Strike Team (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Scorched is an Emmy award
winning Australian television movie
broadcast on the Nine Network
on 31 August 2008. The telemovie was titled Strike Team, which was ultimately as a decoy due to the state government having been uncomfortable about the premise and plot of the script. Scorched won the International Emmy Award for Digital Program: Fiction in 2009.
and water scarcity in the near future. The year is 2012, and after over 240 days without rain, Sydney
has only two weeks of water left.
As a state of emergency
is declared when a ring of bushfires erupt around the city, a reporter uncovers a conspiracy behind the water crisis.
Premier
Angela Boardman insists creates millions of litres of fresh water a day, the city is still under Level 8 water restrictions. The western suburbs especially are seriously dry.
Ambitious CPN reporter Susan Shapiro launches an investigation into the crisis. Her report catches the attention of the Premier, who grants Shapiro an interview. Although Shapiro is amicable (perhaps too much so - her cameraman Teddy accuses her of turning into Oprah
), she is still suspicious. And with good reason; later conversation between Boardman and her Chief of Staff Tom Daily reveal they are sharing a secret that could end both their careers.
David Langmore, the State Operations Commander for the National Fire Service, is preparing dinner when he receives a call from Shapiro. He is angry that the reporter has called him at home and insists the water shortage has been caused solely by a lack of rain.
ER doctor Michael Francia is enjoying some quiet time with his pregnant wife Lizzie when Emily, his daughter from a previous relationship, shows up on his door. She has had a fight with her mother and needs a place to stay, even though, as she later confesses to her stepmother Lizzie, she isn't sure if her father likes her.
Meanwhile, a lightning storm forms over a national park
in the western outskirts of Sydney. A bolt of lightning strikes a tree, which bursts into flames. The dry bushland quickly ignites.
The next day at work, Dr Francia is frantically trying to attend to an influx of patients suffering dehydration and heat exhaustion. A courier truck, carrying dozens of gas cylinders, speeds into the hospital car park and a bloodied man is dragged into the hospital lobby. During the commotion that follows, the truck outside is forgotten about and unbeknownst to anyone, one of the cylinders begins to leak.
David Langmore is monitoring the fires in the hopes that his team can prevent them from becoming fireheads. Volunteer firefighters, including David's son Brendan and Brendan's girlfriend Deanna, are sent out to control the blaze. Deanna and two other volunteers are overwhelmed by the size and ferocity of the flames and attempt to escape by car. Langmore and the rest of the workers in the control centre watch helplessly via closed circuit cameras as the fire consumes the car and the three perish.
It becomes apparent that they have a crisis on hand. The Premier announces a state of emergency
and Langmore calls a Section 44
, enacting that section of the Rural Fires Act 1997 (NSW); the effect of which means all emergency workers in the area are now under his control. Police and firefighters struggle to fight the flames but are deterred by a lack of water and pressure in the hoses.
Lizzie Francia receives a call from her invalid mother. Although Lizzie is concerned, she refuses Emily's offer to collect her mother from her nursing home. Emily sneaks away while Lizzie is dealing with a concerned neighbour. However, she encounters a detour and ends up driving close to the fire. She runs to escape the smoke but falls down a rocky hill and loses consciousness.
Shapiro reports from the frontlines. When firefighters try to tap into a residential water tank, the elderly owner becomes incensed and has a heart attack. Shapiro and Teddy take the man to the hospital, where they meet Dr Francio. They encourage him to tell his wife to evacuate. Shapiro also meets the brother of one of Boardman's political opponents and discovers that she received a large, anonymous donation a month before the election.
Francio calls his wife and urges her to evacuate. Mid-conversation, the leaking gas cylinder in the courier truck explodes. Francio miraculously survives, but several people in the hospital are injured. Lizzie, meanwhile, is forced to evacuate on foot. When she runs into Shapiro, Lizzie begs the reporter to take her two small children in the news helicopter. Shapiro agrees.
Langmore meets with the Premier and insists that they use the water from the desalination plant. Boardman refuses his request. Reluctantly, they resort to using saltwater (which can cause irreparable damage to nature) and the blaze is eventually extinguished.
Emily is found and receives medical attention. Francio rushes to be by her side and promises that he likes her 'with all (his) heart.'
Upon hearing that over 300 people have died, Daily sends Shapiro a video text message. The video reveals that the Premier made a deal with Argon Energy that gave them unlimited fresh water in return for free power to the desalination plants and one million dollars. Shapiro and Teddy are killed when a factory she is reporting from explodes, releasing toxic gases; however, when Langmore checks his email later that afternoon, he finds a video message from the reporter, with the subject line, 'Guess what? Sometimes it isn't just about the weather.'
Later, Boardman calls a press conference to discuss the tragic bushfires. Langmore attends. He asks her questions about the deal with Argon, which Boardman naturally denies. Langmore angrily calls her a liar and tells her that he has a video of their meeting. He gives members of the press copies of the video and Boardman flees the conference.
In the final scene, Langmore visits Shapiro's grave. It is revealed that Boardman was forced to resign as premier and Shapiro received a posthumous Walkley Award for investigative journalism... and that, eight weeks after the tragedy, Sydney still hasn't received rain.
campaign, with a number of websites and YouTube
accounts created specifically to promote the telemovie by highlighting specific events, organisations and characters featured in the film.
The official website takes the guise of the homepage for CPN (Cross Platform News), a fictional news network from 2012 which is featured in the film. Websites for the fictional New South Wales Premier Angela Boardman, a fictional resident action group RAWT (Residents Against Water Theft), and the fictional companies Argon Energy and the H20 water transport group were also put online.
The official website also allows users to view online prequel and sequel webisode
s, and add some of the characters as friends on Facebook
.
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
winning Australian television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
broadcast on the Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
on 31 August 2008. The telemovie was titled Strike Team, which was ultimately as a decoy due to the state government having been uncomfortable about the premise and plot of the script. Scorched won the International Emmy Award for Digital Program: Fiction in 2009.
Synopsis
Scorched looks at the problems of climate changeClimate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
and water scarcity in the near future. The year is 2012, and after over 240 days without rain, Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
has only two weeks of water left.
As a state of emergency
State of emergency
A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend some normal functions of the executive, legislative and judicial powers, alert citizens to change their normal behaviours, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. It can also be used as a rationale...
is declared when a ring of bushfires erupt around the city, a reporter uncovers a conspiracy behind the water crisis.
Plot
It's several days before Christmas in 2012, and Sydney is in the midst of a water crisis. Despite the creation of a desalination plant, which NSWNew South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
Premier
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in some countries and states.-Examples by country:In many nations, "premier" is used interchangeably with "prime minister"...
Angela Boardman insists creates millions of litres of fresh water a day, the city is still under Level 8 water restrictions. The western suburbs especially are seriously dry.
Ambitious CPN reporter Susan Shapiro launches an investigation into the crisis. Her report catches the attention of the Premier, who grants Shapiro an interview. Although Shapiro is amicable (perhaps too much so - her cameraman Teddy accuses her of turning into Oprah
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
), she is still suspicious. And with good reason; later conversation between Boardman and her Chief of Staff Tom Daily reveal they are sharing a secret that could end both their careers.
David Langmore, the State Operations Commander for the National Fire Service, is preparing dinner when he receives a call from Shapiro. He is angry that the reporter has called him at home and insists the water shortage has been caused solely by a lack of rain.
ER doctor Michael Francia is enjoying some quiet time with his pregnant wife Lizzie when Emily, his daughter from a previous relationship, shows up on his door. She has had a fight with her mother and needs a place to stay, even though, as she later confesses to her stepmother Lizzie, she isn't sure if her father likes her.
Meanwhile, a lightning storm forms over a national park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
in the western outskirts of Sydney. A bolt of lightning strikes a tree, which bursts into flames. The dry bushland quickly ignites.
The next day at work, Dr Francia is frantically trying to attend to an influx of patients suffering dehydration and heat exhaustion. A courier truck, carrying dozens of gas cylinders, speeds into the hospital car park and a bloodied man is dragged into the hospital lobby. During the commotion that follows, the truck outside is forgotten about and unbeknownst to anyone, one of the cylinders begins to leak.
David Langmore is monitoring the fires in the hopes that his team can prevent them from becoming fireheads. Volunteer firefighters, including David's son Brendan and Brendan's girlfriend Deanna, are sent out to control the blaze. Deanna and two other volunteers are overwhelmed by the size and ferocity of the flames and attempt to escape by car. Langmore and the rest of the workers in the control centre watch helplessly via closed circuit cameras as the fire consumes the car and the three perish.
It becomes apparent that they have a crisis on hand. The Premier announces a state of emergency
State of emergency
A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend some normal functions of the executive, legislative and judicial powers, alert citizens to change their normal behaviours, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. It can also be used as a rationale...
and Langmore calls a Section 44
Section 44
A "Section 44" refers to the New South Wales Rural Fires Act 1997, specifically section 44, Commissioner’s responsibility. Essentially it is used to describe when the RFS Commissioner declares a localised "State of Emergency" for a specific district suffering severe fire conditions that cannot be...
, enacting that section of the Rural Fires Act 1997 (NSW); the effect of which means all emergency workers in the area are now under his control. Police and firefighters struggle to fight the flames but are deterred by a lack of water and pressure in the hoses.
Lizzie Francia receives a call from her invalid mother. Although Lizzie is concerned, she refuses Emily's offer to collect her mother from her nursing home. Emily sneaks away while Lizzie is dealing with a concerned neighbour. However, she encounters a detour and ends up driving close to the fire. She runs to escape the smoke but falls down a rocky hill and loses consciousness.
Shapiro reports from the frontlines. When firefighters try to tap into a residential water tank, the elderly owner becomes incensed and has a heart attack. Shapiro and Teddy take the man to the hospital, where they meet Dr Francio. They encourage him to tell his wife to evacuate. Shapiro also meets the brother of one of Boardman's political opponents and discovers that she received a large, anonymous donation a month before the election.
Francio calls his wife and urges her to evacuate. Mid-conversation, the leaking gas cylinder in the courier truck explodes. Francio miraculously survives, but several people in the hospital are injured. Lizzie, meanwhile, is forced to evacuate on foot. When she runs into Shapiro, Lizzie begs the reporter to take her two small children in the news helicopter. Shapiro agrees.
Langmore meets with the Premier and insists that they use the water from the desalination plant. Boardman refuses his request. Reluctantly, they resort to using saltwater (which can cause irreparable damage to nature) and the blaze is eventually extinguished.
Emily is found and receives medical attention. Francio rushes to be by her side and promises that he likes her 'with all (his) heart.'
Upon hearing that over 300 people have died, Daily sends Shapiro a video text message. The video reveals that the Premier made a deal with Argon Energy that gave them unlimited fresh water in return for free power to the desalination plants and one million dollars. Shapiro and Teddy are killed when a factory she is reporting from explodes, releasing toxic gases; however, when Langmore checks his email later that afternoon, he finds a video message from the reporter, with the subject line, 'Guess what? Sometimes it isn't just about the weather.'
Later, Boardman calls a press conference to discuss the tragic bushfires. Langmore attends. He asks her questions about the deal with Argon, which Boardman naturally denies. Langmore angrily calls her a liar and tells her that he has a video of their meeting. He gives members of the press copies of the video and Boardman flees the conference.
In the final scene, Langmore visits Shapiro's grave. It is revealed that Boardman was forced to resign as premier and Shapiro received a posthumous Walkley Award for investigative journalism... and that, eight weeks after the tragedy, Sydney still hasn't received rain.
Cast
- Cameron DaddoCameron DaddoCameron Peter Daddo is an Australian actor, musician and presenter. He is the brother of Andrew Daddo and Lochie Daddo.-Australian television:...
as David Langmore (State Operations Commander for the National Fire Service) - Rachael CarpaniRachael CarpaniRachael Ann Carpani is an Australian actress.-Biography:Carpani grew up on a property near Dural, in Sydney's Hills district. She studied acting at the Australian College of Entertainment at Macquarie University and at the Drama Works Drama Company...
as Susan Shapiro (Journalist for CPN News) - Vince ColosimoVince ColosimoVincenzo Colosimo is an Australian AFI Award winning stage, television and screen actor. He has worked in both Australia and the United States.-Personal life:...
as Dr. Michael Francia (Doctor at Baulkham Hills Public Hospital) - Georgie ParkerGeorgie ParkerGeorgina "Georgie" Parker is an Australian television actress. She grew up in the suburb of St. Ives.-Personal life:...
as Angela Boardman (Premier of New South Wales) - Libby TannerLibby Tanner-Career:Tanner played Zoe Marshall in the short lived Channel 9 soap Pacific Drive from 1996 to 1997. Having appeared in the hospital drama All Saints playing Bronwyn Craig for five years, a role for which she won two Logie Awards, she left to star in the short lived television series Fireflies,...
as Lizzie Francia (wife of Dr. Michael Francia) - Bob MorleyBob MorleyRobert "Bobby" Morley is an Australian actor.-Early life:Morley is the son of a Filipino mother and an Australian-Irish father, who died when he was young. Morley has two sisters and one brother, he is the youngest child. Morley grew up on a farm in Kyneton, a small country town in Victoria...
as Brendan Langmore (son of David Langmore, and volunteer firefighter) - Alexandra Fowler as Kate Langmore (wife of David Langmore)
- Les HillLes HillLes Hill is an Australian actor. The first of two children born in the Hill family.-Acting career:Hill is best known for his role as Blake Dean on the television soap opera Home and Away from 1990–1993 and as underworld figure Jason Moran in the 2008 series Underbelly...
as Tom Daily (Chief of Staff to the Premier) - Brittany ByrnesBrittany ByrnesBrittany Byrnes is an Australian actress. Her most notable acting role was Natasha Green in the 2005 TV film Little Oberon.- Personal life :...
as Deanna Pearce (girlfriend of Brendan Langmore) - Anita HeghAnita HeghAnita Hegh is an Australian actor, known for starring as Ellen 'Mac' Mackenzie in the television seriesStingers.- Life :...
as Linda (National Fire Service officer) - Kathryn BeckKathryn BeckKathryn Beck is an Australian actress, best known for playing Lily Nelson on the soap opera Home and Away.-Biography:...
as Emily Francia (daughter of Dr. Michael Francia and stepdaughter of Lizzie Francia) - Ben OxenbouldBen OxenbouldBen Oxenbould is an Australian actor and comedian, best known for his work in the Australian film and television industry....
as Lenny (volunteer firefighter) - Simon Maiden as Teddy (cameraman for Susan Shapiro)
- Mark McCann as Darren
- Brendan Donoghue as Gabe
- Justin Rosniak as policeman
- Salvatore CocoSalvatore Coco-Biography:Coco was born in Sydney and is of Sicilian descent. He performed with Australian Theatre for Young People where he developed his talents in acting, singing, guitar, dance and cabaret. He is also a qualified chef.-Career:...
as Richard (National Fire Service officer) - Karl Beattie as Ben Francia (son of Dr. Michael & Lizzie Francia)
- Lucia Mundell as Lilli Francia (daughter of Dr. Michael & Lizzie Francia)
- Kate BellKate BellKate Bell is an Australian actress.-Biography:Bell played the role of Bec Sanderson in the television series Blue Water High, and it was for this role that she learned to surf. After playing Bec, she played Joey in Home And Away...
as Cassie Hoffman (local resident) - Zachary Garred as Jade Hall (boyfriend of Cassie Hoffman)
- Drew JarvisDrew JarvisDrew Jarvis is an Australian children's television presenter who has appeared on television programmes The Shak and Lab Rats Challenge. He married Lucy Flook in 2009.- Biography :...
as Ewen Trembly
Related media
The weeks leading up to the broadcast of the telemovie saw a major online viral marketingViral marketing
Viral marketing, viral advertising, or marketing buzz are buzzwords referring to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of viruses...
campaign, with a number of websites and YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
accounts created specifically to promote the telemovie by highlighting specific events, organisations and characters featured in the film.
The official website takes the guise of the homepage for CPN (Cross Platform News), a fictional news network from 2012 which is featured in the film. Websites for the fictional New South Wales Premier Angela Boardman, a fictional resident action group RAWT (Residents Against Water Theft), and the fictional companies Argon Energy and the H20 water transport group were also put online.
The official website also allows users to view online prequel and sequel webisode
Webisode
A webisode is a short episode which airs initially as Internet television, either download or stream as opposed to first airing on broadcast or cable television. The format can be used as a preview, a promotion, as part of a collection of shorts, or a commercial.A webisode can be an episode...
s, and add some of the characters as friends on Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
.