Are the current producers ruining Home and Away?

[Luke39]

Hey im enjoying The Show atm . But then again my.expectations aren't so can I.say adept. I think ppl.overthink.things. No gay character, no society changes etc. Is it really that deep? I.thought it.was about pretty ppl surfing lol. Just saying I think some, not naming names. Expect more then The show can deliver at times. Yes its crime driven atm.

But no where near as it was in.2012-2014 era. When I see the Teen Group of Matt, Josh, Oscar, Evie, Maddy etc. And Olivia and Sky. Remind me so much of 2000ish H and A. So theirs key components to the show that have improved dramatically. But theirs aspect to the show need work.  And re H and A being axed because its crap. Well ppl say that every year it never happens .

[dee123]

1 hour ago, Edward Skylover said:

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One of the main issues though is that it doesn't reflect the changes in society. Almost 30 years in and it hasn't even had a regular gay character. If it's so obsessed with crime at the moment, why not bring in a gay character who Ash is friends with from prison or something?

I am surprised H&A gets away with what seems to be a homophobic attitude.

I'm sure i'll get in trouble for saying this but i don't believe anyone at H&A is homophobic. The not featuring gay characters is a 7 thing. 7 is mainly owned by people from Western Australia, and take it from someone who has family there, outside of small pockets of Perth, it's not even 1996 there yet. Let alone 2016.

Sadly outside out Sydney & Melbourne, Australia is still a very homophobic place.

[Skylover]

It is a shame whatever the case may be, and I think that as well as other factors such as failure to connect to the past, will be H&A's undoing. There are obviously strengths to the current show as well, however.

I do wonder whether that is true though, because other 7 shows have featured prominent gay characters, such as Jonathan on Winners & Losers.

[Matt]

41 minutes ago, Edward Skylover said:

It is a shame whatever the case may be, and I think that as well as other factors such as failure to connect to the past, will be H&A's undoing. There are obviously strengths to the current show as well, however.

I do wonder whether that is true though, because other 7 shows have featured prominent gay characters, such as Jonathan on Winners & Losers.

Make of the following what you will:

Sarah Walker included a lesbian character in the award-winning hospital drama — the doctor Charlotte Beaumont, played by Tammy MacIntosh. “The character turned straight when I left the show,” she laughs. “This is what happens.” Although she points out the long-running soap Neighbours has had several gay characters in recent years. There are some tricky logistics in having gay characters, she explains. It disrupts the balance of romantic potential among a core cast. “You’ve only got a certain number of characters who are young and able to have romance stories. If you take two of your precious cast and make them gay, you’ve got two girls or two guys on the other side who now don’t have anyone to partner up with. Production-wise, it’s very difficult to justify pulling two people out. It’s an actual storytelling technical problem, to be fair. It’s not all attitudes.”

And...

In the UK practically all the soaps have regular gay characters but this seems to be something which Home and Away appears to deliberately avoid. Why is this do you think? ‘Perryadams’ comments that Pacific Drive’s Zoe was very popular and thinks Home and Away could benefit from having such a character. Could you see it happening in future?
Perry is right – HAA SHOULD have a gay character. I tried several times but it ended up a debacle. It won’t happen while the present hierarchy is in place. I have found on various shows but especially HAA, often the most vehemently opposed person to a gay character is a gay person. Not from homophobia…but simply from fear of ratings.

(Links here and here)

[dee123]

2 hours ago, Edward Skylover said:

It is a shame whatever the case may be, and I think that as well as other factors such as failure to connect to the past, will be H&A's undoing. There are obviously strengths to the current show as well, however.

I do wonder whether that is true though, because other 7 shows have featured prominent gay characters, such as Jonathan on Winners & Losers.

I'm sorry but Jonathan to me is a terrible cliche and not that far removed from characters like Mr Humphries from Are You Being Served?

2 hours ago, Matt said:

Make of the following what you will:

Sarah Walker included a lesbian character in the award-winning hospital drama — the doctor Charlotte Beaumont, played by Tammy MacIntosh. “The character turned straight when I left the show,” she laughs. “This is what happens.” Although she points out the long-running soap Neighbours has had several gay characters in recent years. There are some tricky logistics in having gay characters, she explains. It disrupts the balance of romantic potential among a core cast. “You’ve only got a certain number of characters who are young and able to have romance stories. If you take two of your precious cast and make them gay, you’ve got two girls or two guys on the other side who now don’t have anyone to partner up with. Production-wise, it’s very difficult to justify pulling two people out. It’s an actual storytelling technical problem, to be fair. It’s not all attitudes.”

And...

In the UK practically all the soaps have regular gay characters but this seems to be something which Home and Away appears to deliberately avoid. Why is this do you think? ‘Perryadams’ comments that Pacific Drive’s Zoe was very popular and thinks Home and Away could benefit from having such a character. Could you see it happening in future?
Perry is right – HAA SHOULD have a gay character. I tried several times but it ended up a debacle. It won’t happen while the present hierarchy is in place. I have found on various shows but especially HAA, often the most vehemently opposed person to a gay character is a gay person. Not from homophobia…but simply from fear of ratings.

(Links here and here)

I'm sorry but that production wise/story telling technical problem is such a cop out to me. The same problem would happen when you have a brother & sister or cousins yet they still appear.

On a lighter note, i fuc*ing loved Pacific Drive. It was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo trashy and over the top but in a good way. It was highly entertaining, which at the end of the day is all you can ask for.

[Blaxland 89]

I know ratings are important but quite frankly a pathetic excuse. Shows like home and away should be raising awareness and educating ignorant people. Just look at the good Eastenders of done for certain issues. For goodness sakes, the show was more topical in 1995!! Actually it felt more a head of its time in that respect in 1988 then now.

[John]

I don't think that the fact that the show does not have a gay character in itself entirely says that the show isn't reflecting current Australian society.  That is one issue.  I would like to see the show include a gay character from time to time as it would be reflective of current Australian society but its failure to do that does not negate all the other aspects that have been updated.

As to whether the show has a responsibility to raise awareness in a positive way or not that's another issue. 

[Skylover]

I guess it's personal taste in regard to Jonathan, I found his character endearing and well played, and I think it's important that not all gay characters are portrayed deliberately against the stereotype.

John, how has the show been 'updated' to be more modern? In regard to the gay issue, I'm not actually overly bothered about there being a gay character in the cast. There doesn't have to be a token gay character. It's more the fact the show has been running for 30 odd years and is possibly the only (??) Western soap to have not included a regular gay character during its run. That's the main issue. It's unwillingness to introduce one.

I also don't agree that having a gay character restricts storylines. They could also include a bisexual character to add storyline opportunities. In fact that would be interesting as not many bisexual characters seem to exist in soap. I still think Home and Away has the perfect platform to break stereotypes by including a gay or even better bisexual character who could be linked to Ash or the Braxtons. I say do something brave like that or bring Christopher back as a gay foster parent. The show has a lot of opportunities to do something really unique and brave, using its past or current characters. But they won't.

And where does this argument come from that gay characters might affect ratings? That concept seems ridiculous to me - if anything it would raise the show's profile and draw in more viewers.

[dee123]

16 hours ago, John said:

I don't think that the fact that the show does not have a gay character in itself entirely says that the show isn't reflecting current Australian society.  That is one issue.  I would like to see the show include a gay character from time to time as it would be reflective of current Australian society but its failure to do that does not negate all the other aspects that have been updated.

As to whether the show has a responsibility to raise awareness in a positive way or not that's another issue. 

What other aspects? It's still wall to wall straight white people.

[Luke39]

4 hours ago, dee123 said:

What other aspects? It's still wall to wall straight white people.

And why does that matter? Just asking. Do h and a have any responsibility or obligation? Unpopular opinion may be. But I dont think.They do. Not saying a gay character or couple wouldn't be good for diversity. But I.don't think.its urgent. Jmo.