Are the current producers ruining Home and Away?

[John]

As someone who has lost a loved one to drugs I don't find it very entertaining to see Heath pushing drugs I find it very hurtful and insulting!

As someone who works with people suffering from addictive behaviors I agree with you.

That's why I find it pleasing that he no longer does that and that the Braxton clan as a group have moved away from that space. Probably more importantly is that they are motivated to do that and it has been a part of their character development.

[Bobby Forever Missed]

Too little too late as far as I'm concerned! TPTB need to realize there ARE people who have lost loved ones to drugs and/or gang violence and for them to glorify such things is a very hurtful and insulting thing!

[alexx]

Too little too late as far as I'm concerned! TPTB need to realize there ARE people who have lost loved ones to drugs and/or gang violence and for them to glorify such things is a very hurtful and insulting thing!

I haven't seen it because I haven't been watching - but if they have been 'glorifying' it or writing it as acceptable, then in order to counterbalance that and create compelling and emotional drama - they should have been showing the other side of it and how it can devastate a person and family.

As hurtful as it may be to watch those storylines, they are true to life and I would find it interesting to watch something like that being played out (both sides of the coin).

Going back to the direction of the show... When people switch on Underbelly they expect to see violence, drug use, sex etc. When they switch on H&A they expect to see H&A. H&A was never influenced so much by what other popular shows were doing that the whole format was changed, until around ten years ago. Since then they've just had 'themes'. During 2005-2007 everyone was in hospital every week (All Saints was extremely popular at the time). Then 2009 was the year long mystery and loads of cop car chases etc. when cop shows like Rush were popular. And over the past few years it's been the 'Underbelly Years'.

I think instead of copying they should have just kept on reinventing and reinvigorating their own brand of storytelling and tweaked it to keep it as contemporary as any other drama series. They could have had drug use and violence if they wanted to, but had the characters react the way H&A characters would usually respond to those sort of themes. Perhaps the current produces think that is what they've done - but I just think the quality of writing has decreased overall by 50%. It's just no longer emotionally engaging Imo

(When I state my opinion on the show I'm referring to when I last watched a good ten weeks worth of episodes - when Sally returned last year. Since then I've watched about five episodes spread out).

[Homeandawayfan.]

^I don't think it's as simple as that. If they wanted to focus on other characters and types of storylines, they would. But this just seems like a new way of writing Home and Away now, so as far as I can see, unless a new producer takes over and takes the show in a completely different direction with regards to way of writing, storytelling, characterization etc. I reckon the H&A of today is going to be the H&A going forward.

Lot's of new H&A fans like the show the way it is now and they tune in because they like the show as it is now. Yes they may have lost a lot of long term viewers in the process, but does that matter to them anymore now that they've got a fresh audience? It would be easier for them to just build on the current format rather than trying to entice any of us lost viewers back.

Or perhaps they will begin to write the show in a balanced way again and give every character a decent storyline at least once a year (every character). I just can't see it happening any time soon.

I agree with this alexx. The show has not changed just to annoy a section of the previous fan base. Any changes that have been made have been made because of the the changes in community expectations and the weight of audience expectations.

Whether we like it or not TV drama goes through phases. Here in Oz we've been through our Underbelly phase ( much beloved of Light of the Bay ) which initially attracted large audiences. In some ways this has spilled over into Home and Away and into other TV dramas. The popularity of that genre is waning and that is reflected in the winding down of crime storylines in other drama including our show.

I have no idea what the next drama phase will be .We have had some interest in Downton Abbey and other period dramas but these do not seem to be grabbing audience attention in the same way as the early Underbelly offerings did.

One thing is for certain though, The next phase won't be a return to the past. Some aspects of each change that is made to the show as it evolves will remain. The show is gradually evolving as it must to remain contemporary.

Even the writing of the show goes through phases. We have periods where the writers seem to be offering endless recycling of breaking up and making up which I find increasingly boring. We have periods where the pacing of the show annoys me and we hurry through storylines and issues which could benefit from slower and more detailed exploration.

But then we have periods of compelling viewing such as the past week here in Oz.. The interraction between the Braxton brothers has been all about their characters and how they have grown with no suggestion of criminal activity. We've had the development of the relationship between John and Marilyn with Jett as a spectator and sometime meddler which has just been a delight. We've had the developing friendship between Alf and Denny and Irene's influence on Heath and Bianca.

I think the show is as good as it's ever been at holding my attention. I look forward to where it will take me next.

I agree with this as well.

I may just be hoping for a reduction in the current style, a reduction that may never come in the criminal activity and such but H&A is not all doom and gloom. I think it can mix light with shade and one minute you have a Brax trying to do another drug deal and the next you have Alf and Maz bantering in the cafe. H&A has the most colourful history of any Australian soap and at just coming up to 6000 episodes it has featured many more locations and storylines than its slightly older Melbourne cousin.

They need to utilise Alf and Irene more. And then perhaps bring back Morag for another spell.

[Jamie!]

I just don't understand why the Home and Away producers are so reluctant to bring back permanent returnees? Last time a character returned to Home and Away as a regular was Marilyn in 2010. I really hope that when Lucy Addario and Louise Bowes leave the show, hopefully the new producers can sort out the mess and give ALL characters EQUAL screentime. Hopefully they won't continue to overuse the Braxtons (I bet all the Braxtons will leave in early 2015). I honestly can't wait for Home and Away after the Braxtons leave.. It is NOT an American soap show.

I wouldn't be surprised if Steve Peacocke stays on the show. He has openly said that he loves his job and wants to stay, (with the amount of storylines he has, I'm not surprised he loves his job). I know that actors in the past have said that they're not leaving when they are, but it wouldn't surprise me if he stays where he is.

I would agree that the imminent departure of the Braxton's won't solve the issues with H&A. The producers have recognised that 'bad boy' characters that engage in violent/criminal behaviour appeals to a key demographic. So with the first Braxton's beginning to sign off, they're already introducing carbon copies in the form of Heath Andy and Casey Josh.

From what I've read of the comments on the H&A facebook page (trust me, I'm ashamed to admit that) the Barrett's have not been as immediately successful as the Braxton's were upon their introduction, and they don't seem hugely popular here either. I think that the success of the Braxton's was that they were so unusual after such a vanilla 2010 season, and that it will be difficult to replicate that success now because the audience is more intelligent than the producers give them credit for.

I suspect that once all of the Braxton's have departed that the ratings will begin to slide, and it could result (eventually) in Channel 7 deciding to take the show in a different direction (again) and take the show 'back to it's roots' (again). As long as the storylines are interesting, and the writing is engaging this could work (this time).

I did think at the time of the Barretts' introduction, that the reason the producers introduced them was so they could be the "new Braxtons".

In order for the show to go back to how it used to be if/when all the Braxtons leave, what I would do is bring back some past characters full-time, have them the owners of Summer Bay House and get them to foster. Maybe Carly and her husband Ben. I don't know if Sharyn Hodgson is acting any more, or whether she would ever want to return full time, but she has obvious links with the Fletcher family and also has a family of her own with Ben. I know that Julian McMahon couldn't come back because of his successful career in America, but seeing as how Ben was only in the show for a year, they could very easily replace him with another actor.

With the 2010 season, the reason I think it wasn't deemed as successful was because just like 2009 mainly focused on the mystery storyline, 2010 just mostly focused on characters falling in and out of love with each other. It had a much gentler pace. For the first few months or so, I loved what I was seeing. It felt really lovely and at times, it did almost resemble the Home and Away I know and love. But when it became clear that all they were going to be mainly focusing on was relationships forming and breaking, that's when it became as tiresome as the mystery storyline. It's not that I don't want these type of storylines. I much prefer the character driven storylines where the characters fit the storylines rather than the storylines fitting the characters. I just want there to be a balance between the character driven and the plot driven storylines and for the show to not mainly focus on a single theme or group of characters.

[cadyctslover]

^ Don't get me wrong, 2010 is actually one of my favourite seasons, it just didn't go down well with a lot of other fans.

[JamesC10]

I've been looking at the credits this week and I've noticed that Holly Lyons is script producer. I wonder if Louise Bowes is no longer script producer anymore?

[Light of the Bay]

Holly Lyons has been heavily involved in the script writing process in the last couple of years I think?? Louise seems to be credited as Script Producer for a period and then as an 'Executive'.

[JamesC10]

Ah yes this makes sense. She is still working in Home and Away according to her twitter account. I think Louise takes some weeks off because a script producer is a very demanding job!

[cadyctslover]

I've been looking at the credits this week and I've noticed that Holly Lyons is script producer. I wonder if Louise Bowes is no longer script producer anymore?

I believe that has been the case for a while now James. I wish there was a database of the change in Script Producers over time, as there are interesting correlations between SP and storyline direction.