Heat

This is quite good for a binge watch. The story develops quite well as various secrets of the family members are revealed and their real personalites become visible. Most come out of it badly, as their superficial niceness is pared away to reveal an array of personality faults. The only real exception is the young man who comes in as a badboy but justifies himself to become the saviour.

The narrative is far-fetched beyond belief at times, with many unrealistic scenes.

The setting - in the Australian outback - is stunning.

The acting is patchy.

Nice to see Richie Morris (ex-Neighbours) showing off his impeccable pecs and abs again!

To be fair, the story line is potentially a good one, and in my opinion the end result could have turned out much better, had they casted better actors (maybe the budget didn't stretch that far...). Sadly, it was really awful, the outcome is very disappointing.

It's basically Danny Dyer acting as cockney Mick Carter from East Enders, but instead of the Queen Vic he's now Down Under in Australia. How they came to the decision to pair Danny Dyer and Pia Miranda as a couple in this is beyond me, they are so poles apart, and it's just plain unrealistic!! I sooo wanted to enjoy this, but instead it was a bad joke on us, as it was a waste of time.

I watched this show hoping that I would see a different side to Danny Dyer as an actor. Sadly I was disappointed, it was just watching Mick Carter from Eastenders in Australia!!!

Honestly, I am unsure why he always plays the same character and doesn't develop his acting to suit the script. His cockney accent is so over the top that it sounds so exaggerated that it makes me cringe now to hear open his mouth. I am sure Danny can get better scripts, if not, come back to Eastenders!!

The storyline is quite predictable and apart from the house which is amazing, sadly, I would give this show a miss.

It seems like every second drama shot in Australia now features a lead British or American actor. In the case of Heat it's two Brits, though one (Darren McMullen) has a local career while the other (Danny Dyer) is imported. It makes sense to have them play two expats who married Aussie women and had kids. The problem is Danny feels like he just arrived from the London EastEnd a week earlier - which evidently the actor did, fresh from EastEnders.

If you can get past this you will find an enjoyable drama. It's a familiar scenario - friends trapped in a situation,with ensuing secrets unfolding - but the nasty secret lurking beneath all the pleasantries turns out to be darker than you'd expect.

Performances are good (well maybe less so the cockney guy) and the final episode is gripping to watch. A solid 7 out of 10.

I didn't know anything about this show before watching it but found myself hooked after the first episode. The title makes it sound like it's going to be about having sex or a fire and it turns out to be about both, but really it's about two families and the dynamics between them. It doesn't reinvent the wheel but the secrets and lies have some decent twists and turns with things not turning out the way they initially seem. The cinematography around the river is quite breathtaking though the music choices were a bit grating. The sound in general was a bit loud at times so a point lost for that but otherwise a great binge watch.