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Packed to the Rafters

Editorial Review

Editorial Review

Focusing on the exploits of father Dave (Erik Thomson), mother Julie (Rebecca Gibney), and their offspring, Packed to the Rafters attained huge popularity in its debut season, and is now even attracting interest from overseas television stations.

Taking the traditional family drama formula and giving it an Australian spin, each character portrays their own Aussie stereotype. While Dave works hard and drinks too much, Julie constantly worries about her children as they work through many of life's problems: relationships, jobs, friends and everything else a twenty-something can come up against. Then there's Julie's father Ted Taylor (Michael Caton), fulfilling the doddery old relative role, who came to live with the Rafters after his wife passed away.

The season finale isn't short of cringe-worthy moments, as Dave and Julie take an unhealthily frank interest in their daughter Rachel's (Jessica Marais) sex-life, while Rachel's new boyfriend tries some unconventional methods in order to make her parents comfortable around him. Meanwhile, Nathan (Angus McLaren) and Sammy (Jessica McNamee) try out the jacuzzi in one of the estate agency's client's homes.

Success aside, Packed to the Rafters is a show that needs to be given time to work its' magic - the first time you watch it, you really don't care what happens to the clan, however as you get to know the household, the troupe really do begin to grow on you. That said, with such an Australian theme, the question is whether it will fare quite so well abroad as it has over here.

Packed to the Rafters airs on the Seven Network on Tuesday, November 25, at 8:30pm.

Richard Burns, November 2008