Packed To The Rafters
The Sunday Age
Sunday September 7, 2008
3/5
PACKED TO THE RAFTERSTuesday 8.30pm, Channel SevenThis funky-looking, fast-moving comedy-drama sometimes moves too fast between the comedy and the drama, lurching uncomfortably from the zany antics of Carbo (George Houvardas), the male chauvinist pig housemate, to the tortured pathos of Grandpa Ted (Michael Caton) struggling with the death of his wife. Rebecca Gibney, as the well-intentioned busybody mum (like Sally Field in Brothers & Sisters), has a lovely rapport with Caton, but Hugh Sheridan as son Ben does the heavy lifting this week, keeping a firm grip on the strikingly different requirements of the role as he swings between assisting his sister's fight with addiction, and moonwalking round his new digs in his underwear.
© 2008 The Sunday Age