotional and confronting it bought back some sad unhappy memories for us from that era when we said goodbye to many dea4 friends but there is optimism also in this very compelling and provocative series.

It's a rare portrayal of Government working with Community to improve the life of its citizens hopefully the same spirit will occur when we vote on our upcoming referendum,.

This is a bait and switch - the first few minutes suggest a journey into the flamboyant though ultimately tragic world of gay men in Sydney in the 1980s. I was hoping for gay clubs, seedy back-lane adventures, inter-personal drama between hot young guys and some cool on-location shots paying homage to Sydney. Unfortunately the show very quickly switches focus to the inter-personal drama between bureaucratic grey-people in Canberra. Boring and disappointing. Other things that don't help include the blatant pro-Labor propaganda and anti-Christian vibes - once you notice propaganda it ceases to be effective and it takes away from the believability of the actual storyline and personalities.

As an Australian migrant, watching this series felt both familiar and unfamiliar. Familiar, because of some of the places depicted central to the plot (St. Vincent's, Hyde Park, Surry Hills, etc). Unfamiliar, because of the fear and stigma that was prevalent at that time (not that's fully gone in certain spaces even today). As a person who was not yet born at the start of the AIDS epidemic, a series like this can help some of us understand how far we have come and what it took to get here.

There were many parts of the series that filled the gaps in my head, or just things that I took for granted. Like the gallantry of the lesbians on bikes (yes, it's called differently, but it may be flagged as an offensive word without context). Or the level of engagement and involvement of the community when it comes to sexual health treatment, research and education that exists even today. Or the humble beginnings of organisations like ACON. All of these stories are impactful and profound to this day.

Another memorable aspect of the series was the occasional breakout into song that was emotive and didn't feel contrived in any way. There was also one scene portrayed at st. Vincent's chapel in the hospital in the last episode that was well written and portrayed.

However though, not a perfect show. One could always argue that the community wasn't represented enough. Granted, the vernacular in the early 80's wasn't as rich as it is today, so this could have been difficult, but not impossible. Although Tim Draxl played his role well enough, I was not convinced of the casting choice as he doesn't look like your average politician in Canberra. So that took a while to translate. There was also the politics of one particular state that got singled out, and I realised the series had the liberty to, as it was funded by that state. I'm not sure if other states escaped historical attention because of this. And lastly, the editing in the last episode could have been better - some predictable scenes could've been shortened or eliminated altogether to make it less protracted, but that may be my own take.

Overall though, a solid 9/10 for a memorable, thoughtful portrayal on the history of a painful subject in Australian (and much of the world's) history.

This is in response to the review by lineart-12973, just stop.

DEBUNKING VIRAL CLAIMS Flawed Analysis Leads to False Claim of 'No Excess Deaths' in 2020 By Angelo Fichera

Posted on December 3, 2020

Quick Take An economics professor's flawed interpretation of U. S. mortality data has prompted a viral, false claim that COVID-19 hasn't led to more deaths than normal this year. In fact, multiple analyses have found there to be a higher-than-normal number of deaths during the pandemic - as much as 20%, according to some studies.

The world doesn't need more people spewing falsehoods for some kind of personal gain. This is a great documentary on a serious subject and it doesn't need people like you.

I have to give this a high rating cas it is Aussie drama at its best. The way it was set in a period of so much uncertainty. I won't spoil this as it needs to be watched! The story line used, the way it was created into a musical and the way one tv ad that gave shock value to everyone who watched it back in the 80's!

This tv show needs to be watched by the new generation of kids not just for education purposes but also to respect the people who started organisations and worked extremely hard for love and acceptance!

Well done to the cast, crew, creators and anyone who is involved in this production on this awesome Aussie drama!!