8.0

East West 101 Season Two

SBS truly have some remarkable gems and their police drama series, East West 101 is definitely one of their shiniest gems. It's quality from start to finish and even though I missed the original series, I was easily able to pickup season two and start watching. Of course it did take a few episodes to get familiar with the characters but it was a first class production from start to finish and best of all, the actors involved truly gave it all to their characters.

In season two, viewers are once again reunited the Major Crime Squad, an elite group of police officers who are responsible for investigating murder with the various nationalities of Sydney itself. In season two, the series heavily revolves around the Muslim community which of course has been in the press recently. What makes East West 101 so interesting is that none of their cases are black and white and when a bomb goes off in Sydney, the media and community immediatelytarget the Muslim community and more specifically, the extremists. Of course, this may be a ploy?

Featuring all 7 episodes from Season Two, East West 101 has the following episodes;

• The Lost Boy

• A Prodigal Fear

• Just Cargo

• Ice in the Veins

• Men of Conscience

• Another Life

• Atonement

Although some of the episodes were linked, most are one-off's that work quite well. The series is also quite realistic but be warned, the language is quite strong and the violence is extremely realistic and at times, a little too powerful. However the real-world of crime is no walk in the park and the writers and director has managed to capture this in an almost real-life social commentary of a melting pot of so many cultures and issues within Sydney itself.

As mentioned, the actors are quite powerful in their portrayal of these varied and divided characters such as Dony Hany as Zane Malik, Susie Porter as Inspector Patricia Wright and Gerald Lepkowski as Richard Skerrit. There's even some great guest stars and cameos throughout the series and it should also be mentioned that the score to the movie is great, thanks to Guy Gross. Drama, romance, action and intrigue, every possible genre is thrown into this melting mix to create some of the best Australian drama of the new millennia.

Definitely one of the top ten Australian police shows!