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Clip description
Cousins Nick (Alex Dimitriades) and Con (Salvatore Coco) and their friends drive to their first day back at inner-city school Hartley High. Meanwhile, rookie teacher Christina Milano (Sarah Lambert), also on her way to school, farewells her parents and heeds their warning not to go ‘too fast’. Pulling over to read a map, she is spotted by the boys who loudly attempt to pick her up.
Curator’s notes
Contrary to their early morning prediction of discovering a ‘fat old boiler with a moustache’ for this year’s teacher, the cousins unknowingly meet young and attractive Christina Milano. This clip from the first episode of series one clearly establishes the trademark edgy, high energy, urban and realistic feel of the series. While the central premise of the movie on which the series is based – an affair between student and teacher – is not played out in the series, there is still a recognition here of the potential for sexual tension between older students and a young teacher.
On the success of the series, both in Australia and internationally, series creator and executive producer Ben Gannon comments in an interview on the Heartbreak High website that in some ways, ‘It felt like an American show because it was pacy, fast moving and looked good. We put a lot of effort into the way the show looked, so shot on film, and the music was also very important.’ Gannon credits music coordinator Christine Woodruff with building relationships between the production and Australian record companies who came to see the show as an opportunity to expose emerging artists to a national and international audience.
Heartbreak High’s original music was composed by Todd Hunter (sometimes in partnership with Johanna Pigott), best known as a member of rock group Dragon. The series also features Australian artists including Baby Animals, Died Pretty, Hoodoo Gurus, The Screaming Jets, INXS and actress Abi Tucker, who also plays Jodie in the series.
