Are the current producers ruining Home and Away?

[Skylover]

7 hours ago, Matt said:

if you don't like it, don't watch it. Her job as Producer is to make sure that the production of the show runs smoothly. Without her, there'd be a whole lot of scripts just sitting around, waiting to be acted out. Perhaps, I add cautiously awaiting the barrage of criticism I'll receive, those who aren't a fan of certain aspects of the show, realise that they aren't the only fans out there to please.

It's not as simple as 'if you don't like it, don't watch' when you have an emotional attachment to a show. However, I certainly haven't been religiously watching for the last couple of years. By the time the Walkers left in 2013 and they were replaced by the MacGuires who had a ridiculous entrance like the Morgans, I was starting to lose interest. Fast forward and I actually like Evie now. I wanted to carry on watching but when I realised I was 6 months behind and couldn't be bothered to sit through Oscar and Evie's psycho dad story, I realised there was a problem.

The ones complaining aren't the only ones to please, no - but I wouldn't say our criticisms are a mere minority. Of course there are some fans, in fact probably quite a few fans who like the poor state the show is in. Unfortunately, and I say this with all due respect, TV seems to have been dumbed down in the modern era to the extent that viewers will accept the in my view less intelligent drama they're being given. That's essentially what it is - no seaside town has this kind of stuff going on. Of course part of the fun is suspending your disbelief, but when you eventually feel like you're watching actors read scripts about having a stalker or going to get a gun to kill their enemy, rather than feeling like you're watching a character, surely that's a problem. Of course the cracks are papered over by the excellent production standards, which is surely the best thing about the modern show. Can't fault that. The ratings are good at the moment (in Oz at least) but I think they will start to tumble eventually. They kind of got lucky with the Braxtons, who had a huge amount of charisma and charm, managing to carry the last few years, but now they've gone and the writers are persisting with that crime element, I'm sure things are going to dismantle eventually. It's just a matter of time. 

7 hours ago, Matt said:

Personally, there have been stories I haven't like - the resolution to the Charlotte King shooting - but I don't go slagging off the Producer who has kept the show going for almost six years.

Personally I don't see it as slagging off the producer, but merely making observations. I'm sure she's a lovely lady in real life and I wish her all the best - but that doesn't mean I agree with the direction the show is going in. 

7 hours ago, Matt said:

Imagine that you were in her job and what people are saying about her is being said about you. I wonder how you would feel. Just a penny...

Personally I wouldn't give two hoots if I was producing it and was reading all this criticism. I would read it, try to take it on board, and see if I thought anyone had a valid point. At the end of the day not everyone is going to agree with a soap producer's decisions, you can't make everyone happy, all of the time. If I was Producer, ratings were good, and, what I viewed as a minority, were vocal in their dislike of the direction I was taking the show in, I'd still be confident in my vision for the show and confident in my decisions, and I'd be aware that producing a soap is a role which by default attracts criticism.

However, I don't think they are minority opinions.

ETA: IMO all discussion should be encouraged here, opposing views included. That's all part of the fun

[Gerard]

7 hours ago, Matt said:

I think it's very easy for people to sit back and put the boot into Lucy because they don't like the direction that the show has taken. It's quite simple - if you don't like it, don't watch it. Her job as Producer is to make sure that the production of the show runs smoothly.

Lucy is one of many people involved in getting H&A on screen. What we see is also affected in some way by the whole crew, cast and network executives. She may just be doing what she's been told from above. Without knowing what boundaries or restrictions she is having to work in, it's hard to assess whether or not she is doing a good job. If she has been told to turn the series into a crime show, then she's doing well.

No doubt she is keeping many viewers hooked, but on the other hand, those of us with long memories know that H&A at the moment is not really in the sprit of the series for its first 20 years. It's easy to say "times change", but the family is still relevant (in fact you could say H&A was ahead of the curve with unconventional and broken families from the start). But again, some of the audience would accuse H&A of not moving with the times regarding LGBT issues, or diversity in general. 

So can we really say that H&A has moved with the times? The crime stories in recent years are not a new thing. "Prisoner" was doing that over 30 years ago. H&A is set in a very flexible universe where as long as Summer Bay Lighthouse and Alf are in it, they can show whatever they like and still call it "Home and Away". I don't think those of us moaning that it's not how it used to be back in the old days are not correct. H&A has to move with the times obviously, but surely times haven't changed that much when it comes to relationships between the generations, friendship and basic morality? It may be more true to say that TV audience tastes have changed over the years. Things need to be bigger, more extreme and more OTT on TV these days in order to hold the attention of the audience, which in some ways is sad.

2 hours ago, Blaxland 89 said:

I thought that. It would be the equivalent of some one like Andrew Foley returning.

Someone only long term quite hardcore fans would remember 

I remember Andrew Foley quite well. I think the person returning to Neighbours is a bit more memorable than him. Of course if you didn't watch the series back in those days you wouldn't even know who Tom Fletcher was.

[Skylover]

5 hours ago, Matt said:

By all means, people can say what they wish. It's funny how what I said is a matter of opinion, and others can have their opinion (there's that word again!) However, I do think that sometimes people go a little bit over the top trying to be a keyboard warrior, because deep down, although they don't agree with the direction the show may or may not be taking (again, matter of opinion), they know they don't have the drive (or skill) to do Lucy's job. In fact, I'm almost 100% positive the majority of people who slag her have no idea what her job entails, but hey, as I said, it's all a matter of opinion.

Perhaps no-one here wants to have Lucy's job or wants to be a Home and Away producer. Perhaps they just want to watch the show they love as a viewer, whether they have the skill or talent to write for the show or not. Surely it's a poor state of affairs when passionate viewers have to take the helm because they have no choice  

[Gerard]

Surely the crime and violence and OTT "event" storylines we've been subjected to in recent years are just a lazy way of engaging the viewers. All that matters at the end of the day to the network is those viewing figures, and if you can blow something up and attract a few 100 thousand extra viewers, then why not? How about they try to gain that number of viewers through character based drama alone? That would require a high performance, and hard work, at all levels of the production.

[Skylover]

5 minutes ago, Gerard said:

Surely the crime and violence and OTT "event" storylines we've been subjected to in recent years are just a lazy way of engaging the viewers. All that matters at the end of the day to the network is those viewing figures, and if you can blow something up and attract a few 100 thousand extra viewers, then why not? How about they try to gain that number of viewers through character based drama alone? That would require a high performance, and hard work, at all levels of the production.

The thing I don't get is how it still attracts viewers doing events like that. It just has the opposite effect on me. I actually find the trailers for

the 2016 finale off-putting rather than enticing. 'Biggest Season Final ever'. Really.

[Matt]

Perhaps no-one should criticise and blame her for everything then. It takes a lot of skill and talent, as you say, to be able to plot, storyline, write, edit, direct, produce, post-produce and publicise 5750 minutes of high-rating Australian drama - a hell of a lot more than it does to sit behind a computer screen and have a bitch and a moan about a show no one is forcing you to watch, but at the end of the day, bygones will be bygones. I just think that it's a matter of trying to put oneself into another person's shoes.

And God forbid some of you ever start watching Hollyoaks... Home and Away's 2 big disasters per year (the same amount, mind you, as Neighbours) has nothing on that...

[Homeandawayfan.]

8 hours ago, Matt said:

I think it's very easy for people to sit back and put the boot into Lucy because they don't like the direction that the show has taken. It's quite simple - if you don't like it, don't watch it. Her job as Producer is to make sure that the production of the show runs smoothly. Without her, there'd be a whole lot of scripts just sitting around, waiting to be acted out. Perhaps, I add cautiously awaiting the barrage of criticism I'll receive, those who aren't a fan of certain aspects of the show, realise that they aren't the only fans out there to please. Personally, there have been stories I haven't like - the resolution to the Charlotte King shooting - but I don't go slagging off the Producer who has kept the show going for almost six years. I realise that certain things don't work out the way one may have hoped and I move on. Whether or not she chooses to give an interview doesn't really matter, really. She's there to do a job - she does her job extremely well.

Imagine that you were in her job and what people are saying about her is being said about you. I wonder how you would feel. Just a penny...

With all due respect, and I may get accused of ageism here but you were not born when I used to come home from high school to watch Tug and Jack get into a hilarious school fight or Shane and Angel were having their big romance. And Pippa ruled the roost at SBH. I have watched the show for 25 years and the reason why I hate the way it is going is because I care too much for the show.

[John]

3 minutes ago, Homeandawayfan. said:

With all due respect, and I may get accused of ageism here but you were not born when I used to come home from high school to watch Tug and Jack get into a hilarious school fight or Shane and Angel were having their big romance. And Pippa ruled the roost at SBH. I have watched the show for 25 years and the reason why I hate the way it is going is because I care too much for the show.

I certainly respect that but I also respect the new generation of viewers who are developing a love for the current show and will carry it into the future long after geriatrics like myself are long gone.

[Matt]

4 minutes ago, Homeandawayfan. said:

With all due respect, and I may get accused of ageism here but you were not born when I used to come home from high school to watch Tug and Jack get into a hilarious school fight or Shane and Angel were having their big romance. And Pippa ruled the roost at SBH. I have watched the show for 25 years and the reason why I hate the way it is going is because I care too much for the show.

And I have seen those episodes, and agree, they were great times in the show - but the reality is that times have changed and that doesn't interest the demographics that the show is aimed at now. Back when you were a teen, that may have interested your age group but the basic fact of the matter is that times have changed.

[Skylover]

38 minutes ago, Matt said:

And God forbid some of you ever start watching Hollyoaks... Home and Away's 2 big disasters per year (the same amount, mind you, as Neighbours) has nothing on that...

I'd never watch Hollyoaks on a regular basis. That is the epitome of trash TV and the worst soap IMO. Not something H&A should be aspiring to.

ETA: I am only in my 20s and don't agree with how the show is. Not all young viewers like the current incarnations of H&A. It's not only older viewers who complain.

8 minutes ago, Matt said:

And I have seen those episodes, and agree, they were great times in the show - but the reality is that times have changed and that doesn't interest the demographics that the show is aimed at now. Back when you were a teen, that may have interested your age group but the basic fact of the matter is that times have changed.

That is true, and I'm sure I, and many others, don't expect the show to be mundane, yes, it has to be slightly OTT and melodramatic these days, as that is what the audience wants to an extent, but are crime stories the only highly dramatic stories?

Since when were affairs, miscarriages, abortions, homophobia, closet gays, transsexuals, anxiety disorders, bipolar, sibling rivalry, breaking down marriages etc not as dramatic as murders and witness protection? Are those topical, also highly dramatic issues not as relevant??

ETA: The OTT state of the show also doesn't explain why they want to brush their past under the carpet...Why haven't we seen Fin, Damian, Nathan, Martha, Shandi, Pippa etc?? All these characters who are dying to return. Is it dramatic to ignore the past?