The Slap (TV series)
Encyclopedia
The Slap is an Australian television drama series produced by Matchbox Pictures for ABC1
, screening each Thursday night at 8:30pm in October and November 2011 - repeats air the following night each week on ABC2
. It is based on The Slap
, a 2008 multi-award winning novel by Australian author Christos Tsiolkas
.
Filmed in Melbourne
, Victoria
, the eight episodes of this series were produced by Tony Ayres, Helen Bowden and Michael McMahon, with Penny Chapman as executive producer. The directors, Jessica Hobbs, Matthew Saville, Tony Ayres and Robert Connolly, direct two episodes each. The writing team includes Emily Ballou
, Alice Bell, Brendan Cowell
, Kris Mrksa and Cate Shortland.
announced that The Slap was averaging 952,000 metro (five main capital city) viewers on ABC1 and a further 232,000 viewers on ABC2 with 14% of viewing as Timeshifted (watched later through various PVR
devices). It has recorded 566,000 plays via ABC iView
and 204,000 plays via the official website.
The series received generally positive reviews. Holly Byrnes of The Daily Telegraph
said after viewing the first episode that The Slap is "arguably the best Australian drama produced this year", and Luke Buckmaster of Crikey
commented after seeing previews, "The dramas and interpersonal relationships are engrossing from the get-go, the story like a David Williamson
script that actually has bite, tension and doesn't pander to racial or cultural stereotypes. The Slap presents a view of middle class multicultural Australia rarely seen in film and television." David Knox of TV Tonight
also praised the series, writing after episode one, "I was completely hooked by its ability to present three-dimensional characters on the screen and its strength in telling an urban story. So confident are the sum of the parts that frankly it feels like this will only get better. The Slap is one of the bravest dramas of the year." Yet, Clem Bastow of The Sydney Morning Herald
had the opposite view, writing the program contains, "listless direction and lifeless editing (huge pauses between great swathes of dialogue), an adaptation that squishes large passages of the narrative into bite-sized chunks (witness Hector and Connie's divebomb from flirty glances and kissing to Connie suddenly deciding he was repellent), and the actors wandering around in the middle of it all."
The Region 2 DVD will be released on 2 January 2012.
The accompanying paperback book was released on 24 August 2011:
ABC1
ABC1 was a United Kingdom based television channel from Disney using the branding of the Disney owned American network, ABC.The channel initially launched exclusively on the British digital terrestrial television platform Freeview on 27 September 2004. On 10 December 2004 it was launched on...
, screening each Thursday night at 8:30pm in October and November 2011 - repeats air the following night each week on ABC2
ABC2
ABC2 is a national public television channel in Australia. Launched on 7 March 2005, it is the responsibility of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television division, and is available nationally to digital television viewers in Australia...
. It is based on The Slap
The Slap
The Slap is a novel by Australian author Christos Tsiolkas. The eight-part television series, The Slap, is an adaptation of the book. Its filming commenced in January 2011 and first screened on Australian television channel ABC1 from October 2011....
, a 2008 multi-award winning novel by Australian author Christos Tsiolkas
Christos Tsiolkas
-Biography:He was born and grew up in Melbourne and was educated at Blackburn High School and the University of Melbourne where he completed an Arts Degree in 1987. www.austlit.edu.au. Retrieved 2007-07-22. He edited the student newspaper Farrago in 1988....
.
Filmed in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, the eight episodes of this series were produced by Tony Ayres, Helen Bowden and Michael McMahon, with Penny Chapman as executive producer. The directors, Jessica Hobbs, Matthew Saville, Tony Ayres and Robert Connolly, direct two episodes each. The writing team includes Emily Ballou
Emily Ballou
Emily Ballou is an Australian-American poet, novelist and screenwriter. Her first poetry collection The Darwin Poems, a verse portrait of Charles Darwin, was published by University of Western Australia Press in 2009...
, Alice Bell, Brendan Cowell
Brendan Cowell
Brendan Cowell is an Australian actor, screenwriter and director. Cowell was born in Sydney. He stumbled upon acting by accident while waiting for his sister to come out of a rehearsal; he was then cast in a commercial at age 8...
, Kris Mrksa and Cate Shortland.
Cast
- Jonathan LaPagliaJonathan LaPagliaDr. Jonathan LaPaglia, M.B.B.S. is an Australian actor known for his roles as Frank B. Parker in the television series Seven Days, Kevin Debreno in The District and Det...
as Hector - Melissa GeorgeMelissa GeorgeMelissa Suzanne George is an Australian film and television actress who has worked in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Melissa is perhaps best known for her role as Angel Parrish on the Australian soap opera Home and Away...
as Rosie - Sophie OkonedoSophie OkonedoSophie Okonedo, OBE is a British actress, who has starred both in successful British and American productions. In 1991, she made her acting debut in the British critically acclaimed coming-of-age drama, Young Soul Rebels...
as Aisha - Essie DavisEssie DavisEssie Davis is an Australian actress. Born and raised in Hobart, Tasmania, she is the daughter of locally famed artist George Davis.She emerged from the Old Nick Company at the University of Tasmania in the late 1980s and has gone on to appear in Hollywood movies. She is a graduate of the National...
as Anouk - Alex DimitriadesAlex DimitriadesAlex Dimitriades is a Greek Australian film and television actor.-Early life:Dimitriades was born in Sydney, the son of first generation Greek immigrants and is the youngest of three siblings . He grew up in the suburb of Earlwood...
as Harry - Lex MarinosLex MarinosLex Marinos OAM is an Australian television actor, director and writer. Notable for his acting role as 'Bruno', the Italian son-in-law of bigot Ted Bullpitt, on the Australian comedy television series Kingswood Country as and host of Late Night Legends on ABC2, he was also a presenter on radio...
as Manolis - Diana GlennDiana Glenn-Life:Glenn has an English father, Greek mother and three siblings. The family migrated to Australia when she was 14. She went to Melbourne Girls Grammar School and studied arts at Monash University and Melbourne University.-Career:...
as Sandi - Anthony HayesAnthony Hayes (actor)Anthony Hayes is an Australian actor, best known for his role as Jack McLeod in the acclaimed Australian series McLeod's Daughters....
as Gary - Sophie LoweSophie LoweSophie Lowe is an actress who was born in England and migrated to Australia.-Life and career:Lowe was born in Halifax, Yorkshire, England and moved to Australia with her family in 2000. In her early teens she signed to Chadwick Models but quit modelling in favor of dancing. Lowe attended the...
as Connie - Blake DavisBlake Davis (actor)Blake Davis is an Australian actor, best known for his roles in Tangle and Dead Gorgeous . In 2011, he will be seen in the third season of Tangle and the ABC series The Slap, which is based on the book by Christos Tsiolkas.-Filmography:* The Slap – Richie* Dead Gorgeous – Jonathon* Tangle...
as Richie - Oliver AcklandOliver AcklandOliver Ackland is an Australian actor. Oliver is best known for his role as Vince on the children's television program Outriders and Mars in Pirate Islands...
as Rhys - William McInnesWilliam McInnesWilliam McInnes is an Australian film and television actor and writer.-Television:After a recurring role on A Country Practice in 1990, McInnes appeared in series such as Bligh, Ocean Girl, and Snowy before making his name as Senior Constable Nick Schultz on Blue Heelers in 1994...
as Narrator - Toula Yianni as Koula
- Eugenia Fragos as Elisavet
- Rebecca Downie as Lady with the pram
- Thomas Hatzilepos as Dimitri
Synopsis
The series explores what happens when a man slaps a child, who does not belong to him, at a suburban barbecue. Each episode is based upon the viewpoint of different adults who attended the barbecue.Reception
The initial episode gained viewing figures of nearly 1 million people, winning its timeslot, when it was first shown on ABC1. Later, excluding figures for the final episode, the ABCAustralian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
announced that The Slap was averaging 952,000 metro (five main capital city) viewers on ABC1 and a further 232,000 viewers on ABC2 with 14% of viewing as Timeshifted (watched later through various PVR
Digital video recorder
A digital video recorder , sometimes referred to by the merchandising term personal video recorder , is a consumer electronics device or application software that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card or other local or networked mass storage device...
devices). It has recorded 566,000 plays via ABC iView
ABC iView
ABC iview is a video on demand and Catch up TV service run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The service became available on 24 July 2008. This was the next step after the podcasting of programmes since July 2006. Currently, this site is only viewable to users in Australia. The site...
and 204,000 plays via the official website.
The series received generally positive reviews. Holly Byrnes of The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph (Australia)
The Daily Telegraph is an Australian tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, by Nationwide News, part of News Corporation.The Tele, as it is also known, was founded in 1879. From 1936 to 1972, it was owned by Frank Packer's Australian Consolidated Press. That year it was sold to...
said after viewing the first episode that The Slap is "arguably the best Australian drama produced this year", and Luke Buckmaster of Crikey
Crikey
Crikey is an independent Australian electronic magazine comprising an open access website and an email newsletter available to subscribers. Well known in Australian political, media and business circles, Crikey was described by former Federal Opposition Leader Mark Latham as the "most popular...
commented after seeing previews, "The dramas and interpersonal relationships are engrossing from the get-go, the story like a David Williamson
David Williamson
David Keith Williamson AO is one of Australia's best-known playwrights. He has also written screenplays and teleplays.-Biography:...
script that actually has bite, tension and doesn't pander to racial or cultural stereotypes. The Slap presents a view of middle class multicultural Australia rarely seen in film and television." David Knox of TV Tonight
TV Tonight
TV Tonight is an Australian-based television themed website which features news, programming and OzTAM ratings information. As of January 2011, the site places 1,083 in the Australian Alexa ranking system and 92,543 worldwide....
also praised the series, writing after episode one, "I was completely hooked by its ability to present three-dimensional characters on the screen and its strength in telling an urban story. So confident are the sum of the parts that frankly it feels like this will only get better. The Slap is one of the bravest dramas of the year." Yet, Clem Bastow of The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
had the opposite view, writing the program contains, "listless direction and lifeless editing (huge pauses between great swathes of dialogue), an adaptation that squishes large passages of the narrative into bite-sized chunks (witness Hector and Connie's divebomb from flirty glances and kissing to Connie suddenly deciding he was repellent), and the actors wandering around in the middle of it all."
TV-related merchandise
The Region 4 DVD and Blu-ray will be released on 1 December 2011.The Region 2 DVD will be released on 2 January 2012.
The accompanying paperback book was released on 24 August 2011:
International broadcast
- In the United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, this series first aired on BBC FourBBC FourBBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
each Thursday at 10pm from 27 October 2011 with repeats following late Saturday nights. - In Eastern EuropeEastern EuropeEastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
, SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, PortugalPortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, GreeceGreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, TurkeyTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and AsiaAsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, this series has been acquired for Sundance Channel to screen at a date yet to be announced. - In the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, this series has been acquired for Audience Network to screen at a date yet to be announced. - In OntarioOntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, this series has been acquired by TVOTVOntarioTVOntario, often referred to only as TVO , is a publicly funded, educational English-language television station and media organization in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario Educational Communications Authority, a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Ontario...
to screen at a date yet to be announced.