Serangoon Road

I think 'vapid' was a bit harsh; it's a little messy and yes, a bit predictable, but I like it! What I do NOT like is the fact I can't hear half the dialogue for the blasted background noise! It might be really clever, and well thought-out, but if it were more important than the actual actors' speech, you may as well call it 'foreground noise' and tell us all to turn on the subtitles. It's extremely annoying -please adjust the levels, and I'll continue to watch. Thank-you. Addendum, following an online message from you: 1) I've said what I wanted to say -why should it be a minimum of ten lines?! 2) Please don't tell me how to spell -I AM an Englishman, writing CORRECTLY IN English, and that is how the word 'dialogue' IS spelt! If you've set your stupid system to that thing which is ridiculously called 'American English', just because some cretin decided that he would change the future spelling of MY native language, which had been richly composed of words from many cultures, over several hundred years, then that's your stupid choice. And now it's well over ten lines, I'm pretty annoyed, and will probably not be able to watch your show in future without becoming annoyed again, so thanks for that, too!

This series strongly reminds me of the Singapore I grew up in and it it great for setting and atmosphere. The stories are interesting and wide ranging which keeps the attention. The lead male is a kind of D'Arcy figure with 60s hippy flaws. Too many long languid looks to be snappy and sharp so loses a star for that alone. Very good acting from everyone and surprisingly addictive.

Where is Season 2 - it deserves it!

As is common these days, there are some ongoing stories that run through the whole series and only conclude in the last episode, but while this provides great continuity each episode also has an independent story which concludes during the episode. My recollection of Expat life in South East Asia at this time tells me this is very well represented, in terms of style, contrast with the local community, and attitudes of the time between the Brits and Americans, Chinese and Brits, Aussies and Brits, Police and population, etc. The lead male appears to speak the local languages well despite being Australian, so all credit to Don Hany for pulling that off!

This series is meant to entertain. It doesn't claim to be a documentary or factual history or personal experience. It's just entertainment - don't expect it to be anything else. Of course there are character stereotypes standard dialogue and familiar plot lines - after more than 100 years of filming, what movie doesn't contain those things? The actors are good and the scenery and background activity appear very authentic. I've spent considerable time in Singapore (in recent years of course!), and the backdrops look real enough to me, even given that the series is set in 1964. Chill out and be entertained for a while - or watch something else.

I absolutely loved it. Couldn't get enough of it. Great cast and crew. Great collaboration efforts by Singapore and Australia. Great choice of cast. Don Hany did so well and I'm now his fan. I wish Russell Wong was featured more. He's a great actor and will watch more of him. Authentic settings and enjoyed the Aussie presence. Well done ABC!!! Don't worry about the ratings. The average Aussies aren't discerning. I hope they bring out another series. I think all the Aussie actors did extremely well in keeping the authenticity of the settings. Nice work too with bringing the honorable Joan Chen into the cast. Hany mastered the local languages and the culture very well indeed and looked very comfortable working with the Asian actors/actresses. He is indeed a very versatile actor. Please bring on more. I can't understand why ABC thinks this is a flop because it is so not!

Not a lot of action and I don't expect a lot of Americans to flock to it but I find it captivating. Maybe if you lived there in the '60s like another poster claimed it's not authentic but I didn't live there and I quite enjoy show.