Rafters blasted over “rampant sexlife”
Fans of Packed to the Rafters have hit out at an episode this week which included fantasy scenes and a moment of privacy for a male character.
- Published by David Knox
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Did Packed to the Rafters misjudge its audience this week?
Yesterday the show copped a bit of a reaction to its episode which include several fantasy scenes involving sex, and a scene in which Nathan (Angus McLaren) was caught masturbating on the toilet by wife Sammy (Jessica MacNamee).
The scene followed a moment in which Nathan had told Sammy he was too tired to have sex, and was part of a larger episode which looked atmen being turned on by ‘simple biology.’
The fantasy scenes, which were shot in music video styles, were also breakout moments for Ben (Hugh Sheridan) and Carbo (George Houvardas).
But comments left on the show’s official website, reflected by talkback radio callers yesterday, criticised the show’s apparent flip from being a ‘family drama’:
– “Why is it so hard to write episodes without gratuitous sex as its main theme? The potential is there to explore some really great issues about family dynamics with all the trials and tribulations that make up life. But all we’ve seen of late is the rampant sexlife of the Rafters!”
– “We are totally disgusted with this last episode. An insult to the actors. This is not what we expected. This is cause us to stop watching this as a family.”
– “Why is it that the writers of so many TV shows think that if they aren’t full of sex romps no one will want to watch them? The producers of Rafters would do well to remember that they won a stack of Logies with a show that wasn’t full of sex. When you’ve found a good recipe, then you should stick to it.”
– “I don’t think it’s a case of being old-fashioned or religious. It’s simply good taste. I was very disappointed by last night’s episode. Were the writers have a bit of a slow week and couldn’t think of a good plot line, so they decided to write pure sexual fluff instead? Come on! I was embarrassed for the actors, and embarrassed that the writers think this is what Australians want to watch.”
– “Packed to the rafters WAS my favourites show. Last night was disgraceful, weird, tasteless and absolute rubbish. Im officially switching off.”
– “I do not have a problem with the infidelity portrayed in this show. You’re right, it is a fact of life, and it does happen. My problem is with the strong sex themes shown. It wasn’t necessary to have those long wild sexual fantasy montages. And I really could have done without the sight of Nathan having ‘fun’ in the bathroom.”
– “I used to love Packed To The Rafter when it was a nice, wholesome family show. Now the writers have gone off on stupid tangents with all those ‘fantasies’ the characters are supposed to be having. Why do writers spoil good shows by pushing the envelope by showing young men supposedly ‘satisfying’ themselves? Gimme a break!”
Others disagreed saying:
-“This show is meant to reflect reality. It’s a fact of life that young people, especially young men, spend a lot of time thinking about sex. Dave and Julie are the moral centre of the show and that has not changed. Nathan has always been the weaker member of the family and I think his actions with Layla are reflecting that.”
– “I’ve never seen this show as being something young children should watch either, even from the first episode. It’s an adult show with all adult characters. If anyone believes their children should not / no longer be watching it, they should use their powers of ‘parental guidance’, as the rating suggests.”
Some TV Tonight readers also criticised the episode as being weakened by ‘filler’ montages.
Rafters has always had PG-rated content, including back to its beginnings when it visited issues of domestic violence. But in that time it has also developed a family-following, and would appear to now face a delicate balancing act of wanting artistic freedom without alienating its broad audience.
Similar masturbating scenes have also appeared recently on The Librarians and United States of Tara -both of which saw female characters walking in on male characters. They aired at 9pm and 9:30pm respectively.
Source: Yahoo!7
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55 Responses
Dear Mr. David Knox,
Sex is a natural and frequent part of any family life. To suggest that it doesn’t exist or should not be shown is a very old fashion puritanical and hypocritical point of view. For example the US claims to be 93% christian and yet it has the highest pornography industry in the world. I’d rather see a pair of tits than gratuitus violence on TV.
Bob, where did I suggest it doesn’t exist or shouldn’t be shown?
Please don’t confuse reporting with editorial. Thanks.
I knew there was an uproar about this episode but having never watched an episode I can’t really comment as there is always something better on the other channel when it is on.
Yes but who cares if one episode is a bit sexed up and a few kids see it when you look at how Packed to the Rafters has changed our Aussie TV industry for the better!!
Ok let’s remember… before PTTR McLeod’s daughters had just ended ( a quality drama might I add); Home and away was considered Australia’s number one drama and was like one of the only home grown Aussie dramas that actually appealed to a younger audience (which is a joke considering the crap scriptwriting and lame storylines- to even consider this show as good Australian drama is an insult to every other quality production Australia has come up with over the years. Not to mention the fact anyone over 25 would feel alienated watching this); Neighbours, a fantastic five day weekly soap is one of Australia’s only real decent shows that appeals to a youth audience and has readers of say TV Week tuning in- however its ratings aren’t so good and it really struggles to deal with more adult issues.
City Homicide; a perfectly good TV drama but fails to win over teenage viewers and fails to be recognised by the media (i.e. TV Week ect). It fails to show character based plots but succeeds in great mysteries and action. And isn’t something you’d want the kids watching; Sea Patrol- is pretty much like All saints by the Sea. And is far too Americanised and fails to win over younger viewers and rate really well. It also wastes Lisa McCune’s talents and is terrible at character based stuff; All Saints- Dull, out dated and something young people are uninterested in. Plus the fact it has a very undesirable setting; Underbelly- good, gets the whole nation talking but something you’d be mortified with your kids watching and too bloody and gruesome for its timeslot. Also fails to get a lot of coverage off TV Week.
Packed to the rafters arrives… Rebecca Gibney is on our screen. We have a show anyone from 16-60+ can enjoy. It has fantastic character based plots and a young attractive cast it is also well written gets great magazine coverage and is something Australia can really be proud of having as their number one drama.
I honestly had no issue with this episode. I love the show and I thought it was fine. It just seems as though people are acting as if they don’t know how to change the channel and just get over it. Television is meant to be provocative and quite frankly I’m happy that the show pushed the limit a bit eventhough in my opinion what was potrayed on the show was no where near smutty or overly sexual. It was more like a parody on fantasy and i think it poked fun and how men and their fantasies can get the best of their minds. Just get over it and watch something else.