My wife and I chanced on this. I don't watch "chick" shows and we both think this is "chick series" but out of desperation we picked it up as a. Next to "Keeping Faith" and "New Tricks," both on Acorn TV this is the most riveting series we have watched on any network in years.
Talk about "Dysfunction." Rarely is anyone in this series actually balanced and happy. There are a few characters who manage sanity and happiness. Two women cannot avoid chasing horrible relationships. Several men cannot keep their zippers up and, again, rarely is anyone really happy. Frankly, there are moments of true misery including a genuinely miserable teenager who cannot cope with anything at all. Makes this series bad? On the contrary, as I already wrote, "riveting." We only watch 2 or 3 episodes a day because it is exhausting.
Superior acting; diverse cast (no, not as in "racially diverse") all with very different characters. Beautiful scenery in places. A horrible tragedy which I will not disclose here, draws on the depth of the characters.
Three features of this series that surprised me though I have no judgment about them: The drinking (whisky) is non-stop. That does run through many of the UK/NZ/AU productions. Are "these people" really like that? The gratuitous swearing? Huh? (I live in the U. S.)
The disrespect even the "committed" couples show each other is nothing either my wife or I would tolerate in our marriage.
Pardon the rambling; to sum it up. We both believe this is a "must watch" but make sure to take your Xanax before you sit down; you are going to need it.
