Episode 1
Episode 1 of Last Days of the Space Age titled “Only Kids Dream About Being Spacemen” starts with a couple, Tony and Judy Bissett driving in their car as it is suddenly hit by a brick. The brick holds a threatening note directed towards Judy which injures her as Tony loses control of the car.
The episode then moves on to Tony and Judy’s daughter Tilly talking to her teacher about her dream career. Tilly states that she shares the dream of becoming an astronaut along with her friend – Jono. Jono is not as excited as Tilly and mentions how the future is uncertain to him. The teacher advises them to have realistic dreams of regular jobs, leaving the kids disappointed.
On the other hand, Tony is a worker at the power supply factory and Judy also works as a part-timer there. Due to multiple workers being sacked, Tony and his colleagues are on strike. Tony tells Gazza, his colleague about the attack on Judy and wonders if any of their colleagues were involved.
Tony argues with Gazza and tells his colleagues that despite being Judy’s husband, he was still protesting for their job safety and was standing up against the factory runners.
Meanwhile, Judy is stressed out after the attack and tells her colleague, Fran, how she could pick up more shifts. Fran tells Judy that their boss – Wayne has a new managerial position open in the factory. After school, Tilly gets home and avoids hanging out with her sister Mia because of homework. That night, Judy is at home as Tony and his colleagues have a beer while watching TV.
Judy talks to her dad – Bob about the attack from earlier that day. Bob states that one of Tony’s colleagues was likely behind the attack. She states how hard she was working to get Tony and his colleagues to keep their jobs. Tilly tells Judy that she is going out to stargaze when the mother brings up her argument with Mia. Tilly agrees to apologise to her younger sister and leaves when there is a power cut.
Outside, Tilly talks to Eileen about Jono backing out of their dream of becoming an astronaut. Tilly worries that she will have no friends on her space excavations and wonders how lonely it would get. Eileen tries to motivate Tilly and asks her to continue to pursue her dream.
The next day, Mia goes surfing before school and proves her skills as a surfer. Meanwhile, Judy hosts a luncheon for her neighbourhood women. The women mock Judy while Eileen tries to stand up for her. Just then, men from the TV rental place show up outside the Bissett house, asking for Judy to pay their due bills.
At the same time, Jono meets his father who runs a food truck by the beach. His parents wonder why Jono is so upset. That evening, Bob and Eileen hook up in his caravan. Bob states how things between them were getting serious.
At the Bissett house, Judy is stressed out as she tries to take on more and more freelance work like sewing dresses for debutante balls. Mia suggests that she could drop out of high school to support her family by going to surfing matches. Judy gets upset and tells her daughters that taking care of the family is Tony’s responsibility and asks the kids to remain kids.
Meanwhile, Tony is having drinks with his brother – Mick who asks Tony to work with him. Tony refuses the offer, despising the job of entertainment news reporting. The brothers discuss the upcoming Miss Universe pageant that will be held in Perth. Tony asks Mick to lend him a TV.
Eileen’s daughter – Djinda and her son visit her for the night. Djinda is curt towards her mother and claims she will leave to go home the morning after which upsets Eileen.
The next day, Fran and Judy sit in for the General Manager interview with Wayne and the candidate – Brian. Judy points out the mistakes made by Brian which impresses Wayne.
Tilly talks to Jono and they discuss their respective dreams. Jono tells Tilly that she should chase her dreams as he no longer wants to be an astronaut.
Eileen asks Djinda to leave her son – Bilya with him so he can go to high school as a regular student. That night, Tilly grows concerned when she watches the news about the delay in the launch of the space station.
Judy deals with her stress while Bob is lonely as Eileen spends time with her grandson. Mick gets attacked by a man for being homosexual. Mick fights back and attacks the man. Tilly watches Mia kiss Jono and gets upset.
At the factory, Wayne hires Judy as the General Manager. Judy addresses the union workers led by Tony as Last Days of the Space Age Episode 1 comes to an end.
The Episode Review
This is an interesting show that tries to show the plight of people living in the coastal region of Perth in the 70s. In Last Days of the Space Age Episode 1, we see that despite being a working woman, Judy is so influenced by patriarchy that she feels it is Tony’s responsibility to provide for the family. Despite doing double the work to sustain the family income, Judy feels like she is a part-timer only.
This dynamic will soon change as we see Judy taking on the position of General Manager, essentially becoming Tony’s boss. On the other hand, Bob and Eileen share a complicated relationship. Despite their advanced age, it is unlikely for them to openly have an affair, given their respective families.
With Jono abandoning the dream that he wished to pursue with Tilly, it must be heartbreaking for her to see him kiss her sister. I wonder if this will complicate the sibling relationship causing more drama in the Bissett family than needed.
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