Upper Middle Bogan-Season 2 (2014)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Comedy	Audio Commentary-2 epsiodes Featurette-Behind The Scenes Outtakes
Rating
Year Of Production	2014
Running Time	232
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Wayne Butler
Studio Distributor	ABC Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Glenn Robbins Robyn Nevin Annie Maynard Robyn Malcolm Michala Banas Madeleine Jevic Rhys Mitchell Dougie Baldwin Patrick Brammall Lara Robinson Harrison Feldman
Case	?
RPI	?	Music	None Given

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     A number of high quality recent Australian television comedy series have come from the imaginations of Wayne Hope & Robyn Butler including shows like The Librarians, Really Small Business and Stories from the Golf. This series (which is now in its second season) probably tops all of them. It is a hilarious satire/sit com on Australian society especially the perceived class differences based upon the suburb you live in. At the beginning of Season 1, Bess Denyar (Annie Maynard), who comes from one of the wealthy suburbs in inner Melbourne discovers that the woman she always thought was her mother, snooty Margaret Denyar (Robyn Nevin) is actually not her real mother. Her real parents are in fact Wayne and Julie Wheeler (Glenn Robbins and Robyn Malcolm) who live in the outer suburbs of Melbourne and run a drag racing team. She also has three siblings she knew nothing about, foul-mouthed Amber (Michala Banas) who works in a bank, pretty but dumb Brianna (Madeleine Jevic) and the thick as a brick redhead brother Kayne (Rhys Mitchell, son of Con the Fruiterer). Amber was married and has a young teenage son Shawn Van Winkle (Dougie Baldwin), who she shares a small granny flat with in her parents’ backyard.

     Bess is married to work-from-home greenie architect, Danny Bright (Patrick Brammall) and they have two children, smart daughter Edwina (Lara Robinson) and thick as a brick redhead son, Oscar (Harrison Feldman). Danny really struggles with the concept of getting more involved with the Wheelers, however the kids get used to it pretty quickly with Edwina forming an attraction to Shawn and Oscar finding a kindred spirit in Kayne. By the second season there is quite a lot of interaction between the families but the comedy continues unabated as numerous situations occur which allow them to misunderstand, get annoyed with or enjoy the company of each other. Danny struggles the most with The Wheelers, however Margaret starts to interact with them more in this season.

     This is a hilarious show with lots of great one-liners, physical comedy, sight gags (including Wayne having one glass eye), satire and more. The cast is marvellous with Robyn Nevin and Glenn Robbins probably standouts although they all have hilarious moments. The writing is excellent keeping the laughs coming throughout the 8 episode season. The episodes are spread over 2 discs.

     Hilarious stuff!

Video

     The video quality is very good.

     The series is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio. It is 16x9 enhanced.

     The picture was quite clear and sharp throughout. Shadow detail was very good.

     The colour is very good with no issues to report.

    There were no obvious artefacts.

     There are subtitles in English for the Hearing Impaired which were clear and easy to read.

     There is no obvious layer change during the episodes.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     The audio quality is good.

     The discs contain an English soundtrack in Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo.

     Dialogue was generally easy to understand throughout although the subtitles were useful occasionally.

     The music was well suited to the show including the theme tune.

     The surround speakers and the subwoofer were not used.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

     A good set of extras.

Menu

     The menu featured music.

Commentary - Episode 1 - Wayne Hope and Robyn Butler

     A good quality commentary from the creators, writer, director combo. They are self-deprecating and discuss the story, shooting challenges, writing approaches, ideas and tell some anecdotes.

Outtakes (10:37)

     Funny collection of stuff-ups, improvisation and alternate lines. Great stuff.

Behind the Scenes (21:12)

     A funny and informative making of which is a rarity. Covers production design, casting, characters etc., and includes behind the scenes footage and interview snippets with cast and crew.

Commentary - Episode 6 - Tony Martin and Robyn Butler

     Another good quality commentary from one of the creators and the director of this episode. They are amusing, tell anecdotes and discuss the filming, trivia and the use of eating.

    This show is not yet available in other regions.

    The video quality is very good.

    The audio quality is good.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall