While losing some of my favourite characters from the earlier seasons such as the world-wise boss of the Dirt Dogs Vernon Strange, the latest episodes still consistently entertain. There is an irritating amount of repetitive dialogue and a predictable trajectory in some of the story line (save the day big nugget finds - what a surprise!) which suggests a certain amount of artificial scripting and scene padding. Also a sense of humour would not go amiss amongst some of the hunters whose single minded determination becomes tedious after awhile. In this sense the redoubtable Shane and Russell offer welcome comic relief proving that in the great Outback there is always room for the really intrepid and adventurous however eccentric and lacking in resources. I enjoyed their antics a lot, not so much the younger team of Rob and Turbo who come across as a hardly mature pair of unwashed slackers living in a world of fantasy. A major question for me hanging over the whole raison d'etre of the series concept is the environmental one and climate change. If you want to study how human activity continues to adversely impact the planet then this show is good subject matter. On the other hand it is great undemanding television.
Review of Aussie Gold Hunters
