"The Secret Life of Us" (2001) TV series 2001-2005

Creators:

John Edwards
Amanda Higgs

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Release Date:

9 January 2002 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Friend | Male Female Relationship | Australian | Friendship | Group Of Friends

Awards:

10 wins & 22 nominations

Cast

Deborah Mailman	...	Kelly Lewis (86 episodes, 2001-2006)
Samuel Johnson	...	Evan Wylde (72 episodes, 2001-2005)
Abi Tucker	...	Miranda Lang (46 episodes, 2001-2003)
Sibylla Budd	...	Gabrielle Kovich (46 episodes, 2001-2003)
Spencer McLaren	...	Richie Blake (45 episodes, 2001-2003)
Claudia Karvan	...	Dr. Alex Christensen / ... (43 episodes, 2001-2003)
David Tredinnick	...	Simon Trader (43 episodes, 2001-2005)
Damian de Montemas	...	Jason Kennedy (41 episodes, 2001-2002)

Runtime:

60 min (86 episodes)

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:M

Filming Locations:

14A Acland St., St. Kilda, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Company:

Channel 4 Television Corporation

Quotes:

Tom: What's that?
Evan Wylde: It's chicken guts.
Tom: Do you eat it?
Evan Wylde: No.
Ella: What's that?
Evan Wylde: It's chicken guts.
Ella: Do you eat it?
Evan Wylde: No.
Carmen: What's that?
Evan Wylde: Talk about family resemblance! It's chicken guts, and no, I don't eat it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "60 Minutes: On Thin Ice/The Memory Pill/Love Her Way (#29.1)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Death Defy

Excellent, Excellent, Excellent

I really can't stand to hear people bag this show out. It's fantastic, the writing is imaginative, the directing is great, and as far as the acting goes, it has some of the best performances I have ever seen from an Australian cast. If anybody knew anything about quality TV shows, they would not be able to find fault with this show.

I loved this show right from the beginning, the first episode is a 2 part telemovie that draws you in and leaves you begging for more. The 3 main characters that the show centres around are Kelly, Evan and Alex and the on screen chemistry between these three actors just jumps out of the screen, and leaves you feeling like you are actually friends with them.

Without a doubt, the first two seasons were pure gold. They were by far the best. The third season had promise, and some of the story lines were amazing, but as we lost several members of the main cast, the show lost its spark and by the fourth season it was nothing like the beginning.

The show was pretty much doomed after it lost Alex. She was the star of the show. Claudia Karvan is an amazing actress and I applaud her for staying with the show for as long as she did.

The relationships in the show are what made it so special. Alex and Evan, Miranda and Richie, Miranda and Will, Gabrielle and Alex, Gabrielle and Jason, Kelly and Nathan...they all brought out the best in each other, and supported each other in so many ways.

The downfall of the show came with the introduction of characters such as Nikki Martel and Lucy and Adam beckwith. Nikki was an appalling and badly written character. Anna Torv is a great actress, but she was wasted on a disaster like Nikki. Nikki's character was so pathetic, it made me turn off my set several times. Then you have Lucy Beckwith, the most boringcharacter ever written into a TV show. Any storyline with Lucy was justdismal and didn't give the spark that the previous characters had. Lucy's character was partly due to bad writing, and partly due to the average acting abilities of Alexandra Schepisi. Lucy could have been more interesting if Alexandra had got it right, but she didn't. At times, I would watch a scene with Lucy in it, and would feel embarrassed for Alexandra because her acting was just so transparent and unconvincing, that you just see her as pathetic. Adam Beckwith was not so bad, he had some redeeming qualities and was played well by Nicholas Coghlan, but once again, fell victim to appalling writing.

Then we have George. Gigi Edgely is without a doubt the worst Australian actress I have ever seen. George was a huge character, she could have been amazing, but she was played by an average actor. I would have liked to have seen Anna Torv play George, she could have pulled it off...but Gigi, there's no excuse for such dull performances, when you have such a vibrant and interesting character to work with. George was a huge disappointment for me.

Sticking with the original characters, this show is my favourite Australian show to this date, and I enjoyed watching it immensely.

five stars.