Are the current producers ruining Home and Away?

[Pierced Musie]

^ I should have clarified that my point was more about H&A's lack of gay characters and obvious stance on never having one in the near future. There is no chance we'll ever get a gay foster parent, let alone a gay character... or a straight foster parent .

[Skylover]

I love the idea of a gay foster parent, that would be a massive departure for the show. But you're right, they'd never have the balls to make a bold statement like that.

[~Lynd~]

Gay people can foster in Australia as far as i know, though I could be wrong.Liked Pierced said though, they can't even give us a straight one these days, or a gay character.Forget a gay foster parent, as awesome as it would be, 

[Gerard]

54 minutes ago, Luke39 said:

Nostalgia is all it is. That and Partial.possession. Ten years from now. If H and A still has the viewership.to Still be on the air lol. Ppl here might be going show needs to return to its roots like in 2016 haha. Change is the only constant. I think it has returned to its traditional roots in some way. The foster aspect has returned. Established Teen Group of Maddy, Evie, Matt, Oscar, Josh etc (Despite some changes ahem). I think some reminess for the old days. Well its never going to be like it was in the past.

Many things have changed since the 80's and 90's and  I guess if H&A reflected real life, the younger cast would spend more time on their phones and tablets communicating via Facebook (well maybe not that as it's so 5 years ago now ), But in any case, I don't think people are looking for things to be exactly how they were 25 years ago, but family groups still exist, teens still get into trouble and need guidance from their parents or guardians.Things haven't changed that much, I don't think. Some young people still push the boundaries and rebel. I don't really have a problem with how the current teens are portrayed in H&A.

When some of us go on about H&A returning to its roots, we mean increase the focus on the existing storylines involving teens and their guardians, and move away from the questionable morals surrounding many of the crime-heavy plots. There will always be crime in H&A, such as teens shoplifting, stealing cars and pushing the boundaries. That's not the issue. H&A has started moving in the right direction over the last year.

I mean Neighbours has "returned to its roots" in many ways over the past few years, following many years of being off the rails for various reasons,.Yet, it is still contemporary. Probably a bit old fashioned in the sense that people leave their doors unlocked, but yet it deals with issues of today, and even has some gay characters, but it still retains the community feel of old. Can H&A not do something similar?

[Luke39]

1 minute ago, Gerard said:

Many things have changed since the 80's and 90's and  I guess if H&A reflected real life, the younger cast would spend more time on their phones and tablets communicating via Facebook (well maybe not that as it's so 5 years ago now ), But in any case, I don't think people are looking for things to be exactly how they were 25 years ago, but family groups still exist, teens still get into trouble and need guidance from their parents or guardians.Things haven't changed that much, I don't think. Some young people still push the boundaries and rebel. I don't really have a problem with how the current teens are portrayed in H&A.

When some of us go on about H&A returning to its roots, we mean increase the focus on the existing storylines involving teens and their guardians, and move away from the questionable morals surrounding many of the crime-heavy plots. There will always be crime in H&A, such as teens shoplifting, stealing cars and pushing the boundaries. That's not the issue. H&A has started moving in the right direction over the last year.

I mean Neighbours has "returned to its roots" in many ways over the past few years, following many years of being off the rails for various reasons,.Yet, it is still contemporary. Probably a bit old fashioned in the sense that people leave their doors unlocked, but yet it deals with issues of today, and even has some gay characters, but it still retains the community feel of old. Can H&A not do something similar?

I think I meant I like in.H and A the set designs etc. Feels more current then Neighbours. I feel like im watching a show in 2016. Neighbors is connected to its past too much. H and a not enough. Its like with Neighbors so many older actors get so much screen time. In H and A its the complete opposite. More focus on the younger actors. 

[Gerard]

3 minutes ago, Luke39 said:

I think I meant I like in.H and A the set designs etc. Feels more current then Neighbours. I feel like im watching a show in 2016. Neighbors is connected to its past too much. H and a not enough. Its like with Neighbors so many older actors get so much screen time. In H and A its the complete opposite. More focus on the younger actors. 

I totally agree that H&A set designs and photography is light years ahead of Neighbours. Neighbours has never been know for quality in its production values, and if anything things have gone backwards on that show with regards to actual production.

Not so long ago, Neighbours didn't really care about its past, and H&A did, so the tables have turned a bit. I don't think Neighbours goes overboard with remembering the past. H&A did bring back Olivia and Roo in recent years, and has remembered characters history, like Irene's drinking. But that's not really what's wrong with H&A at the moment.

H&A has always focused more on the young cast, which H&A does well. We saw how bad Neighbours got when it did the same thing. H&A should stick to what it did well for the first 20 years or so. Visually and production-wise it looks awesome, but they just need to work on the story telling and characterisation over big stunts and high drama.

[Luke39]

6 minutes ago, Gerard said:

I totally agree that H&A set designs and photography is light years ahead of Neighbours. Neighbours has never been know for quality in its production values, and if anything things have gone backwards on that show with regards to actual production.

Not so long ago, Neighbours didn't really care about its past, and H&A did, so the tables have turned a bit. I don't think Neighbours goes overboard with remembering the past. H&A did bring back Olivia and Roo in recent years, and has remembered characters history, like Irene's drinking. But that's not really what's wrong with H&A at the moment.

H&A has always focused more on the young cast, which H&A does well. We saw how bad Neighbours got when it did the same thing. H&A should stick to what it did well for the first 20 years or so. Visually and production-wise it looks awesome, but they just need to work on the story telling and characterisation over big stunts and high drama.

So better balance. I totally agree. I think its getting their. Younger group supported by the older folk. Loving the Zac Storyline right now. Vj, Hunter, Evie, Oscar etc been supported by Alf, Leah etc. I think it needs to.focus on.creating drama without actually acting like they are trying to. Words say allot more then actions.

[John]

I think it is a question of balance as well.  All soaps need drama, Home and Away is no exception and it's always been there.  But if the dramatic storylines overpower the "normal life" storylines they lose their impact and become humdrum.  The "bright lights and loud bang" type storylines need to be infrequent and varied so that when they do occur they have real impact on the audience.

[KittCatt]

44 minutes ago, John said:

I think it is a question of balance as well.  All soaps need drama, Home and Away is no exception and it's always been there.  But if the dramatic storylines overpower the "normal life" storylines they lose their impact and become humdrum.  The "bright lights and loud bang" type storylines need to be infrequent and varied so that when they do occur they have real impact on the audience.

I agree completely. 

Whenever someone is kidnapped/ held hostage/ stabbed etc it's very hard not to loose interest because it happens so often and we all know how it will end (in most cases they will be fine because they always are or we have seen them in promo's alive and well...). Character-driven storylines are necessary in order to have impact, so we know about someones underlying motives and reasons for doing something, instead of plot-driven storylines that are over as quickly as they begun. Real consequences (emotionally as well as physically) need to occur too so we don't get a headache from rolling our eyes when people recover from seemingly permanent damage (such paraplegics suddenly walking again.. and so on..). 

2 hours ago, ~Lynd~ said:

It's not about nostalgia though.Not entirely anyway.If I wanted crime and violence I'd watch Daredevil or Breaking Bad, both of which I love but we watch different things for different reasons.Should shows evolve?Yes but not to the extent where it makes no sense.The entire premise to the show is so different to how it was originally that they might as well scrap HAA and rename the show.

I still enjoy the show enough to continue watching but it's not the HAA I grew up with and the relevance of those issues still continue today.The success of shows like 800 words and House Husbands shows us that not everything has to be so dark.

Yep. I didn't grow up watching home and away but i am watching the early years currently and you wouldn't know it was the same show. The only things in common are Alf, Irene and the sets (which have changed favourably over the years i must say). I find good things and bad things about both eras of the show but certainly the fostering and family aspect of the show has completely vanished in recent years- though it is better now it's certainly not the same. Now while show's should evolve, the basis should stay the same so people can recognize it.

I would like more balance- less crime and more punishment (people seem to get away with an awful lot), more character-driven storylines, more interactions between varying characters (such as the older generation and the younger), and more humour- shows don't need to be completely crime driven and depressed to be good- especially one that built it's foundation as a show about fostering and family. Oh and more diversity would be good too.. 

[dee123]

12 hours ago, Luke39 said:

My point of view was that some of the audience may not know past characterisation. So that wouldn't effect their viewing experience. Whether or not there is character assassination going on. Does it really matter? Presently they have decided to introduce Olivia as a Teenager. So her entire characterization is different. Its okay to not like that. But it is what it is.

And therein lies the problem, it's never a good idea to appeal to just one part of your audience.