Return to Eden is an overblown "bonkbuster" style romantic thriller in which a wronged woman seeks revenge against the husband and best friend that betrayed her. Stretched over three episodes, each one being 90 minutes long, the story does not rush, although having read a synopsis I was surprised about the pacing of the tale (some spoilers below...)
Episode 1 sees our heroine Stephanie married, cheated on, pushed into a river and the jaws of an awaiting crocodile by her husband and best female friend, assumed dead but washed up and nursed slowly back to something like health by a hermit, visit a plastic surgeon and get transformed into the beautiful "Tara", work her way back into life and society with this new identity until she feels ready to plan her revenge. That's a lot for episode 1, and I was wondering how they would keep up this level of plot propulsion for the remaining two.
Well, they don't really. Episode 2 sees Tara revealed to the world as a beautiful woman, seemingly much younger than she looked as Stephanie, she then makes it as a fashion supermodel and finally she begins a game of cat and mouse with her husband and former friend, both of whom have no idea who she really is. After some careful plotting she summons both of them to her remote family country getaway home to prepare the final trap! This middle episode is probably the weakest and slowest of the three.
Episode 3 sees all the main characters ensconced in the remote holiday home, and Tara begins her revenge. I won't say any more about episode 3, but rest assured that by the end of the final 90 minutes, you do get to see some satisfactory come-uppance
To it's credit, the whole thing is fairly straight, There's no (well, very little) ridiculous ham acting or overblown flouncy bitching. The actors do a very good job. Best performance comes from Rebecca Gilling as the heroine. Her suffering as she recovers does seem to take a realistic amount of time and effort, and her dramatic "unveiling" as the foxy Tara did actually make me blink once or twice and wonder if they'd swapped to another actress - they didn't - so the makeover job is pretty good, it has to be said. Wendy Hughes does a very realistic job as the best friend, but if there's a weak point, it's James Reyne as the slimy husband, he seems to have very little charm. I guess all ladies do love a bad boy.
The biggest drawback of the series is that it looks hysterically dated in the sequences where Tara becomes a "top model" and prances about in the most god-awful 80's "high fashion" outfits that you have ever seen. It's a shame really, as I am sure this all looked like hot stuff at the time, but time has not been kind. Other than that, it stands up pretty well. Stephanie's revenge, when it finally comes, seems like a fairly subdued pay off for such a long wait. But as Stephanie (the character) is not a vindictive woman, it's also fairly understandable.
You'll probably enjoy the drama and plot of "Return to Eden" if you generally enjoy soap operas. The acting is nearly all very good, and no characters act in silly or counter-realistic ways. Sometimes Tara's refusal to reveal her true identity to even her most cherished loved ones (her children!) seems hard to take, but at the end of the day it's still a soap opera, so enjoy it.
Episode 1 sees our heroine Stephanie married, cheated on, pushed into a river and the jaws of an awaiting crocodile by her husband and best female friend, assumed dead but washed up and nursed slowly back to something like health by a hermit, visit a plastic surgeon and get transformed into the beautiful "Tara", work her way back into life and society with this new identity until she feels ready to plan her revenge. That's a lot for episode 1, and I was wondering how they would keep up this level of plot propulsion for the remaining two.
Well, they don't really. Episode 2 sees Tara revealed to the world as a beautiful woman, seemingly much younger than she looked as Stephanie, she then makes it as a fashion supermodel and finally she begins a game of cat and mouse with her husband and former friend, both of whom have no idea who she really is. After some careful plotting she summons both of them to her remote family country getaway home to prepare the final trap! This middle episode is probably the weakest and slowest of the three.
Episode 3 sees all the main characters ensconced in the remote holiday home, and Tara begins her revenge. I won't say any more about episode 3, but rest assured that by the end of the final 90 minutes, you do get to see some satisfactory come-uppance
To it's credit, the whole thing is fairly straight, There's no (well, very little) ridiculous ham acting or overblown flouncy bitching. The actors do a very good job. Best performance comes from Rebecca Gilling as the heroine. Her suffering as she recovers does seem to take a realistic amount of time and effort, and her dramatic "unveiling" as the foxy Tara did actually make me blink once or twice and wonder if they'd swapped to another actress - they didn't - so the makeover job is pretty good, it has to be said. Wendy Hughes does a very realistic job as the best friend, but if there's a weak point, it's James Reyne as the slimy husband, he seems to have very little charm. I guess all ladies do love a bad boy.
The biggest drawback of the series is that it looks hysterically dated in the sequences where Tara becomes a "top model" and prances about in the most god-awful 80's "high fashion" outfits that you have ever seen. It's a shame really, as I am sure this all looked like hot stuff at the time, but time has not been kind. Other than that, it stands up pretty well. Stephanie's revenge, when it finally comes, seems like a fairly subdued pay off for such a long wait. But as Stephanie (the character) is not a vindictive woman, it's also fairly understandable.
You'll probably enjoy the drama and plot of "Return to Eden" if you generally enjoy soap operas. The acting is nearly all very good, and no characters act in silly or counter-realistic ways. Sometimes Tara's refusal to reveal her true identity to even her most cherished loved ones (her children!) seems hard to take, but at the end of the day it's still a soap opera, so enjoy it.