Are the current producers ruining Home and Away?

[Dan F]

2 hours ago, Matt said:

Not as far fetched as the Beachside Diner's structural damage that resulted in its closure in 2008 from aftershocks subsequent to the 1996 earthquake (4 years prior to the Beachside Diner's first appearance)  

I think that was actually one of the better pieces of continuity - I mean obviously the building wasn't being used as the Beachside Diner, but it did still exist within the bay. Alf & Jesse's bait shop they opened around 1997 was right next to it, so we'd sometimes see it on-screen even back then.

The original earthquake had caused a fault underneath the Diner, and it was just a small tremor in 2008 which opened it up further - the only little blip was when Colleen said it was the '1997 earthquake' but I'm happy to overlook that, I mean Colleen could have easily just got the year wrong in her head.

As for Summer Bay High, I can't recall what was said either, but I do think there was a lot of discussion on here about something which didn't add up.

[Homeandawayfan.]

While the show is still quite dark and moody, I have to admit that the show seems to have reclaimed a bit of its light heartedness it had 1988-2008ish. The show is  a bit more tolerable and even the harsh music seems to have toned down a bit.

[CaptainHulk]

On 6/18/2016 at 3:24 PM, Matt said:

There was structural damage from the cyclone at the very beginning of 2006 (Eps 4101/4102/4103) which was further exacerbated by "The Great Storm" in September 2011.

Not as far fetched as the Beachside Diner's structural damage that resulted in its closure in 2008 from aftershocks subsequent to the 1996 earthquake (4 years prior to the Beachside Diner's first appearance)  

That kind of thing isn't entirely unreasonable/unrealistic when you think about it. Look at parts of California, FFS.

On 5/24/2016 at 0:59 AM, Red Ranger 1 said:

Well, no show that's run more than about five years is going to have much left from the beginning.What's left of the first episode of Neighbours, three houses and Paul Robinson?

Er.. Erinsborough High's Uniform which probably got the seal approval from West Ham/Burnley/Villa  Well, the Maroon jumper colour anyway.

On 5/21/2016 at 5:37 PM, Lila_Q said:

I've been watching H&A since 2003 and it was my favourite show for a long time. There was always drama, explosion, murders and stalkers, but since 2012 H&A has got a lot darker

I noticed the change in tone the following year with The Felix stuff, which paved way to Sarah and eventually ZoEve. The Summer Bay Stalker(s) was the blueprint for the H&A you see today.

[Blaxland 89]

I really don't see home and away as getting darker. Storylines like Dales cot death, Megs cancer or even Irene's alcoholism for me can be described as dark because there was some real weight to them. I would say it has just became melo dramatic and monotone in recent years which is very different. 

[Luke39]

I think the show has struggled to recover post Braxton Era post 2010;. It is getting their, but its hard to weed out the old habits from the writers. That harsh music has toned down. I do like how the sets are so modern, you feel your watching 2016. It is still a bit dark and moody. Hunter and Olivia was a real find with the actors, best teen couple since Adelle. I Think its on the right track. Just needs better balance. They tried to create danger. But done the opposite tbh. 

[c120701]

I think the writing is just so inconsistent. We're meant to believe that the residents of Summer Bay would try to drive Alf, Leah & Irene (who they'll have known for donkeys years) out of business all because Zac was arrested for Charlotte's death, but they've all been prepared to live alongside the Braxtons, eat at Angelo's and work out at the gym. 

[Jacklost]

Spoiler

 

I have to admit that this year I have been disappointed by the producers. Besides adding the character Dylan whom I thought was a really great character to add to the show and bringing Morgan back, tho I'm disappointed that they didn't keep her longer than 2 and a half weeks. Would love to watch her get to know all the new character that had come since she left and interact with them. But other than that I'm disappointed. First they kill Oscar and Hanna, then they write off Rickie, Maddie and Sky (Who hadn't even been on the show for half a year) And to add it they write off Andy and Josh at the same time. Why in the world would they wanna do so many extreme character cuts in such a short period of time? The show feels completely different now than it did 2 months ago before the explosion. Just hope they don't cut Ash to now..

 

Just had to let that out of me

 

At least they didn't mess it up with Brax's exit. This way he can safely return later on without going through the Kane thing

 

 

[Red Ranger 1]

Throughout this thread I have generally tried to be positive and to point to the things in the show that are still Home and Awayey.But at the moment, by which I mean today, having read what's coming up in Australia, my optimism is at an all time low.To the point that I think without a huge twist the show actually has been ruined, and everything that I thought was steering the show back on the right road was nothing of the sort.I don't know if this is the point where Dan Bennett was taking several steps back from the series, rumour has it he wanted a lot more characters to die in the explosion.Whilst there's a few characters who would have been in the firing line who I wouldn't want dying, it might have avoided a few cop-outs and the fact two characters with potential died while an awful lot of deadwood survived.Not that I've been overly impressed with Dan Bennett's tenure: He did after all introduce Hunter and re-introduce Olivia, two of the worst additions of recent years (I'd say they're the worst teen couple since Aden and Belle but that makes them sound better than they are, even if the Adelle Era was the point where the rot started in my opinion: most intervening couples have merely been dull or annoying or supposed-to-be-soul-mates-but-treat-each-other-and-everyone-else-like-rubbish, these are actually bordering on offensive), while turning characters with potential like Maddy, Oscar and to an extent Chris into part of the furniture.But this current dip reminds me that things used to be a whole lot worse, and I can't see it getting any better while the philosophy behind it at the moment remains unchanged, with the consequences of characters' actions frequently being inadequate or non-existent.We're two months behind in the UK and I've got a horrible feeling that in two months' time I'll no longer be watching Home and Away for the first time since 1993.It's getting that bad.

[jodlebirger]

To compare Aden and Belle to Hunter and Olivia is totally wrong in my opinion... Aden and Belle were the last good teen couple on the show... at least they were before the writers decided to destroy them. Aden and Belle had a logical development and backstories, but their storylines longer down the line didn't suit their personalities.

 Olivia could have been a good character, and so could Hunter, but none of them have been developed well. They should have used Hunter's childhood to explain him better. And his action's shouldn't have been brushed under the carpet. I think that also Charlotte needed an another development to make him better. For me they have just been a more extreme version of Angie and Dylan, but the difference was that Dylan was never made a regular. Something that Hunter shouldn't have been made either. These characters don't suit as regulars who live alongside the others. That don't work at all. And that is what wrong with H&A today. Don't make these villains main characters without having a logical background storyline and a logical development.

And of course they should have used Olivia's backstory more and in a right way.  How it was done doesn't feel right at all, James was a good man. I feel their explanation for bringing her back was full of bad continuity and had nothing to do with what we have seen earlier. 

And there are a lot of hypocrisy and inconsistencies. For example we are meant to accept and forget Hunter's actions while Tank was prisoned for less serious actions. 

 

[Homeandawayfan.]

It is time for Lucy Addario to leave I think. Cue the "producer bashing brigade" I can say what I think about the producer if I feel they are just utterly useless. Many have been campaigning for her to go for ages, she started in 2012 and is sadly still at the helm in 2016. British soaps change producers every 2 to 3 years. She has suffocated H&A in the way Bower did with Neighbours.