Are the current producers ruining Home and Away?

[Homeandawayfan.]

38 minutes ago, fangirloverload101 said:

That's interesting! I didn't know that. I do think it's improved a bit with shows like The Fosters but yeah I've heard the network can be pretty controlling. 

Yep!!! It's so annoying, like they're so stuck in the past and they're not actually listening to what a lot of us want. And when you think about it, Leah might still be a European Australian because technically Greeks are European. I personally don't think of Greeks as Caucasian though. If someone knows more about this could they educate me? I also hate it when they have a POC actor on the show but have them play a white character. Like Bob Morley who played Drew is a POC but his character was white. I don't understand how it'd have hurt the show to make Drew a POC character. They could have easily gotten a POC actress to play his mum. And he's not even white passing! It's pretty obvious to me that he's mixed race. And same with the actor who plays Justin, he's a POC (part Chinese) but I have a strong feeling that his character is white. Same with Tai Hara who plays Andy. I think Andy might have been a POC character since Josh and him were half siblings but no one actually knows. And yeah the whole LGBT thing is ridiculous. They act like it's so taboo and risky but it isn't! Like do they watch other shows or do they just watch soap operas from the 80's?? 

They never stated if Andy Barrett was of mixed race or not, I think as usual they left it vague and gave up the impression he was white. Neighbours has had several multi racial and LGBT characters than H&A. The Kapoors, and Nate Kinski, who is part Aboriginal. And Shay Daeng etc. And LGBT characters such as Nate himself and Aaron Brennan, Steph Scully and Belinda Bell. It is one of the reasons why I find Neighbours much more recognisable and watchable than H&A now.

No diversity and endless crimes is 2 huge things that has ruined H&A. That is before you mention how Josh and Andy have killed 4 people and are now on the run.

[fangirloverload101]

1 minute ago, Homeandawayfan. said:

They never stated if Andy Barrett was of mixed race or not, I think as usual they left it vague and gave up the impression he was white. Neighbours has had several multi racial and LGBT characters than H&A. The Kapoors, and Nate Kinski, who is part Aboriginal. And Shay Daeng etc. And LGBT characters such as Nate himself and Aaron Brennan, Steph Scully and Belinda Bell. It is one of the reasons why I find Neighbours much more recognisable and watchable than H&A now.

No diversity and endless crimes is 2 huge things that has ruined the show. That is before you mention how Josh and Andy have killed 4 people and are now on the run.

Yep they always keep the ethnicities vague which is annoying. Yeah I agree. Neighbours is better with diversity. I still think the diversity on Neighbours could improve a little when it comes to POC's but it's much better than Home and Away when it comes to diversity. I watch Shortland Street and it's pretty diverse. There's a transgender character, a bisexual female, a gay POC teenager, a few Maori characters, a muslim POC, and a couple of samoan characters. And yeah, I agree. They really over did Josh and Andy's crimes, they over did it to the point where they aren't redeemable. And to be honest, I didn't really like the choice of Josh being the one who killed Charlotte.  It just grossed me out at how secretive he was afterwards. Like even when Zach was being accused he didn't say anything! And I actually felt that they made Josh kind of OOC in that way. Because in the previous seasons he had a little bit more of a moral compass. 

[Homeandawayfan.]

2 hours ago, fangirloverload101 said:

Yep they always keep the ethnicities vague which is annoying. Yeah I agree. Neighbours is better with diversity. I still think the diversity on Neighbours could improve a little when it comes to POC's but it's much better than Home and Away when it comes to diversity. I watch Shortland Street and it's pretty diverse. There's a transgender character, a bisexual female, a gay POC teenager, a few Maori characters, a muslim POC, and a couple of samoan characters. And yeah, I agree. They really over did Josh and Andy's crimes, they over did it to the point where they aren't redeemable. And to be honest, I didn't really like the choice of Josh being the one who killed Charlotte.  It just grossed me out at how secretive he was afterwards. Like even when Zach was being accused he didn't say anything! And I actually felt that they made Josh kind of OOC in that way. Because in the previous seasons he had a little bit more of a moral compass. 

When H&A begun it was always the more exotic and modern of the 2 shows whereas Neighbours seemed like a dinosaur compared to H&A. Right from the pilot H&A had school classroom scenes, teen pregnancy, wayward rebellious teens, the lot. In the past 5 to 10 years Neighbours has overtaken H&A as the show which deals with modern day society. H&A's sets feel a lot more modern than Neighbours and always have done but that is no consolation for the lack of diversity in the show.

[fangirloverload101]

4 minutes ago, Homeandawayfan. said:

When H&A begun it was always the more exotic and modern of the 2 shows whereas Neighbours seemed like a dinosaur compared to H&A. Right from the pilot H&A had school classroom scenes, teen pregnancy, wayward rebellious teens, the lot. In the past 5 to 10 years Neighbours has overtaken H&A as the show which deals with modern day society. H&A's sets feel a lot more modern than Neighbours and always have done but that is no consolation for the lack of diversity in the show.

Yeah agreed!! There just isn't enough representation on H&A now.

[Gerard]

19 hours ago, Homeandawayfan. said:

When H&A begun it was always the more exotic and modern of the 2 shows whereas Neighbours seemed like a dinosaur compared to H&A. Right from the pilot H&A had school classroom scenes, teen pregnancy, wayward rebellious teens, the lot. In the past 5 to 10 years Neighbours has overtaken H&A as the show which deals with modern day society. H&A's sets feel a lot more modern than Neighbours and always have done but that is no consolation for the lack of diversity in the show.

H&A has a much more beautiful location, sets and production values, but that's really where it ends in having the edge over any other soap on TV. It's like a book with a really glossy catchy cover, but when you start reading the content, it's average at best.

When it began, H&A felt edgier and more modern and fresh than Neighbours. Neighbours isn't in fantastic shape right now, but I would rather watch it over H&A.

On the lack of diversity, H&A could do better, but it does have a relatively small cast. As the series encompasses an entire town, should they have more regulars, but each has less screen time, and may vanish for weeks on end?

To change tack slightly, would anyone really miss H&A if it was to end soon? (I know chances are we'll still have this show for another 20 years or more, so I'm not suggesting it is about to end). There was a time back around the mid-late 90's when I think I would have been pretty upset if they'd announced the end of the series, but I think if they announced the end now, I would be more relieved than sad. H&A has clearly re-invented itself every decade or so to try and stay popular and current, and what we have now bears little resemblance to the series I used to enjoy.

Another thought, commercial TV as we know it may not be around in 10 or 20 years. If H&A was available on a subscription only basis, pay per episode, per season etc. would you be prepared to part with money to watch it, and would it force the series to change direction, either back to more traditional H&A or the other way to become more crime and drama heavy? I'm not sure I would be willing to pay a subscription purely for what H&A is currently outputting.

[Old H&A Fan]

21 minutes ago, Gerard said:

H&A has a much more beautiful location, sets and production values, but that's really where it ends in having the edge over any other soap on TV. It's like a book with a really glossy catchy cover, but when you start reading the content, it's average at best.

When it began, H&A felt edgier and more modern and fresh than Neighbours. Neighbours isn't in fantastic shape right now, but I would rather watch it over H&A.

On the lack of diversity, H&A could do better, but it does have a relatively small cast. As the series encompasses an entire town, should they have more regulars, but each has less screen time, and may vanish for weeks on end?

To change tack slightly, would anyone really miss H&A if it was to end soon? (I know chances are we'll still have this show for another 20 years or more, so I'm not suggesting it is about to end). There was a time back around the mid-late 90's when I think I would have been pretty upset if they'd announced the end of the series, but I think if they announced the end now, I would be more relieved than sad. H&A has clearly re-invented itself every decade or so to try and stay popular and current, and what we have now bears little resemblance to the series I used to enjoy.

Another thought, commercial TV as we know it may not be around in 10 or 20 years. If H&A was available on a subscription only basis, pay per episode, per season etc. would you be prepared to part with money to watch it, and would it force the series to change direction, either back to more traditional H&A or the other way to become more crime and drama heavy? I'm not sure I would be willing to pay a subscription purely for what H&A is currently outputting.

I agree! I'm having enough trouble as it is catching up to the first 20 years, before it becomes so mind-numbingly boring it is no longer worth watching anyway. Thank God for the repeats, and ESPECIALLY thank God for 7TWO, at least for getting this far! Like Prisoner, Home And Away should have its special place in history. Despite its relatively limited run (still, 8 years and 692 episodes is not bad) Prisoner remains popular even today. I can't say the same for "Wentworth" though. It's just a cheap remake and a poor imitation of the real Prisoner. I find it strange at best seeing "Bee Smith" and "Liz[zy] Birdsworth" with completely different faces and voices. And an Aboriginal called Doreen? Oh come on, at least call her Sarah!

[cadyctslover]

4 hours ago, Gerard said:

When it began, H&A felt edgier and more modern and fresh than Neighbours. Neighbours isn't in fantastic shape right now, but I would rather watch it over H&A.

I'm a long-term viewer of Neighbours and since around late-2012 it has been fairly consistently strong (and really strong at times - 2015 IMO). But this year it has begun to change for the worse, and several members over on the equivalent Neighbours forum have been discussing this recent decline. I still find it very watchable, but it has begun to change to its detriment in 2016.

But on the bright side of things, as we've seen historically, as one of these shows begins to decline the other suddenly springs back to life! So are we about to see a renaissance in quality drama from the H&A production team?

I would like to think the producers of Neighbours are (now) respectful of their fan-base, and would make adjustments to suit any valid criticism. I'm not so confident with the H&A production staff, however I will still be watching with Dan's material set to air again soon and into next year.

[Homeandawayfan.]

Now Andy and Josh are on the run after their killing spree I hope this will again make the remainder of the Barrett/Braxton/Ashford era even less prominent.

[CaptainHulk]

On 28/08/2016 at 0:38 PM, Old H&A Fan said:

I agree! I'm having enough trouble as it is catching up to the first 20 years, before it becomes so mind-numbingly boring it is no longer worth watching anyway. Thank God for the repeats, and ESPECIALLY thank God for 7TWO, at least for getting this far! Like Prisoner, Home And Away should have its special place in history. Despite its relatively limited run (still, 8 years and 692 episodes is not bad) Prisoner remains popular even today. I can't say the same for "Wentworth" though. It's just a cheap remake and a poor imitation of the real Prisoner. I find it strange at best seeing "Bee Smith" and "Liz[zy] Birdsworth" with completely different faces and voices. And an Aboriginal called Doreen? Oh come on, at least call her Sarah!

I'm curious to know what you thought of Jacs Holt cutting a fart in Vera's face during the strip search 

[Luke39]

Home and Away since 2010. Has been Hybrids of Blue Heelers, Breaking Bad, Underbelly.

Spoiler

Now it has become Lost.

The one thing it is not atm is Home and Away hahaha. I think the last time it felt like Home and Away was 2009. But that is just me. Watching Neighbors I Think the difference is while it feels like NeihBORES some times hahaha. It sticks to its roots. Does not depart to much. Although it does abuse its history. Home and Away has departed too much the past six years. It is a shell of its former self. However I would stil watch Home and Away, if forced. At least Home and Away feels like a show in 2016. With the modern sets. Neighbors set designs, still feel like the 90's to me. To me I think Home and Away has progressed so much in the present, it has forgot its past. While Neighbors, is too much in its past.