This series focused on a bunch of twenty-somethings trying to get a band going, and featuring original music. The songs were written by some reasonably distinguished people in the Australasian music biz, most notably Sharon O'Neill, and much of it was very good indeed. Sharon's songs in particular rank as post-Blondie pop classics; they are some of the best work she has ever done. Do get the soundtrack - it is fantastic, and includes many different styles.
Some of the actors were quite well-known too, notably the lead Tracy Mann, and David Reyne, brother of Australian Crawl vocalists James Reyne. In fact all the main actors are quite glamorous. There are numerous cameos from prominent people in the Australian pop music biz of the time. My comparison to the Monkees, by the way, wasn't derogatory. The Monkees may have been a manufactured band, but they did release some excellent songs even if they didn't play them. I guess I'm trying to say this is no Partridge Family. The story may be no masterpiece, but it was fun when I watched as a teenager, with some quite amusing situations. I'd probably cringe a lot more nowadays, though, at some of the mawkishness.
In summary, this series deserves to be remembered as a cult favourite, far more so than the nauseating Australian/American Idol. It was well done as far as these sorts of shows go.
