The Neighbours

Season 4 is really bad. Bad actors en totally onrealistic story.

Great stuff. The 'Swingers' English title isn't really appropriate. There's no 'explicit' swinging until series 1 episode 5, ok? The buildup just draws you in, and draws you in to a soap opera on steroids. I don't know what the industry term is for this kind of series; 'serial drama' is too vague; Megasoap? Soap Epic? Character Sadism-Fest?

There are elements of the soundtrack that remind me of 'Six Feet Under', as the lives of the three protagonist couples become more and more complicated due to their own powerful needs, sins and mistakes. If you saw that series, you'll know that pretty much anything goes. There's drug crime, voyeurism, disabled characters, immigration issues, fundamentalist religion, you name it. Oh, and some humour, thankfully.

The good news is that it's all managed well, script wise., but It's no more about swinging than Breaking Bad was about organic chemistry. Worth your while, especially if you thought 'Brookside' wasn't edgy enough.

This Dutch series is the usual soap opera about neighbors in a cul-de-sac all of whom have hidden secrets and agendas. The script is poorly edited and tends to jump about quite a bit. This messes up continuity of the story and also tends to skew character development. It helps pass time when there is nothing else in your queue.

Season 2 takes on more of a soap opera feel as characters from Season 1 are brought back from certain death by means the viewers can only assume are the result of medical miracles and treatment as yet unknown to man! The story line becomes confusing and suggests that the writing took a dive. As most of the other posters have suggested, Season 3-4 may not be worth it to continue.

I think the two most important thing to know about this really good, dramatic series is that the correct title is "New Neighbours". It's more impactful because of the foreboding title and is more accurate than the second class title given to the series in the UK for misguided commercial reasons.

The second most important thing is: Don't waste your time watching "The Couple Next Door", the mediocre English version of the Dutch series. The Dutch series is much better.

Incidentally, I didn't see the 'based on' In the credits of the English series as a new episode starts before the end of the credits. But I managed to see the complete credits after some work and it says it's based on the novel. Nobody sees that. The acknowledgment of original authorship should be clearly visible right in the beginning. It's the "ethics" of many series today: Pretend that your work is original instead of being a version of someone else's work. Shame on this show for trying to hide the fact that it is not an original story.

I watched the British version of this drama first (The Couple Next Door - 2023). This original 2014 Dutch version (if you are happy to view by sub titles) is far superior.

Firstly, the acting is of a higher quality. Secondly, the characters are far better cast and much more believable. And thirdly, the climax of series 1 is spread over 4 episodes and therefore more credible than in the British version which is crammed into one episode. The series title is, however, somewhat of a misnomer as there is virtually no "swinging" involved across the entire series.

On the down side, the plot does seem to spread a little more thinly by the time you get to series 4. At the conclusion of series 4 it also leaves unanswered the question of how the 'surviving' characters are ever going to get away with their actions?

The same two criticisms that I mentioned in my review of the British version are equally relevant here, i.e. Why does everybody insist on leaving their front room curtains open at night? And how do the near-death characters manage to survive???

Whilst I feel that the credibility of the series does spiral downwards as the 40 episodes progress, it is still nonetheless worthy of watching.