Filmed entirely on location in a naturally occurring rain shadow in the Adelaide Hills, the Australian television drama Rain Shadow is centered around the relationship between two female veterinarians, laid over a harsh socioeconomic situation existing in a struggling farming community. A "rain shadow" is a region on the lee side of a mountain range, where precipitation is markedly decreased compared to the windward side.
Episode 1, “The Long Paddock,” introduces us to Jill (Victoria Thaine), a fresh-faced young veterinarian who is assigned to assist the current vet, Kate McDonald (Rachel Ward), in drought-stricken Paringa. Kate is gruff and brusque to her new assistant: she has fired or chased off the last nine assistant veterinarians the agency has sent her; she describes her home of Paringa as “walking road kill,” what with the ten-year drought having sucked all the juice out of all the residents. Dour Kate is not entirely without heart, however, but makes quick, pragmatic choices when Jill discovers a sick itinerant drover, taking his equally sick sheep down the “long paddock” (the stock roads).
In Episode 2, “You Can’t Eat Scenery,” a drought-relief workshop has come to Paringa. Tensions run high as the farmers try to figure out what might save their dying farms. One farmer in particular, Fred Kline, is at the end of his tether with his sheep showing signs of a contagion. The wealthiest landowner, Balfour, asks Kate if Jill will be a “problem” but Kate assures him she can manage her new assistant; unbeknownst to Kate, Jill has sent some samples from Fred’s sheep off to the lab.
Another new face comes to town in “Paringa Rules” (episode 3): Akmed Aziz, an Iraqi scientist sent to learn about Australia’s dry land farming and animal husbandry techniques. Aziz’s arrival causes more consternation among Kate and the more successful farmers. Kate tasks Jill with taking their guest around only to certain farms with healthy sheep. When Jill receives her lab results from Fred’s sheep, Kate is furious: if the lab blows the whistle, the district is doomed.
“Black and White” (episode 4) starts with Kate getting injured as she treats some cattle, so Jill must take all the house calls while Kate orders her around by phone from the house. Kate takes advantage of Jill’s absence by telling Balfour that Jill received the lab results; when Balfour insists that Kate send the new sheila out to see him, Kate wryly warns him that Jill will not be intimidated by him regardless of how hard he tries. Jill and Kate butt heads yet again, but begin to work together to fix things in the district that Kate so loves and Jill is learning to understand.
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