KEY POINTS:
Ah the North Shore, where the golden beaches and we loyal denizens are friendly, warm and, er, some might say a bit shallow. No, we can't possibly expect new local drama Go Girls (TV2, last night) to explore the profundities of the human heart, but after its pilot
episode it looks good for a laugh provided by a set of appealing Shore girl characters.
Every dramedy must have a narrator and Go Girls' is the hapless Kevin (Jay Ryan), motor mechanic and best pals with three women, North Shore princess Amy, kooky Britta and the homely "honorary bloke" Cody.
The actors have yet to get a real feel for their characters, and there was more than one scene where the lines were delivered in a less-than-convincing manner.
But the premise - that after a hard crisis-soaked week, the four are vowing to change their lives and make their dreams come true - promises some intriguing challenges.
The show comes from Outrageous Fortune makers South Pacific Pictures, which looks to be working its way up through the echelons of society, from Westie bogan land to the North Shore: middle-class paradise, or hell on Earth, depending on whether pastels or black are the foundation of your wardrobe.
SPP's mission statement is "turning dreams into drama". They've certainly got their work cut out for them with the big dreams here: how, for instance, is Amy going to make squillions in a year, in the days of the global credit crunch?
The Shore has come a long way since its famous dramatisation in Bruce Mason's play, End of the Golden Weather, judging by the way these friends gather round to swig a bottle of scotch and share a few joints in the middle of the beach in broad daylight. Even in my day we did that sort of thing surreptitiously in the dead of night.
As with its Westie stablemate, Go Girls' outrageous factor feels rather forced at times. Although there are some surprise forays into realism. Amy is a true child of the financially irresponsible George Bush World Order, expecting to wander in off the street and get venture capital to start up a business when she has no money or assets.
And it's good to see Cody is a teen mum - a realistic representative of Kiwi culture. This also provides the necessary "one we love to hate" in the form of her junior diet witch daughter.
But what really brings it together is the real chemistry between the four friends, even at this early stage. And such silly elements as Britta's pink-cardy granny groupies.
Anna Hutchison has much charm but given her character Amy is the one driving the will to change, there's a lack of passion at moments when she's supposed to be being highly persuasive.
Bronwyn Turei is hugely promising as tough Cody, with the gooey centre. And Alix Bushnell is fine as the kooky one, although you wish the writers had eschewed that particular cliche.
So far, the show seems a bit of a sprawl, with a few dodgy culs de sac, yet to find its heart but with some very appealing features. Just like the home territory.