Newlyweds (TV series)


Newlyweds is an Australian television sitcom that originally aired on the Seven Network for two seasons from 20 February 1993 to 16 March 1994. The series was created by Ian McFadyen and produced by David Taft. It was written by McFadyen, Mary-Anne Fahey and Graeme Farmer.
The show centres on young couple Allie Carter and Peter Roberts as they embark on married life, with constant interruptions from their families and friends.

Cast and characters

A pilot for the series was produced in Melbourne by Crawford Productions in early 1992. Written by Ian McFadyen and Mary-Anne Fahey, it starred Lisa McCune, Katrina Foster, Richard Healey, Cathy Godbold, Rhys Muldoon, Stewart Faichney and Tenley Gilmore. In April 1992, Jacqueline Lee Lewis of The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Crawfords would re-shoot the pilot for Seven Network after recasting several roles.

Reception

Peter Holmes of The Sydney Morning Herald initially observed that "Newlyweds appears nothing more than Romeo and Juliet, badly done for the millionth time." Holmes admitted to openly laughing four times, especially at scenes involving Gore's "ice-bitch" character. The Ages Mark Lawrence thought the show was the most promising out of the recent locally produced sitcoms. He praised Gabardi's performance, saying that he has "good timing and clearly relishes his opportunity", while he found Jones was "a perfect match" for him. Like Holmes, Lawrence enjoyed Gore's performance as Irene, writing "If one must single out a star in this series, it's her. Such is the presence she creates."
Lawrence's fellow critic Geoff Slattery gave the show a more negative review, describing it as "a fatuous, demeaning, anti-intellectual series based on one sentence of concept: Newlyweds deals with problems familiar to all young couples.'" Slattery felt that the show was full of bad stereotypes and had "no redeeming social values, perceptions, or understanding of either newlyweds, or the Australia of the '90s."