H2O - Just Add Kid

My daughter and I are a bit depressed, since we just reached the end of all three seasons of H2O - Just Add Water. If you have a kid and are looking for some entertainment, then you can't do better than this Aussie series about three girls who become mermaids.

This is with Bella, the new girl, not Emma - but, oh well.

It's won't win any prizes for poetic dialogue, and for that I blame the sitcom format. We streamed the shows on Netflix, and even though there were no commercials, I could tell where a plug for bread was supposed to go. That meant that the director had to insert a laugh or a "Hey I wonder what this all means" frown on a character's face.


Despite that, it was the characters that sucked us both in. Cleo, Rikki, and Emma, the three girls, were charming and realistic. Not only that, there was real character development over the course of the series.


My kid is 8, and she was fascinated. "Can we watch one more?" was the constant cry over the past few weeks. As a mom, I was really happy to see close friendship between girls. There was some boyfriend and girlfriend stuff, but it was all of the Disney channel variety, with an occasional kiss thrown in. And I'm happy to have kisses over backstabbing and violence any day.


The special effects were great. The mermaid tails were convincing, and the scenes where the girls find their powers and manipulate water were really well done.

SO want to do that.

I also loved the scenery, especially in the scenes filmed on "Mako Island," the magical place where the girls actually become mermaids.


As someone who loves paranormal elements and fantasy in general, it was great to see a series that wedded them with real life drama. Cleo in particular was convincing as she deals with her dad getting remarried and an annoying little sister.


My daughter and I were sad when we came to the end of the series. It's not often that you find a show that is imaginative and fascinating for the 7 and up crowd.