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Go Back to Where You Came From

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This article is about the Australian TV series. For the racial insult, see Go back to where you came from.

Go Back to Where You Came From
Directed byIvan O'Mahoney
Presented byDr David Corlett
Narrated byColin Friels
Theme music composerHans Baker
ComposerGordon Wittoch
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes13
Production
Executive producersPeter Newman, John Godfrey, Michael Cordell, Nick Murray
ProducerRick McPhee
CinematographyBen Foley, Mark Hooper, Nick McInerney
EditorTomas O'Brien
Running time60 minutes
Production companyCordell Jigsaw Productions
Original release
NetworkSBS TV
Release21 June 2011 (2011-06-21) –
4 October 2018 (2018-10-04)

Go Back to Where You Came From is an Australian TV documentary series. It was produced by Cordell Jigsaw Productions and broadcast in 2011 (Season 1), 2012 (Season 2), 2015 (Season 3) and 2018 (Season 4) on SBS.

The series followed two parties, each of six Australians, all members having differing opinions on Australia's asylum seeker debate, being taken on a journey in reverse to that which refugees have taken to reach Australia.

Season 1

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The six Australian participants were Gleny Rae, Adam Hartup, Raquel Moore, Darren Hassan, Raye Colbey, and Roderick Schneider. Deprived of their wallets, phones and passports, they board a leaky refugee boat (from which they are rescued mid-ocean), experience immigration raids in Malaysia, live in Kakuma Refugee Camp in far north-west Kenya, visit slums in Jordan before ultimately making it to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Iraq, protected by UN Peacekeepers and the US military.[1] In the final episode, the participants are debriefed for their response to the experiences.

Season 2 – Celebrity Go Back

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The celebrity participants for the 2012 season were Peter Reith, Angry Anderson, Allan Asher, Catherine Deveny, Mike Smith and Imogen Bailey.[2] The participants were placed on a rickety boat bound for Christmas Island.[3]

Over three episodes, the six Australians also experienced mortal danger on the streets of the world's deadliest cities – from the sweltering, war-torn capital of Somalia, Mogadishu, to the riotous streets of Kabul, freezing amidst the mountains of Afghanistan. They also travelled to the Christmas Island Detention Centre.[4]

Season 3

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The six participants for the 2015 season were Davy (former refugee), Kim ('Stop the Boats' Facebook campaigner), Nicole Judge[5] (detention centre whistle blower), Jodi and Renee (sisters with opposing views) and Andrew (a tough-talking school teacher).[6]

Season 4 – Go Back to Where You Came From Live

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Three episodes were shown on 2–4 October 2018, including live crosses to the participants as events unfolded. The episodes were hosted from a studio with hosts Ray Martin and Janice Petersen. Participants included Jacqui Lambie, Marina (Sydney lawyer and former refugee from Sarajevo), Steve (former prison guard from Adelaide), Gretel Killeen, Peter Everitt and Meshel Laurie.[7]

Reception

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On its premiere night, the series became the number one trending topic on Twitter worldwide.[8]

Go Back To Where You Came From's viewing figures made it the highest-rating programme for SBS in 2011. An estimated 524,000 metropolitan viewers watched the first episode, followed by 569,000 for the second and 600,000 for the third.[9]

The broadcaster subsequently held a televised forum event to reflect on the series and the public debate about asylum seekers.[10]

In 2019, TV Week listed Go Back to Where You Came From at No. 94 in its list of the 101 greatest Australian television shows of all time, which appeared in its monthly TV Week Close Up publication.[11] The magazine recognised the show for introducing Australian audiences to powerful, immersive television during the heat of the asylum seeker debate, and for its achievement in being the top trend on Twitter internationally when it debuted.[11]

Episodes

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Season 1

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Episode 1

Episode 2

  • Immigration housing, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • Construction site immigration raid, Malaysia

Episode 3

Season 2

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Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

Season 3

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Episode 1

Episode 2

  • Makassar, Indonesia – living with refugees

Go Back To Where You Came From Live

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Season 1

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Episode 1

Episode 2

Ratings

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  • Episode 1 – 524,000 23rd for the night[12]
  • Episode 2 – 569,000 24th for the night[13]
  • Episode 3 – 600,000 19th for the night[14]

International remakes

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The series has had international versions after the concept was sold to the following countries:

  • Belgium (Vier) by the name of Terug naar eigen land
  • Denmark (TV2 Denmark) by the name of Send Dem Hjem
  • Germany (Studio Hamburg DocLights) by the name of Auf der Flucht: Das Experiment
  • The Netherlands (Tuvalu Media) by the name of Rot Op Naar Je Eigen Land[15]
  • Sweden (Snowman Productions)
  • South Africa (Curious Pictures)
  • Israel (Keshet Broadcasting)
  • United States (BBC America)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "In Australia, Reality TV Tackles Immigration". The New York Times. 22 June 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
  2. ^ David Knox "Peter Reith to feature in next Go Back to Where You Came From" at tvtonight.com, 25 May 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2013
  3. ^ David Knox Go Back Sails to Christmas Island at tvtonight.com, 19 July 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2013
  4. ^ "About the Show". Special Broadcasting Service. Archived from the original on 3 June 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
  5. ^ "Nicole Judge". IMDb.
  6. ^ "SBS reveals next Go Back to Where You Came From cast". TV Tonight. 16 June 2015.
  7. ^ Malik, Sarah (21 September 2018). "Meet Marina, the refugee lawyer going to a war zone with Jacqui Lambie". SBS. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  8. ^ "Curator's notes Go Back to Where You Came From – Series 1". Australian Screen. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  9. ^ "Go Back To Where You Came From finishes on a high". The Spy Report. Media Spy. 24 June 2011. Archived from the original on 27 June 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  10. ^ "SBS to hold Go Back To Where You Came From forum". The Spy Report. Media Spy. 23 June 2011. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  11. ^ a b Burfitt, John; Cullen, Tamara; Hadley, Amy; Hockey, Maddison; Mitchell, Thomas; Recchi, Karina; Vnuk, Helen; Wang, Cynthia; Zubeidi, Zara (July 2019), 101 Greatest Aussie TV Shows of All Time, TV Week Close Up, Bauer Media Group. Retrieved 7 August 2019
  12. ^ "Free To Air TV Ratings, Tuesday June 21, 2011". 21 June 2011.
  13. ^ "Free To Air TV Ratings, Wednesday June 22, 2011". 22 June 2011.
  14. ^ "Free To Air TV Ratings, Thursday June 23, 2011". 24 June 2011.
  15. ^ Knox, David (28 August 2015). "Dutch broadcaster renews Go Back to Where You Came From". TV Tonight. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
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