Upper Middle Bogan

Ok I loved it. Funny and entertaining, I just loved it. Although in the first season it seemed the camera was noticably jerky in the scenes, but was filmed smoother in the second and third season.

Kudos to the actors for bringing the writers characters to life. Each actor truly brought uniqueness to their characters persona. I liked how each episode had it's own story, with just a little of the history of the relationships between the family members filtering along without it saturating the next episode. Its a very entertaining and funny show. I'm glad I watched it.

Worth the watch, if you like comedy.

Classic Aussie comedy. Would love to see more. Not a weak character in the show.

The term 'bogan' is peculiar to Australia but its origins are unclear. I first heard the term when visiting Parkes NSW in the late 1970s when my friend reported that residents of the town referred to Bogan weather (originating from the west near Bogan Gate). The term slipped from meaning poor weather to meaning second-rate people. This was popularised by the comedienne Mary-Anne Fahey in her schoolgirl character Kylie Mole in the 1980s. The TV series "Upper Middle Bogan" is a sit-com. An upper-middle-class doctor discovers that she was adopted as a baby and finds that her birth parents are "westies" or "bogans". (Non-Australians might have been told that Australia is a classless society but the very essence of the comedy of this show demonstrates the opposite). The comedy develops from the comparison of the values and activities of the "latte set" with those of the showy, superficial, populist bogans. I wonder how people from outside Australia will take this series. There are surely parallels in other societies so not much of the humour is likely to be lost (except on Americans as some of the humour is subtle). The writing is excellent, though a couple of the later episodes were not as strong as the earlier ones. The cast is outstanding, featuring some of Australia's best actors, including a rare TV performance from "royalty" of stage acting, Robyn Nevin. Ms Nevin proves once again what a fine comedy actress she is (remember "A Toast to Melba"?). The visual humour of her calisthenics is wonderful, (even if she didn't intend it to be humorous). The actors portraying members of the Wheeler family of drag racers (the bogans) are very convincing, to the extent that the viewer could believe that they are bogans in real life (which is possibly the case as 80% of Australians are bogans to a greater or lesser degree). This is a refreshing production, showing that Australia can still produce top quality shows despite the budget limitations.

We enjoyed the first series and the second series is proving just as good. I won't go into the premise of the show, as that's well documented here by others, but I will say that the concept is excellent and makes for some wonderfully funny situations, especially involving the wonderful Robyn Nevin. The second episode of this new series, about sex education and related topics was totally hilarious. Great performances by everyone, and as usual, well scripted. If you haven't seen it, don't assume it is written at the expense of either upper-middle class or bogans (A peculiarly Australian term for people who are "uncultured" and enjoy life without regard for the social mores. Close, but not quite the same as the US term "red-neck"). The well-crafted characters are all endearing, even the foul-mouthed single mother played by Michala Bana, whose heart-of-gold often shines through the bluff exterior. This is a good quality, intelligently-written comedy, in my humble opinion a credit to the scriptwriter.

A real work of art that I would definitely compare to American family comedy, Modern Family.

This 8 episode series really shows the contrast of Australian society and in a way breaks down stereotypes that all Australians are 'bogans' and drive utes.

The series includes great Aussie comedy and jokes and does not seem to fail in the line of comedy. This series genuinely made me laugh and I wish that the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC) continued with the series.

To find such a good Australian comedy is rare and definitely needs more recognition. For these reasons I have stated above I give it a 10 out of 10.