Thanks tasha,
Good luck with you too, maybe we can hook up for a beer when we are there.

Sounds good. All this visa and moving lark sounds like it gets very stressful.

i thought it was a a great program. i loved it. australia looks really nice.

They did show a lot of lovely (and quite expensive) houses, and lovely shops, lovely beaches, etc etc.
We should bear in mind that there are plenty of other bits of Australia that they chose not to show.

I to agree with your thoughts on the programme, not everyone will have that kind of budget. Having everything set up for you when you get there is a great help but not much fun when you get off plane with 3 young kids , a bundle of suitcases and not really sure where you are going! How would you feel after 6 months away from family members let alone 1 week. That programme made it a stress free move which definetly wont be the case for us.

I haven't seen it yet, videoed it to watch this evening. But they do only have five mornings to show Australia, so I suppose they are going to the places most people move to. I was there a year and still didn't see it all

Dolly

Yes of course, but I didn't just mean places they didn't show- also aspects that they didn't show. The focus was very much on the positive things.
No mention of jetlag, for example! No people being unfriendly or rude, nobody suffering in the heat, etc. All normal things, I would have thought, but no hint of them in the 'perfect Australia' programme. (! I'm not slating it, I just was aware that it did come across as very onesided.)

I think "the focus" as you put it, is always going to be on how the particular family experience their one week in wherever.
For this particular family, their week in Sydney was positive.
Quite possible that the family didn't suffer jetlag. I don't suffer from it either. So, if you made a programme with me in it, there would be no mention of jetlag either.
They were only there one week! And everything they did was pre-arranged by the BBC (e.g. working for one day in the hair salon). The family didn't have much of a chance to meet anybody rude.
One of the participants said that it was filmed in September (in the Barbie). Syney is probably not very hot in September.

Overall, I think you have to bear in mind that the programme is not meant to be a documentary or "balanced". It is intended to give the totally subjective views of families who've spent one week in a particular part of Australia. On top of that, remember that we don't get to see all footage - just the edited version. One of the participants may have said something in a particular context, but when it's edited it comes out completely different from the way it was intended.

I am really looking forward to seeing all 20 episodes. But I look on it as entertainment and an opportunity to see a few "bits" of Oz, especially to see Perth again where we're headed, nothing more.

Gina

Gina - whoa! I'm not slagging it off at all, just saying it was not balanced. You are right, it is a reflection of one family's experience, so it will always be subjective. I did think the narrative was biased too.
It will be interesting to see how the rest of the series unfolds.

I watched it this morning as I had a rare day off.
I enjoyed watching it - the family seemed really nice.
I agree with other posters though that it doesn't give a balanced view.
They spend one week there and it's all set up for them so of course they have a great time.
It's well worth watching to see places though. Does anyone know when a Melbourne one will be on?

I haven't seen it yet (videoed) but I don't expect it to be a particularly balanced view. They only have week to show these people round and give them an idea of the place, and of course they are going to show them the nicest bits. I just want to see the areas they are going to.

Dolly

I'll be eagerly awaiting this one, so I can see all the nice places I missed when there and not see any of the grotty areas I went to

Did someone post on here that there are 20 episodes? I thought it was just this week.

Dolly

Does anyone know if today's episode (Sydney) will be repeated on any of the other BBC digital channels or have a copy that can be e-mailed?

As I was in work I asked the wife to record it (as she has nothing else to do once the kid is in school!) and she only went and forgot. Probably too busy applying nail polish or whatever housewifes do!

Cheers,
Martin