Edition H - What's On
10 JUL 2003, Page 007
MOO MEDIA
By Jennifer Dudley
MOO MEDIA
Your involvement in this show isn't limited to passively sitting on the couch.
Fat Cow Motel, ABC, Thursday, 9.30pm
FAT Cow Motel is not like other Australian television comedies.
As well as featuring interactive elements, the 13-part series does not include slapstick humour. It is far too eccentric for that.
``Characters do fall over,'' says actor Brendan Cowell, ``but they fall over and die.''
The ABC series is based in the small Australian town of Fat Cow and its three-star hotel, made infamous by the on-site death of '70s rock star Rory Toogood.
The motel is run by dedicated country dweller Cassie Taylor (Kate Atkinson), whose life is transformed when city journalist Jack Green arrives in town to make a documentary.
Suddenly mysteries start appearing, and people begin to die.
Cowell, who plays Jack, says he initially turned the role down, saying the show was ``really silly'', but he warmed to it on a second inspection.
``I read episodes one and seven and it reminded me of Northern Exposure, which was my favourite show. So I thought I'd give this a crack,'' he says.
``The characters are really quite smart even though they live in a pretty isolated place and it's very Australian but not in that self-deprecating way.
``It's intelligent and a little left of field.
``Kate Atkinson (from SeaChange) had also already been cast and I thought I could learn a lot from her.''
The pair spent a lot of time together.
Fat Cow Motel was shot over 13 weeks in Harrisville, outside Ipswich, where the show's production took over the entire town.
``We transformed the place into Fat Cow.
``We used every inch of it in the 13 weeks,'' Cowell says. Every half-hour episode features a mystery for the audience to solve. If viewers want more clues, they can find them at the show's Internet site (www.fatcowmotel.com.au) or via e-mail, SMS or iTV (on AUSTAR's ABC channel).
There are prizes for those first to solve the mysteries. Cowell says he and other cast members hardly noticed filming the extra interactive elements of the show on location, though he hopes they are appreciated by viewers.
Even if they aren't, Cowell says the show stands alone.
``It's like (Northern Exposure's town of) Cicely -- you've got eccentric characters like mute twins and odd, dark murder mysteries with this really fiery love-hate relationship between Jack and Cassie. It's a really engaging tale, whether you want to go on to the other platforms or not,'' he says.
``I just hope people jump on. It might take a few weeks to accept the rules but, if they do, I reckon they could be in for a real treat.''