The Change

Fifty year old Linda realises she's going through the menopause, the realisation makes her aware of everything else going on in her life, the fact that she's totally taken for granted. Linda ups and leaves and heads for a place she visited as a child.

What a refreshing comedy, and a subject that isn't always picked as a topic for humour. The Change is very much shown as a positive step for Linda, who realises her life is going nowhere, so she says enough is enough.

It starts off as pretty straightforwardly humour, then ventures into something a little surreal, but still funny. For me it's like Spaced meets The Whicker Man.

It does make a few political statements, but it doesn't demonise one group of another, it has a few laughs at everything. One thing it does set out to do, is to normalise the menopause, women's identities and rights to live how they want.

Bridget Christie was tremendous, I loved Linda, she's smart, sassy, she's a good person, with a conscience, she's just had enough.

A wonderful cast, Monica Dolan, Susan Lynch, Paul Whitehouse, Jim Howick are all brilliant.

I really hope there's more to come, I really did enjoy this series.

8/10.

I saw a few minutes of this on a social media post promoting the new drama which prompted me to check it out. So glad I did... it was sensitively written with humour, a truly believable cast and story. I binged it over 2 nights (thanks Channel 4 for having it all streamable) and now I really want/need a second series, especially after how it ended!!

Definitely appeals to "women" & specifically those of us of a certain age - those of us who do feel invisible, men take note! It's time to wake up and realise we women are just over 50% of the world population so we DO matter and should be seen and have a voice.

Trees not roads, all hail The Eel Queen, "May all your transitions be joyful"

I watched the whole thing in one day. As a fellow west country girl who now lives in the city, I thought it was a beautiful rendition of the feeling of longing to be in the forest again. Christie's intelligent script brings the perfect amount of comedy to compliment the show's more serious themes. You will quickly fall in love with the place and the characters. It's a gentle and tender comedy-drama with middle-aged women at its heart, a group usually completely underrepresented in tv.

Lost a couple of points for me due to a slightly rushed ending but definitely left on a cliffhanger for a second season, so forgivable. At a few moments the script was perhaps a bit animated/forced but overall it was a really enjoyable show. Looking forward to seeing the loose ends tied up in a potential second season 🤞🏼

I watched this over a week and found it incredibly funny, sad, thought provoking and relatable.

I'm a post menopausal woman at 50, the scene's really made me stop and think about the mental overload that women are expected to carry. The thankless task of non ending housework and feeling like you lose your identity once you become a parent. It was great to see her journey back into the woods to find herself and in its own way a rite of passage to come through that transition. Not all transitions are joyful all of the time but that's the point. We need to be pushed outside our comfort zones to truly discover our inner selves, our super powers.

I felt it explored these topics really well, it was beautifully written, from the heart and authentic lived experiences. There are a serious amount of witty one liners, put me downs, quotes which made me laugh out loud, a lot, much to the annoyance of the teens in my house. There were also some harsh truths and facts written into the dialogue to help the viewers and the villagers understand why menopausal women are filled with rage. I'd highly recommend watching this.

Great script and actors. Very funny and quirky. Would love a 2nd series.

Thought Bridgette was great on Taskmaster and gave it a watch and binged the lot.

It's not just about the menopause. It's relatable to all those in a relationship. The cluelessness of her husband (Omid Djalili), the disdain of her teenage children and society's general denial of older women makes her realise she is worth more. I loved that she takes back some of those 3.5 million minutes of domestic drudgery (she's been keeping careful record) and hope lots of women start doing the same and head off on their own adventures.