[rigonkulous]

I lived that era and personally had many of the experiences of the characters over the decades, so as I watched, I compared the show to my own experiences.

So for me the love/romance aspect was just the network television layer I had to peer through, in order to find the marrow of the meal, so to speak.

That said, it did have a fast attack, a moderate decay, but then a fast release, in terms of 'interest envelope', for me personally. I enjoyed the good bits while they lasted, and tolerated the soap opera in case there were dregs, all the way to the end...