Are the current producers ruining Home and Away?

[Homeandawayfan.]

2016 has been a very rollercoaster year of inconsistency due to the vast amount of crew changes. The end of 2015 saw the show improve for a brief period. I cannot think of who is worse, Addario or Bower?

[Skylover]

7 minutes ago, Homeandawayfan. said:

2016 has been a very rollercoaster year of inconsistency due to the vast amount of crew changes. The end of 2015 saw the show improve for a brief period. I cannot think of who is worse, Addario or Bower?

Addario by far. I'd rather see a focus on the younger characters than a focus on recycled crime stories constantly.

[Homeandawayfan.]

They must just have a handful of scripts and they just re issue them every month or so to the cast.

[Skylover]

The thing is I did actually like the Braxtons to begin with! They brought something fresh to the show, but they dominated the next 5 years of the show and the writers had to take it to extremes at every opportunity, and allowed them to get away with too many despicable things. I don't think Brax deserved a happy ending.

The problem is they can't leave it at the Braxtons. They have to have most of the characters involved in some kind of criminal activity at some stage. The witness protection story for the Morgans is proof that the writers are too obsessed with crime stories.

There are so many things they could do to improve the show, not just bringing back Pippa. I mentioned in the Leah thread, they could bring back her step-son Ryan, and what about Shandi Palmer? Wouldn't it be interesting to see her again for more than just a guest stint? And Trey Palmer? Perhaps he is reformed now? Nathan, Damo, Fin, Martha. And what did Roo get upto in 21 years away from Summer Bay? How about a return for Frank?

[cadyctslover]

1 hour ago, dee123 said:

I'm sure she did a Digital Spy one and danced around some of the answers. This was years ago though when it was Braxtons 24/7.

Yes, she did one at the end of the 2012 season - a particularly poor year. She was defensive and gave waffled answers to difficult questions. With that attitude I'm not surprised she hasn't given one since.

I just hope there'll be a change in leadership soon. Lucy is the SuBo of Home and Away.

[Gerard]

The show does seem to go around in circles, but then you could probably accuse any soap drama of doing that. But sometimes it does feel like an endless cycle of make-ups and break-ups to the point where you don't know, or really care, who is going out with who any more. There are so few long term couples to invest time in at the moment.

Also, and I don't just think H&A is guilty of this, but the appetite seems to be for misery and misfortune rather than upbeat and optimistic. Perhaps that's just how the world in general seems these days? But it is good to get some escapism.

Regarding Brax's "happy ending", and also goes for the Barretts and the current crop of "shadier" characters, the morality of the series has changed. It used to be all about the bad being nurtured into good human beings (and by "bad" I mean stealing a car, not shooting someone dead). Now the bad folks usually get a pat on the back and thumb their noses at the police on their way out of town.

The Morgans seem like a less extreme version of the Braxtons, although I am struggling a bit to understand their back story. It's a shame that just about every newcomer these days has to have some kind of "dark secret". No doubt if Pippa returned under the current regime we would discover she has just got out on parole for benefit fraud or something, has a drug habit, and some dangerous criminal she met in jail would turn up on the run looking for shelter or revenge (I'd better not be giving TPTB ideas!).

There are plenty of directions they could take H&A which don't involve criminality. If they feel they have run out of family stories they should just accept the series has run its course.

It was refreshing to read Jason Herbison admitting that certain things could have been done better in Neighbours this year. I would be nice to read from TPTB at H&A that there is also room for improvement and everything isn't perfect.

 

[Homeandawayfan.]

I think it is Lucy who is obsessed with crime stories more than the writers. She has been at the helm for almost 5 years now. Every character in the past 5 years has been in hospital more times than I have had hot dinners, had more stalkers than I have had hot dinners and been involved in more crimes than I have had hot dinners. All the guest characters are sinister villains. Yabbie Creek Hospital even has a ward and rooms reserved for Summer Bay residents.

[Skylover]

22 minutes ago, Gerard said:

The show does seem to go around in circles, but then you could probably accuse any soap drama of doing that. But sometimes it does feel like an endless cycle of make-ups and break-ups to the point where you don't know, or really care, who is going out with who any more.

I do feel like the 1995 teens are the same in regard to making up and breaking up! The difference is I actually like them! I do really like Hunter and Olivia incidentally, but that doesn't alter the fact that Hunter burned down Leah's house. ETA: I can't stand VJ or Billie.

22 minutes ago, Gerard said:

The Morgans seem like a less extreme version of the Braxtons, although I am struggling a bit to understand their back story.

I don't really understand their backstory, nor do I particularly care. I only tend to enjoy them when Tori is involved in scenes with Duncan or Nate, or Mason is having scenes with Evie. Likewise Justin and Phoebe. They do have interesting backstories if you deduct the witness protection from it. Jason has a kid (and wife?) he was forced to leave, Tori had a very difficult relationship which has made her wary of relationships. Not sure so much about Mason's backstory. The way Brody became interested in cooking as a way of feeling close to his mum after her death is really moving and you could believe this is something that perhaps the 1995 writers would have come up with.

I do actually think the day-to-day scriptwriting for the show is fairly strong. The way Evie has dealt the deaths of most of her family is pretty realistic. It's just the storylines the characters are given. It makes me wonder whether the producers are being ordered from above to make it a crime drama.

I don't believe that family storylines aren't relevant in 2016. They definitely are. It just has to be written well.

The more and more I think about current H&A the sadder it makes me feel. Watching the 1995 episodes is so addictive and such a joy (notice how much I've been posting lol) but it's just overshadowed by the fact that the show eventually turns to crap around 2009. It's not just Lucy's reign; admittedly hers is the worst, but I'd kill for a 2008 right now, even if it meant having to go through 2005-2007 again.

ETA: I would have liked your post but I've reached my limit for the day, that'll teach me trawling through hundreds of pages of Character Discussion

[Homeandawayfan.]

From what I heard about a past character in Neighbours it just represents how much more interested they are about their history than H&A now.

[John]

I think my point in asking what Lucy Addario would gain from an interview was that she and her bosses might feel that she is doing ok and that she will simply be 'abused" by a minority of viewers who don't agree with the direction the show is taking.  After all ratings are quite good, even if not at the levels of some previous years, and ratings in the world of commercial TV are what it is all about and certainly what Lucy's longevity in her job rely on.

Please note:  I make no comment on perceptions of show quality or whether it has "departed from its roots".  These are very individual perceptions which don't necessarily have much effect on commercial realities.