Just doing some research. It is showing rather obscurely in Canada. The epsiode we saw was from the first season and had a crisp, grainy quality that looked like it was shot on video. I can find little info on the web about it.
We saw one episode and it was not at all what we expected based on what we’d read.
Is the show popular in Australia and New Zealand? What age demographic watches it? What’s the overall quality like? Is a second season in production or airing on television?
Sorry, I’ve never heard of it - not from my friends, not from the media, zilch. Here’s some information about one of the actors. It mentions that the show has been “highly successful” and indicates that there will be a further 20 episodes. By the looks of it, it’s a NZ production.
Sorry I couldn’t be of more help - this post will bump your thread up for you though. (Although I’m not sure how much help that’ll be considering it’s 4:50 am where I am)
Kayeby it is indeed a NZ production (by South Pacific Films, IIRC). It is broadcast on TV One in NZ, and what little (and I mean “very little”) info that was available says it has received a few awards and critics seem to like it.
We also got a very general synopsis – Dr. Nicky Somerville leaves the big city for rural NZ.
However, the episode we saw was so different from what we’d read, we were sure we were watching something else! Only when we saw “Nicky Somverville” listed as a character in the credits, did we realize we in fact had the right channel.
We’d like to know more about the actual fan-base and what viewers actually think about it. And what kind of show is it? We were told it was a “quirky drama” and from the little promo material that was made available it looked kind of hip. I guess we kind sort of like the U.S. show “Everwood” or perhaps “Norther Exposure”, but the one episode we saw was more like a Canadian family drama more similar to “The Beachcombers.”
Anyone who can elaborate would be the recipient of heaps of gratitude and vibes of “thank you, thank you, thank you…”
Don’t Ask, thanks for the link. We’ve actually already looked at that site quite thoroughly (it’s also accessible through www.mercypeak.co.nz) – that site is in fact the reason we started to go on a fact-finding mission.
We’re not looking for production info (like cast, company etc.).
In fact, the website plea for feedback mirrors our own – we’d really like to hear something from anyone who knows anything about how the show is received in general. (The reviews were slightly more helpful, but not really – most of them just restate the premise of the show.) Does anyone watch it or is it just something that a few critics have seen once or twice?
The style of the website and the show synopses that are on-line do not match the style or tone of what we saw. When you read some of the material, it sounds like a fairly slick drama with a certain bit of whimsy – what we saw was not at all what we expected from the point of view of production values or narrative style.
Aussie family members have never heard of it, so we’re thinking it’s only shown in NZ and an odd time-slot in Canada.
The show is using some of our material and we don’t know what to tell people when they ask us about it.
I just asked a friend of mine who still lives back home. He’s no avid NZ TV watcher, especially not soap-style dramas or whatever it’s meant to be, but he had no idea how popular it was.
I’ll ask my Mum, though. She might know something of it’s perceived popularity.
Thanks, Guano. I know that in Canada there are a few dometic shows that have almost non-existant audiences because they can’t compete with U.S. imports. Some of them are “critically acclaimed” especially for the way they portray Canadian culture.
Ex/ DaVinci’s Inquest – it’s kind of like a mix between CSI and Columbo. Or Cold Squad – a cop show. Unmistakably Canadian in content and fairly decent shows, but they have tiny audiences because they don’t have the glitz and gloss of similar U.S. counterparts.
I’m guessing that Mercy Peak may be in a similar boat. Under-appreciated because it’s a homegrown Kiwi show. It might be a good drama that no one watches. But that would be good to know too.
My sister told me today that she knows it’s popular, as it’s in its third season, which is a rare thing in NZ. But she doesn’t watch it herself, so didn’t know much more than that.
It’s apparently quirky, which is the standard way to make a show nowadays, it seems. It’s compared with Seachange which is an Australian show set in a small seaside town, following the lives of a few eccentric country folk.
(Although I’m not sure how much help that’ll be considering it’s 4:50 am where I am)