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Reviews
Bump (2021)
Series 4 - disappointing
For the record, I really enjoyed series 1-3. Y Season 4, however...WTF?
The characters and plotlines have always threatened to veer into self-indulgence from time to time, but the writers always managed to right its course. In season 4, I can't find any redeeming qualities in any of the characters. Oly has always been a character I have struggled to like, but in comparison with the other characters this season, she's a veritable delight. Angie, Oly's mum, has devolved into a tree-hugging, self-involved loon, and Reema and Vince's love story, which had so much promise at the end of season 3, has turned into a union seemingly destined for the dustbin.
I don't know what has happened to the writing; it is pedestrian, directionless and lecturing. I don't think I can make it past episode 3.
Strife (2023)
Why, Asher Keddie...why?
A caveat: I'm not a fan of Mia Freedman or her ouevre, but I tried to be as objective as possible.
I really wanted to like this. Asher Keddie is a goddamn national treasure. Her work in Love This Way and Offspring was great TV. But Strife is not worthy of her considerable skills. The writing is clumsy and, unusually, the main character is the least compelling in the whole cast. Evelyn Jones is simultaneously self-aggrandising, condescending and hypocritical, not to mention exceedingly unlikeable.
Tina Bursill, Emma Lung and Matt Day are all great, and it's refreshing to see young unknown actors get a shot, but this could have been so much better.