Its really not that great. Very stilted, and a lot of the performances feel forced. Writing is meh. Characters not compelling. I love Aussie dramas but this one has missed the mark.
shareStereotypical and predictable too. Just plain boring.
shareI have just watched season 3 for the second time. It does not have the charm of the other two seasons and this could be because of the change of scriptwriter (no longer Bevan Lee) and because it is now being shown by a big American TV channel. They seem to have turned a great Aussie drama into some American, quite stilted and unbelievable story; that is probably what they consider 'commercial'. There is no way that George would have married Regina no matter how doped he was, and now how are they going to make any sense of Regina getting away with poisoning Sarah and the baby? Her antics are over the top now, and she would not have done something so obviously attributable to her like poisoning Sarah, she is more devious than that. They really have turned APTCH into a mess.
shareI have just watched season 3 for the second time. It does not have the charm of the other two seasons and this could be because of the change of scriptwriter (no longer Bevan Lee) and because it is now being shown by a big American TV channel. They seem to have turned a great Aussie drama into some American, quite stilted and unbelievable story; that is probably what they consider 'commercial'.APtCH doesn't air on a "big American TV channel." The only place it's available nationwide in the U.S. is on a niche streaming service called Acorn TV. It's also playing on a handful of public television stations, but not in any of the largest markets. So I seriously doubt that the U.S. buyers had any effect on the direction of the show. That can probably be chalked up to a change in showrunners, if indeed Bevan Lee is no longer involved. Perhaps Foxtel also pushed for changes when they acquired the show.
I think you misunderstood my message. Foxtel, although Australian is a branch of Fox TV which is an American company, and the new scriptwriters are American, from LA.
share"the new scriptwriters are American, from LA."
That explains it. Rupert strikes again. ( He's really crapped up things here in the US with Fox News.) Does Bevan Lee have to work with these other writers? Too bad they can't all be shipped back to LA.
Yes, Rupert, indeed.
Ironcially, to this conversation and its assumptions...an Australian. haha
I doubt the contention that being associated with Americans has anything to do with the way the show is made.
If that were the case, it would not have been made for a sub service Foxtel in Australia, then sold only to highly niche networks like Acorn in the U.S.
It would have been marketed differently if some huge American congolmerate were the tail wagging this dog.
This show never seemed to have that kind of aspiration in the way it was made and marketed.
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It's indeed watchable even if some characters are indeed soap-opera-ish, but not all.
I agree with Regina being over the top. Maybe that will change in season 5.
And Bevan Lee past the baton for season 3, but he was back for most of season 4 as a writer.
I'd give it a 6 -- very disappointing. Two-dimensional characters, cringe-making dialogue, no chemistry between any of the key couples. About that 8.1: Keep in mind, KarenJo84, that people who love shows vote often, which skews the rating; for ex., Friends -- another mediocre, predictable show with some really crap acting -- is rated 9. Sadly, the imdb ratings are generally useless.
"All you need to start an asylum is an empty room and the right kind of people."
I'd give it a 6 -- -----no chemistry between any of the key couples
"Carolyn" and "Jack" might argue with you on that since they are married IRL -:)
True about Carolyn and Jack. And true that no other couples really pinged.
It's odd too as aren't "Sarah" and "Grumpy Cat Rene" married in real life?
So that's two couples?
It's probably the writing or direction, too, as they aren't giving the couples much help to be sexy instead of rather stilted most of the time.