MovieChat Forums > The Secret Life of Us (2001) Discussion > The downfall of this series......

The downfall of this series......

posted 19 years ago by kixbooty
12 replies | jump to latest

The show was pretty much doomed after it lost Alex. She was the star of the show. Claudia Karvan is an amazing actress and I applaud her for staying with the show for as long as she did.

The relationships in the show are what made it so special. Alex and Evan, Miranda and Richie, Miranda and Will, Gabrielle and Alex, Gabrielle and Jason, Kelly and Nathan...they all brought out the best in each other, and supported each other in so many ways.

The downfall of the show came with the introduction of characters such as Nikki Martel and Lucy and Adam beckwith. Nikki was an appalling and badly written character. Anna Torv is a great actress, but she was wasted on a disaster like Nikki. Nikki's character was so pathetic, it made me turn off my set several times. Then you have Lucy Beckwith, the most boringcharacter ever written into a TV show. Any storyline with Lucy was justdismal and didn't give the spark that the previous characters had. Lucy's character was partly due to bad writing, and partly due to the average acting abilities of Alexandra Schepisi. Lucy could have been more interesting if Alexandra had got it right, but she didn't. At times, I would watch a scene with Lucy in it, and would feel embarrassed for Alexandra because her acting was just so transparent and unconvincing, that you just see her as pathetic. Adam Beckwith was not so bad, he had some redeeming qualities and was played well by Nicholas Coghlan, but once again, fell victim to appalling writing.

Then we have George. Gigi Edgely is without a doubt the worst Australian actress I have ever seen. George was a huge character, she could have been amazing, but she was played by an average actor. I would have liked to have seen Anna Torv play George, she could have pulled it off...but Gigi, there's no excuse for such dull performances, when you have such a vibrant and interesting character to work with. George was a huge disappointment for me.

Sticking with the original characters, this show is my favourite Australian show to this date, and I enjoyed watching it immensely.

[–] matineeidyll 18 years ago

I have to admit, i've lost interest after the original cast dropped like flies. It doesn't have that same, well, panache.

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[–] Damon_3388 17 years ago

As far as I remember, once a lot of the original cast left, it seems that Channel 10 stopped promoting the show so much, and stuck it in a really odd time slot (compared to what it was). I actually assumed the show had ended (and I just didn't know it), until I came across it one night at like 11:30 on Channel 10. It had just changed so much, and IMO Kelly (Deborah Mailman) wasn't interesting enough to be (what appeared to be) the main character. She was much better suited to her role as the secondary/supporting female to Alex (Claudia Karvan) in the earlier series'.

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[–] kcdl 16 years ago

I agree with the orginal post.

The show just fell apart which was a shame because it brought to Australian television something it had been missing for a long time: a show that was funny and dramatic that wasn't all about cops, doctors or lawyers.

It had a unique style.

The new character were totally unlikable and the whole dynamic betweent the remaining characters was ruined.

I also really missed the idea that Alex and Evan might finally get together. Actually to be honest I think maybe bringing in Rex for so long wasn't such a great move either. I thought he was going to come in as stimulus for Evan to get jealous.

Oh well, for a while there it was one of the best Australia shows on tele.

[–] jmcb 15 years ago

I'm just passed half way through season three, and although it's still a great show, it's nowhere as near as good as it was. Alex was very important and only when Claudia Karvan left did I realise this. Early on in the season things were still pretty good. But now my favourite, Abi Tucker, is gone too, it's not as gripping as before. Besides, didn't enjoy Miranda's story much, made little sense that she would be in a gay relationship too. Although it was a massive shock that they tackled something like Kelly getting attacked, Deborah Mailman did a fantastic job. Gabrielle and Richie are still very likeable, and of course Evan and Kelly haven't changed much. Grown to like Christian, as he feels almost like an original by now. Tidy is okay, but don't like Chloe or George much. What bugs me is why cast members are always replaced, it's not essential to have 9 main characters, with good writing less characters would be absolutely fine.

[–] lauramullane86 10 years ago

The writers dealt with major character's departures all wrong. Their departures often didn't make sense for the character/weren't explained at all and that's a disservice to both the show and how great it once was, and to the audience who had grown to love the characters. Will, who departed 1st, probably made the most sense. He was an outdoorsy guy, he'd suffered a huge loss, him leaving to travel for a while and clear his head was in character and felt right. I did hate that he went though I really liked him in the show and he never came back from a trip that was only supposed to last a few months (except for a few days at the end of the season).

Miranda's decision to go to the U.S. was sort of consistent with her character I suppose... Although as Ritchie said, she was struggling to make it in Melbourne and California was gonna be way more competitive. It also didn't sit right that she was suddenly a lesbian after all she'd been through when Ritchie came out, the storyline felt forced and not believable.

Speaking of Ritchie, he was inexplicably missing from season four along with Gab and 2 new characters Tidy and Chloe. Whilst it didn't bother me too much that tidy and chloe were gone Gab and Ritchie were two original characters that wed been watching for three seasons and they got no goodbye, not only that but it was never explained nor were they mentioned by the dwindling number of friends they'd left behind. You would think that Simon would get a postcard of Ritchie and show Evan and Kel or that Gab would reach out to good friend Evan to let us know she hadn't falken off the face of the planet.

The worst though, in my opinion was the departure of Alex, and how the writers handled her and Evan's relationship. I can't think of another show that completely annihilated it's central couple in the way TSLOU did. They were the heart of the show, their friendship was a joy to watch and see it develop into more. The two actors had such a natural chemistry and it felt like the most organic relationship on the show. I don't know why the writers made the decision to split it up and ruin it. It took away the magic of the first season. Rex seemed like a nice guy but he just didn't click with Alex like Evan did. Both characters shone brighter when they were together. It was cruel of her to spring a surprise wedding on him and expect him to be ok. Her treatment of his feelings diminished her character and their relationship. The writers had a chance to fix it when Claudia Karvan came back at the end of season three. They could've given their story the ending it deserved and let them be together. But instead they chose to have her hurt him again and ultimately destroy their friendship. It was such a harsh was to treat two characters who really had something special.

Evan's wrap up story a few episodes into season 4 (which was awful) was a thrown together take of how the psycho ex who doused his room in fish sauce was the real love of his life and he moved across the river with her never to be heard of again despite promises that he'd stay in touch with Kel.

All in all, for the most part it was a great show. The unsatisfactory ways in which the characters ended up being treated in future seasons put a damper on a brilliant 1st season and good second season. It's still my favourite Australian show. I'm just gonna have to pretend they all lived happily ever after

[–] spersephone 10 years ago

I always felt Miranda was just awful - she was away with the fairies half the time. I remember Abi Tucker's break into showbiz with New Faces, and I thought she was an awesome singer. I've always felt her acting was just too obvious though, so it was irritating to watch. I was happy for her to go.

As for Alex and Evan, while they had amazing chemistry, I think if they stayed together and pursued a relationship, his reluctance to aim high would have driven Alex mad. She needed to respect someone. While Evan has a talent, he is also very good at being a lazy pain in the bum. I believe that if they developed the relationship and got married, at some point she would be tearing her hair out about being the responsible one. I believe her marriage to Rex was too fast, but I also see that they were more evenly matched for the long term.

[–] lornamd-1 10 years ago

I have no problem with Alex and Evan not ending up together. Yes, they had great chemistry and everyone wanted them to end up together, but that's real life. Sometimes the person you think is perfect for you doesn't feel the same. This is what happened to Evan.

Miranda didn't "go lesbian". She just found a woman who she was attracted to and fell in love with. This is not uncommon at all and there is no reason why it wouldn't happen to Miranda.

I agree about George not being a likable character. To me she was just annoying and I couldn't understand why both Christian and Evan would be so smitten. While I liked Gabrielle in series 1 I went right off her in series 2. Starting an affair with a married man who has children, devastating his wife and family, acingt like his wife is unreasonable for being angry, getting mad at him for paying attention to and children and breaking up with him and then once the marriage is over and he wants you back telling him you've gotten used to be being without him is absolutely appalling behaviour. She causes all this pain, justifying it by saying it's cause she loved him so much. She can't have loved him that much if she didn't want to be with him! Such selfish, horrible actions (not that I'm saying he's blameless). She still should have been written out properly though.

I can understand Evan giving Jemima a second chance as well. Yes her actions were wrong, but his actions towards her were worse. She wasn't a bad person.

I loved the 1st two series and series 3 had it's moments, but after that it wasn't worth bothering with.

[–] looper007 (1158) 6 years ago

Losing all it's main original cast besides Deborah Mailman by the end of Series 4 was one of it's biggest Downfall. Even for me once Joel Edgerton (the first cast member to go) left the show never felt the same. Then losing Claudia Karvan was the last straw. The show never recovered still think series 1 & 2 are must watches. Season 3 is the weakest imo. Season 4 showed some hope but alas it was for nothing. I personally would have ended it once the original cast weren't sticking around and just got it over and done with instead of dragging it out. Shame as the show was great for the first two seasons.