Excellent, a Must See

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

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.

I have been loving so many shows from Australia the last few years. I first saw Claudia Claven in her show Spirited and really like her. Since then I have seen she basically plays extremely unlikable characters that are real snobs and bitches and seems to win many awards playing the same role over and over. She plays the bitter character of Caroline in this show. And that has been annoying. I like all the actors in this show and I enjoy the story lines, but there is one kid they need to replace, the actor who plays "Carmody". That kid is so bad and so obnoxious, I cringe every time he is on the screen. Every time his mother says "Carmody" in her horrible snobby voice I want to throw something at the screen. What kind of name is Carmody? Now if they do not want us to like him they have done an excellent job of it. He talks in a sing songy way, and feels like he is reading his lines and is so unlikable. Then Claudia Klaven plays his mom who thinks he is a little prince and she is so obnoxious. If those two characters left the show would be more enjoyable for me. She makes he douchey husband Matt in the show a sympathetic character! I do enjoy the show very much other than that little family unit. I also do not trust Claudia Klaven now when I see she is in something, I cannot handle watching her play so many dislike able characters. She has that nailed for sure. I had to go and rant somewhere after I just watched the most recent episode. Also I was impressed with how realistic they made the Grandpa and his fake leg, so I looked it up and that actor really did lose his leg and they incorporated it into the show. Great job.

Reading other reviews for this series confirmed in my mind that one would either hate it or love it. I expect that women would like it and men would generally hate it. (Perhaps I'm bisexual in giving it 5). The cast is as good as could be expected in an Australian drama. The failure comes from the plot and the script. The story went nowhere. It is a typical soap. The comparison with the never-ending series "Days of Our Lives" is apt. Added to this is the stultifying political correctness that hangs over the series. Children have baths in clothes!! We have the token Asian woman. All the main men are Sensitive New-Age Guys whose characters must have been defined by the women who produced the show. The men are one-dimensional. Only some of the female characters have any depth and then not much. One outstanding feature of the series is the standard of the acting by the children. The twins, Carmody and Luce's daughter are stars, believable and natural. The show's scenario could have produced some excellent episodes but the promise was never realised.

I can't remember when I've enjoyed an Australian series so much! The show is well written, and perfectly cast. All the characters are believable, Shane Jacobsen and Justine Clarke are outstanding in their roles, as are William McInnes and Claudia Karvan, to name a few. I haven't seen Michelle Vergara Moore perform before but she is excellent in this. I wouldn't miss an episode, and family, friends and colleagues I've spoken with share my opinion ... favourite topic of conversation Monday lunchtimes is discussing the Sunday night's episode! The actors pretty much portray a cross-section of issues facing any Australian community, and do it with class. (This is the first review I've bothered to write here ... I felt I had to share my enjoyment of this show).