Wild child TV brings taste of success for 'trendy' Thomson

JIMMY Thomson was in a quandary last Wednesday night. His beloved Celtic were playing Rosenborg live on Scottish TV. Meanwhile on Sky One, there was the opening episode of Crash Palace, a sun, sand and sex drama which he has created and co-written. What should he watch?

Luckily, the European tie was won before the opening shots of Thomson, in a cameo role as a baggage handler at Sydney airport, unloading a rucksack. Now the former sub-editor on The Herald and Sunday Mail is the envy of every hack who every wanted to pen a television serial.

Born in Dumfries, Thomson, now 47, became news editor on the West Lothian Courier before heading off to Kenya, where he worked as an editorial executive on the Nairobi Standard. He returned to Britain in time to join the short-lived London Daily News, which was edited by Magnus Linklater.

Those who recall Thomson from his newspaper days will realise that much of the dead-pan, caustic humour in Crash Palace was picked up from the banter which used to fly around newspaper offices. It was Thomson's ambition to be a Hollywood screenwriter, but his Aussie success is equally satisfying.

He now lives in an apartment in Sydney's trendy King's Cross with stunning views and is the creator of Crash Palace, the new drama about backpackers in Australia.

"When young people go half- way around the world to get away from their parents, they end up doing things they wouldn't dream of doing back home. This show simply reflects this," he says.

"It's the transition from adolescence to adulthood. It is very naughty but that just reflects the reality in King's Cross. We have had to tone everything down. Yes, there is a lot of sex and drug- taking because really that's what young backpackers like to do."

The Lonely Planet guide describes King's Cross as "a cocktail of strip joints, prostitution, crime and drugs shaken and stirred with a handful of classy restaurants, designer cafes, upmarket hotels and backpacker hostels. It attracts an odd mix of low-life, travellers, inner-city trendies and tourists looking for a big night out." And it attracts thousands of young people away from home for the first time.

Thomson says: "I just have to step outside into the street to see it teeming with storylines." And he doesn't deny he has become an "inner-city" trendy.

Thomson's fictional hostel is called the Royal and based on the Original Backpackers hostel in Victoria Street, which is an old Federation building with room for 120 backpackers.

Thomson put forward the idea and signed a contract with Rupert Murdoch's Fox, Sky's Australian equivalent, as the creator of the show.

"Having sold the idea I could have walked away but they asked me to be the creative producer. We have had a team of about 20 writers and we think we've reached a new standard for Australian drama. I'm only credited as the writer of the final episode but I have been tinkering with the dialogue for all the episodes. It is intended to be sharp and funny."

The first 65 half-hour shows are now in the bag and he is hoping that it will be successful enough for another series. Thomson is already a seasoned script writer. He created an earlier soap series called Breakers, set on Bondi beach, which was briefly on British television but had a cult following in the Soviet Union.

"We don't like calling Crash Palace an Aussie soap. In fact, anyone who calls it a soap on the set is immediately fined $10 as a joke. We aren't being pretentious but we like to think of it as a serial drama."

THOMSON believes that Australian TV drama is growing up. "We are employing real actors, not people that we've picked up in a pizza parlour. We wanted to give young actors a break rather than fill it with celebrities, but Warren Derosa and Stephanie Waring are well- known in the UK for being in Hollyoaks."

The late-night spot certainly means it won't be youngsters who will be viewing. "While Home and Away and Neighbours are for an average age of 14, this is more the 23-25 age group. It has been compared with This Life but it is an adult Australian brand of our own. We are trying to raise the bar a bit," says Thomson. But there is no escaping that the content will be sexy and controversial.

"My sister, who still lives in Scotland, saw the first episode and said that it's the type of programme parents will see and say to their kids, 'Well, that's it, you're not going to Australia now'. But really we've tried to make it as realistic as possible without being gratuitous."

The sex industry in Sydney attracts people from all over the world. "I have heard stories of posh young girls arriving from England and being offered $1000 to take their clothes off for adult magazines. They jump at the chance because that's a lot of money for a backpacker and, of course, being far from home, they think they will never be found out by mum and dad."

"The moral thread, if there is one, is that there are consequences to all of our actions and we must face up to these consequences. That's the transition of moving from being a kid to becoming an adult."

Thomson was on the set 14 hours a day while they were making the shows at the Fox studio, which was being used for major features, such as Moulin Rouge, Star Wars and the next Matrix.

"I bumped into Keanu Reeves when he was making The Matrix 2 and I nearly ran over George Lucas. Now that would have made the news. It's amazing, you are walking along the film lot and you recognise someone and nod. Then your realise some big star is saying hello to you."

Thomson's partner is also a former journalist, Sue Williams, who has just published a travel logue about Europe and else where entitled Getting There.

A Sky spokeswoman said last night that it was too early to say how the programme was doing in the ratings. "The first night it was up against Coronation Street which was later because of the football. But interest has been exceptional. We think it will be a slow burn as people get to know the characters. The content is very adult and there is a lot of sex, drugs and sand."

The omnibus edition of Crash Palace is tonight at 10pm on Sky One.

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