Are the current producers ruining Home and Away?

[John]

Actually that could work.  It would be a great way to establish a connection with the show's history which could believably exist in the current format of the show.

 

[cadyctslover]

I've been watching the show at Aus pace now and again since Dan started and now I'm actually finding myself enjoying it more and more.

There's still a lot more to be done, but there are some different personalities on the show now, and it doesn't feel solely focussed on just one group of characters.

[Luke39]

Home and Away ain't that bad. Don't See any difference from 15 years ago. Its better since it stopped being so Braxton centric. I think the obvious rehashing of storylines is obvious.

And what's up with Phoebe? Breaks up with Kyle because she didn't want kids. But "accidentally" gets pregnant, but with Ash now realizes she wants to be a mother. Oh that's not convenient to storyline lol.

And getting annoyed how nosey Marilyn is seriously. Overall its watchable. 

[CaptainHulk]

Home and Away 15 years ago was a show that was moving forward but not forgetting its past. 

[Luke39]

Not forgetting its past? It should be. Or you get stuck in yourself. H and a Is what it is. Been on twenty odd years, rehashing old storylines etc. Same old characters, different faces. Like that Hunter guy, bad guy come good lol.  

[Gerard]

H&A for its first 12 years was basically about "bad kid turns up, Kid had been neglected, abused etc. Kid becomes part of a foster family. Initial conflicts, then settles down. Leaves Summer Bay a couple of years later as a better person". I guess it does get repetitive after a while, and they did occasionally throw in a kid who went in the other direction and could not be reformed. But the teenagers were guided by the adults and, more often than not, respected them.

Then we had the Sutherland era, where the older and wiser teens turned themselves into social workers and helped the newcomers. I guess they felt the central foster family idea was getting a little tired, so I can understand why they tried that, even if it did feel a bit weird at the time.

After that we had Sally and Flynn centre stage and it felt like the series had come full circle, with a foster family back at the heart of the show, and a new golden era. But since then, the series has struggled to find its way. It has generally relied on ever increasing drama to keep viewers hooked. But you can only have so many kidnappings, shootings and life-or-death situations before that starts getting a little boring. I guess they used up most of their natural disasters in the 90's.

H&A in the early days seemed to combine the relaxed seaside town life with family dramas, romance and humour, but there was always something quite dramatic going on, and yet it seemed to work because it was balanced out. It was optimistic and warm.

The past few years have lacked any real heart. Pippa would show she loved her children by baking some muffins and given them a hug. Brax would prove he was a decent bloke by becoming a cage fighter to pay off a debt.

While they can't send Summer Bay back to the 1990s, they should learn from what was successful in the past and try to build on that. The problem though is that they have moved so far away from H&A's core values. I'm not sure what the new era of H&A will bring, but hopefully something more than the endless romances that seem to have plugged the gap so far.

[Luke39]

Their are some good characters at present. Matt, Phoebe, Evelyn, Kyle etc. Problem is expecting  change over night. Shows dont just change automatically. Its going to take months or even.over a year, too see real.change. Just subtle changes atm. 

[CaptainHulk]

I'm ambivalent with Matt. Phoebe at times I feel needs to go away. Evelyn is annoying but who else would have her?!

 

Not forgetting its past? It should be. Or you get stuck in yourself. H and a Is what it is. Been on twenty odd years, rehashing old storylines etc. Same old characters, different faces. Like that Hunter guy, bad guy come good lol.  

In 1999 the show was kind of unrecognisable from what it was and a lot of stuff they chucked at the wall just wasn't sticking. Plus the Big-ass cast exodus. In 2000, The show went back to its roots by wrapping unresolved stuff, giving past characters a reason to return but went forward by having a new family integrate with the locals (Though after a while, they had you rolling your ees). Their presence was felt until the end of the decade 

[cadyctslover]

The past few years have lacked any real heart. Pippa would show she loved her children by baking some muffins and given them a hug. Brax would prove he was a decent bloke by becoming a cage fighter to pay off a debt.

[gutterboy]

I'm going to say things have recently started moving in the right direction...

 

... firstly moving people around in the houses which helped a lot when Leah's house got burnt down. People were saying they wanted to see more people in the beach house and the SB house, definitely have a lot more in their now that's for sure; and whilst Nate has moved into the Beach house you wouldn't know, you hardly ever see him there.

Next up we have some new older (though part time) characters in Greg and the new HS principal and giving Irene something to do outside the diner by going on a date with him.... not sure if that'll go anywhere else now that it was a disaster, but we'll see.

Lastly, I recall reading people on here stating stuff about Irene's family should come into the show somehow; funny enough I don't think it was just a coincidence that in the episode the other say she was chatting on the phone to the Uncle (I think it was?) of Chloes daughter, who was having a hard time with her........ hopefully that ends up with her coming to the bay as she becomes "too much work" for her Uncle.