The story where an outsider turns up in a remote Australian town and delves into dark goings on is a well-worn one, at least in Australian series that make it to the UK. By contrast, I don't think I've ever seen a series set in Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide or Perth. In 'Scrublands', our version of this plot follows a journalist investigating a priest (and alleged paedophile), who had turned his gun on his parishoners a year previously. It's competently put together, in spite a late plot twist that isn't fully developed and seems unecessary. But it never really manages to transcend the formula; and the real villain of the piece is signalled from a long way off.