Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n
television movie
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
broadcast on the
Nine Network
The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...
on 31 August 2008. The telemovie was titled ''Strike Team'', which was ultimately as a decoy due to the state government having been uncomfortable about the premise and plot of the script. ''Scorched'' won the International Emmy Award for Digital Program: Fiction in 2009.
Synopsis
''Scorched'' looks at the problems of
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
and
water scarcity
Water scarcity (closely related to water stress or water crisis) is the lack of fresh water Water resources, resources to meet the standard water demand. There are two types of water scarcity: physical or economic water scarcity. Physical water ...
in the near future. The year is 2012, and after over 240 days without rain,
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
has only two weeks of water left.
As a
state of emergency
A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...
is declared when a ring of
bushfires
A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...
erupt around the city, a reporter uncovers a conspiracy behind the water crisis.Airdate: Scorched /ref>
Plot
It is several days before Christmas in 2012, and Sydney is in the midst of a water crisis. Despite the creation of a
desalination plant
Desalination is a process that takes away mineral components from saline water. More generally, desalination refers to the removal of salts and minerals from a target substance, as in soil desalination, which is an issue for agriculture. Saltw ...
, which
NSW
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
Angela Boardman insists creates millions of litres of fresh water a day, the city is still under Level 8 water restrictions. The western suburbs especially are seriously dry.
Ambitious CPN reporter Susan Shapiro launches an investigation into the crisis. Her report catches the attention of the Premier, who grants Shapiro an interview. Although Shapiro is amicable (perhaps too much so - her cameraman Teddy accuses her of turning into
Oprah
Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', b ...
), she is still suspicious. And with good reason; later conversation between Boardman and her Chief of Staff Tom Daily reveal they are sharing a secret that could end both their careers.
David Langmore, the State Operations Commander for the National Fire Service, is preparing dinner when he receives a call from Shapiro. He is angry that the reporter has called him at home and insists the water shortage has been caused solely by a lack of rain.
ER doctor Michael Francia is enjoying some quiet time with his pregnant wife Lizzie when Emily, his daughter from a previous relationship, shows up on his door. She has had a fight with her mother and needs a place to stay, even though, as she later confesses to her stepmother Lizzie, she isn't sure if her father likes her.
Meanwhile, a lightning storm forms over a
national park
A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
in the western outskirts of Sydney. A bolt of lightning strikes a tree, which bursts into flames. The dry bushland quickly ignites.
The next day at work, Dr Francia is frantically trying to attend to an influx of patients suffering dehydration and heat exhaustion. A courier truck, carrying dozens of gas cylinders, speeds into the hospital car park and a bloodied man is dragged into the hospital lobby. During the commotion that follows, the truck outside is forgotten about and unbeknownst to anyone, one of the cylinders begins to leak.
David Langmore is monitoring the fires in the hopes that his team can prevent them from becoming fireheads. Volunteer firefighters, including David's son Brendan and Brendan's girlfriend Deanna, are sent out to control the blaze. Deanna and two other volunteers are overwhelmed by the size and ferocity of the flames and attempt to escape by car. Langmore and the rest of the workers in the control centre watch helplessly via closed circuit cameras as the fire consumes the car and the three perish.
It becomes apparent that they have a crisis on hand. The Premier announces a
state of emergency
A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...
and Langmore calls a Section 44, enacting that section of the Rural Fires Act 1997 (NSW); the effect of which means all emergency workers in the area are now under his control. Police and firefighters struggle to fight the flames but are deterred by a lack of water and pressure in the hoses.
Lizzie Francia receives a call from her invalid mother. Although Lizzie is concerned, she refuses Emily's offer to collect her mother from her nursing home. Emily sneaks away while Lizzie is dealing with a concerned neighbour. However, she encounters a detour and ends up driving close to the fire. She runs to escape the smoke but falls down a rocky hill and loses consciousness.
Shapiro reports from the frontlines. When firefighters try to tap into a residential water tank, the elderly owner becomes incensed and has a heart attack. Shapiro and Teddy take the man to the hospital, where they meet Dr Francio. They encourage him to tell his wife to evacuate. Shapiro also meets the brother of one of Boardman's political opponents and discovers that she received a large, anonymous donation a month before the election.
Francio calls his wife and urges her to evacuate. Mid-conversation, the leaking gas cylinder in the courier truck explodes. Francio miraculously survives, but several people in the hospital are injured. Lizzie, meanwhile, is forced to evacuate on foot. When she runs into Shapiro, Lizzie begs the reporter to take her two small children in the news helicopter. Shapiro agrees.
Langmore meets with the Premier and insists that they use the water from the desalination plant. Boardman refuses his request. Reluctantly, they resort to using saltwater (which can cause irreparable damage to nature) and the blaze is eventually extinguished.
Emily is found and receives medical attention. Francio rushes to be by her side and promises that he likes her 'with all (his) heart.'
Upon hearing that over 300 people have died, Daily sends Shapiro a video text message. The video reveals that the Premier made a deal with Argon Energy that gave them unlimited fresh water in return for free power to the desalination plants and one million dollars. Shapiro and Teddy are killed when a factory she is reporting from explodes, releasing toxic gases; however, when Langmore checks his email later that afternoon, he finds a video message from the reporter, with the subject line, 'Guess what? Sometimes it isn't just about the weather.'
Later, Boardman calls a press conference to discuss the tragic bushfires. Langmore attends. He asks her questions about the deal with Argon, which Boardman naturally denies. Langmore angrily calls her a liar and tells her that he has a video of their meeting. He gives members of the press copies of the video and Boardman flees the conference.
In the final scene, Langmore visits Shapiro's grave. It is revealed that Boardman was forced to resign as premier and Shapiro received a
posthumous
Posthumous may refer to:
* Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death
* Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death
* Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987
* ...
Walkley Award
The annual Walkley Awards are presented in Australia to recognise and reward excellence in journalism. They cover all media including print, television, documentary, radio, photographic and online media. The Gold Walkley is the highest prize and ...
for investigative journalism... and that, eight weeks after the tragedy, Sydney still hasn't received rain.
Cast
*
Cameron Daddo
Cameron Peter Daddo (born 7 March 1965) is an Australian actor, musician and presenter. From 1987 to 1988, he hosted dating game show '' Perfect Match Australia''. He won two Logie Awards for his performances in '' Golden Fiddles'' and ''Track ...
as David Langmore (State Operations Commander for the National Fire Service)
*
Rachael Carpani
Rachael Ann Carpani (born 24 August 1980) is an Australian actress best known as Jodi Fountain in ''McLeod's Daughters''.
Biography
Carpani grew up on a property near Dural, in Sydney's Hills District. Carpani has twice been nominated at th ...
as Susan Shapiro (Journalist for CPN News)
*
Vince Colosimo
Vincenzo Colosimo (born 11 November 1966) is an Australian AFI Award winning stage, television and screen actor. He has worked in both Australia and the United States. He is of Italian descent and lives in Melbourne, Australia. He was previousl ...
as Dr. Michael Francia (Doctor at Baulkham Hills Public Hospital)
*
Georgie Parker
Georgina Parker (born 16 December 1964) is an Australian television soap actress and has also appeared in film and theatre. She is a double Gold Logie winner, best known for her acting roles in Australian soap operas; as Lucy Gardiner (later T ...
as Angela Boardman (Premier of New South Wales)
*
Libby Tanner
Elizabeth Tanner (born 1970) is an Australian stage and television actress and theatre director best known for her roles as Bronwyn Craig in the television series '' All Saints'' and as Bridget Westfall in ''Wentworth''.
Early life
Tanner grew ...
as Lizzie Francia (wife of Dr. Michael Francia)
*
Bob Morley
Robert Alfred Morley (born 20 December 1984) is an Australian actor. He is best known for his role as Bellamy Blake in The CW's ''The 100'' (2014–2020). After appearing in school plays, Morley was cast as Drew Curtis in the Australian soap ...
as Brendan Langmore (son of David Langmore, and volunteer firefighter)
* Alexandra Fowler as Kate Langmore (wife of David Langmore)
*
Les Hill
Les Hill (born 1 August 1973) is an Australian actor who has appeared in many Australian television productions including '' Rescue: Special Ops,'' ''Home and Away'' and ''Underbelly.''
Early life
Hill was born in the Royal Hospital for Women ...
as Tom Daily (Chief of Staff to the Premier)
*
Brittany Byrnes
Brittany Anne Byrnes (born 31 July 1987) is an Australian actress. Her most notable acting role has been Charlotte Watsford in '' H2O: Just Add Water''.
Personal life
Byrnes was born in Australia and trained in all aspects of dance at the Br ...
as Deanna Pearce (girlfriend of Brendan Langmore)
* Anita Hegh as Linda (National Fire Service officer)
*
Kathryn Beck
Kathryn Beck (born 1 March 1986) is an Australian television and theatre actress. In 2007, she played Lily Nelson in the soap opera '' Home and Away'' and the following year, she appeared in ''East of Everything''. In 2013, Beck began appearing ...
as Emily Francia (daughter of Dr. Michael Francia and stepdaughter of Lizzie Francia)
*
Ben Oxenbould
Ben Oxenbould is an Australian actor and comedian. His brother Jamie Oxenbould is also an actor, as is Jamie's son, Ed Oxenbould.
Early career
He was educated at North Sydney Boys High School. In 1980, Oxenbould was cast as "Hubert 'Fatty' Fi ...
as Lenny (volunteer firefighter)
* Simon Maiden as Teddy (cameraman for Susan Shapiro)
* Mark McCann as Darren
* Brendan Donoghue as Gabe
* Justin Rosniak as policeman
* Salvatore Coco as Richard (National Fire Service officer)
* Karl Beattie as Ben Francia (son of Dr. Michael & Lizzie Francia)
* Lucia Mundell as Lilli Francia (daughter of Dr. Michael & Lizzie Francia)
* Kate Bell as Cassie Hoffman (local resident)
* Zachary Garred as Jade Hall (boyfriend of Cassie Hoffman)
*
Drew Jarvis
Drew Jarvis is an Australian children's television presenter who has appeared on television programmes The Shak and Lab Rats Challenge. He married Lucy Flook in 2009.
Biography
Jarvis grew up in Rockhampton, Queensland and was interested in fi ...
as Ewen Trembly
Related media
The weeks leading up to the broadcast of the telemovie saw a major online
viral marketing
Viral marketing is a business strategy that uses existing social networks to promote a product mainly on various social media platforms. Its name refers to how consumers spread information about a product with other people, much in the same way tha ...
campaign, with a number of websites and
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
accounts created specifically to promote the telemovie by highlighting specific events, organisations and characters featured in the film.
The official website takes the guise of the homepage fo CPN (Cross Platform News) a fictional news network from 2012 which is featured in the film. Websites for the fictional New South Wales Premie Angela Boardman a fictional resident action grou RAWT (Residents Against Water Theft) and the fictional companie Argon Energy and th H20 water transport group were also put online.
The official website also allows users to view online prequel and sequel
webisode
A webisode (portmanteau of "web" and "episode") is an episode of a series that is distributed as part of a web series or on streaming television. It is available as either for download or in streaming, as opposed to first airing on broadcast or c ...
s, and add some of the characters as friends on
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...