I've only caught up with this show in recent months and maybe my overall rating might have been higher had I not watched the entire series to date in several marathons. Maybe viewing it weekly would have brought out less of the failings of the show, but in one lump they tend to scream out at one. Now, with the latest series underway, I see that nothing has changed - the program has taken the usual path of long running series and manages to deliver a disaster or personal drama every episode to order.
The casting on the whole is good, the actors on the whole are good too, but they are let down by the stupid story lines and the apparent determination of the makers to make it look like the period in which it set (and more often than not, fail). I know that this far down the line it would be hard to obtain authentic vehicles of the period and that any that survive would be someone's pride and joy - but - other than Roy's truck, most look like what the are - again someone's pride and joy...and equipped with modern number plates into the bargain. Surely they could have spent a bit more money and replaced the modern plates with copies of those around in the 50s?
Other than the introduction of a few extra characters, the cast remains the same - and the dangers/dramas likewise. I am rather tired of the ever glowering Regina - how nice it would have been to have her locked up forever, sitting there in her padded cell and glaring at the camera from time to time. No - she's out and about and no doubt about to wreak more havoc. And Anna (who has always given me the impression she's incapable of threading more than two words together) is about to publish yet another best seller - and upset the whole family in the process no doubt.
So, why do I keep watching the darned thing you ask? Because it's habit forming - poisonous habit forming - but I will stay with it to grisly end.
The casting on the whole is good, the actors on the whole are good too, but they are let down by the stupid story lines and the apparent determination of the makers to make it look like the period in which it set (and more often than not, fail). I know that this far down the line it would be hard to obtain authentic vehicles of the period and that any that survive would be someone's pride and joy - but - other than Roy's truck, most look like what the are - again someone's pride and joy...and equipped with modern number plates into the bargain. Surely they could have spent a bit more money and replaced the modern plates with copies of those around in the 50s?
Other than the introduction of a few extra characters, the cast remains the same - and the dangers/dramas likewise. I am rather tired of the ever glowering Regina - how nice it would have been to have her locked up forever, sitting there in her padded cell and glaring at the camera from time to time. No - she's out and about and no doubt about to wreak more havoc. And Anna (who has always given me the impression she's incapable of threading more than two words together) is about to publish yet another best seller - and upset the whole family in the process no doubt.
So, why do I keep watching the darned thing you ask? Because it's habit forming - poisonous habit forming - but I will stay with it to grisly end.