Well, it can't be said that the first week of the official campaign passed with just a whimper.

Quiet it was not. As the party machines kicked into action with the usual photocalls at street stalls, nurseries and cafes, the leaders faced their first major test in the form of the television debates.

On Tuesday night, under the grandeur of the Assembly Room chandeliers, they gathered to face questions from a studio audience and a grilling from one another in the STV debate. Political editor Bernard Ponsonby made sure the shouting stayed to a minimum as the firm and unflappable host.

I met all the leaders as they arrived. Nicola Sturgeon admitted to feeling nervous but they all said they were looking forward to the challenge and would undoubtedly have felt the added pressure from a live television broadcast.

It was Ruth Davidson who looked the most uncomfortable as she was questioned by the other leaders on the cuts her party had made at Westminster and most recently the U-turn over changes to personal payments for those with disabilities.

But it was the SNP leader who managed to get Ms Davidson to reveal details of her party's policy on re-introducing prescription charges and a graduate endowment charge, Nicola Sturgeon's background as a lawyer being used to full effect.

For the journalists watching this was the news line from the night, prescriptions rising to "up to about £8" while graduates would face paying back £6000 when their course ends.

Ms Davidson admitted in an interview with STV after the event that these details were to be announced at next week's manifesto launch and said "there was no point holding that stuff back... people are going to be able to judge us on that".

This set up Wednesday as a day of intense scrutiny for the Conservatives, as these announcements were given wider consideration. But it didn't end up that way.

It was Labour who faced the tricky questions as they confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that an earlier pledge of an income tax rebate of £100 for those earning below £20,000 had been dropped.

For many they had shot themselves in the foot. After making progress heaping the pressure on the SNP over the 50p tax rate, it was Kezia Dugdale facing accusations from her opponents of a U-turn and party policy being in disarray.

Labour spin doctors said this was always a short-term pledge but it seems surprising that this policy wasn't checked to make sure it was election-proof. It means the other parties will cast this up for the next five weeks at every opportunity when the issue of tax is raised, and believe me that will be often.

So who had a good week? Well, from speaking to some of the audience after the STV debate, it was Patrick Harvie who proved to have impressed many. He received the first round of applause when talking about tackling inequalities in Scotland and continued to receive the support of the audience throughout the debate.

For the Greens it was important to be seen on the same platform as the other parties and those in the audience who praised him felt Harvie offered a real alternative. It will no doubt boost his hopes of returning to Holyrood with more than the two MSPs elected in 2011.

In the next week we'll hear more detail from all the parties about their plans for the next parliament as they unveil their manifestos. And we'll see plenty more photocalls and posing with babies.

I hope you're enjoying it.

Analysis by Carole Erskine, STV's political reporter. She can be contacted at carole.erskine@stv.tv.