This is the same brand of cheerful-earnest, chaotic-contrived TV that Channel 7 started doing well around the time of 'Always Greener'. Every episode highlights the importance of friends and family, but the treatment is usually self-deprecating enough not to turn into some sugary nightmare.
The premise - four high school friends reuniting a decade on, with their lives suddenly catapulted in strange directions by a lottery win - offers rich pickings. Obvious differences in personality and circumstance among the four main women mean that the comic and dramatic story lines just come easily.
In the proud tradition of Australian commercial TV, the dialogue is sometimes clunky and can sound like bad self-help psychology. It's a testament to the acting - especially by Virginia Gay (Frances), Melanie Vallejo (Sophie), and Denise Scott and Francis Greenslade (Jenny's parents) - that a lot of it seems authentic.
A problem with Gay's and Vallejo's talent, though, is that they tend to act their supporting cast off the screen. The male performances around Gay especially can be hard to watch. Damien Bodie (Jonathan) was a great child actor once, but as Frances' best friend and assistant, he's excruciating. He seems chronically uncomfortable about delivering the camp one-liners that the writers are trying for. Still, Virginia Gay's sturdy and fragile portrayal wins out, as do the other three leads. If the supporting men become as comfortable with their characters as the heroines already are, a pretty good series will get better.
The premise - four high school friends reuniting a decade on, with their lives suddenly catapulted in strange directions by a lottery win - offers rich pickings. Obvious differences in personality and circumstance among the four main women mean that the comic and dramatic story lines just come easily.
In the proud tradition of Australian commercial TV, the dialogue is sometimes clunky and can sound like bad self-help psychology. It's a testament to the acting - especially by Virginia Gay (Frances), Melanie Vallejo (Sophie), and Denise Scott and Francis Greenslade (Jenny's parents) - that a lot of it seems authentic.
A problem with Gay's and Vallejo's talent, though, is that they tend to act their supporting cast off the screen. The male performances around Gay especially can be hard to watch. Damien Bodie (Jonathan) was a great child actor once, but as Frances' best friend and assistant, he's excruciating. He seems chronically uncomfortable about delivering the camp one-liners that the writers are trying for. Still, Virginia Gay's sturdy and fragile portrayal wins out, as do the other three leads. If the supporting men become as comfortable with their characters as the heroines already are, a pretty good series will get better.