Are the current producers ruining Home and Away?

[jodlebirger]

15 hours ago, j.laur5 said:

This is the longest running thread.  We had a similar thread in 2009 and that thread was called is Home And Away on a downward spiral!.

2016 is much better than 2009 and the only thing I chose to have from 2009 is Charlie over Kat.  

I totally disagree.. well, I am still in 2015 episodes (November eps), but I don't think it's better than 2009... It's much worse. The characters were more human in 2009, there were more realistic build ups to relationships and the serious topics were better dealt with between the horrible stuff than it is today/2015. But I like Kat better than I liked Charlie, but Kat isn't used to her potential. 

People say that 2015 was such a good year... I feel it's less than mediocre. I think that 2013 had more highlights with Heaths progression, and the first months of the year with characters like Rosie. There are some things that I have liked but on a whole it has left me a bit disapointed after all the hype around here. 

 I had some hopes around the Anzac storyline, but then dropped in quality again. And I got so disappointed because I had so big hopes for the show. 

The storyline about Hunter and Charlotte is just over the top, and lacks a lot of explanation. It is not a well build storyline. How can it be Hunter's fault that Charlotte turned out to be bad? She is the mother and should be able to teach his son what to do, not the other way around. And she was bad before Hunter showed up with the way she treated Matt.. But at least it is a better storyline than the storyline about Adam and the other Braxton enemies. And Charlotte shows more emotions and is less one dimensional than Adam and co. The actress is doing a good job of showing her angst too. But I don't like that Hunter moved in with Leah and Zac after what he did. 

And then we have the electrocution of Marilyn...  I didn't find that good... Maybe it would have been better if it was done with an another character. But I don't think a storyline like that should be funny, and Marilyn thinking she was back to 1996... well....  I didn't think it was extremely bad, but I found it a bit rubbish and underwhelming. 

Some of the scenes around Josh accident was moving, but I think it's not that moving when he suddenly wakes up and recover... In my opinion, they should have killed Josh there, or made the scenes around his accident less dramatic. Sometimes the writers destroy their own storylines by making them overdramatic. And too be honest I think the whole thing was a bit unnecessary, I think it destroys the storyline about Tank a bit. I am tired of the drama around Josh and Andy. I think Tank is more interesting than Josh, Evie and Andy. Not that I like baddies, but I like normal baddies who are more human and realistic. And people in their early twenties can have problems with handling the reality too. 

2015 reminds me about 2006 where the storylines were far over the top and were destroyed even they had some potential in the beginning. But 2006 had probably more likeable stuff between the big bangs and nonsense than 2015 had. For example I liked Leah and Dan far better than I like Zack and Leah. To be honest I found late 2014 more interesting than 2015. I liked the Maddy storyline for example. 

[Homeandawayfan.]

The show has rated well in Australia and is popular but has sacrificed its roots as a result. It is pandering to a target audience and totally ignoring the viewers who remember the real Home And Away. Shane nicking a few water bottles from the store, thats the real H&A, a mass shooting leaving Braxton enemies dead, that is not H&A. Late 2015 saw the real H&A coming back but just when you thought it was safe to watch again, bang, back to default, back to the usual rubbish.

[jodlebirger]

2 hours ago, Homeandawayfan. said:

The show has rated well in Australia and is popular but has sacrificed its roots as a result. It is pandering to a target audience and totally ignoring the viewers who remember the real Home And Away. Shane nicking a few water bottles from the store, thats the real H&A, a mass shooting leaving Braxton enemies dead, that is not H&A. Late 2015 saw the real H&A coming back but just when you thought it was safe to watch again, bang, back to default, back to the usual rubbish.

We are in the late 2015 eps... And I can't say I get the "real" H&A feeling. It's not extremely bad, but it's not good either... i think it has had better periods like that during the past 4-5 years. The teen stuff is the only thing that gives me a bit of "the old H&A" feeling. It is well played. But it was just well played and written a year earlier, in the late 2014 season.

But Charlotte killing a few persons, one of them a regular and it's totally forgotten about a few months before it got discovered is nothing that gives me good old H&A feeling. And Zack and Leah... well, I don't know.. I think they lack chemistry. I feel that Zack should have been put with Leah a few years earlier, Zack's character has been messed around too much and he has become far too "flat". They are nothing against Leah and Dan, or other couples like Pippa and Michael, Shane and Angel, Shelley and Rhys, Rhys and Beth and many other couples through the years... The fostering element are there in a way, but not really in an another way. The parenting thing is too weak. 

 I am a bit worried about how bad it's going to be after reading all the comments about the first 3-4 months of 2016. 

[Luke39]

Its not too bad. Compared to the crime driven stories of 2012-2014. Its died down. The Eye for an Eye special is an example. Compared to that H and A feel like 2001 currently. It feels more laid back now The Braxton era is been weeded out. I think Nostalgics compare it to the old days. And their is a disconnect with the past. The Teen Groups of Matt, Maddy, Josh, Evie, Oscar etc. And Olivia, Hunter, Vj, Skye etc. Prob the only resemblance of oldh and a. Problem is The Braxton era changed the over all writing of the show. And I still think the shows recovering. Prob take 3 or so more years.

[dee123]

On 4/27/2016 at 1:31 PM, Luke39 said:

Its not too bad. Compared to the crime driven stories of 2012-2014. Its died down. The Eye for an Eye special is an example. Compared to that H and A feel like 2001 currently. It feels more laid back now The Braxton era is been weeded out. I think Nostalgics compare it to the old days. And their is a disconnect with the past. The Teen Groups of Matt, Maddy, Josh, Evie, Oscar etc. And Olivia, Hunter, Vj, Skye etc. Prob the only resemblance of oldh and a. Problem is The Braxton era changed the over all writing of the show. And I still think the shows recovering. Prob take 3 or so more years.

Spoiler

Well until the Morgans arrive

[Blaxland 89]

On 22 April 2016 at 6:39 PM, Blaxland 89 said:

Irene's story has predictabley gone the way of her breast cancer storyline, insults to anyone that's has had cancer or been abused for that matter. They really should take more care. 

[Blaxland 89]

I feel sad at saying this but I read some spoilers that I won't go into detail on. If I'd had read them 20 even 15 years ago I'd be so shocked and interested in. But it's so sad that now I just have the feeling of the same old thing and everyone will be over it it 5 minutes and it won't make any difference to the show. I realise this is just a personal thing but I hate that something so dramatic can happen in the show I love and it doesn't even effect me. Makes me feel even more strongly that the current show needs to stop with the over the top drama and focus on getting the audience to care about and love the characters for who they are and let the dramas follow that. 

I'm actually surprised the show has hold enough interest to be able to carry on airing. I never thought I would be saying this. But when something so dramatic can  lead to such a neutral reaction in me, I can only guess other fans feel the same. 

[Blaxland 89]

At the moment the current neighbours feels like a continuation from home and away than home and away itself. 

[cadyctslover]

On 4/22/2016 at 4:49 PM, Matt said:

...And Dan Bennett has returned to the show!

Were the current Aus-pace episodes produced during Dan's absence from the show? (BTW there are no UK spoilers below)

I thought he left around December 2015 which (due to pre-filmed and pre-planned storylines) meant that his material would continue on-screen until August 2016? However when Dan's first return was publicised in June 2015, it actually coincided with his episodes airing. Could this also be the case for his departure, i.e. December 2015 on-screen were the final episodes he was involved with?

What I'm getting at is that every episode since the 2016 Premiere seems to be completely lacking Dan's magic touch. The credits show Associate Script Producer as Hamilton Budd, and Story Consultant as Faith McKinnon. Does it feel like a creative grey patch to anyone else?

[Sunny Girl]

It does to me. I'm not familiar with Hamilton Budd but I'm pretty sure that Faith worked on All Saints a few years ago so she supposedly knows what she's doing.

All Saints was quite well written and had strong storylines, most of the time.