ryat18 What a very pleasant surprise when I turned the channel that day to find this outstanding Aussie show. I found myself wrapped up into their daily lives. I could not get home fast enough from work to find what was in store for the families on the show. ( That does sound as if I have no life ha-ha ) The stories each family told was amazing. I loved the comedy and the true to home bits of the episodes. I was truly saddened when I read that there was no more episodes to watch. The show will be missed by this fan. The cast was amazing well done job to all. The creators also amazing. thank you thank you please write more very soon I loved it.

sheilaabrahamsson Despite some big names (in Australia at any rate) this fails to deliver any kind of emotional or dramatic punch. Formulaic characters, meandering story line and a clunky script make for an uninteresting and downright boring offering. Surely Australian scriptwriters can come up with something better than this! I tuned in with the hope of seeing something along the lines of "Sea Change"......perhaps because of William McInnes?. No such luck. The dialogue seems forced and wooden, and even the likes of the aforesaid W M, Claudia Karvan etc, can do nothing to bring it to life. In fact, I have to wonder what the producers were intending with this series....whatever it was, I'm afraid they failed.

Bob Highland If you look at the premise of this series - one more examination of the daily lives of a bunch of suburban characters, most of them somehow related, chronicling their triumphs and disappointments - one could be forgiven for thinking that it's just another soap. After all, the line between upmarket soap opera and quality drama can be confusingly thin at times.For mine, this definitely falls into the latter category. It's true that the story lines fall into the usual run of spousal tensions, generational issues, affairs, blended families and how the kids are affected, with associated logistical problems. But then, that's life, innit? You don't need to be in a train-wreck to have at least one phase of your life that resembles one.The trick in making such well-worn stories worth watching anew is in providing moments of genuine drama, with authentic emotional reactions and dialogue that rings true for each character, with sufficient nuance to let us feel that we are they, and we know exactly what they're going through. Yes, perhaps some of the situations here are a bit familiar and obvious, but at least they don't all say the bleedin' obvious.In the end, the main differentiator between the two genres is a well-wrought script coupled with an ensemble cast that's capable of doing justice to it. Not to mention having the restraint to avoid a closing shot of a character staring into the middle distance with the expression of a stunned mullet. And resisting the temptation to include an explosion or inferno to ramp up the stakes a bit.On that basis, this is a fine effort. Good, thoughtful scripts, and excellent performances all round.

Rollum This confused direction-less Australian drama jumps from a one Neighbors like cliché to another. Aside from the character of Caroline (Claudia Karvan) there is no real acting going on here. Just a series of painfully labored dialogues expressed in the most trivial and boring scenarios.There is Caroline, a deserted mother whose husband, Matt (William McInnes) has left her for another woman. Now they begin a fight for custody of there son Carmody who Caroline thought was a genius but turns out hes below average. The Matt character is a dim witted and socially inept yet high flying exec with more money than sense and no real grasp on reality. William McInnes plays the role like a mahogany side board and the occasional violent outburst in the script make this character plain creepy.Then there is Herb, (Stephen Curry)and Luce (Shane Jacobson) One is supposed to be funny and the other is supposed to be a gifted singer musician. Neither are either!!! Jacobson is badly cast and nauseating as the portly would be rock star who is supposed to be able to play anything on his cut price acoustic guitar. These two hip guys own a comedy club where the laughs are all staged and Herb is just not funny even though all the extras are laughing at his scripted gags. Oh and Herbs Mum throws up because she has a drinking problem. Riveting stuff!There is also an abandoned bride who almost takes back the coward who left her at the alter when he comes crawling back - but to our relief she doesn't ..... WHO CARES!!! The ideas are old and there is no continuity in the story. The characters are shallow and clichéd and the drama is second hand. I managed four episodes of this soapy mess. The Days of Our Lives or The Time of Our Lives, either way , it was over for me when the fat man sang. and Yes........ he sings....Often.