OPERATION BUFFALO

NUKES IN THE OUTBACK

This Australian six-part series is set in and around the chaos of the Cold War nuclear tests conducted by the UK at the Maralinga site in South Australia. It isn’t a straight telling of those dark days, but a heavily fictionalised sideshow, with plenty of non-atomic action, and a tone that dips between tragedy and farce. We follow a colourful bunch, led by the base’s fixer Major Carmichael (Ewen Leslie) with veteran actor James Cromwell (Babe) as absentminded commanding officer General ‘Cranky’ Crankford. It looks splendid, with a handful of sub-plots involving glamorous women (below), and is at its best when the tone is light.