The romance of the Australian countryside is alive and sizzling in the seventh season of the popular soapMcLeod's Daughters, which has gained new energy with the cast changes from the previous few seasons. The women of Drovers Run are still managing to make a go of it despite the rugged demands of sheepherding and shearing, and they also save plenty of time for love and romance, which is one reason this show has garnered so many fans far beyond the Australian border. Standouts in this season's cast are the comely Jodi (Rachael Carpani), who suddenly faces a shocking decision: Matt's legal troubles have incredibly vanished, so he returns unannounced to the ranch, like a ghost back from the dead, to reclaim Jodi's heart. But the rugged, laconic Riley, a new farmhand at the ranch, has been making flirtatious inroads.Yet it's clear that Jodi's heart, as with those of all the other leading ladies, belongs first and foremost to the demands of Drovers Run, and much of the fun of the show is watching the actors do real sheepherding tasks on a real working ranch in South Australia. "That should stop the family skeletons from rattling," says one character after nailing down a loose attic board. But with the tugs of relatives and lovers at the heart of the series, happily, this pronouncement couldn't be further from the truth.  Watching even an hour ofMcLeod's Daughtersis like taking a restful, but energizing, holiday. And happily, there are 32 episodes in the seventh season, nearly 23 hours of well-written, beautifully shot escapism. --A.T. Hurley