It’d be nice to see ABC doing some broader projects time to time like it did with Seachange. Cold low viewed shows like Pulse and The Code aren’t bringing many eyeballs and having a wide watched show would allow more seasons which is great for the industry.
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Agreed.
There’ll probably also be a review of Seachange on next week’s return episode of Gogglebox (Surely those households are already back in action, watching TV with a camera in their house?) to provide Nine a scintillating perspective that even the numbers/data provided by OzTAM can’t quite achieve.
Fair enough too. Seachange is far from the first program which started on the ABC before moving to a commercial network and you can bet that it most likely won’t be the last either.
I never watched the original, so for a newbie I thought the show was pretty good. I’ll watch it again.
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I feel similar to you @TV.Cynic . I never really watched the original series but I saw most of the episode on a repeat just now and I thought it was pretty good. I guess I have nothing to compare it too and this is the common reaction from diehard fans with any reboots - they rarely live up to the originals because you they have that nostalgic factor in peoples minds. Take it for what it is - it was pretty decent for an Aussie drama IMO.
I did see that, but it just wasn’t the same
Couldn’t say that I loved episode 1.
The original had a natural laid-back quirkiness about it.
This version comes across as “forced” quirky and has nowhere near the charm of the original.
Does almost every character need to be weird?. Some of the characters have evolved into the absurd.
There’s hardly a point of normality in the show to act as a levelling device.
I’ll only be back if there’s nothing better on the other channels.
Perfectly put for what I thought about it. That and the advertising about how the whole beginning of a new romance is going to put me off. It was never going to be something must watch but if it’s going to be just like every other show that’s been around and all about romance drama then at least it clears up a night for me! I’ll go back to UKTV and Taskmaster!
I used to love watching Seachange when I was a kid and it was something our whole family used to watch together. When the return was announced I was eager to see it, but hesitant as recapturing the whole vibe and feel of the original seasons would be a hard feat. My heart sank when I read the casting annoucements that only four characters were returning with a recast Miranda.
Getting around to watching it, my fears were confimred. It isn’t Seachange. It’s just a new Australian family drama with the word Seachange tacked on hoping to draw in viewers with Brand recognition and jumping on the reboot/continuation bandwagon.
Everything has changed. New location, a raft of new characters and everything just feels off and inferior. If you’re going to do a continuation, then you actually need continuty. Continuity of characters, relationships and scenery.
No Karen, Phrani, Sgt. Grey, Jules, Craig, Rupert even Jack.
I’ll start with the positives. Sigrid managed to nail Laura from the first scene. She felt like Laura and the writing for Laura rang true, especially the scenes with Miranda. That dynamic is still there and recaptured.
Kevin felt real and genuine and his dialogue rang true, as did his interactions with Bob. Shame Phrani & Trevor are no where to be seen.
Apart from the scene in prison, which was awful, Bob seemed like the Bob of old and hasn’t changed one iota and thankfully Kerry Armstrong feels back in form as Heather after her disastrous turn in Neighbours.
The only new character that felt like they could have slotted back into the old show was Anna. Katrina showed again what a great performer she is.
Stone & Ben had potential as characters and may improve with more screentime.
Lilian & Zac were just awful. Setting them up as a future romantic pairing by saying that every clerk and police officer had gotten married was terribly lazy on the writing side. Both characters felt redundant and the actors failed to deliver on the comedy. Both felt forced, contrived and awkward. Not surprising on Alex Tarrant’s behalf as he’s been poor in everything from Shortland Street, Filthy Rich & 800 words. Both just felt like poor retreads of Karen & Angus.
Also did not appreciate Zac taking’s Trevor’s role in the closing scene. That closing scene between father and son was quintessential Seachange and I would have rathered they not bothered by half-arsing it.
Apart from fulfilling up the diversity quota what role did Riley actually serve? The acting wasn’t very good, the role wasn’t very well designed and having a radio DJ felt very superfluous. Though nice to see no gays or lesbians in Pearl Bay. It’s always funny how diversity applies to some and not others.
So two episodes in, and two scenes where Findlay has his shirt off in front of Miranda. I think we can all guess where this silly, cliched story is going.
All the new characters felt like they’d only blown in in the last couple of years, even confirmed in the case of Ben.
What the show lacked was a Meredith character. A person that had lived in the area since forever, united the community, knew everything about everyone and was a soft, maternal mother figure when a person was in need. The show needed a heart and it felt very cold and generic without it.
I don’t like the Miranda baby adoption storyline at all. I wish they had made Miranda a single mother or struggling with post natal depression without all the added drama and angst of what’s to come in future with Anna.
Yeah it’s nice that Meredith, Jules, Bucket, Rupert get namechecked but it would have been great to actually see at least some of them. Jules especially considering she was always close with Bob and seeing as Bob is down on his luck, she is needed.
As a continuation of Seachange it isn’t a very good one, however if you take away the massive expectations that Seachange conjures up, overall it isn’t a bad Australian drama. It definitely has room for improvement and if they avoid all the cliches where the characters are headed it may even be a worthwhile and successful one.
Theme song over the credits this week.
i was pleasantly surprised to see that.
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Who’s the actor playing Josh in tonight’s episode? He’s hot! 
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Thomas Cocquerel
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And he’s (maybe half) french as well, oh la la!
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Sigrid Thornton received her AO at Government House in Melbourne yesterday.
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The reboot has its first overseas sales, with Korean network KBS picking up the drama.
It took a long time to get just one sale overseas.
If I recall rightly, the first couple of seasons rated okay in New Zealand. Who knows if it will turn up there.
My friend who is a huge fan of the original was excited to watch the reboot, but since she was so disappointed with the first episode we haven’t watched anymore of it. That first episode was a poorly written and poorly acted rehash of the original, and the main characters stories made little sense in the context of the original. I hope it doesn’t get a renewal.
It’s coming to Stan this month.
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