Echo Beach

British TV programmers were tired of importing the shallow beach bound guff from Australia so they decided to make their own! And this is what they came up with...

Set it by the beach, put everyone in brightly colored T shirts and give 'em a surfboard and all the angst of a thirteen year old girl and VOILA! you have a hit... without the import taxes!

The story bounces around quickly from scene to scene without giving the viewer any time to take in what's going on. The staccato effect of the narrative is broken up with offensive music by some high school dropouts who thought it would be a good idea to start a band because it too less effort than cleaning their rooms!

Two of the reviewers here were obviously the producers young daughters, right?

Thankfully, this leper of a series died a mercifully quick demise. Bloody awful.

Echo Beach is a totally original idea for a soap. I find it quite addictive.

It is a soap within a soap connecting with Moving Wallpaper, the things said in moving wallpaper appear in the soap, so you see the reason for everything that happens. I feel this is a great attempt as a soap as it appeals to a young and old audience.

It is much edgier than your Eastenders and Corination Street. I will be a loyal fan of this show for a long long time.

There is plenty of eye-candy in the soap. It has a a great soundtrack with new music. I think this will be a great soap.

ITV love an off the wall idea, and this concept of having a soap combined with a comedy programme that showed the 'writers' writing it was their big idea of 2008.

Sadly for them, much like a few of their big ideas, it didn't pan out, and the 'writers writing bit' ended up being the more successful.

Because it's so ridiculed in the other show this soap always felt more 'Acorn Antiques' than 'Emmerdale' but it's mildly entertaining stuff, if only to make us think "why doesn't Martine McCutchen get more work?".

We'll file this in the 'nice idea that failed' pile.