[3][4][5][6] The Outcasts told the story of William Redfern and his attempts to build a hospital in Sydney in 1808.

Stormy Petrel, written by Rex Rienits and Colin Dean, had been a big success for the ABC.

"[9] The Woman's Weekly said the story "seems closer to present-day Australia in its lasting effects than the Bligh rebellion, with its high life at Government House, its turbulence, and its drama.

"[5] Malcolm Ellis of The Bulletin wrote, "For those who like their historical drama presented in the Alfred Dampier manner, with shouting, weeping, oppression of the weak, all the characters pure-white or pure-black in morals and the dialogue scissored out of volumes seven to ten of the "Historical Records of Australia", the series is good, clean fun.

Historians can get very possessive and mean whenever someone else does a work on "their" area of history"[6]) Filmink magazine argued: The series lacks the clean narrative drive of Stormy Petrel, which built up to a big confrontation between two conflicting parties (i.e.

Instead of being a story about two hot-tempered alpha males slogging it out, The Outcasts has more of a solemn "we are making history here" vibe with characters talking a lot about what they envision Australia’s future to be.