On track for popularity
NOW I’m certainly not claiming that I had a listening device in the offices of SBS when the new TV program The Ghan was being discussed.
But if I had, the conversation may have gone a little something like this: “So it’s set on a train.” “That’s right.” “And a famous detective has to solve the puzzle of who killed a passenger?”
“Well, Murder on the Orient Express already did that recently…”
“Is an average man embroiled in a strange game of cat-and-mouse by a mysterious woman?”
“No, that’s the plot of the new Liam Neeson thriller The Commuter, opening in cinemas everywhere on January 18.”
“Does the train explode if it slows down?”
“You’re thinking of the movie Speed, starring Keanu Reeves. Also, that was a bus.” “Then what happens?” “For three hours, you’re basically looking out the window of Australia’s most famous passenger train, the Ghan, as it travels 3000km from Adelaide to Darwin. Occasionally sites of interest will be pointed out. There’ll also be fun facts about the train and the trip up on the screen.”
“Here’s your cheque. Hop to it.”
In a time when attention spans are seemingly being whittled away a fraction at a time, SBS took a bit of a gamble by green-lighting The Ghan, which has been described as Australia’s first venture into the phenomenon of “slow TV”, popularised by our friends in Norway.
In 2009, those crazy Norwegians revolted against the fast pace of 21st century living by airing seven hours of train-travel footage on the country’s main TV station.
They then upped the ante by screening 12 hours of a jumper being knitted, and in 2011 went all-in with the broadcast of 134 hours of a cruise ship making its way through the nation’s majestic fjords.
Reportedly half of Norway tuned in for this. No, really.
Now this isn’t to say that viewers stayed put for the whole thing; news reports indicate that most people checked in for a little while before going about their everyday business, occasionally sticking their head back in to see how it was progressing.
Was it just curiosity on their part, do you think? Or does slow TV have more of a therapeutic purpose?
After all, we’re existing in an era where many of us feel increasingly stressed but also time-poor, with not enough hours in the day to slow down, take a breath and get our bearings.
So maybe tuning in to something that operates at a very deliberate pace, something that won’t speed up or skip ahead on demand, almost forces the viewer to adjust their own rhythms and calm down for a second or two.
And if you’ve spent any time on a lengthy train journey, you’ll know that it’s the kind of trip that requires just that.
After the hectic hubbub of the holiday season (let’s face it, Christmas and New Year’s can take it out of you), surrendering to the peaceful rattle of the Ghan as it cut its way across Australia looked pretty enticing.
Half a million people nationwide clearly thought so when the three-hour version of The Ghan aired on SBS last Sunday, making it one of the station’s best-performing programs of recent times.
Which is why SBS is extending the trip, airing 17 hours of uninterrupted Ghan footage on its Viceland channel from 2.40am this Sunday.
(Even this is a greatest-hits collection; the full trip from Adelaide to Darwin takes 54 hours.)
Next best thing to a holiday?
Well, let’s not go that far. But it’s got to be at least as riveting as the cricket, right?