Agreed Pinky and Skywagondriver. Parts of the show definitely were over-dramatised for the audience. I was there when the filming was done, but working for another company, so not directly involved. The crew was British, hence the emphasis on their countrymen in their portrayal with just the odd Kiwi thrown in for local colour ;-)
It was only really later in the show that some of the more challenging Papua strips were thrown in, in the Porters. There are others the film crews didn't get to. A fair proportion of the show was shot in other parts of Indonesia too -not Papua- which wasn't necessarily made clear in the narrative. As I understand it, Papua and PNG strips and ops actually have quite a bit in common.
Sure, the gear we're using (we still have "Classics" too!) is a little more up-to-date than what you guys had -but there is still little in supporting infrastructure. Evidence of the similarities perhaps lies in the crash statistics for the area, particularly recently. Again similarly, it is less regularly the expats that are involved though.
The accomodations usually (for most of us) tend to be a lot less salubrious than has been portrayed also -certainly in Papua. Food hygiene is at best a notional theory for most too, with the easily imaginable consequences. Regularly.
Not a bad place to fly operationally, albeit with its challenges to live. A superb group of expats and social society make it tolerable ;-)