All worked up about nothing
Sydney Morning Herald
Monday September 28, 2009
In the murky realm of television commentary, overwrought headlines are par for the course. But few raise as many eyebrows as last week's media lather over the sudden smuttiness of the nation's most popular drama, Packed to the Rafters. The offending episode featured, among other things, a scene in which one of the characters is interrupted during a spell of self-pleasure. It has subsequently been the catalyst for much debate, some of it heated and €“ unsurprisingly €“ much of it by by people who have clearly never watched the show.How else can we explain their shock? Or their breathless surprise at this supposedly unexpected turn of events? What happened to this "great Aussie family show", asked one. I used to be a fan "when it was a nice, wholesome family show", said another.The truth is Packed to the Rafters hasn't changed at all. And if the ratings are any indicator, aside from a noisy handful of complainers, neither has the audience's affection for it.Packed to the Rafters has always tackled the topic of sex with a wry sense of humour and the kind of honesty that has won it a weekly audience that leaves almost every offended media commentator's circulation dwindling in the dust. The first episode featured Dave Rafter (Erik Thomson) trying to deal with an erection that wouldn't subside, courtesy of a dose of Viagra. To suggest the show has shifted tone is a fundamental inaccuracy.Far from being offensive, Packed to the Rafters has become a massive hit because it speaks to the audience directly, truthfully, without moralising and portrays characters and situations that resonate because of their realism. Rather than take small-minded potshots at an unequivocally successful program, the media would be better served by trying to understand why it works.midato@smh.com.au
© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald