The Secret Life of Us

I dunno, everyone raves about this show but for me it is too self-conscious. It seems that the show was developed in order to appeal to a specific demographic and as a result picks up on what is required in order to "be cool". Perhaps I am being too critical of the show, perhaps Australia needs a twenty-something show, but for me it is just another run of the mill soap-opera. Now, I have has people try and convince me it is "deeper" and more "intellectual" than a soap-opera, but to me "Twin Peaks" was a soap-opera and more intellectually demanding than "The Secret Stylised Life of Us". Overall the show is competent,but nothing more...It just seems too calculated, but maybe I am just out of date.

I wasn't that interested in this show. The previews didn't appeal to me that much but after watching an episode because I was bored one night and there was nothing else on TV I found myself being drawn in. There's something refreshing about this show and it has a certain edge to it. There's very few shows I will watch on a regular basis but it looks like the secret life of us will be one of them!

Never before have I seen a drama series so realistic. Everything is done flawlessly - the plots, the acting, the scripts... FORGET Reality TV. NEVER FORGET the Secret Life of Us. This series revolves around the lives of 8 twenty-somethings in the inner-city Melbourne suburb of St. Kilda as they aim for (to quote Kelly) "a good work life, a good home life and a good love life". NOTHING in the plot is overdone and over dramaticised, unlike some US TV shows that I have seen (read this, Aaron Spelling!), and nothing as trivial as some of the stuff they put in soapies like Home and Away and Neighbours! This is definitely my type of show, and I follow it avidly, just short of religiously!

This is the only show that every one of my friends and I can all agree on. We're all around the age of the characters, and this is the first show that we feel has reflected us back to ourselves. It has excellent writing and it never cops out or goes for the simple solution. The characters are complex and believable. The cast is uniformly brilliant, and its good to see under used Australian actors like Deborah Mailman being given the chance to turn in consistently good performances.

The premise might seem cliched (8 twenty-somethings, their lives and loves etc.), but it brings an amazing originality to that. I'll admit I was reluctant to watch it in the beginning. At first it seemed like it might be one of those shows that tries too hard and insults its audience, but that couldn't be further from the truth. I think it will be a long time before we get to see another drama of such high quality, so I hope people continue to get behind it.

Based on seeing eps 1-12 (there are 22 in total), it's pretty much flawless. Cast, location, direction, editing, SCRIPTING... Everything is just very right.

20-something characters, 4 male, 4 female, all well-rounded, all identifiable, all living in same apartment block. Unlike This Life, though, it doesn't depend on the characters' personal extremes (Anna's bolshiness, Miles' selfishness, Millie's wetness etc) to keep things interesting. More female-driven than TL as well. Extraordinary to see something this impressive coming out