australian television information archive

The Unbelievable Truth

Jason and Gabrielle live upstairs. Gabrielle's been Alex's best friend since they were eight. Jason's a lawyer with a social conscience that's crumbling under the weight of the world. He and Gabrielle are about to get married for all the wrong reasons, but only one of them knows it.
Alex tries to drown her self loathing and ends up a drunken liaison with another doctor. Meanwhile, Kelly faces the reality of sleeping with a married man

The Garden of Gethsemene

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus went through private agony while his mates slept off the Last Supper. He knows they were his friends, he knew that they cared, but he also knew a greater truth: that there are some things you have to endure alone. Richie revels in the glamour of an actor's life, while Miranda delivers a singing telegram. Will finds that he has to stand alone.

The Rules

Relationships are governed by a series of unspoken rules—but if you break them, brace yourself for the shouting. Will suffers unprecedented performance problems, but Sam saves him from his embarrassment with a sudden sexual ambush

Expect the Unexpected

John Lennon said that life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans. He was right. The only thing we can expect from life is the unexpected. Richie gives in to temptation and has an unexpected sexual encounter.

The Road Less Taken

When you come to a fork in the road, one of your potential paths is full of potholes. And you can't always tell which one it is, until it's too late to turn around.
Richie's head is spinning after his sexual encounter with Simon. Life is suddenly pointing him in a direction he'd never anticipated.
Jason makes a huge mistake when he sleeps with Soraya, a lawyer who's opposing him in a juvenile assault case. Soraya's keen, but it's strictly a one-off for Jason. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Meanwhile Gabrielle presses Alex for details about what happened between she and Jason. It's a big step towards re-cementing their relationship. Evan falls even more deeply in love with Carmen while Kelly's finding that her job is a challenge to her code of ethics.
Will and Sam's plans for a sexy day in bed are ruined when jealousy rears its ugly head.

What Am I?

We all define ourselves through our relationships and our careers—which is fine if both are going smoothly. But when they're not, where does that leave us? Who are we, and what are we doing here?
Kelly's reading multiple relationship questionnaires and realising just how differently people define themselves and their romantic goals. Meanwhile Jason's struggling to re-define himself as he reluctantly accepts the end of his marriage. Gabrielle demands he tell people he's moved out of home. Alex is caught in the middle of their bitter stoush.
Evan is falling deeper and deeper for Carmen. He wants some kind of certainty, but she seems to be avoiding it. Meanwhile Miranda'' still trying to understand what'' going on with Richie. He'' withdrawing sexually as well as emotionally.

The Secret Life of Us

We're the sum of our life experiences, whether we want to admit it or not.
One night over hand-made pasta and wine, Alex, Kelly, Evan, Miranda, Richie, Will, Jason and Gabrielle share formative experiences from their pasts. With confidences shared, friendships deepen.
Will recounts being physically abused by a sadistic teacher, Miranda tells the story of her parents' marriage breakdown, Alex tells of her rollerskating triumph, while Kelly remembers the "magic" that brought a pet mouse back from the dead. Evan reveals his feelings for Carmen.

State of Limbo

When you're in a state of limbo, your instincts stop working. You can't decide which way to jump, so you find yourself glued to the ground.
Richie's still in a state of confusion about his encounter with Simon and finds himself drawn into another sexual liaison with a man.
Jason arrives on Gabrielle's doorstep to collect his belongings. Gabrielle's conflicted. She feels like he's backing her into a corner, forcing her to finally end the relationship—but she knows that's what she demanded of him. In the meanwhile, she's embarked on a steamy affair with a muso called Mac.
Miranda's involvement in a long-term unemployed help scheme erodes her self-esteem even further.
Richie tells Will his deepest, darkest secret; Evan tells Carmen that he loves her and anxiously awaits a response.

2001 AFI Award Nomination:
• Best Actor in a Guest Role in a TV Drama Series (Damian Walshe-Howling)

Love Sucks

Love strikes joy into your heart, then strikes a fatal blow. Love sucks.
Gabrielle's casual affair with Mac intensifies as her arguments with Jason escalate. They're dividing up the spoils of their marriage, and it isn't pretty.
Kelly is deeply disillusioned with her job at the Get Personal Introduction Agency. She decides that love isn't something that can be controlled or manipulated. It just happens.
Meanwhile Alex decides to give up on love and becomes successfully single.
Carmen breaks up with Evan. She doesn't love him the way he loves her.
Richie breaks down and tells Miranda about his encounter with Simon.
Meanwhile Will is finding that his love for Sam is making him irrationally jealous.

2001 AFI Award Winner:
• Best Actress in a Guest Role in a TV Drama Series (Catherine McClements)

Fallout

It's after it all happens, after the bomb's been dropped and the fires have died down that you have to deal with the next stage—the Fallout.
Will's jealousy problems escalate. At a party he gets stoned and tries to force himself on Sam in a jealous rage.
Miranda confronts Simon about his sexual encounter with Richie.
Alex's friend Eric misleads her by inviting her on a group weekend away, but when they arrive, they're alone.
After spending a drunken night with Carmen, Evan assumes that their relationship is back on track. Carmen soon tells him differently.
Meanwhile, Kelly gets involved in network marketing and meets a fellow trainee whose interest in her is more than professional.

Secrets and Lies

Evan, is interested and also intrigued when Alex embarks on a flirtation with Miranda's exotic friend Pandora.
Alex has more serious things on her mind—Eric accidentally gives a little girrl a double dose of morphine that nearly kills her and he begs Alex to lie for him—will she keep his secret or expose him?
Richie is attracted to a jogger named Brad and flirts with the idea of taking things further.
Just as Will and Sam have conquered the jealousy issue, Leah re-appears. She's broken up with her new boyfriend and wants to run back to Will's arms, only to find them full.
Jason moves into a place of his own

Better the Devil You Know

Signs of strain are starting to show in Will and Sam's relationship, due to the return of Leah and her own personal crisis.
Evan has a shortlived career working as a glass collector in a pub, and Gabrielle although shes having an exciting time with Mac, cant stop thinking about Jason.
Kelly struggles with the realities of network marketing when, after two months of solid work, her first cheque is for a few dollars. Throughout all this, Richie gives up a chance to go to the Movies with Miranda in the hopes that he will see Brad again.
Alex decides that being a devoted single isnt working for her, so takes a step and asks Marcus out on a date.

The Gap

Kelly is in a state of shock over why she can't seem to find herself happy with Paulo. Ultimately she realises that she wants someone whom she can have some problems with and that he doesn't make her passionate about him. She dumps him.
Alex and Evan flirt when he vows to be celibate for his writing. They find a sexual tension they never realised existed until Kelly walks in after dumping Paulo.
Jason starts stalking Gabrielle after he realises how inventive Mac is in bed with her. At first Gabrielle is flattered and finds it cute and even considers taking him back but Alex's conflicting view helps her reconsider it. But then shortly after Jason nails the coffin by sitting in her apartment waiting for her to return home whilst Gabrielle and Mac are having sex. Gabrielle and Jason finally admit they couldn't get back together without killing each other and for the final time say farewell to their marriage.
Miranda aims for a job with a producer by turning up to his party and winning him over. She finally realises that she made a fool of herself and ultimately returns to his apartment. He tells her how talented he thinks she is and that although she isn't suitable for the job he has lined up, she will defintiely remain a fond memory. This boosts Miranda's self esteem.
Meanwhile Richie and Will are debating how his being gay is going to affect their friendship. When Will begins to think Richie is checking him out, Richie takes offence and they eventually sort out their problems whilst Will sorts out any remaining Leah issues with Sam at last.

The Butterfly Effect

Alex and Evan end up in a steamy clinch but are interrupted by Kelly, to the detriment of their friendship. Kelly buys a book about the Rules of Love and meets a new man. Jason over-steps the mark at Gab's apartment, and Miranda's acting dreams come true when she gets the coveted role of Nina in Chekhov's The Seagull.
Meanwhile, Richie comes home covered with love bites, confirming Miranda's worst fears that he's got together with Brad. Will realises he's falling in love with Sam.

2001 AFI Award Nomination:
• Best Direction in a Television Drama (Roger Hodgman)

2002 AWGIE Award Winner:
• Television Series (Andrew Kelly)

Piggy-in-the-Middle

Richie faces the consequences of his encounter with Brad, Miranda refuses to let him move out of the flat, but also refuses to talk to him. She, meanwhile, throws herself into rehearsals for The Seagull and develops a close bond with its director. Will finds comfort in Sam's company, Kelly works part-time at the Fu Bar, and—anxious to make Simon happy—she makes the mistake of trying to set him up with a series of patrons. Meanwhile, the ramifications of Evan and Alex's drug-addled "pash" intensify. Kelly can sense the tension and tries to settle things with a house meeting, but all it does is cause an explosion, which worsens when Evan gets drunk and brings another woman home.

Intimations of Morality

Alex is feeling rejected by Evan after he brings another woman home. The friendship that has always been so strong seems to be evaporating. Miranda prepares for her opening night of The Seagull, while Richie prepares to leave the flat they've shared together for three years. Kelly runs into Nathan, a former client at the Get Personal introduction agency. Meanwhile, Sam asks Will if he loves her, and he playfully says no. Then soon afterwards, tragedy strikes and Sam is killed in a car accident. Will's world tumbles down all around him as he struggles to deal with the devastating loss.

2002 AWGIE Award Nominee:
• Television Series (Christopher Lee)

2002 AFI Award Nominations:
• Best Direction In A Television Drama (Richard Jasek)
• Best Screenplay In A Television Drama (Christopher Lee)

A Friend Indeed

Will goes back to work in spite of his injuries but tortures himself about jokingly telling Sam that he didn't love her. Kelly helps him find a way of symbolically saying goodbye to stop his self-loathing. Evan becomes frustrated with his publisher and is eventually turned away from the book deal. Richie is offered the lead role in a movie, but decides to decline when he finds that the character he's been asked to play is gay. Meanwhile, Jason drops two bombshells on Gabrielle: he has a new job with a major law firm, and he slept with another woman in Sydney.

Men on the Verge

Richie throws himself into the gay scene, but he doesn't find the answers he was hoping for, and explains to Evan that he has to keep silent about his sexuality for the sake of his career. Jason drops a bombshell on Gabrielle—not only did he sleep with that woman in Sydney, but she's two months pregnant. Meanwhile, Will is desperate to make the most out of life after Sam's sudden death, and after a brief chat with Kelly, he decides to become an investor. Simon introduces him to his financial advisor Desiree, and Will throws himself into a frenzied obsession with investment, and a short-lived sexual fling.

The New Order

Alex drops a bombshell: she's been accepted into the cranio-facial surgery program at a prestigious hospital in London and will be away for a year. Evan is stunned and throws himself into a frenzy of writing, but won't let Alex read his work.
Kelly tones down her expectations with Nathan, and Gabrielle decides to give up her high-powered career and sell her half of the flat.
She and Jason talk about life, love and his impending fatherhood, and come to uneasy terms. Meanwhile, Will helps move Richie's belongings to Brad's place, and Richie says goodbye to Miranda.

Now or Never

Richie feels uncomfortable when Brad wants him to experiment sexually with another gay couple. He confides in Simon, who offers him an alternative place to stay. Miranda and Will are becoming very close, and she's slowly letting Richie back into her life. Meanwhile, Kelly and Nathan admit that they've fallen in love. They're on top of the world. Evan is accepted into the Writer's Colony in upstate New York, but in an ironic twist Alex is unexpectedly dropped from the surgical programme in London. As Evan's departure approaches, he and Alex get intimate, but a few ill-chosen words kill the moment. The next day on the way to the airport, Alex and Even passionately kiss in the taxi. They part with the knowledge that they've loved one another—but will they ever kiss again?