Thanks for the memories!

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Excellent but underrated film

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Not the 'only' NZ show I like, but one of a select few (Flight of the Concords, Bro Town), OF is a hilarious at times, shocking, revolting and sometimes heartwarming show about the worst family in a small town (a bit like a NZ Shameless). The characters are rich and realistic, disgusting and terrible, but lovable and most of all unforgettable. Antony Starr of 'Banshee' fame deserves special mention for playing the slick huckster brother and his slow but sweet twin. Anyone who can handle the wacky NZ accent will binge it easily!

I'll keep the review short. This is my first review but this show deserved it. Every kiwi i've watched I eventually lost interest, possibly due to culture differences? I'm not sure. I work from home and usually turn some sort of show on from netflix while i work for background noise. So Outrageous Fortune was a show i was to leave on in the background, peak at here and there while i work.The first episode caught my attention a little bit but i was distracted with work, second, then third came on and i was hooked. Paying more attention to the TV then my own work.I in my entire life have never found a show that has such an amazing cast. You eventually begin to like the cast, then love them. Feel apart of their lives. The show just takes hold of you and doesn't let go until the very end. Not once did i find a single episode boring. The highs, the lows, the emotional twists really take hold. Van and Loretta were my favourites. Loretta would smile and you knew something cheeky was going to happen. I won't give any spoilers but this show is a must for everyone.I was truly sad when it was done. For the first time i really truly loved a show, and couldn't wait to watch the next one. What an amazing job the whole team involved did with it. Kudos to Antony Starr for his dual role. Bravo with an amazingly well done job, especially as Van. In short: Give it a chance, this is one show that will grow on you and you won't regret watching. I wish it would come back for some more seasons, i'm already missing my daily dose of it.

We are lucky in the Solomon Islands to have Outrageous Fortune broadcast here on Australia Network on Monday evenings. This has become one of my favourite shows. This is the type of show that one either loves or loathes. It reminds me of what the late American/International film reviewer Pauline Kael would have fallen in love with. It is fresh and ultimately realistic comedy/drama. Realistic not in the moronic sense of a "reality show", not even in the not-lifelike continual effing. It is realistic in that the characters are deeply flawed human beings. Each one of the them bears deep scars from society, from family, from themselves. Everyone from Granpa to Loretta. This is so unlike most programes where the Good practically wear white hats and the Bad black. The director lets this paradox of the good in the bad show forth by centreing the show around the criminal Wolf and his wife Cheryl, their twin sons, one smart and one stupid--viewer has to decide who is the smart son and who the stupid (played by a look-a-like of a young David Cassidy), and two very lovely daughters, one acutely intelligent and one acutely sexually earthy. Again, the view has to decide who is who. In Outrageous Fortune, hasty character judgements are bound to leave the judge with egg on the face.The Wests are a family of criminals, adulterers, whoremongers, safe-crackers, deceivers--just like you and me. They are the least judgmental TV family I have seen portrayed, and in my time I have seen many. They indeed are a model for every family. Again, first judgements can be deceiving.This show borders on the theatre of the absurd, borders on isn't. I don't think they've come up with a name for this genre. It is bound to radically disappoint viewers who think TV should stay at the level of All Saints or Friends.And not the least best parts of the show is that they producers and actors are outstanding in that they make middle aged people absolutely sexy! The characters of Cheryl, Wolf, Judd are brimming with sexuality, a rarity on television for motherly and fatherly characters. Most directors assume interest in sex stops around around age 30. Outrageous Fortune shows it doesn't. Happy viewing!

The only Outrageous thing about this show is that it was made in the first place. Never mind getting a second season. It looks like a soap opera that should have been shelved. I can't believe that it has made it on to our screens. It is absolutely dreadful. Working in television myself, all I can think is that the Nine Network Australia got the show in a package as part of a deal - Surely they didn't pay for it. I'm wondering whether they actually have watched it before they put it to air. The only good thing about it is that it has obviously kept actors in work so that's a good thing. Honestly don't waste your time - hire a video, read a book or better still switch the channel!