''Undercover Angels'' was a 2002

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

reality show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

produced by the

Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

which imitated the American ''

Charlie's Angels ''Charlie's Angels'' is an American crime drama television series created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts for ABC. It originally aired from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, airing for five seasons consisting of 115 episodes. It was produ ...

'' series. It featured champion swimmer

Ian Thorpe Ian James Thorpe (born 13 October 1982) is an Australian retired swimmer who specialised in freestyle swimming, freestyle, but also competed in backstroke and the medley swimming, individual medley. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the se ...

, who acted as the mentor to three women ( Jackie O, Katie Underwood and

Simone Kessell Simone Kessell (born 19 August 1975) is a New Zealand television actress known for her role as Lt. Alicia Washington in the short-lived Fox science fiction television series '' Terra Nova.'' In 2016, Kessell starred opposite Ray Winstone on the ...

) who performed good deeds for people in need. The show premiered on 12 May 2002, and it was the fifth most watched television show in that week in Australia. Overall, it averaged 1.3 million viewers in its run of eleven episodes. The three "angels" travelled in

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian carmaker known for its sports-oriented vehicles, strong auto racing heritage, and iconic design. Headquartered in Turin, Italy, it is a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe and one of 14 brands of mu ...

s and performed deeds such as decorating a nursery for a young couple with newborn children, and finding a replacement puppy for children whose dog had been stolen. The series was widely panned by media critics, with ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

'' television critic Ruth Ritchie declaring it "the worst show in the history of the world". Thorpe, however, did not mind the criticism, remarking that he was satisfied that the show was in the minority of reality shows in which good behaviour was rewarded.

References

External links

* 2000s Australian reality television series 2002 Australian television series debuts 2002 Australian television series endings {{nonfiction-tv-prog-stub