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I was really looking forward to this series but when I found out it was filmed in Queenstown, the other side of Tasmania from the actual Bay of Fires (look it up, nothing to do with fires), it dulled my appetite a bit. The first episode was watchable despite the obvious plot flaws, and I made it half-way through the second episode before I started fading fast. Painting the locals as scheming, inhospitable but colourful characters seems lazy and hackneyed, and a tad too Americana for my taste. Adding the obvious potential love interest - the only rational person in town - is one-dimensional and clunky, and the dodgy real estate agent is too cliched for words. With all that talent, couldn't the series have been more original and tighter? It's a no from me. I'm gratified that the Apple Isle is attracting more filming activity, and the Tasmanian scenery is often touted as the real star of anything filmed in my home state but it needs support.

Pleasantly surprised after the first episode, it's not as hackneyed or cringey as I expected. As a not easy to please viewer, I found a couple of laugh out loud bits and, compared to the other fare Auntie offers us currently, that's a decided plus. Also, any comedic material in the capable hands of Catherine Tate has a more than average chance of success. And, a good point made by another reviewer about not bingeing but going old school on the episodes - definitely recommended in this case. Let each episode percolate.

Now, to fill up the quota.

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Tim Ross provides more than an architectural history - as well informed and compleate as that is - of Australia, he delivers a finely nuanced, gentle, compassionate and respectfully humorous social commentary on the development of all forms of housing. Often tongue-in-cheek, always entertaining, Ross effortlessly walks us through the growth of housing, social and private, and showcases the effects these paradigms have on the human soul. From one architectural tragic to another, I applaud this series and look forward to more episodes. The ABC seems to screen a lot of home-made content these days (a result of repetitive funding cuts?) and the quality has suffered considerably; Tim Ross's show exceeds all expectations and I for one am eternally grateful.