It is perhaps a blessing that Hannah Scott, daughter of American-born Australian settler Maggie Scott (Louise Caire Clark), had been sent off to boarding school school before the third season of Five Mile Creek got under way (this move was motivated by the departure of series regular Priscilla Weems). Financial setbacks have forced everyone in the community of Five Mile Creek, including Hannah's mom Maggie, hotel owner Kate (Liz Burch), and stagecoach drivers Jack (Rod Mullinar) and Con (Jay Kerr), to pull up stakes a seek out a new home in the Australian outback of the 1860s. The journey across the Great Divide is fraught with danger, and the settlers receive a none-too-friendly reception upon arrival in the town of Emu Plains. Even so, Maggie and Kate are able to get back to business, and Jack and Con quickly reestablish their stagecoach line. New to the series this season is handsome, callow cowboy Matt Buckland, played by Shannon Presby), and feisty, tomboyish miner's daughter Annie, enacted by a talented redheaded teenager named Nicole Kidman. Also, the character of Five Mile Creek's "boss" Charles Withers (Peter Carroll), hitherto appearing only on a recurring basis,has been elevated to full regular. Among the season's story developments: Annie sets her cap for Jack, but she proves to be a bit rough-and-tumble even for his tastes; Jack must compete with a dashing Irish sea captain (Noel Trevarthen) for the attentions of Maggie; a hotly contested election is highlighted by the arrival of a balloon ascensionist; Con has a deadly showdown with a masked bandit; and, perhaps inevitably, the female leads are imperiled in another hostage crisis. In the series finale, Con is given the opportunity to start a new stagecoach service in faraway America. How will this development affect his partnership with Jack--not to mention his romance with Kate?
by Hal Erickson
synopsis
