Mother and Son

Who thought this was a good idea?

If ever there was proof that Australian TV is a cultural desert, here it is. Also proof that you need a lot more than the inclusion of minorities and "box ticking" to make something memorable in a good way. Not a single laugh out loud moment in the first episode, or any tangible pathos or even a moment of authentic affection. All hallmarks of the original series. Why do we not have any directors who will play a straight bat with the "talent" and tell them that this is not Home And Away and you need to show some skills here. Denise Scott may have pulled it off with a proper script but the casting just didn't work.

Started at Episode 3 and not the pilot after reading reviews here.

Denise Scott is an Amazing talent and really can do justice to Ruth Cracknell's performance.

Matt O'Kine though tries to be Arthur/Gunston from the original series and... IT DOESN'T WORK.

Seriously Matt O'Kine interacts with anyone else and it's funny. Yet he interacts with Denise and it's just awful. He slips into his characterisation of "Norm Gunston's" Arthur and it's just painful.

Matt O'Kine needed to commit to either being a classic "Arthur" or just be himself. He can't then interact with Denise because he isn't himself and can't do Arthur. It's that connection which is missing, which is a shame as other character interactions are quite good.

It's very Disjointed, has it's moments, Honestly could have been better if it did it's own thing.

*watched the pilot. Don't start there.

I am a big fan of Denise Scott and was looking forward to this remake of the classic show. When it started I thought it was going to be ok....but as it went on the wheels well and truly fell off!

The story was all over the place and the story line was weird!

I don't think Matt Okene (?) is my sort of comedian and I just found it all very predictable and confused. He does seem to present as a natural comedic actor and has poor acting ability.

This could have been a great opportunity to present this classic to a new audience but this missed the mark.

We seem to think repeating past shows with a modern twist will work....this proves that it does not always work!

Give this a miss.

I should say right now that I'm not actually a fan of the original. Both lead characters really annoyed me. Having said that, at least the entire cast could act and had great chemistry, something that's not evident in the 2023 version.

This show hints at what could've been a great little screwball series about the pull of family and real estate. What if the sister was truly evil and wanted get the ailing mother out of the house so she could sell the property and split it with her brother? And what of said brother had second thoughts about that plan? So many possibilities.

The diverse cast doesn't bother me, but the diversity of acting skills and styles does. Denise has a very physical, theatrical approach, while Matt does his usual lovable loser routine. He's got a lot of talent and I hope he finds the right vehicle for it. Other cast members who will remain nameless are very poor actors which only harms an ensemble comedy like this.

Laughs in the pilot are in very short supply, but the best one being, intentional or not, was when Matt's ex announced that she doesn't want a boring family life so she's taken a job in ... Canberra!

This remake was a real missed opportunity. Unfortunately it seems it was more about box ticking instead of making an entertaining and endearing show. I like Arthur, and the actor who plays Maggie, but the other changes were a bit much. The original Maggie was more senile, the new Maggie is just more like a sour old lady who plays 'the victim'. It's not endearing.

I also disagree with changing Robbie to a female and being in a same sex relationship. That's purely a box ticking change rather than one that adds to the show's likeability. It seems they were more worried about being politically correct than making an endearing show like the original. It is perfectly fine of course having the family as multicultural, the actor who plays Arthur is perfect in the role. They could have simply evolved the story around this. Even having Robbie as a female is okay, even though her personality is off. If you're going to change or have certain elements in the show they need to add to the story, not just to tick boxes to be 'politically correct'.

This sadly makes it a drama about a son and daughters struggle with a sour about life mother whom they love, rather than a comedy.