Anzac Girls

This six-episode drama is based on the real-life experiences of five nurses from Australia and New Zealand who served in the military hospitals of the Great War.  With impressive production design and some truly harrowing scenes of battlefield carnage, the series has a “you are there” intensity.  Fortunately (or unfortunately, according to the tastes of the viewer) this is interspersed with quieter moments as the nurses go about their off-duty lives, where no fewer than three of the main characters become involved in romantic relationships. My favorite character in the series is gangly, bighearted Aussie nurse Olive Haynes who is brought to exuberant life through a well-crafted and very physical performance by actress Anna McGahan.  

 

If you enjoy Anzac Girls, you might also try The Crimson Field, another drama about World War I nurses and doctors (in this case, mostly English).

 

One final note:  if you appreciate great costumes, be sure to hang around for the last couple of episodes.  The dress uniforms worn by the Red Cross nurses are a rich, vibrant blue – almost shockingly blue against the muted army camp backgrounds – and are absolutely gorgeous.