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Tangle: TV’s other Australian family

Pay TV's look at Australian family life differs markedly from Packed to the Rafters, but producers John Edwards and Imogen Banks say the comparisons are unfair.

When Tangle returns to screens next week, viewers will learn whether Vince (Ben Mendelsohn) lives or dies.

At the end of the first series on Pay TV, Mendelsohn’s flawed father figure was struck by a car in a series cliffhanger. Now his on-screen family, headed up by Allie (Justine Clarke) may have to face life without their father and husband.

Tangle represents a much different slice of a suburban nuclear family to Free to Air’s Packed to the Rafters. But co-producers John Edwards and Imogen Banks told TV Tonight, they share little in common.

“It’s completely a different conception,” says Edwards. “I suppose we started in a whole lot of different places, in a way. Fiona (Seres, writer) had come off Love My Way obviously, as I had. Imogen Banks and I had been discussing a whole bunch of different things with Fiona. We were looking at a contemporary re-make of Vanity Fair, so we started there and then it took a ‘Fiona’ bent and it became its own creature.

“We didn’t set out to do a show that we thought was naughty or dark, or any of that sort of stuff. We just started telling bits of stories. Some fragments of it came from our own experience, bits of it came from our kids’ experiences and bits of it came from everywhere. As the plot comes together it performs own life.

“Whereas the conception of a show like Rafters is quite different, which is very much (writer) Bevan Lee’s vision and it is trying to be feel-good. It does that extremely well, very confidently and competently. But it’s an entirely different process of writing a show.

“They really shouldn’t be compared to each other really just because they are superficially about family life. They really have not much else in common. One is Bevan’s singular vision, but this is a hotch-potch of visions that organically grew and became its own self.”

While Rafters has enjoyed a dream run in the popularity stakes, it has been a harder slog for the Pay TV offering. Despite glowing reviews, it lucked out at the Logies and AFI Awards (where oddly it wasn’t even nominated). Both Mendelsohn and Clarke picked up acting gongs at the recent ASTRA Awards.

Season Two for Tangle is also a slimmer, trimmer 6 episodes, rather than its previous set of 10.

“Showtime has spent a lot more money on local programming and so they basically they divided it up and spread a little bit wider. They’ve had Tangle, Cloudstreet and Satisfaction. And they wanted to keep it going, which is very good,” says Edwards.

Banks adds, “It just means that you don’t get the detail in people’s arcs. You just have to sacrifice certain decisions. We’ve introduced a couple of new characters. It just means that you don’t necessarily get to explore with them because you have to kind of shrink it.”

Producing for Pay Television rather than the ratings-driven Free to Air networks is a luxury for story-driven producers, but how difficult is it to gauge an audience’s reaction?

Banks says she visits online forums for feedback and listens to anecdotal feedback from people she meets.

Edwards says sometimes he uses ADA.tv for research rather than anecdotal responses.

“All the anecdotal stuff is very unreliable but then you just get odd responses from people who you don’t expect are your viewers,” he says.

“But it’s the same on Free to Air. It’s only when you do some market research sometimes that you get real surprises. Sometimes you occasionally get a real shock where something you intended didn’t come out the way you intended. But generally speaking, the feedback you get is from people who want it to be good anyway.”

Amongst the feedback for Tangle has been reactions to Mendelsohn’s unlikeable father, a sometimes-racist adulterer, lying to his wife.

“That’s been really interesting actually because we’ve been getting the balance of people’s responses to that, because he’s such a difficult character. I mean obviously he isn’t an easy character to love,” says Banks.

Edwards agreed.

“One day we came inand the production accountant had seen episode eight and she said, ‘I’m really, really angry at you. I actually felt sympathy for that prick last night. I felt manipulated,'” he said.

“And that’s what he’s like. You feel ‘dualistic’ responses I think.”

Returning to the cast are Kat Stewart, Catherine McClements, Joel Tobeck, Matt Day to be joined by Don Hany, Kick Gurry and Adam Zwar.

“I think our interest is probably more in plotting out peoples’ dark corners,” says Banks. “Just sort of understanding how you can expose every aspect of yourself and still be loved.”

Tangle airs 8:30pm Tuesday on Showcase.

14 Responses

  1. sounds very interesting , but with a cut down to 6 episodes , are they enthusiastic about a Season 3?? probably not !!
    Looking forward to seeing it continue this Tuesday.

  2. @James, that’s a shame the Foxtel writer blurted that out … though to be honest it won’t make a scrap of difference to your enjoyment of the series. It’s apparent within the first seconds what’s occurred and then the series takes off on its journey, just like the first series did.

  3. Well unfortunately the writer for the Foxtel magazine decided to wreck the suspense for everyone and reveal the future of Vince which was a shame. All well, still really looking forward to the second series of what was my favourite Australian show of last year!

  4. I’m disappointed there will only be 6 episodes, but really looking forward to series 2! I fell in love with this show, like so many series on Showcase that would never get a decent chance on free to air.
    I have recommended Tangle to many friends who don’t have Pay TV, who have bought the series on DVD and loved it.

  5. No, it is not a joke… you will see it appear a lot in Love my Way and Tangle. … its in clothing combos, bed sheet combos… I see it a lot. Just thought it may have been a signature colour they like to use.

  6. agreed, but if brand new Entourage episodes can not pull an audience on SBS in primetime and they need to schedule after 10pm, good series drama doesn’t stand a chance on free tv….

  7. Cracking series. It is a shame it’s only six eps but there’s not a wasted line of dialogue, shot or scene. Very cleverly manages to explore all of the existing characters further within a very tight timeframe plus introduce a couple of new, pivotal characters. I guess we can see these series as the best, high end drama Australia produces, comparable with Sopranos, The Wire et al. They certainly fill a niche, serve a purpose and are appreciated by many, just not a lot!

  8. ahaha, is the “Red and Turquoise” line a joke??

    i would say DOP or Art Directors had a bit to do with that if that is actually a recurring theme (have never noticed but will look for it now, odd). Would be quite funny if he was a closet colour tone nazi…..

  9. I agree with Adam – there’s no point comparing Seven’s production line drama to John Edwards’ style – they’re totally different approaches to drama with the obvious results. For Nine and Seven it’s just the battle of the blands – Rebecca vehicle versus Lisa vehicle. The audience has tired of CH too – Rush is so much better in every way.

  10. Just 6 episodes ?? thats disapponting . I guess it had to be a police series or set in a hospital to be worthy of more than 6 episodes.
    I wish Rush was only 6 episodes and Tangle Season 2 was 22 episodes !!!
    More of the different instead of the same.

  11. I already know if he lives or dies, showtime actually put up the series 2 episode summaries online, but now they have been removed, won’t spoil it for anyone but its pretty obvious what happens

    I thought the Outrageous Fortune series 5 cliffhanger was far better

  12. John Edwards has been the best TV producer Australian TV has seen in many, many years and there is no comparison to ‘Packed to the Rafters’ – which I thought was a comedy by the title and took me a long time to start watching it.

    John has slick story telling and if I am not mistaken he loves the colours Red and Turquoise… this combo features a lot in his dramas…. is it a secret signature colour?

    As for Satisfaction, is there a season 4? Going by the terrible season 3 I doubt it… John should jump on board that ship and keep it floating.

    Looking forward to all the other JE productions… stunning work… I cant wait to see what the future John brings to Aussie TV. I even like Rush!

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