In the first of the 13 episodes comprising Five Mile Creek's first season, San Francisco-bred Maggie Scott (Louise Caire Clark) and her daughter Hannah (Priscilla Weems) arrive in the Australia of the 1860s, in search of Maggie's husband Adam, a prospector who'd headed "Down Under" during the territory's celebrated Gold Rush. Maggie and Hannah settle in Five Mile Creek, a community set up as a stagecoach stop, and quickly befriend local hotel owner Kate (Liz Wallace). At the same time, the Australian Express stagecoach service makes its maiden run, with co-owners Con (Jay Kerr) and Jack (Rod Mullinar) at the reigns. Despite the stiff resistance of their competitors and a variety of scurrilous "bushrangers", Con and Jack complete their first run with the help and moral support of Maggie, Kate and Kate's enigmatic Irish handyman Paddy (Michael Caton). In due time, big-hearted Kate will also rescue orphaned youngster Sam (Martin Lewis) from a life as a bandit (she'll also advertise for a husband in order to legally adopt the boy). Although overt violence is avoid during the series' inaugural season, there is action and suspense aplenty thanks to a variety of outlaws, claim jumpers and mysterious strangers. Midway through the season, Maggie becomes a widow, thereby opening up the possibility of a romance between herself and the headstrong Jack.
by Hal Erickson
synopsis
- Wilderness
- Outback
- Frontier
