This was a very disappointing program. - It is the story of a man of courage and determination who changed the course of history for the indigenous Australian. The writing and direction in this program is weak, often leaving many important points unexplored, and questions hovering in the ether remain unanswered - Why did Eddie Mabo become so politicised? How did his commitment really impact on his family and his wife? Even one incident where he hits his wife does not have the power to shock. Nor did this program appropriately provide a context. It presented as an isolated story of one man. Questions such as what was the society of the Torres Strait Islanders really like? What was Australia doing at the time such important legislation was being passed? How did the family financially survive whilst all this was going on? I believe that there was not enough time for such a big subject. It was superficial and appeared to be written to fit into a short program. I can't help but feel if this had been treated like the "Packer" program was treated and given the time to forage into the real story and sub-stories then the result would have been more powerful and insightful. The acting was OK - there were many good performances. Overall the program felt very amateurish. I personally feel this story should be told again. It is too important a story to be left with this. Despite the power and conflict of the real story, this program fails to get this across.it seems it is restricted by time -e.g The Court Hearing, this held no tension, The Relationship with his wife did not come across as the deep supportive and often challenged relationship it was. This is too important a story for all Australians to be left like this.
Review of Mabo
