This Is Not My Life

Being from New Zealand I have relatively low expectations for New Zealand TV, but both my partner and i were pleasantly surprised after the first episode and are excitedly waiting for more. The show has a slightly scifi side being set in the near future, however don't judge it for that, the acting is wonderful and the production values high. Just when you think you have it worked out the show throws a twist that leaves you confused but in a good way. I'm proud to say that NZ TV really has stepped up its game and if this continues down the same road Im sure this show could compete with the best of TV coming out of the states. GO TVNZ;)

Another excellent Show sacrificed on the altar of quick buck is this one from New Zealand. While the core premise - one person finds himself in a surreal situation and uncovers the machinations behind it - is not new and was quite well presented in a couple older shows like the prisoner or nowhere man,this shows approach and storyline is as well thought out and written as the show invasion which tackled the stone old sf-theme of an attempted "alien" takeover. Which means the story is densely written,with interesting and believable characters and a down to earth sf-technology-approach that paints a very convincing picture of the near future. Like in invasion the writers avoid pointing fingers at an evil power behind the curtain that pulls all the strings. In fact it seems that individual ambitions in the management are tainting the middle class eden project here. Sadly we are literally left in the middle of nowhere with this show because it was not renewed for the second season and sold out to ABC - which is a known HQ-SF-Show killer btw.. "This is not my life" is easily the best SF that came out of New Zealand in decades. Kudos to all who were involved in making this show and shame on all who killed it.

I've only seen the first four episodes but if the remaining nine are similar then intelligent Sci-Fi lovers have finally found something to look forward to. Much better than the likable yet confusing 'Life On Mars.' More comprehensible than the silly melodramatic 'Heroes.' This TV series is from New Zealand so you'll have to be, erm... creative in how you get a hold of this series. I suspect that this will change, though, and world wide distribution will follow quickly.

This Is Not My Life is an absorbing sci fi drama featuring Charles Mesure, Tandi Wright, and Miriama McDowell. It is set in the future in a Utopian leafy suburb of Waimoana in New Zealand.

Don't let the fact that it's a TV program from NZ put you off. The production features some fine international heavyweights and UK viewers especially will enjoy this. The American fans of network TV are gonna be left wondering when the bombs and bullets are ever gonna start so they won't like this at all.

The script is top notch and you'll have to listen to every word because there is no exposition thrown out for an inattentive teenage crowd.

The clever placement of gadgets and gizmos are blended into the unfolding drama and not thrown in your face. The dialog is seductively menacing and at times chilling to listen to.

Pencils and paper are things of the past. The 'greenies' and tree huggers won! 'Carbon credits' for driving and flying are a privilege and you'll get a stern finger wagging if you go overdrawn.

The performances, direction and effects are universally solid. There was an annoying moment when the little girl was running down the hall away from her father and it was obvious to the dead that she was looking directly at someone and not where she was running, but maybe I'm quibbling.

I'll leave you to figure out the story for yourself... much like the lead in the story is having to do! If you are a fan of John Wyndham then you'll ease right into this.

My personal view is that if this standard of programming can sustain itself for the entire series then it will be as important for science fiction as the original series of Star Trek.

If it loses direction, gets sentimental or silly then it will be forgotten very quickly.

But for the moment I am for the first time in decades genuinely thrilled about watching science fiction on TV...

New Zealand has an astounding amount of TV and Film talent for such a small population and This is Not My Life is a well acted and beautifully produced piece of TV. I think that the care that went into this goes beyond scriptwriting and acting (both of which are top notch).The sets and setting are detailed and consistent down to the graphical user interfaces on PDAs and office computers - an alternative but very plausible view of where 2010 technology is heading. The look and feel of the world we are being invited into here has details that describe a dystopian New Zealand down to the overly plastic 'Kia Ora' greeting. Although this is a very Kiwi futuristic drama I hope that this TVNZ production gets taken up by the international networks, it deserves as wide a showing as possible.

The plot owes something to the 1960s series 'The Prisoner' and also to 'Lost' given that the early episodes resolve nothing about how Waimoana came to exist. More than that there is a Kubrick feel to this production based on a tenacious attention to detail by the whole team.

I only discovered this show thanks to a mention in a review of Humans. To that reviewer - thank you so much!

The concept reminded me very much of "The Prisoner" (original series) - there's an overly happy village where everyone spouts platitudes but with an underbelly of mind control and serious menace; a central hero; lots of uncertainty about what's going on; and it's impossible to escape (or is it?).

The casting, acting, scripts and whole feel of the production were spot- on. I watched the whole show in the course of a couple of days.

Very surprised that it is not well known - I would have expected it to have a cult following. Tried hard to buy DVDs (including looking at online Kiwi shops), but it doesn't seem to be available anywhere. The good news is that the whole series is on Youtube.

Very highly recommended.