Tangle

... overwhelming majority of reviewers thought it a good-worthwhile production ( 85% rating it 7 or higher)... why it didn't continue a mystery... leaving all loyal viewers in limbo after just 22 episodes.

Really loved this. Ben M was at his best arrogant, misogynistic, racist self but terribly funny and entertaining and kicked it off nicely. The kids were the best actors, especially Romeo, who really developed so much throughout the series.

Only criticism - very white, very middle class, very heterosexual. A bit bland in that regard.

I have read the incredibly bad reviews and don't understand them. One possible explanation is that they are from people associated with bland soaps like Neighbours and Home & Away.

Another more likely explanation is that we all have different tastes.

This is dark and gritty. I thought the acting was excellent and the storylines imaginative. The dialogue was well written and again I don't understand the negative reviews.

The name is perfect - what a tangled mess it becomes. I loved Justine Clark's character and her secret.

There are dark undertones that run through this series and Ben Mendelssohn plays his reprehensible character brilliantly. The teenage and child actors are excellent.

Don't listen to the negative reviews - make up your own mind.

So far, I am about half way through the 2nd series.

There are things about this show which are excellent. Most of the Australian shows I have seen of this variety have some big events occurring early on, before we know who the characters are; and it often feels as if the writers cannot think of how to deal with day-to-day events, so they throw in a big event (or 2 or 3) and then write around that.

For most of the 1st series, this show avoided the "big events" and dealt with pretty much normal events in people's lives and their interactions. Most of the characters are interesting, as is the dialogue.

One plus that I would note in this show is, adultery is presented as being a devastating event to a marriage. I have seen several Australian shows where it is presented almost matter-of-factly.

A couple of warnings: most of the characters swear quite a bit, including speaking of God and Jesus Christ without any reverence. There is a fair amount of drug use/abuse (primarily drinking and smoking marijuana among the children and the adults). If I were to base my view of Australians on the shows I have seen, I would think that most people there smoke marijuana, but few get "hooked." And that nearly everyone swears.

I have often wondered if there are writers good enough in Australia to write shows where most of the people do not smoke dope and do not swear and do not commit adultery on a regular basis. If I were to make a guess, that is probably the majority of Australian people who are like that; but they are not generally portrayed that way on the shows that I have seen (I have primarily watched the "human drama" shows with high ratings).

The second series seems unfocused. Whereas, the first seemed to have an arc and some themes; the second series lacks one of the main characters; and seems to lack any sort of unifying theme. Also, the second series introduces some new characters, but, so far, it is not clear who they are or where they are going.

In short, it is a good show with some good writing and acting and some occasional great moments. It is not appropriate for teens (in my opinion) and you would never watch this with a church group.

For those familiar with Showtime or HBO, many Aussie shows seem to feel a need for a lot of sexual activity (I don't recall there being actual nudity), drug use, alcohol abuse, and swearing.

At this point, any disc set that you purchase will require a region free DVD player.

Absolutely brilliant show. Loved it. Dark. Confronting. Messy. Funny. Heart warming. It had everything. The writing was excellent. The acting fantastic. Sad it's over but enjoyed every minute.