Loveday Writing

You can easily see the difference between the original series and the reboot through their trailers alone.

I wrote in my review of the “pilot” that it was in the unique position of a continuing a premise that was established in its original series over 20 years ago, but also having to establish its premise for new viewers. I also wrote that as both a fan of the original series and a writer, I was eager to see the reboot but also viewed it with a healthy amount of cynicism – I never had the expectation of the reboot to be exactly like the original or pick up from where the 2000 finale left off – that would be unrealistic. I expected that there would be some characters that wouldn’t return, such as Harold as his portrayer, Alan Cassell, died in 2017, or Angus as his portrayer, Tom Long, was battling Multiple Myeloma at the time (he sadly passed away in 2020), as well as the characters portrayed by actors who stopped acting altogether. However, I was a little disappointed that only seven original characters returned, I was honestly expecting a bigger number, that being said I can’t fault the original cast members for not returning back to a project that ended over 20 years ago and moving on with their lives.

Unfortunately, I felt that the pilot did half its job in establishing the premise, characters, and story arcs of the show. I felt this way as the pilot didn’t re-establish the original premise for new viewers clearly. I pointed out in my review that as I was a fan of the original series, I knew who the original characters were and what the premise was, however if I was a new viewer, I would have no idea what was going on. I felt that an introduction with clips from the original series would have easily fixed this problem. I also felt that the writing was messy due to 20 years passing from the end of the original series to the start of this reboot, which led to a lot of continuity errors and what I felt was a literal “character assassination” of Miranda and an unseen Max – they are completely different to how they were written and portrayed in the original series.

The season did eventually improve as it progressed. We are introduced to Laura and Max’s daughter, Stella, who Laura was pregnant with at the end of the original series. There are also connections established between the original series in this reboot with one of the reboot characters revealed to be the nephew of an original character, and the wedding of two beloved characters, Kevin and Phrani. We also have the reappearance of Bob Jelly’s daughter, Jules, who seemingly became more of a real estate villain than her father ever was, and we ultimately have the first season end on a happy note with Miranda getting the Marine Centre she’s wanted and worked for, for the entire season.

In all honesty, I didn’t really see the need for this fourth season/reboot. The original series ended on a high note and closed everything off perfectly, and this fourth season/reboot was rife with continuity errors and writing flaws, due to the long period of time that’s passed since the original series ended. I haven’t come across any news of a fifth season/second season for the reboot, and frankly, I’d be surprised if it did continue as it’s been three years since the fourth season/first season of the reboot aired.

Behind the Reviews – Edition #22 will be released next week and will focus on Sisters and its American remake, Almost Family.