I'm near the end of Season 4 as I write this. My thought is that these folks cannot possibly represent Australia's Navy. More like McHale's Navy. The show started out well in Seasons 1 and 2 and it remains entertaining, but this crew cannot learn from experiences. How many times will you leave a skeleton crew on a suspect vessel only to have them taken prisoner/hostage? How many times will you allow someone to take over your ship? Then there is the over-the-horizon super camera. When someone is SHOOTING at you, don't tell them to drop their gun- shoot back! Then there was the slasher movie episode (S3E8). The review here on it was spot-on. This series has a Lifetime movie-esque quality to it in that someone is always in jeopardy, often a female. I hope Season 5 improves, but I am not holding my breath.

Update October 9, 2015 I find myself watching the whole series for the 3rd time. I've thought about what draws me to this show. Is it the music, the fact that it is ship/water based, plots, characters, direction? I've concluded it is a mix of those things and more.As for plots every episode is weak, but I don't care. This show is quite similar to JAG in that it isn't so much about the story but more about the characters. The plot is just there to give a background for character interaction. Like JAG there are several characters in each episode. But more than JAG, the broader set of characters on Sea Patrol are compacted onto the ship and there is quite a bit more character interaction. Don't get me wrong. This isn't a serious show, it's not a comedy, but it is quite light hearted and even a bit simple. Characters do come close to death, fall off cliffs, get shot, and more. Unless they are trying to move an actor off the show the characters all survive. To me it's a perfect mix for a show of this genre.I was in the US Navy and the ocean got into my blood. That has a lot to do with the attraction of this show for me.Original Review:I understand this show ended in 2011. I just stumbled on it on HULU in 2014. I preface my comments by saying that I was in the U.S. Navy so a show that involves ships is interesting to me. Also I like most TV series that have to do with the good guys vs the bad guys, and the good guys winning.Sea Patrol is really holding my interest, although I give it 7 stars, not 10. At least 2 of those stars is simply because I'm enjoying it and will continue from where I am, at the middle of season 3, until I binge watch the whole series. I'm sure I'll be sad once I reach the end and watch the last episode. It would suit me just fine if there was another show like it in the future.The casting was great, acting is fine, story lines are good. The only fault I can find is the direction. The romance adds a lot to the show too. I really like the two ships used and the RHIB boats (I own a jet boat and the RHIBs are jet boats too).The director could have paid a lot more attention to some of the details which are so obvious it detracts from the episodes. For example in one episode some divers seemed to have traveled much further on their boat in 12 hours than would seem reasonable. Also the ship seems to steam (a nautical term even if the boat isn't on steam power) at very fast speed most of the time; it's either stopped, or going max speed in the overhead shots. From my time in the Navy and with my own boats it is just way too expensive in fuel consumption to go that fast all the time. Yes they say they are "increasing" speed to something faster, even max, but it seems like bow shots and overhead shots are almost all filmed at max speed.In spite of things like that the show is light, fun, and entertaining.I recommend it to anyone who's looking for something light to watch in this genre.

Nothing but great things to say about this show. After a bit of a slow start in Series One, Series Two is off to a cracking start - improved pace, improved writing and the actors have clearly settled into their roles.In particular, I'd single out Jeremy Lindsay-Taylor (Buffer) and Sacha Burmiester (Nav) for great performance characterisation. The romantic tension between Flynn (Ian Stenlake) and Kate (Lisa McCune) is much more believable this time around.There's obviously some suspension of belief required: in the second series at least one crew member gets into an extreme life-threatening situation each episode, and almost everyone on the crew is a heck of a lot prettier than any soldier I've come across, but you take these caveats at the outset and sit down to enjoy the drama.One thing that the show could work on is a better calibre of guest actors - while there have been some standouts (well-known actors like Ditch Davey and Alan Dale) there have been a few guests this series that have really let the writing and the regular actors down.If you haven't checked out series 2 of Sea Patrol I would highly recommend it.

This is just an appalling piece of television. The Nine Network spent some ridiculous amount of money on it too. The premise is great; the adventures of a Royal Australian Navy patrol boat and its crew as they protect Australia's north. How they could get it so wrong is anybody's guess.The writing is despicable. It is hackneyed and trite and the dialogue is so forced and banal. It is as subtle as a brick to the head (which would be more pleasant than watching this), and lacks any wit or sparkle. Story lines go overboard at a rate of knots. There is absolutely no suspense AT ALL, which is no mean feat. The acting is just deplorable. Lisa McCune heads the team, a woman so wooden the Tasmanians want to pulp her. She did her best work on the Coles ads. The rest are just shocking. The editing is non existent and the cinematography is as basic as I Love Lucy. The music is sickeningly cheap. It is worse than the 1960s Star Trek Original Series fare. And the sound effects, oh my lord! It is a worrying indictment on the sorry state of affairs at the Nine Network. I have read that only 1 person in the executive team has any TV experience, and it is minimal at that. It shows. What is perhaps more worrying is that this reprehensible creation has been sold to many other countries! This is not an image we want to send out. It has also been renewed for a 2nd season! God help us!For an example of pure excellence in Australian TV, the equal of any American or British production, see Seven's City Homicide.