Return To Eden

Return To Eden was a 1983 Australian big-budget soap mini-series shown on Channel 10 and was apparently massive in its day. And I can see why. Sweepingly epic and oh so trashy, Return To Eden is unapologetic about what it is and is all the better for it. I'm not a big fan of melodramas in general but this is highly watchable with a great lead performance by Rebecca Gilling, an convincingly slimy turn from singer James Reyne, who had never acted before and barely since (although he has a great scene playing himself in The Postcard Bandit). Wendy Hughes is added for gravitas, even if she spends the second half of the mini-series being a lush.

The plot of aging heiress Stephanie Harper (Gilling) marries pretty boy tennis star Greg Marsden (Reyne), but the Greg is more interested in her best friend Jilly (Hughes). One day Greg brings Stephanie and Jilly on a crocodile hunt (!) where he pushes Stephanie into the water and she apparently dies in a crocodile attack. Except her body isn't found because she was recovered by a local who helps her get well and then gives her his life savings (!) to go to a famous plastic surgeon to rebuild her face. With her new face, Stephanie turns into Tara Welles and becomes a supermodel (at age 40!) and then goes about exacting her revenge against Greg and Jilly including romancing Greg as Tara. Meanwhile, the plastic surgeon has fallen for her, but she is reluctant to get into a relationship with him, not until the revenge is complete. The plot is remarkably silly at times, but it doesn't matter because it's still highly watchable and you don't have time to worry about the silliness of it all as the next plot twist happens.

There was a 22-part spin-off series made a few years later, which I'll try to cap in the near future, but I've had two attempts at watching the first episode and it's appalling. Nothing like the mini-series, basically exactly like those terrible daytime soaps with cardboard sets (the mini-series looks like it was filmed on lavish sets and awesome locations) and more of that horrible hammy acting. Plus no James Reyne and Wendy Hughes, with her character taken over by Peta Toppano who's one of the worst offenders of that hamminess. Looks like I'll be seeing it in fast-forward.

Channel 9 attempted a remake of the series in the last year or so, but correctly decided to can it. Return To Eden is of its time. A modern remake just wouldn't be the same.

I still can't believe how much I enjoyed Return To Eden, don't usually like those types of shows. Something must be wrong...

More stuff I've been sitting on forever. This time it's the 1986 TV series that spun off from the quite good 1983 mini-series that made it to DVD a while ago and I've been trying to get started on it and finally have. When I first got the DVDs back in 2011, I took a few years to get around to starting them and then I watched the first episode and it was appalling, a stupendously awful attempt with more rancid American soap opera clichés than you can ever imagine. The mini-series was very soapy but it worked because the writing wasn't completely awful and the acting was top notch. The TV series loses one of its biggest assets in Wendy Hughes and replaces her with Peta Toppano and while she makes the most of her villain role, she's clearly a few rungs below. Also, the kids have grown up and a bunch of youngish actors join the cast and add little.

Anyway, I left it alone until last year when I decided enough was enough and just painfully go through every episode without watching it. Well, it's 6 months later before I put out this update, so you can tell I'm glad to bring you this update. I'm going to try and release a couple of episodes a week otherwise I'll never get it done. Well, the series starts a bit saucy with some not bad PG shower scenes and an early appearance from Naomi Watts, uncredited as a model but it's obviously her. It's may be her first role although I made a note after watching Beyond Innocence that someone who looked like her and sounded exactly like her briefly appeared in the 1985 shot but 1989 released movie (uncredited of course, even on IMDB). Ah, we'll narrow it down.

Tags: Rebecca Gilling, Wendy Hughes, Peta Toppano, Megan Williams, Nicki Paull, Saskia Post, Naomi Watts, Terry Markwell

Rebecca Gilling

32598kb 1min 35sec 768x576 (strategic 'nude', bra, lengthy)

15412kb 44sec 768x576 (bare back)

18478kb 54sec 768x576 (one piece bathing suit)

19484kb 56sec 768x576 (one piece bathing suit)

24582kb 1min 12sec 768x576 (plenty of cleavage in bodysuit)

17408kb 1min 27sec 768x576 (brief side-boob, strategic 'nude')

12328kb 36sec 768x576 (plenty of cleavage in see-through negligee)

42744kb 2min 04sec 768x576 (one piece bathing suit, possibly see-through)

13352kb 39sec 768x576 (side-boob, bare back, 'nude' in bath)

50178kb 2min 27sec 768x576 (side-boob with hint of nipple, bare back, strategic 'nude', plenty of cleavage in nightie, sex scene, lengthy)

TV series

53834kb 3min 09sec 768x576 (one piece bathing suit, extremely lengthy)

9778kb 38sec 768x576 (plenty of cleavage in bodysuit)

10998kb 39sec 768x576 (side-boob, 'nude' in shower)

17712kb 57sec 768x576 (one piece bathing suit)

45630kb 2min 22sec 768x576 (one piece bathing suit, lengthy)

19586kb 1min 04sec 768x576 (one piece bathing suit)

58986kb 3min 12sec 768x576 (one piece bathing suit, extremely lengthy)

12972kb 47sec 768x576 (one piece bathing suit)

3156kb 13sec 768x576 (one piece bathing suit)

9700kb 34sec 768x576 (bra and panties)

117054kb 5min 05sec 768x576 (see-through bra, panties, plenty of cleavage in improvised dress with numerous upskirts, extremely lengthy)

3284kb 12sec 768x576 (down blouse, nippy)

22928kb 1min 18sec 768x576 (plenty of cleavage in wet singlet top, nippy, down blouse, shorts)

Wendy Hughes

28688kb 1min 23sec 768x576 (plenty of cleavage)

12306kb 35sec 768x576 (side-boob, strategic 'nude')

15370kb 45sec 768x576 (plenty of cleavage in petticoat, dress ripped off)

Peta Toppano

71052kb 3min 49sec 768x576 (plenty of cleavage in nightie, extremely lengthy)

18378kb 1min 06sec 768x576 (one piece bathing suit)

24818kb 1min 25sec 768x576 (side-boob, in towel, in shower)

17834kb 58sec 768x576 (plenty of cleavage, shorts)

9898kb 33sec 768x576 (plenty of cleavage in nightie)

3538kb 11sec 768x576 (plenty of cleavage in nice dress, down blouse)

13048kb 44sec 768x576 (one piece bathing suit)

7428kb 28sec 768x576 (plenty of cleavage in corsetry, panties, stockings and suspenders)

6718kb 24sec 768x576 (plenty of cleavage in nice dress, down blouse)

25932kb 1min 28sec 768x576 (one piece bathing suit with a hint of side-boob)

4322kb 15sec 768x576 (one piece bathing suit)

15216kb 51sec 768x576 (bra and panties)

15270kb 50sec 768x576 (brief side-boob, plenty of cleavage in gown)

9294kb 16sec 768x576 (plenty of cleavage in nice dress, upskirt)

11068kb 40sec 768x576 (bra and panties, stockings and suspenders)

8524kb 32sec 768x576 (one piece bathing suit)

3850kb 17sec 768x576 (implied nudity)

26322kb 1min 29sec 768x576 ('nude' in bath, in towel)

22694kb 1min 17sec 768x576 (plenty of cleavage in nightie)

9422kb 33sec 768x576 ('nude' in bath)

33264kb 1min 33sec 768x576 (one piece bathing suit, lengthy)

Megan Williams

7194kb 22sec 768x576 (plenty of cleavage, shorts, stockings and suspenders)

3110kb 13sec 768x576 (one piece bathing suit)

9280kb 35sec 768x576 (plenty of cleavage in bodysuit, stockings)

6598kb 26sec 768x576 ('nude' under covers)

11866kb 41sec 768x576 (plenty of cleavage)

Nicki Paull

20100kb 1min 10sec 768x576 (plenty of cleavage in bodysuit)

41066kb 2min 13sec 768x576 (one piece bathing suit, lengthy)

Saskia Post

18618kb 1min 04sec 768x576 (in towel)

8840kb 32sec 768x576 (plenty of cleavage)

Naomi Watts

7746kb 29sec 768x576 (one piece bathing suit also another woman in a one piece bathing suit)

Terry Markwell

16296kb 50sec 768x576 ('nude' under covers)

Unknowns

6164kb 19sec 768x576 (plenty of cleavage)

23586kb 1min 08sec 768x576 (various girls in bikinis and one piece bathing suit)

TV series

21902kb 1min 11sec 768x576 (one piece bathing suit with G-string)

5820kb 22sec 768x576 (both girls in underwear, panties, stockings and suspenders)