The first episode of this new Aussie drama shows promise to be the next big thing on TV. For those of you playing along at home, the title The Gods of Wheat Street is titled as such because every character has the name of a god from somewhere in history. Very clever, my ABC loving friends.
Odin (Kelton Pell) is a single dad bringing up two girls in the small N.S.W town of Casino. I went to Casino once. I went to the local pub and had a salad for dinner. It was a great meal and I always think fondly of Casino because of that salad. When Odin was a young man his mother, Eden (Ursula Yovich) died in a car accident and he was left to raise his younger brothers and sisters.
There’s Tristan (Mark Coles Smith), the youngest, who adore rugby and looks like he might make it to the big time. Isolde (Shari Sebbens), affectionately known as Aunty Is to Odin’s daughters. Isolde wants to make it big in the fashion world but so far she’s not having much luck. And lastly, Ares (Bruce Carter) who is in prison for a crime we are not sure of just yet, but her seems very rough around the edges.
The one thing I’m really enjoying is the conversations between Odin and his dead mother, who has come back in a time of crisis to help him. She appears the same as the day she died, strangely, he looks older than she is. When the owner of the house and garage, where Odin and his family live and work, dies, he is left in a difficult situation. He can’t afford to buy the house but when it goes up for sale he is offered a good job in Sydney. The family does not want to move. Especially Libby (Lisa Flanagan), his former sister in law, who clearly cares for him very deeply. She blames her sister for their break-up and is upset that her sister doesn’t see her own children.
Meanwhile Ares is working on a plan from inside prison by offering a new kid protection from the baddies, lucky for Odin but without his knowledge, the new boy just happens to be the bank manager’s son. The loan is surprisingly approved by a personal visit to Odin’s workshop. The family is over the moon they will remain in Wheat Street, Casino once again. The end of the episode shows a stranger walking into town and with Eden’s warnings of troubled times ahead there’s bound to be lots of great drama to follow.
The Gods of Wheat Street airs on ABC1 at 8:30pm on Saturday nights
