As the third episode of Ten Pound Poms begins, Terry Roberts (Warren Brown) remains locked in a cell. Officers take him out and put him in the back of a van where he begins panicking because of his military past. Eventually, the van spots and an officer checks on Terry. Ron Mahoney (Rob Collins) works on a vehicle while speaking to a little girl about France. Ron tells her to get the others and he’ll take them all to school. He drops them off moments later. Pattie is asked whether she is going to the party on Sunday night. Stevie and the other boys are going and there is a rumor that Stevie was in prison back home.

He might’ve killed someone in an accident. Peter Roberts (Finn Treacy) visits his bird pet named Barry. Officer Dempsey (Harrison Quast) and Officer Reeves (Stephen Anderton) take Terry to the worksite so they can confront Dean Spender. Terry says he told them that they hit the kid. Dean claims Terry was drunk and could barely see what happened. Instead of hitting a kid, Dean says they hit a kangaroo. Terry says it was an aboriginal child. They go back and forth until Terry says it was probably a kangaroo. Terry is told to stay off the drink and put all of this behind him. When they’re alone, Dean says he thought they were mates. Terry says he couldn’t live with himself.

Dean belittles him and tells him to be a man. He warns him not to rat on him again. Marlene Chase (Cheree Cassidy) surprises Annie Roberts (Faye Marsay) by giving her studio passes to the first night’s broadcast of Australian television. Marlene’s friend, Gus McKenzie, is the producer. Marlene helps her pick out an outfit for the event. When Annie gets back, she learns that Kate Thorne (Michelle Keegan) has borrowed a friend’s vehicle. Annie notices a teddy bear in the back of the car. Kate is forced to tell Annie about her son, Michael. Kate explains that her son was taken from her even though she wasn’t a bad mom. She believes she can tell them what happened and get them to see that she is a good mom.

Annie asks if she is going to be okay going to the Konbulla alone. Then, Annie approaches Terry and accuses him of being at the pub drinking. She explains how she worried all night until she convinced herself that he was drinking with other idiots. Terry claims he just wants to be with her and the children. Annie says she is going somewhere with Kate so he needs to make sure the kids are fed. She tells him about the television event and says he can come too if he wants. As they ride together, Kate tells Annie about Robbie who let her borrow the vehicle. When Annie asks about her fiancé Henry, Kate says he stayed behind. He didn’t want her to look for Michael. Kate eventually agrees to let Annie drive for a while.

Terry goes to the pub where Dean is drinking. He wants a beer, but Dean tells him he isn’t getting one there. Dean says he should go around the back with the blacks and pick it up. Dean warns him that he is going to make his life hell. Once Terry steps outside, Ron offers him a ride. Ron says he needs to stop and see a vet because the pharmacy has a “no blacks” policy. After Ron comes back, he admits that is the only way he can get medicine. When the vehicle breaks down, Annie has to work on it. They agree to stop and rest for the night. Bill Anderson (Leon Ford) approaches Ivan (Travis McMahon) to ask about his money. Ivan says he’ll get his money, but a bit of composure would be nice.

Kate thinks about Michael that night while Terry struggles without alcohol. The kids wake Terry in the morning. As they walk to school, Peter tells Pattie about Barry. Later, Peter is caught collecting things for his friend and told to throw the things away. When Peter refuses, his hands are whipped. He runs away from the school. While Peter is visiting Barry, he is approached by some aboriginal kids who ask if he wants to play. Terry gets some medication from Arty Farthington (Berynn Schwerdt). Kate and Annie make it to the orphanage. They speak to a Father and tell him that they’re interested in adopting. They talk to him about getting a five-year-old.

Eventually, the man says he doesn’t think they have the right boy for him so someone will escort them out. He leaves. Kate thinks Michael might be out there. She decides to go into the hallway to look for him. The Father catches them and forces them to leave. Terry gives Ron the first-aid supplies. Dean comes over with others to harass them. When Terry tells Dean to piss off, Ron quickly urges him to sit down. Ron admits he sometimes misses the war because he was like anyone else then. He thinks his mob has been slapped enough. Later, Terry learns about Peter being hit with a cane at school. Bill interrupts to correct Peter. Terry warns Peter that his mom will go mad about this.

Bill thinks Terry should handle it and hit him again. Terry gets mad and knocks the fork out of his hand. Arty sits down with Terry later that night. They talk about Bill. Arty warns Terry that he is the type of man who will call the police and scream attack. Annie makes it back and admits it wasn’t a successful trip. Guests begin arriving for the television event while JJ sets up a television at the hostel. Frank Sheldon and Toni Lamond perform for the audience. JJ has problems with the television at the hostel. Stevie catches Bill coming out of his hut and he knows his dad didn’t tell him to do that. He warns Bill that he is a dead man if he finds out.

Terry and Annie chat with Marlene and Gus McKenzie (Rowan Davie). Pattie drinks with a friend until Stevie (Declan Coyle) comes over and says he had to clear up something for his dad. She mentions that he got locked up in the UK. Stevie gets upset and leaves. Terry goes outside while Annie stays and dances. Terry comes back and sees his wife dancing with another man. Stevie finds out that Pattie is seriously drunk so he tries to help, but Pattie yells that she is good. Police approach the aboriginal community. The officer asks Ron about the hit-and-run. He tells him what Terry said about him and Dean hitting a kid. Ron claims to know nothing about it. Ron attacks Dean outside the pub while his face is covered. Then, he gets into a truck with another man.

Annie and Terry learn about Pattie drinking too much. They put her to bed and say they’ll discuss it in the morning. Terry and Annie argue about the celebration and Annie dancing with another man. Terry thinks it’d be nice if Annie would think about her family first, but she claims she always puts her family first. She thinks they can have a wonderful life there if they embrace it. Terry admits he is unhappy and scared that things are going to be worse there. Kate cries while looking at a picture of her son. He calls Nag’s Head in England to speak to Sandra about her mother. Sandra (Penny Day) says her mom isn’t good, but she wants to speak to her. Kate tells her how her mom can get in touch with her at the hospital.

Sandra gives that information to Kate’s fiancé, Henry Broad (Hugo Johnstone-Burt).

 

Ten Pound Poms Review

The third episode of Ten Pound Poms managed to right the ship to some degree although it is still taking on a lot of water. The characters remain unbelievable and over-the-top. One minute, they’re laughing about a man belittling others and knocking out his dog. The next, they’re concerned about their child being whipped for disobedience. It really doesn’t work and only makes the characters unlikable.

Besides one or two minor characters, it is very difficult to sympathize with any of the main characters, including Terry because the character is too wishy-washy and indecisive to the point that he is everything Dean said he was. It is a bit funny that Dean holds such power over everyone despite being a lowly laborer.

There are moments when the series shifts and it feels like it could transform into a brilliant experience only for it to delve into absurdity. The story is a mishmash of everything imaginable like the writers threw everything out there hoping something would hit the target. Even the decent performances can’t make up for the silly storylines and it doesn’t help that there are far too many of them.

It is really unfortunate because this could’ve and should’ve been a blockbuster with the cast, premise, and backing. Ten Pound Poms would be very easy to ignore, but impossible to recommend. The third episode scores a 4.5 or possibly 5 out of 10. Recaps of Ten Pound Poms are available on Reel Mockery here.

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