Are the current producers ruining Home and Away?

[CaptainHulk]

Emmerdale had to keep with the times but still kept to its roots. Farming, while lessened is still done (Bartons/Dingles), Pub's the centre hub. Emmerdale 2016 moves faster than say, Emmerdale 1986 (which is actually pretty damn good season, Birth of Robert, yes, that Robert, horrific  death of his biological mother Pat, etc), though I will admit after a great 2015, things have gone a bit sloppy (New producer still finding his feet).

 

[emmasi]

9 hours ago, Homeandawayfan. said:

The show has become some kind of psychological thriller show, everyone with their life in danger from natural causes, poisoning or scorned enemies/stalkers. 

Honestly I love that stuff, when it's done right. I get what you're saying about that not being the point of the show originally, and I agree it shouldn't be the point of the show now.  I do think the show needs those elements today to remain exciting. It's a very different world, and most people won't watch heartfelt conversations about family for half an hour every night, and if they do, they'll watch reality TV (I'm thinking documentary style ones, not the sensational/contest types). Reality TV didn't exist in the 80s, or if it did, there were not literally thousands of options for people who want to get a glimpse into the daily lives of ordinary people. So for H&A to remain relevant in these times, it has to play up to the fact that it IS a soap, and add in those melodramatic elements of murder and mayhem, when we know that's not really what would happen in a little coastal town. 

Now, let me get to the part where I agree with you. This kind of shocking, dramatic stuff onlyworks if it IS shocking and dramatic, which it can't be when it's happening every week or even every day. It loses all its impact and becomes completely pointless. I don't watch CSI but it's my understanding that they actually, you know, investigate crimes, one at a time, rather than just having random crimes and arresting/jailing whichever character seems the most dramatic at the time, and then dumping all interest in that particular crime before it's resolved because the next one - or two or three - is already unfolding. No crime drama could survive with that kind of format. No weekly viewer base would bother making the effort to tune in for such a mess. But as viewers of a daily soap, many of us are creatures of habit, stuck in a rut, with too many years of our lives invested in it to stop watching and let it go under. Which is exactly what would happen to any other show that was this poorly produced that didn't have 30 years of nostalgia and loyalty on it's side. 

 

 

[Homeandawayfan.]

12 hours ago, CaptainHulk said:

Emmerdale had to keep with the times but still kept to its roots. Farming, while lessened is still done (Bartons/Dingles), Pub's the centre hub. Emmerdale 2016 moves faster than say, Emmerdale 1986 (which is actually pretty damn good season, Birth of Robert, yes, that Robert, horrific  death of his biological mother Pat, etc), though I will admit after a great 2015, things have gone a bit sloppy (New producer still finding his feet).

 

Emmerdale is more truer to its roots than H&A I think. Yes, the Dingles and Bartons have many scenes in the farmhouse kitchen like the Sugdens did. H&A has done what Brookside did, went for a radical change in style. Even Alf is written as a parody of what he once was.

[Gerard]

17 hours ago, emmasi said:

No weekly viewer base would bother making the effort to tune in for such a mess. But as viewers of a daily soap, many of us are creatures of habit, stuck in a rut, with too many years of our lives invested in it to stop watching and let it go under. Which is exactly what would happen to any other show that was this poorly produced that didn't have 30 years of nostalgia and loyalty on it's side. 

I wonder how much of the audience is only watching out of loyalty and nostalgia. Count me in. I guess some of us live in hope that the series will wake up to itself some day and revert to a family drama. But there is probably more chance of seeing Alf Stewart land on the moon. 

I don't think I would touch H&A with a bargepole if I was coming at it as a new viewer. Then again, maybe as a new viewer if I wasn't too fussy about quality and I was in the market for a grim and gritty crime show with nice scenery, it might just be the ticket

[cadyctslover]

I'm not sure if this has already been mentioned and I missed it, but did anyone notice Dan Bennett announce that he has left the show again? (I know Matt did)

It was announced on the main site when he quit in December last year, and then we discussed it here when he announced he was returning in April.

I suspect Dan's material will now air up until the new year. I wonder who will replace him in this role?

[Homeandawayfan.]

19 hours ago, emmasi said:

Now, let me get to the part where I agree with you. This kind of shocking, dramatic stuff onlyworks if it IS shocking and dramatic, which it can't be when it's happening every week or even every day. It loses all its impact and becomes completely pointless. I don't watch CSI but it's my understanding that they actually, you know, investigate crimes, one at a time, rather than just having random crimes and arresting/jailing whichever character seems the most dramatic at the time, and then dumping all interest in that particular crime before it's resolved because the next one - or two or three - is already unfolding. No crime drama could survive with that kind of format. No weekly viewer base would bother making the effort to tune in for such a mess. But as viewers of a daily soap, many of us are creatures of habit, stuck in a rut, with too many years of our lives invested in it to stop watching and let it go under. Which is exactly what would happen to any other show that was this poorly produced that didn't have 30 years of nostalgia and loyalty on it's side. 

 

 

You see, Neighbours has the right balance of this. The stunts happen once every few months or even less, and the show has plenty of everyday scenes and has the right balance. It is still Neighbours. It has always been set in the same cul de sac. H&A has the odd everyday scene but these are casually dropped in among the endless disasters, crime and bed hopping storylines.

Dan Bennet leaving again, well not much loss, we had a bit of an improvement but for a short while.

[Luke39]

Am I the only one who likes the Drama and Crime Driven Stories? It is different, after watching Family Wholesome Drama for 20 odd years. I enjoyed the Braxtons in doses. And I have actually enjoyed the Morgans. I don't see the point in complaining about a show you claim to like and watch. IT is not the 90's anymore the world has changed. Home and Away is not a innocent, pure show anymore. That ship has sailed lol. I think some need to accept this. Home and Away is reflecting today's culture and society. 

[cadyctslover]

26 minutes ago, Luke39 said:

Am I the only one who likes the Drama and Crime Driven Stories? It is different, after watching Family Wholesome Drama for 20 odd years. I enjoyed the Braxtons in doses. And I have actually enjoyed the Morgans. I don't see the point in complaining about a show you claim to like and watch. IT is not the 90's anymore the world has changed. Home and Away is not a innocent, pure show anymore. That ship has sailed lol. I think some need to accept this. Home and Away is reflecting today's culture and society. 

Talking of broken records.

Nobody is saying they want the show to be exactly the same as it was in the 80's, or the 90's. Nobody. There is also nobody saying that they don't want any drama or crime-driven stories.

Posters are just making the valid point that it is an overused theme, and if the characters lives are in peril every 5 minutes, the dramatic effect is lost.

[alexx]

5 hours ago, Luke39 said:

Am I the only one who likes the Drama and Crime Driven Stories? It is different, after watching Family Wholesome Drama for 20 odd years. I enjoyed the Braxtons in doses. And I have actually enjoyed the Morgans. I don't see the point in complaining about a show you claim to like and watch. IT is not the 90's anymore the world has changed. Home and Away is not a innocent, pure show anymore. That ship has sailed lol. I think some need to accept this. Home and Away is reflecting today's culture and society. 

The world may have changed but people haven't changed that much. We all still have innocent, sinister, manipulative, positive and emotional responses to every single thing that happens to us and I find that interesting to watch and that's never going to change.

Home and Away wasn't actually ever really about having tender chats about family - it was pretty much just an exploration of a seaside society including a foster home, families, surfers and local business owners. It was about how they interact with each other, the good, the positive, the bad and the sad. That still goes on and happens every second of our lives so there's no excuse to stop telling those stories and drift away from it's original format as far as I'm concerned.

[~Lynd~]

Well...  

Spoiler

Apparently they're killing off Billie which is another nail in the coffin imo.Why do they insist on getting rid of the few good people they have ASAP and leaving us with bores?I've been loyal to this show my entire live but I think it's hanging by a thread.It's just not worth the terrible characters and constant  crime & violence that never really goes anywhere besides in circles which as you know never end;

Please Excuse the spoiler tags.Peace out.