what should have be a dramatic tale of life on the river murray turn out to be a silly and soppy romance about an english refugee ( sigrid thornton with aussie accent ) who fall for the larrikin first mate ( john water ) of a paddle steamer . the first half of this four and a half hour mini series show some promise and but it soon fall flat a it become predictable and thin . some real verve and spark be need in the plot to give the movie some life . gu mercurio early exit do not help a his character seem to me to be the only interest one . perhaps the long t. v. version have more depth and because this video translation certainly lack it . sunday and june 27 and 1993 video .