Love Child is an Australian television series created by Sarah Lambert.
** Season 1 premiered in 2014
** Season 2 premiered in 2015
** Season 3 premiered in 2016
** Season 4 (the final season) premiered in 2017
Love Child takes place in Sydney and follows the lives of staff and residents of the fictional King’s Cross Hospital and Stanton House.
Season 1 is set in 1969. Season 2 begins in December 1969 (just before the New Year) and carries the story forward to June 1970.
While the series is fictional, it is based on true events, a dark chapter of Australian history, known today as the time of the forced adoptions (see more below).
The cast includes the following:
The staff of King’s Cross Hospital and Stanton House
** Midwife Sister Joan Millar – played by Jessica Marais
** Dr Patrick McNaughton – played by Jonathan LaPaglia
** Matron Frances Bolton – played by Mandy McElhinney
Residents of Stanton House
** Shirley Ryan – played by Ella Scott Lynch
** Viv Maguire – played by Sophie Hensser
** Annie Carmichael – played by Gracie Gilbert
** Patricia Saunders – played by Harriet Dyer
** Martha Tennant – played by Miranda Tapsell
Jonathan LaPaglia is the brother of Anthony LaPaglia, also an actor, who is famous for his role in the US television drama Without a Trace. The two brothers look so much alike!
The background
The time of the forced adoptions refers to a program implemented by Australian authorities during the second half of the twentieth century.
When teenage girls became pregnant, their parents would in many cases send them to a special home where they would stay for several months until they had given birth.
Once the baby was born, the mother was forced to give it up for adoption. After giving birth to a child, the teenager would return to her family.
She would be told to forget the whole thing and the family would pretend that nothing had happened.
In most cases, the teenage father would not be punished in any way.
The adoption was sealed. This means the mother would not know the identity of the adoptive parents, and the child would not know the identity of its biological parents.
This program was established in order to save the parents of the pregnant girl from the shame and embarrassment of having an unwed mother in the family.
At that time the social stigma was serious. But the teenage parents and their children paid a high price for this program.
In 2013, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard offered a formal apology to those who were affected by this program.
For the record: I do not think teenage pregnancy is a good thing. But once it has happened, there is more than one way to deal with the situation.
The system of forced adoptions was hardly the best solution. If the authorities wished to interfere, they could and should have found a better way to do this.
When we look back at these events, it is easy to be outraged. We have the benefit of hindsight.
But the politicians who were responsible for these programs - the case of the forced adoptions and the case of the stolen generation – can hardly be described as evil.
They had good intentions. They meant well. But good intentions do not guarantee good results. These programs were seriously misguided (to put it mildly).
The politicians who made the laws and the officials who implemented them forgot to ask the people concerned what they thought about these projects.
The victims of these policies had no choice. They were forced into this, against their will. The negative consequences were serious and long-lasting.
We may well ask: why did it take so long for the Australian government to issue a formal apology for a policy that was so wrong?
On the other hand, we also have to say: a late apology is better than to apology at all.
Historical accuracy
The producers of Love Child have tried to re-create the world of Sydney in 1970, and I think they have been quite successful.
The world of Australia in 1970 is expressed with fashion - the clothes people wear, the style of their hair - and with popular music.
In some cases, music from the period is played in the background. But occasionally, music becomes a part of the story, as when Annie Carmichael sings a contemporary hit in the Blue Moon bar:
** In episode 2, we have the song What am I doing here with you? which was a hit for Bev Harrell in 1967.
It was the A-side of her debut-single. It was released in late 1966 and became a top-ten hit in the first months of 1967.
** In episode 3, we have the song A little ray of sunshine which was a hit for Axiom in 1970.
This band was active from 1969 to 1971.
This song reached number 5 on the Australian top-ten in April 1970.
Authenticity and credibility
In many television series, the good characters are totally good, while the bad characters are totally bad, even though this is not very realistic.
Love Child does not follow this simple pattern.
In this series, the good characters have flaws and they will occasionally do something wrong.
Similarly, the bad characters are not entirely bad; they will sometimes surprise us and do the right thing, which shows us that they do after all have a conscience.
In short, the main characters of this series are not cast in black-and-white. The good guys have flaws and the bad guys are not completely bad.
If you ask me, this is a good thing, because it makes the characters more realistic, more believable, and gives the story more authenticity, more credibility, and a greater impact.
Conclusion
Love Child is a fascinating series about an important chapter of Australia’s recent history.
Why?
** The script is well-written and the actors play their roles very well
** The story is dramatic and captivating
Season one offers some emotional episodes. Season two offers new emotional stories; the quality remains high, with new issues and new conflicts.
This series is about life and death, about right and wrong, about truth and justice, about friendship and solidarity.
It shows that the law is not always right; sometimes the law is wrong and should be changed or simply abolished.
This series will make a big impression on you and give you something to think about long after the viewing is done.
When you have watched the last episode of season two, I am sure you will look forward to watching the first episode of season three.
PS # 1. The title song of the series is Love Child by Diana Ross and the Supremes, which was a single hit for them and the title track of their album Love Child.
It is well-chosen and fits the time frame of the series very well. It was released on vinyl in 1968. A remastered version of the album was released on a CD in 2013.
PS # 2. Here is an overview of the series:
** Season 1 (2014) – 8 episodes
** Season 2 (2015) – 8 episodes
** Season 3 (2016) – 10 episodes
** Season 4 (2017) – 10 episodes
PS # 3. On IMDb this series has a rating of 76 percent. There are 13 user reviews on IMDb.
Amazon Australia offers a box set with all four seasons on DVD. This box set has a rating of five stars (100 percent).
*****
Love Child
An Australian television series
which ran for four seasons
(2014-2017)
*****
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