Hope Springs

Goodness me what a lot of bile and spleen has been written in the press about this flippertigibbet, this feathery fascinator, this pink marshmallow of a show!

The fact that it's very silly indeed, that its plot has to be held up with matchsticks to keep it afloat, that not all of the acting is any good, that the premise is as daft as a box of frogs – none of these things make it a whit less enjoyable, and I like to think of myself as having a brain and a critical faculty (though maybe some might wonder now). But I also like to switch them off on a Sunday night when preparing myself for another week in hell, so I don't care a tarnished farthing how mad and bad the show actually is. I've been glued to every episode and if they can manage to scrape another series off the walls I'll be glued to that, too. Go on, hate me. I think Alex Kingston, Paul Higgins (a nice surprise after his excellent turn as 'Scotland's crossest man'), Ronni Ancona and Annette Crosbie are great. I think several parts are seriously underwritten and could use a lot more development – but having just watched episode five I'm tossing out every possible academic objection. I thought everyone did really, really well in the wedding episode. In episode seven it was nice to see Josie finally getting into her part as her awkward friendship with Ronan develops; but what on EARTH is going on with Gill and his love life? I'm not buying that latest development at all.

Still - what were all those critics expecting? "Great Expectations"? Is this not supposed to be undemanding entertainment on the lines of "Heartbeat"? Were we expecting to be challenged and deeply moved? I wasn't. I got exactly what I wanted; it's like those lucky dips at fêtes which turn out better than you expect: a trinket of no value, of course, but pleasant nonetheless.

OK, I only started watching it because its filmed in my part of the country, and yes, the first episode was a bit (?) unbelievable, but I must confess I've been enjoying it in an unchallenging way. It was mercilessly derided by all the critics based on the first episode, but it has improved. Oddly, it is the 'locals' that seem to have the best parts, although the girls are finally getting a bit fleshed out. Before I even saw it, I thought 'Widows meets 2,000 Acres', and I was a bit miffed to read just that in the press.... As others have said, its a jolly escapist romp of a Sunday evening, its not into costume drama territory.

My daughter (aged 13) and I sat today and watched 5 episode of Hope Springs all in a row and loved it! We love the story centered on these 4 women and wished to know more about all of them. We think it's great that the ladies are trying to get away from the spotlight and lay low only to come to the most busy, police-involved, falling down hotel in Scotland! We truly enjoyed this and wish Amerian TV had this kind of quality! We did have to turn on the subtitles because some of the Scottish accents were too much and spoken too fast for us to follow -- especially some of the slang! Came back to find season 2 and disappointed there weren't any additional seasons! There was so much more we wanted to learn about the backstories of the 4 characters and how the continued to cope on 'the outside' and how they continued living in this small community! Loved it, still want more!

OK i know its only 2 episode have been aired so far,and even though i still didn't watch the second one,and maybe its too early to know if this will be good show or not but you know what???......... I SO LOVED it,im BIG fan of the British drama and all their kind of shows in general and i have to say they keep getting better and better..but back to Hope springs,i just can tell this show will be one of those amazing shows where u will be addicted to it and cant wait to watch and know what will happen next... the acting was really good and was funny,and most important its not really predictable...not like these shows where you set back and watch and be like,yep i knew this coming.. so to sum it up,if you didn't watch this show yet, hurry and catch up,because you gonna miss a great funny cute show.