Don’t look for jokes in ABC’s drama about a grumpy dad who must reconnect with the world through the world of dog lovers.
One of the reasons Bluish has been so successful, and just one of them is the healthy relationship between father and daughter. It’s rarely expressed as candidly as on ABC’s animated dog show.
But in its latest dog offering Dog park it’s quite the opposite.
Roland (Leon Ford) is an awkward, expressionless parent of teenage daughter Mia (Florence Gladwin). He is a cold, grumpy husband to his wife Emma (Brooke Satchwell). And he’s a pretty bad dog walker for the family dog Beattie (Indie).
What does he have going for him? It doesn’t seem like much in this new series created by Amanda Higgs and Leon Ford. So why would I want to spend time with him? I didn’t do that at first. There were no punch lines in what I expected was an ABC comedy. But upon a second viewing and shifting my expectations to “dramedy,” I found I liked it more….
Roland works as a careers counselor at a local TAFE, which is somewhat ironic considering he has no people skills and seems to loathe most of the world. When wife Emma leaves for New Mexico for a job, father, teenage daughter and dog are left home alone. Roland reluctantly agrees to walk the dog in her absence, but it’s a chore, especially unwelcome when he runs into the local dog park group. Socialize? No thanks.
Self-appointed ambassador for this group is the always friendly Samantha (Celia Pacquola), an optomist with a sweet border collie, and time for everyone. She is a good friend of Emma who agrees to take Beattie to the Dog park for frisbee and romping – after all, dogs need friends too, right?
But just managing his day, punctuated by dog needs, a high-maintenance teenager, annoying dog walkers, insipid coworkers, and tense long-distance conversations with his wife, continually drags Roland down, and in many ways the atmosphere of the opening episode. Thank Dog for Samantha.
Her group of diverse dog owners includes Penny (Elizabeth Alexander), Pamelia (Grace Chow), Jonah (Ras-Andrew) and Samuel (Ash Flanders), an eclectic “family” who regularly socialize and support each other as their dogs run amok in an inner-city Melbourne park.
On the domestic front, Mia shuns her father to the point that her space is violated when he steps into her bedroom. When Emma’s smoke signals suggest she may be in the US longer than expected, Roland finds himself drinking red wine and listening to Nik Kershaw. Forced to look inward, his needy dog becomes both a point of distraction and a step forward toward socialization.
The dynamic between Roland and Samantha is both awkward and evolving… is an affair on the cards? It could certainly lighten the mood for both Roland and us as an audience. Still, having an abrasive edge can also be very successful on shows like Doc Martin, House, Breaking Bad to show. The key is whether they are interesting and show us why they behave the way they do. On that front Dog park is just setting up his universe.
Ford as Roland maintains all the grumpiness required of a husband/father on the edge, while Pacquola imposes the perfect amount of levity to challenge and disarm him, largely without him realizing it.
It’s also great to see actor Elizabeth Alexander in a supporting role as the senior member of the group, who in episode two offers sage advice on how to break through to a withdrawn teenage daughter.
The canine characters also collectively provide moments of joy, facial expressions, and spontaneity without ever requiring dialogue. On a cold Melbourne morning, it’s no wonder their personalities win out over the almost arctic chills.
Dog park presents as a character study and social observation rather than a gag fest. I wish I had known that from the beginning.
Dog Park screens on Sundays at 8:30pm on ABC.
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