On the plus side, the children, coming into their own, before flattened to a crispy 2 dimensional caricature of their previous self.
And skipping the setup to the story, jumping into a plot that shifted into second gear works great --mostly in the first and second seasons, and then it turns contrived and repetitive.
By the third season it plummets down to pitching every conceivable personal and family secret humanity ever held and then some, with escapades galore and saccharinated closures by episode end. Alas, the shock value turns into a clown act.
And what's with the toast and jam? I don't recall seeing a single vegetable the entire series, it's second only to beer.
Any character that scores with viewers - moves right in or next door, or one after or into the van ... so the original neighbors and their relatives were sent packing. The cops are keystone corny and the baddest sociopaths have hearts of gold, dysfunctionality is glamorized and plots are wrung for all possible twists, and while love is always around a corner waiting for a quickie and 'survey says...', so's every other form of shenanigan... Racism is treated with TV respect, which is to say even the crazies are politically correct, drugs are sensationalized when not normalized, and I guess depravity happens to the best of us...
Too bad the suits insisted on milking this show for all the lemonade it could dish out.
1st season - 9/10 2nd - 8/10 3rd, 4th - 2/10
And skipping the setup to the story, jumping into a plot that shifted into second gear works great --mostly in the first and second seasons, and then it turns contrived and repetitive.
By the third season it plummets down to pitching every conceivable personal and family secret humanity ever held and then some, with escapades galore and saccharinated closures by episode end. Alas, the shock value turns into a clown act.
And what's with the toast and jam? I don't recall seeing a single vegetable the entire series, it's second only to beer.
Any character that scores with viewers - moves right in or next door, or one after or into the van ... so the original neighbors and their relatives were sent packing. The cops are keystone corny and the baddest sociopaths have hearts of gold, dysfunctionality is glamorized and plots are wrung for all possible twists, and while love is always around a corner waiting for a quickie and 'survey says...', so's every other form of shenanigan... Racism is treated with TV respect, which is to say even the crazies are politically correct, drugs are sensationalized when not normalized, and I guess depravity happens to the best of us...
Too bad the suits insisted on milking this show for all the lemonade it could dish out.
1st season - 9/10 2nd - 8/10 3rd, 4th - 2/10