Dear Offspring

Straight off the bat I have to admit: I have a long standing love hate relationship with Australian drama, well, really it's mostly hate. I arrived back in Australia to find a country IN LOVE with Claudia Karvan and The Secret Life of Us. It was seriously deafening, and everyone could not stop telling me how GREAT this series was, how it was the BEST thing ever and of course, expectation totally defeated it and I never loved it the way people wanted me to. It's not just Secret Life though, it's Blue Heelers, Packed to the Rafters, Sea Patrol and all that go along with it.

So, Offspring, of course had so much against it in my book before it even started. Still, I watched it and was immediately ENRAGED! Nina Proudman was the most crazy, insecure, wishy washy ass character, who babbled moronically and had some weird ex-husband who liked to send bomb threats. She had the requisite eccentric Australian family, with everyone 'delightfully' mad and unique. And she had the love interest that was clearly going to be a whole season of longing looks - which I'd be fine with, if it didn't include the voiceover of insecurity questioning every decision ever made. I was out before the third episode.

But then, a funny thing happened towards the end of the first season. Firstly the Network Ten promo department did an excellent job at luring me back in with the whole Nina sleeps with the sister's ex-boyfriend scenario - bonus points that was it Eddie Perfect and he is deliciously hilarious and the only thing I really enjoyed. Then it was the two punch of brilliance. 1) Actual action on the romance front for Nina and Dr Chris and them both expressing feelings out loud to each other and looking like, despite obstacles, they might get together. 2) Eddie Perfect and the apology song: Six at Best.



That was hands down - the funniest moment of the series.

So I was back on board, keen to see how the cliffhanger of romance between Nina and Dr Chris would be solved, keen to see more lovely Eddie Perfect.

Then Season Two came and lordy be. Firstly, Dr Chris NO WHERE TO BE SEEN! (Dr Chris' expression above: MINE TOO!) Okay, sure actor Don Hany had taken off for LA and that made it hard, but a whole season of unresolved sexual tension was resolved with a crappy flashback montage and LETTER saying sorry, no can do with you! A LETTER! A FREAKING LETTER!

Then, in an effort to make up for this lack of romance, Nina is now tearing her way through the fellas. The young hot doc, the awkward heart doc and now her shady background doc. Kat Stewart each week swings between hysterical harpy to tough on surface, sweet underneath girl. The brother, continues to be 'eccentric' for no real reason and I can't even fathom the parents and their crazy antics.

Still, after all this, I still find myself watching? I can't explain it really, I see the very good promo, I think, maybe this week, maybe Nina will stop over narrating everything, maybe she'll stop using men as the ultimate judge and jury, maybe Kat Stewart will not scream like banshee in public, maybe I'll see more of Eddie Perfect and maybe I'll see less of the rest of the characters. It never happens, and I'm left annoyed and frustrated but still, Nina, you drag me back each week with hope.