Chat Ed : Amanda is now with us :)
Amanda Higgs : Hello everyone! I'm live from Melbourne in the production office.
Jas : I just want to say that Secret Life is the best thing I have seen on telly in ages. Great stuff, we all want more.
Simon : Fantastic series, well done ! Will the next series follow the same characters (please say yes!)?
Amanda Higgs laughs
Amanda Higgs : I will say yes. Thanks for your positive comments about the show.
Simon : Are you surprised by the series' popularity in the UK?
Amanda Higgs : Yes. Very happily surprised. I think it's quite hard for an Australian series that's like ours (a traditional one-hour drama series) to come into an environment where Australian series are more of the serial type.
Li-Li : You've covered homosexuality, death, love, divorce, betrayal, cheating . . . what's left for the next series??
Amanda Higgs laughs
Amanda Higgs : What's left? Good question! But quite a lot really. I think the nature of all of those things, especially love and betrayal and well not so much death, as that was really a big event in the first series. I think in terms of the others, love and relationships, friendships and the nature of men and women, there are endless possibilities. I think one of the things that we've tried to do with the series is to explore the areas of grey and the areas of moral ambiguity. Especially when you're in your 20s and you're trying to work out who you are.
Dave : SLOU has got a late night slot here in the UK. Has it been big in Oz? By the way my wife is from Melbourne lining here in UK, all I can say is thanks for the location shots of the pier, lunar Park, St Kilda etc..
Amanda Higgs chuckles
Amanda Higgs : Our pleasure! It's quite difficult when you launch a new series in Australia, like any show it takes a while for the audience to grow, but for example the episode where Sam died, we got our biggest ratings in Australia and confidently won our time slot. That was very rewarding after a slow build with the show.
sara : will evan and alex get together??
Amanda Higgs chuckles
Amanda Higgs : I can't tell you that! That's why you have to keep watching :) But, that's obviously one of the primary relationships that we enjoy exploring the dimensions of, both as a friendship and as a potential love relationship.
blue eyes : Please Please Please Tell me when the next series will be aired in the UK I'm totally addictedI
Amanda Higgs laughs
Amanda Higgs : Thank you so much! I don't know when the next series will be aired in the UK. I think that's a decision for Channel 4 and it's probably dependent on our production. We start shooting the second series in December. So, in terms of our production, the episodes will be finished and ready for airing early in January 2002. Therefore, I suggest a phone call to Channel 4!
Stuart : Is there an episode that stands out for you, a favourite?
Amanda Higgs : Ahhh Stuart, good question. I think there's no one particular episode as I think there are lots of elements across the series that I love. Some of those moments I think are a combination of what I believe are some of the best things about our series - the writing, obviously, the direction and the performances. One of my favourite scenes early one, is the M & M scene with Kelly and Alex and Evan.
fiona chidell : I thought that Will portraide an excellent broken heart from the death of his girlfriend, has anything like that ever happened to him in real life?
Amanda Higgs : Fiona, not as far as I know. I think that is purely a testament to Joe Edgerton's ability as an actor. Can I just add, I think it sounds corny, but it's amazing when you have a really good actor who can make you cry when you're so closely connected with the genesis of the idea, the story and the scripts - when you then see the performance, you can still be so unexpectedly moved!
tommy : do you like brititsh soaps/dramas and how do they compare to the oz scene
Amanda Higgs : Tommy - I haven't watched that many. I've watched British drama, for example, the obvious one, This Life and other shows like Teachers, The Lakes, Cracker and I find a lot of inspiration in UK dramas especially. Mostly from the writing and the performance.
CAB : Any plans to release a CD of music from the series?
Amanda Higgs laughs
Amanda Higgs : There is a CD available in Australia. Again, I think there is a plan to try and release that CD in the UK. However, I think that's Channel 4's thing. They're considering taking care of it in their marketing and distribution of the show. Maybe someone in Australia could purchase the CD for you and send it over.
rach : When I lived in St Kilda 12 years ago it was a real red light district: is it really that clean & trendy now?
Amanda Higgs laughs
Amanda Higgs : Rach, not always! However, I think it's probably had a good spruce-up in recent years. For example, they've built the St Kilda baths, down on the foreshore, with this beautiful swimming pool and gym in a very ornate building.
jus : Can't believe it, this is the only tv programme that has actually made me shed a tear! Do you expect to get such a reaction from viewers, or do you find it odd?
Amanda Higgs chuckles
Amanda Higgs : I love getting that reaction! We love that we can move people to tears. And no, I don't find it odd. I love it!
Ross : Who is your favorite character play in TSLOU?????and why????????
Amanda Higgs : I don't think I have one favourite character, because I'm attached to all of them for very different reasons. I think the thing that I enjoy about all of our cast is their talents and their diversity.
ciuk : Where did the original concept for the life come from?
Amanda Higgs : The original concept was developed by John Edwards and myself. We knew that we wanted to do a show about twentysomethings who lived in the same apartment block. We wanted to do something that was about a different and contemporary moral universe. And we wanted to try and steer clear of the very traditional doctors, lawyers and police dramas. We then took that very sort of, small germ in a way and developed that idea. We took it to Channel 10 here, they liked what they heard, and allowed us to develop the idea further. One of the writers who developed the idea to the next stage was Judi McCrossin and then at the next stage of development, Christopher Lee. I just want to say that we've also been given a lot of creative freedom by both 10 here and 4 in the UK to develop our series in the way we wanted to and to let us have our head with ideas for the series and the characters. In a way that's allowed us to remain as true to our original intention with the series.
Chat Ed : Our half hour with Amanda is nearly up now, so last two questions now, thanks....
marty : were all the actors big stars in oz before the series?
Amanda Higgs : No. Claudia was the most well-known of the cast. Claudia has had a substantial film career in Australia, from the time that she was in her early teens in a film called High Tide with Judy Davis. Apart from that Deborah was in a film called Radiance for which she won an AFI award for Best Actress - that is similar to the Bafta awards in the UK, by the way. Abi Tucker - people may remember her from Heartbreak High, which also screened in the UK. But our desire was to find a young, energetic cast and to hopefully find a mix of some more experienced actors and some new fresh faces. And that's not to suggest that the more experience actors aren't fresh-faced!
Nic : So can you divulge any information about the next series now?
Amanda Higgs : Oh Nic. I'd like to be able to but fear I will not, on the off chance that you won't tune in to see what happened, which we very much want you to do! But I can promise you it will be more of the same. :)
Chat Ed : That's it! Thanks for that Amanda - great stuff! Thanks for joining us tonight everyone.
Amanda Higgs : Thank you very much for coming online everyone.
Ida Lovett : Bye!!!!!
Jay80 : well worth it
josh : Thanks for the great drama!
Dave007 : Looking forward see what happens nexrt
EvanRocks : again congrats
Kelleher : cya!
Ross : c ya Amanda ..... keep up da good work...ayii
squidge : Thanks 4 excellent Weds nights
Jo : Thanks:)
Amanda Higgs : And thank you for your response to the show.
Amanda Higgs waves
Amanda Higgs : Good night!
Amanda Higgs leaves the room
