TL;DR – This premiere was a good grounding episode for all the drama, conflict, and vibes of the series.

Disclosure – I watched this on SBS On Demand.

The Airport Chaplain Review Introduction

When you hear that Hugo Weaving is popping into an SBS series all about being an eccentric airport chaplain, well, you need to see what all that is about. It is one of those odd combinations that draws you in, and I am glad that it is also interesting.

So, to set the scene, it is a chaotic day at a Melbourne airport: planes are being delayed, a flight from Shanghai has been circling for half an hour with a dead body on board, and there is a security incident happening. It is one of those days when you need a fixer to help smooth these things over, which is a good thing: Airport Chaplain Tobias Wallace (Hugo Weaving) is on the case. Now, from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

It’s the Vibe of the Thing

What this first episode does in half an hour better than a lot of other pilot episodes I have watched this year is immediately set the mood for the series. You get to understand not just the pressures that exist or problems to be managed. But in that short timeframe, you understand the core tension that will be ripping its way through the series, and also, more importantly, the vibes of the characters and the workplace. You know how Tobias operates and how the rest of the staff are both frustrated by his actions, but also supportive because he is the grease that moves a lot of the small clogs that ruin people’s day.

Collision Course

 They make all of this happen purely through context clues, such as how Tobias lets himself get taken advantage of by the dodgy animal service dog, but that is okay, because that should happen rather than change and miss comforting the man who just lost his father that they have complex feelings about. The one exception to this is when they take a moment to exposition-drop the central conflict into the episode. The old-school ‘just get it done’ mentality of Tobias crashing headlong into the ‘we have procedures for a reason’ world of Mira Ansari-Cole (Shabana Azeez). It is a tension that works because you can see and understand both sides of the argument, and the two actors sell it completely in their exchange.  

Recommendation

In the end, do we recommend The Airport Chaplain? Yes. This first episode did exactly what all pilot episodes should do: it set the scene, and then it enticed me to see how it will all shape out. Solid filmmaking, interesting characters, and conflict that I want to see where it goes. Have you seen The Airport Chaplain yet? Let us know what you thought in the comments below.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Bluesky at @Tldrmovrev, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of The Airport Chaplain
Directed by – Bonnie Moir
Written by – Elise McCredie
Created by – Elise McCredie & Jude Troy
Production/Distribution Companies – Wooden Horse, Screen Vic, Netflix & SBS
Starring – Hugo Weaving, Shabana Azeez, Claudia Karvan, Erroll Shand, Thomas Weatherall, & Kavitha Anandasivam
With – Priscilla Doueihy, Arka Das, Elias Anton, Fanny Hanusin, & Echo Palo