Water Rats

1996

Seasons & Episodes

  • 6
  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1

6.9| 0h30m| TV-PG| en
Synopsis

Water Rats is an Australian TV police procedural broadcast on the Nine Network from 1996 to 2001.

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Trailers & Clips

Also starring Peter Bensley

Also starring Toni Scanlan

Also starring Brett Partridge

Reviews

Laikals The greatest movie ever made..!
Greenes Please don't spend money on this.
Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.
Skyler Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.
sarastro7 What's so good about Water Rats? Well - the actors. The realism. The believable emotions involved. The fallible human face of the police. Years ago, when I watched a lot of television, I often noticed that most of the best TV series were Canadian or Australian. Better stories, better acting, everything just feels more real and more intelligent. Water Rats is a prime example of this. All the characters feel real. When the cops cut corners and reluctantly break the rules, you can understand it. You can sympathize. You can see it from their point of view. Once in a while the good guys have to play dirty, because all the bad guys do. And the performances of everybody involved in this show, from the actors to the directors to the production crew, are just superb.As a dyed-in-the-wool sci-fi freak, I'm actually not a big fan of realism. And certainly not of cop shows. Except when it's done really well! And Water Rats scores on this account. When Goldie died, I totally did not see it coming. Sure, I could see something ominous was building up, but I was sure it was the guy she was with that would buy the farm. How could they kill HER?! I was so upset I had to call up a friend (whom I knew to be watching it at the same time) and talk about it, despite it being close to midnight.I hear the show was produced as a kind of export product, to attract tourists to Australia. Well, lemme tell ya: It works! I haven't been there yet, but the show sure does give me the urge to go. I love the whole Aussie national atmosphere, not least of all the accent! I hope to be able to afford the complete DVD set of Water Rats someday. My life will be pretty much complete if I can slip an episode into the DVD player every night before I hit the sack. Oh yeah!9 out of 10. Only cop show I could ever even consider rating so highly.
lympog I must say, I loved this show - it was very much an Australian show of its time. Everything from its stories that would always build up to end-of-season climaxes to the dodgy eighties-alike guitar music, let's not forget any 'love' scenes with Colin Friels where the turned blue... But if you have to admire some great stories and some excellent performances from Colin Friels, Catherine McClements and later on Steve Bisley in the leads roles of Frank Holloway, Rachel Goldstein and Jack Christie respectively. In Ireland it is currently being repeated and is bringing back a lot of good memories and I just hope it gets released on DVD other here soon.Leigh O'Gorman
DvdJervs When it first came out it was quite an intriguing concept - a police drama that centered on a special group of police, namely the Sydney Water Police, which added a breath of fresh air to most of the other police dramas out there. Unfortunately as time has worn on the novelty wore off and they began to go for more and more standard police stories. Here's where the problem lies. Whilst it's great to see the 'Rats' not entirely dependant on Sydney Harbour for their storylines the producers have come up with the ridiculous idea that they must regularly have a cutback to the harbour for at least 5 minutes of every second episode as if to try and validate the 'Water Rats' tag. I wouldn't have minded if it was a rare kind of thing but it's all too regular for no real reason.If the producers are serious about keeping the series going for a few more years yet then please, either: a) Don't be afraid to stay on land if need be. b) Get another name for the series so you don't feel tied to the harbour all the time or c) Just stick to the water and be done with it.Having 5 minute throwbacks to the water every second episode for no reason other than to remind the audience why the series is called 'Water Rats' is quite annoying.
phoebs-2 Whenever I watch an "action-series", I always end up thinking;-Is this the way it really is? Is this how it happens? Well, probably not, but it`s entertaining, so I keep watching. "Water Rats", however is different. The events are "real", the characters are "real". I think it`s quite easy to identify yourself with the everyday problems the detectives have to deal with. I`d watch "Water Rats" rather than "NYPD Blue" anyday. I love it! It`s just GREAT!!