I have just watched episode 13 of 50 of a new (i.e. never before seen on Finnish TV), Australian soap opera that airs on YLE1 on weekdays at 09.30. Unlike Northern Exposure on MTV3 in the afternoons, each episode of Always Greener comes on at the same time, although one morning it was scheduled to start at 09.32, which was a wee bit finicky for me. However, it is just the right time for someone who works in the evenings, but might not be so convenient for those of you who live more normal lives. The premise of the series is that people always think that somewhere else is better than where they actually are. A tropical island with sun and sand, minus any mosquitoes of course, as opposed to a dark and cold Finnish winter, comes to mind. Two families, tied by blood, decide to swap homes, resulting in a couple and their three children moving to the countryside, while a widowed mother with her two, take off for the big, wild city. Each show deals with aspects of human and animal life, spanning from before conception to after death – presented in a serious and humorous way. Too much of either format would be too much for me so, in my opinion, this series hits a balance between the two. 
 It is in stark contrast to the series that aired on Teema towards the end of last year, which dealt with the colonisation of that same vast and inhospitable land starting in the 18th century – and sad viewing it was, especially for me as one of British descent. It was hard to watch the unfolding story of how the indigenous peoples were seen as second-class citizens. Promises were made by the settlers, missionaries and soldiers but few ever materialised as the aboriginal peoples were herded into enclaves and introduced to Western methods and styles of living – and religion. Sacred sites were violated (although their significance was possibly not understood by the newcomers) and land, which held the very essence of the natives’ ancestral identity, was grabbed and farmed as though the English had a God-given right to steal it. If this series ever returns to Teema – and as re-runs are the norm in Finland, I am sure it will – I highly recommend it as a sobering and humbling viewing experience. An added bonus for those of us who wouldn’t want to use the programmes as a tool for learning Finnish is that the spoken language could be changed back to English by the press of a button – on my remote control at least. 
 Meanwhile, we are being offered a taste of what life in modern Australia might be like. Any natives now living “up above” instead of “down under” are welcome to inform the rest of us whether the story-lines and characters are true to life or not. However, I wonder if their views of this series will be different from mine anyway, as when I first saw Crocodile Dundee, the Aussies sitting in the row behind me at the cinema were laughing at different times from us Brits!

Ruth Lehtomäki