Lead actress Rita, better known as a singer, has always been presented as larger than life, and some people considered that because she set the tone for this series, the whole thing was over the top. I liked it, though. A large cast of characters, well differentiated, and the audience is made to care for the fate of many of them. Some of the script is improbable, but for the most part I'd say the actors were able to sell it. There were strong motivations that the audience can empathize with, and underlying the whole story is a sad recurring question of what happens when men cannot fulfill their traditional role because they have been pushed aside or because, hard as they try, they can't figure out how to make it work.
