Playing For Keeps

I have been thinking more about this today and feel my biggest concern is the lack of definition/focus. It seems to me, to be a relationship drama but not a confident one. The show doesn’t seem to know what it is. I think they should have honed in further on the “what happens to a country couple when they move to the big smoke and start new lives in the rough and tumble world of the AFL?” idea as the entry point to everything. They kind of did but I wanted more commentary from the Paige character and to see things more through her eyes.

The soapie/melodrama aspects worked for me but the storyline about Annie Maynard’s character getting a promotion while the husband coached fell flat on me. It seemed like virtue signalling and like it was inserted to make a point, rather than fit with the soapie relationship stuff. Perhaps there should have been conflict highlighted or resistance to dramatise it more. Both husband and wife being happy with the new arrangement seemed boring and a bit so whatish.

One of the wives got virtually no airtime at all, which seemed odd.

I still think it has potential and hope it does well, because when Aussie drama is doing good so is the local tv industry and people whose livelihoods depend on it.

Surely there’d be more development to characters and storyline as the show progresses. You can’t expect them to do everything in episode one.

Obviously there will be but the first episode is often make or break in securing the audience for the longer term. We might sit and wait through slow burners on streaming services or public broadcasters where there are no ads but commercial television requires a faster pace and hooks at every ad break to keep the viewer from switching over or off. This show didn’t have enough of that IMO. What did you think of it?

Haven’t watched it yet. I’ll probably wait until next week so I can watch it in HD.

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I was happy with the episode but yes it lacked the punch that the promos gave it. The young characters were great, and agree if they started with the ending and kept the person who died a secret until the end it would have built more energy and suspense that the opening scenes lacked.

Will definitely continue watching though.

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This is going to be confusing for some to follow as Olympia’s Neighbours character is also called Paige.

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Her name is not Paige in this show. It is Tahlia as we are told repeatedly and annoyingly.

If you have fetch TV Tenplay on there has it as HD :slight_smile:

Pilots are always hard and difficult to nail so that everyone walks away loving every aspect. Even a show like The West Wing, the pilot IMO was terrible and yet the show became its own.
I believe as long as there’s an aspect to maintain intrigue in the show, it’s achieved it’s goal

I didn’t mind it. It had some good writing. I liked the humour in it and it has potential to develop.

I agree. I just don’t think it was an overly strong first episode. However, I don’t think many shows have strong first episodes anyway.

Are any encore broadcasts scheduled yet?

Encore tonight (Sunday) at 10.30pm on Eleven.

What did I just watch? :joy: Liv looks like a much younger Julia Morris.

I haven’t watched last week’s episode yet but was disappointed to see a spoiler in the News Corp Confidential section today. One of the characters was outed and I’m not sure I should bother watching anymore.

Not really a spoiler if it was revealed in last weeks episode…

Not everyone watches live. I suppose this is an incentive to do so.

It has been a whole week mate.

People prefer to binge watch drama and watch it on demand. We must suffer the consequences of that, but I try to avoid where possible.