Riptide (2022) User Reviews

Poor script, wooden acting, predictable

[jclark-84207 · 4/10 · 31 December 2022]

The idea behind Riptide, whilst hardly original, could have been something that might have been very interesting.

But almost everything about it was "unbelievable" it had so many flaws that we kept watching thinking it could get better.

But it really doesn't.

There were too many occasions when belief was suspended beyond normal levels of expectation.

The bad "guy" is flagged too easily so there was no suspense as the episodes unfolded.

Elementary questions by all involved were never asked including Police procedures.

It was quite insulting for viewers thinking that we'd buy these continual misjudgments and events that really are beyond reasonable belief.

Broadcasters shouldn't take their audience for granted and expect them to like a "drama" like which was of such poor quality.

We're not C5 Watchers so this hasn't endeared us to this Channel.

Ignore the negativity it's actually pretty good !!!

[chloegalley · 6/10 · 27 July 2023]

Riptide is a 2022 psychological thriller featuring jo Joyner as the leading actresses. The drama is filmed in Australia. The first episode is a bit slow but if you persevere with it the drama does get better. I will say I personally thought it was a bit predictable but still a very good watch. The storyline is good and does have twists and turns and is quite intense you just want to keep watching to find out more. Don't know why this has a low rating as its good. The acting was good especially from jo Joyner is a very talented lady. In fact there were all good in playing their characters. Was very impressed. So if you want a good thriller which is light hearted then you will like this. It's bit like Heat with Danny dryer but much better. So don't go by the negative reviews or rating it's really not that bad if anything it's very good. Streaming on My 5 now.

Hum...

[lizs1289 · 6/10 · 2 January 2023]

I saw the reviews but thought I'd give it a try anyway. Quite enjoyed the first 2 episodes but lost patience after that.

Once the perp had been revealed (I'd already surmised it would turn out to be him), the action dragged. But what I found was a particular 'wtf?' moment was when Jo Joyner's character, after having knocked out the guy chasing her, spent time scrabbling for her phone on the floor of the car. She had the keys - any sane person would have left the phone and got the hell out of there! A good premise but needed a tighter plot.

< more words needed> I agree with the other reviewers who noted that the daughter had an Australian accent whilst her parents had strong English accents, with no hint of the local speech patterns. I think in practice, the accents would be more homogeneous. Even after just reading a book set, say, in Ireland, I start thinking with a bit of an Irish accent!

Stay away from this soap

[per-181 · 2/10 · 30 December 2022]

This must be one of the very worst thriller series I have ever had the misfortune to watch. Amateurish writing combined with production values of a five-shows-a-week soap opera - no better than dreadful stuff like Hollyoaks or The Bold and the Beautfiul, with exaggerated characters delivering unlikely lines and unlikely reactions.

All the actors are wooden and hammy, especially the "male model"-looking nosy neighbour, and the storyline is extremely hard to believe. Add to that a 28 year old playing 16 (while looking 28+) and really awful soapy music, there is really nothing to see here.

In "Shakespeare and Hathaway", Jo Joyner's bubbly personality is an asset, but here she is obviously out of her depth - recently tragically widowed, yet still with a happy smile all the time...

I had low expectations, as always when it comes to Australian drama, but this was even worse than I had feared. So watch something else. Anything else. Some cooking show or whatever...

A well paced, intriguing series.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 7/10 · 22 January 2023]

Alison and Sean seem to have the perfect life, newly married, living the perfect life, when Sean disappears at sea, Sean's family are quick to point that finger of blame on Alison, but is she the Cuckoo in the nest?

I'm not too sure why there are so many harsh reviews of this show, I'm not sure you could argue it's a classic, but it's well paced, it's intriguing, and it's so good to see the wonderful Jo Joyner taking a lead in a series.

It's very nicely produced, well filmed, and certainly well acted. They're perhaps a little guilty of taking away some of the suspense and mystery a little too soon, it becomes more of a whydunnit.

It's better than many of the mainstream mysteries on screen right now. It was a good Christmas watch.

There are a few flaws, considering Hannah has only been down under for two years, she doesn't half have a strong Australian accent, and as I said earlier, the mystery was revealed too soon.

7/10.

Bad sound

[leerosella777 · 3/10 · 28 December 2022]

It might have been good, had the sound not been so poor! Music and sound effefts killed the dialogue, could only understand less than half spoken. It's not easy when you're hard of hearing and your hearing aids have to be turned down because the music is too high. Seems the norm these days, for all shows and films.

The acting was wooden and uninspiring, and unbelievable, and that was just episode one. This 4 part show could've been done and dusted in one episode, I imagine.

I'll watch all four and see if it can redeem itself, but not holding my breath. Its a pity because I like Jo Joyner, especially in comedy.

Jo Joyner carries this series!

[luciahawkins · 6/10 · 24 March 2024]

So I thought about turning this series off more times than I can remember, but something (maybe the Sunday afternoon lull) compelled me to keep watching...

Jo Joyner carries this show, not sure why she felt the need to head across the pond but hey Ho a job is a job and whilst the acting at times is wooden by the cast, overall it's fairly watchable. Very typical of Australian soap, think neighbours/home and away. (Why is Australia filming always very grey?!)

Yes, I'm massively confused by why they chose an English mum and dad and an Australian actor for the daughter but i managed to overlook this and somewhat enjoy overall.

What a load of rubbish

[natnissim · 1/10 · 30 December 2022]

Everything about this was bad, but mainly the storyline.

The story was so far fetched and just plain stupid. It was like they were trying to make a UK version of the amazing US series 'You' but all crammed into four episodes and done really badly.

And whoever the music supervisor was should probably find another career as the music sync choices were also terrible.

The only good thing in it was the daughter Hannah. Great actress. I hope she manages to find a part in a production way better than this one.

Don't bother watching as you'll be disappointed at the end and you'll never get those four hours back.

Disappointing, Soapy and Wooden Acting

[rosemaryandthyme · 3/10 · 1 January 2023]

I wanted so much to like this because I just adore Jo Joyner in Shakespeare & Hathaway and I was excited she would have a lead role in an Aussie series. Boy what a disappointment! Firstly it was s-l-o-w with long pauses and the dialogue was as if written for a daytime soap. Did the Neighbors scriptwriters and crew work on this in between series? As for Jo all I could see was a cheery Luella from S&H. Sadly, I don't think she had the range to show the emotion that was required for this role. Now the daughter...ugh.... too old for the role, stilted, wooden acting and a whining Aussie accent. I cringed everytime she appeared, which was far too often. This series is a cringe-worthy snoozefest and very, very disappointing. Jo is a great comedy actress though.

Worth watching

[itnash · 8/10 · 6 January 2023]

There are some obviously biased views on here.

My partner and I decided to watch this as I recorded it before Christmas and as usual not much on after.

Anyway enough of the filler to use characters up.

Yes it is fairly obvious who the murderer is but that is thankfully discovered early anyway, at the end of episode 2. Episode 1 was the usual kind setting up the premise. Although this does twist on sheer it seems to be going.

I agree the accent of the daughter when the parents still had full on English accents is annoying but trivial in the scheme of the plot.

We really enjoyed the cat and mouse style thriller that this turned into.

It is definitely worth a watch.

The sound is awful

[lynn-simpson · 4/10 · 31 December 2022]

I've just started watching this and have to keep reaching for the remote to turn the sound down when the music is playing in certain parts, then turn it up again to hear the conversation.

I'm not sure if I'll continue to watch it. The storyline seems very familiar but cant place it.

The acting and the storyline also are a bit naff.

The only good thing is the beautiful scenery.

Need another 200 characters before I can post this review so I'm just going to copy and paste.

I've just started watching this and have to keep reaching for the remote to turn the sound down when the music is playing in certain parts, then turn it up again to hear the conversation.

I'm not sure if I'll continue to watch it. The storyline seems very familiar but cant place it.

The acting and the storyline also are a bit naff.

The only good thing is the beautiful scenery.

High hopes, but it's just badly written

[SansSeraphAsh · 3/10 · 28 June 2023]

Just another example of Australia's terrible 'connection' with mystery dramas. It's time for some euro/scandi writers and directors to come south to mentor and teach us how to do things properly.

I'll admit that we're still watching episode 1, but I can't imagine that things are going to improve.

The cast list shows so much promise and potential, but the script that they've been tasked with delivering lacks structure and maturity.

Already, there have been so many lines that people just don't say - including police information and processes that just don't align with reality.

And let's not get started on the terrible wardrobe choices. They seem to be strictly sticking to stereotypes and have no idea on reality. Yes, I'm definitely judging them all for what they wore to the funeral.

Without the 'victim' having set funeral rules, gay sons don't show up in anything but a dark suit, and wives don't show up in a floral dress with a long dark cardigan.

One last thing, did he really go missing off the Mornington Peninsula in Port Phillip Bay? There's not even anywhere that would allow anyone to seriously surf.

Channel 5 do it again!

[simon1963 · 2/10 · 18 January 2023]

Congrats to Channel 5. I really admire their consistency of guaranteeing garbage drama without fail. In this Neighbours meets Eastenders yarn, the story is awful, the script terrible and the standard of acting laughable. You can tell the 'baddie' more or less straight away, as he keeps on pulling stupid faces. You can tell that Ali really means what she says, as with most utterings, she nods incessantly to emphasise her points. You can tell the northern bloke isn't really a baddie even if he has the shortest of all short fuses, etc, etc. The only reason I watched all episodes, was in the very faint hope that there would be a decent twist towards the end, but alas, no.

Too much build up and awful acting

[boycesimon · 3/10 · 3 January 2023]

The premise of the series had potential (although it has been done many times before). However they spent 3 3/4 episodes building up to the "reveal" and the concluded the whole mini series in 10 mins.

What was the point of the blonde ex? Did he do the same with her, why was she at the police station? It appeared a pointless plot point unless they are planning on a second instalment.

The acting was truley shocking, only Asher Yasbincek came out of it with any credit and that was a stretch. I didn't feel for any of the characters or route for them. David Berry failed to come across as suave or sinister and was not believable as the evil womaniser.

Extremely disappointing.

Sussed it our really early

[crumpytv · 1/10 · 31 December 2022]

This is a contemporary drama and contains language and prevailing attitudes of the time, which some viewers may find offensive and downright irritating.

I switched off after 20 minutes. It was a typical Channel 5 production - awful.

It was like watching an updated version of Crossroads.

Wooden characters, really poor acting and a family demographic which is just totally unconvincing.

The youths walking hand in hand into the family home just about says it all.

There has been too much diversity, political correctness, inclusion et al, dramas are now presenting a totally unbalanced view of the world.

Great little Aussie thriller

[Leeds1970 · 9/10 · 1 January 2023]

My husband and I watched this show after seeing it was from the director of Lie With Me, which we enjoyed last year. The first episode was the usual set up type hour and served up a bunch of suspects, but the twist was you don't have to wait until the very end to get the answers. Things take a sinister turn early in the piece and then it morphs into a different show, which sort of bucks the thriller trend. Minor criticism is that it was a bit jarring to see the British parents with a daughter who is clearly Australian, a couple of lines could've helped to explain it, hubby got very distracted by it I will say! All in all it was the perfect show to curl up with after Christmas even if it was a wooly scarves and jackets version rather than sunshine,

Complete bunkum

[susanxx-76-348573 · 1/10 · 1 January 2023]

Too many things is this piece of amateur soap opera don't add up.

The English characters appear to have resided in Australia from some years and yet they have still retained their "English" voice, not a glimmer of the Aussie tones in any of them. The main characters have only just purchased the house and yet their wedding appeared to have taken place in the grounds of this newly purchased home as seen in one of the wedding photos. The acting is atrocious, the storyline is weak as are the characters. The premise that these two married after the new wife became the old surfer dudes masseuse is laughable. Go and watch something else.

Wow this is poor acting

[qjmwbrc · 1/10 · 10 July 2023]

The script is drab and uninteresting, the character development is either boring or ridiculous, and the acting is generally dreadful - worse than any daytime soap. Still, I kept watching because I loved the location: the house and the ocean. The surf and sand were lovely when there is a glimpse of it, as were the large modern houses. Watch out for the pristine benchtops that no one has ever used, and count the number of time someone asks someone else "can I get you anything?". The fact that it is a thriller is by the by, because it feels like watching a longer version of Home and Away, but with more long sideways looks, checking of Phone's, and suspenseful music.

Waste of time

[campcurra · 1/10 · 30 July 2023]

The idea of a 4-part series is great, a little something to look forward to each week, without going on for months or having to wait for it to come back on the following year - so what a disappointment this show was! The lead actress was shocking, like it was her first time on TV. Was bad acting by a lot of the cast. All the reviews read pretty much the same, obviously. Where's all the Aussie talent, where are the good writers, come on give us better than this! To use up characters I'll reiterate, what a disappointment this show was! The lead actress was shocking, like it was her first time on TV. Was bad acting by a lot of the cast. All the reviews read pretty much the same, obviously. Give us better!!

Rubbish

[bittysandbobs · 3/10 · 22 January 2023]

Okay... so I wasted my time watching all of this, really don't know why!! The volume is extremely bad, was constantly turning it up and down and up and down, I also missed half the dialogue as the speaking on it was so bad! Acting was poor which surprised me with Jo Joyner as she was great in Eastenders but this was such a predictable story line, boring, slow, bad acting, could have been a 2 parter rather than a stretched out 4 parts!! Felt very cheap, soapy like - home and away style programme. I gave this an overall 3/10 due to all aspects involved, the volume, script etc. Just very drawn out and boring.

Slow Neighbours drama

[delilahsamson-30372 · 3/10 · 9 January 2023]

I don't know how to use 600 characters to review this terrible mini series. The daughter was ok, although the actress must have been mid 20s, supposedly playing a 16 year old. They never explained why her parents had British accents, yet she was Australian or how her parents were actually allowed into Australia, mum a masseuse, dad ex-alcoholic. No disrespect to Jo Joyner, but are we meant to believe that Peter O'brien, Ciaran Griffiths and David Berry were madly in love with Jo's dowdy, dull and mumsy character? The murderer look like a male model! The music was obtrusive, 3 episodes to build up the story and 10 mins to wrap it up, very rushed. For me the star of the show was the beautiful house. Don't waste your time watching Riptide!

Good little series, easy watch at 4 episodes

[jessestewart-72478 · 8/10 · 17 June 2023]

I enjoyed this gem of a series on my5 and found it just the right length. Too many shows drag a story out to 6, 8 or more episodes when they should be less.

It's about a woman whose husband goes missing after a morning swim. Jo Joyner does a great job of portraying her and her relationship with her daughter is also interesting. Suffice to say there's a mystery about what happened though it doesn't drag on too long.

One strange thing is they never wonder if a shark has taken the hubby, it is Australia and aren't shark attacks common?

At times it feels like a stage play despite all the scenes by the seaside. It wasn't too complicated which I liked.

Appalling load of rubbish

[rosey-14 · 3/10 · 19 January 2023]

I watched this as it had Jo Joyner in, a very capable actress and seeing her something, which supposedly had more depth made it worth giving it a try but oh boy, it was a mess!

Peter O'Brien was in it briefly, not moving on in his acting ability from his soap days and playing the new, rich husband of Jo Joyner, his former employee and much younger wife. She had a teenage daughter, who although clever, was naive in the extreme, her British deadbeat father was living nearby, carrying anger issues. The neighbour creeped me out from the beginning, whether through the dodgy script he had to endure or just poor acting, I'm not sure.

The stepson and his mother, the bitter ex wife were poorly acted caricatures in the extreme, the stepson's boyfriend, providing possibly the only likeable character there.

The baddie was obvious from their first appearance and it continued to go downhill from their. Sadly this seems to be one of many really dreadful offerings from Channel Five, who again wasted a real talent ((Jo Joyner) in an absolute shambles of a series.

Mixed

[SpontaneousCasualViewer · 4/10 · 16 October 2023]

The premise isn't believable at all. Was this a first draft? Apparently this recently-wed middle-aged woman has no friends in the area - when her new husband is missing, she weirdly accepts intrusive support from her neighbour. Her ex-husband lives nearby and has a storage locker, she apparently met her new husband whilst she was his masseuse. Yet she has no friends in the area, forced her teenage daughter to change schools, presumably public to private. The Police apparently have no interest in the neighbour, even after it shifts from missing person to murder case. The entitled kid from the husband's previous relationship isn't convincing, he is a caricature rather than a character.

Slow burn drama drown under

[underthebridge-23360 · 9/10 · 15 January 2024]

I enjoy short run series and this is a good example of one done well. It's about a woman (Jo Joyner) whose husband goes missing at sea. It starts out as a whodunnit but then the killer gets revealed at the end of the second episode, at which point it becomes a story about the wife being targeted. There aren't too many characters which makes it easy to follow. Stand out performances from Jo and the girl who plays the daughter. For anyone who has watched other Aussie shows it's a bit of a 'who's who' as familiar actors pop up. In most cases it's a case of the face ringing a bell but it's hard to remember where from!