Are the current producers ruining Home and Away?

[John]

This has been a great thread and we have all had the opportunity to voice our thoughts on whether Home and Away, the show we all love , has been ruined.

No posts have been edited or deleted, nobody has been "censored" or told not to post their view.

But if we were now to begin to argue repetitiously in multiple other threads then we would be in grave danger of breaking the following Board rule:

14) No spamming is to be tolerated in ANY part of the forum. What we define spamming as:

* It is a post(s) that does not pertain to the subject of the thread.
* Posts that are less than a sentence are spam, too. Don't do it. We don’t like posts just agreeing with someone. If you don’t have anything to add then don’t post it, PM it!
* Posts that for some reason don’t add anything to the ongoing discussion (i.e. posts that express the same opinion repetitively in various topics)
* Also please note that double posting is spam, we have an edit post option if you forgot to mention something.
* Starting duplicate threads is spamming.
* Posting in what's known as text language (i.e. 'i luv adelle, dus any1no ho dies?) is horrible and is considered spamming

I'm sure we would all not wish to do that.

However if anyone felt that they absolutely had to repeat their views again can we please use this thread so kindly provided for us.

[alreetlike]

It’s not just the Braxtons I have issues with, it’s the overuse of romantic drama, in particularly triangles and the constant breakup-makeup drama. Sometimes, just about every couple was involved in a triangle at the same time and it seems like the same drama over and over - it’s like these characters are incapable of learning. And with all the infidelity, pathetic behaviour, lack of respect toward their partner and mismatched pairings, we’re actually meant to believe in these couples and that their each others greatest loves? It's like treat 'em mean to keep 'em keen at times and the women will continue to flock to these guys.

...

For me, the show feels stuck in a rut, with repetitive storylines and characters. So how do we shake up the show? Just introduce another stereotypical bad guy who is clearly the worst villain to hit the Bay until the next one arrives a few months later. How do we make couples interesting? Endless cycle of break up/make up, infidelity, lies and childish behaviour. What can we do for more exciting storylines? Have another big car accident, because we haven’t done that for absolutely ages or we have another act of violence, because haven’t done that much. Any storyline really, that puts someone in hospital because we just don’t see enough of the characters in hospital with a serious injury that goes away just like that when the time is right. I get that shows that have been on forever tend to repeat storylines, but the frequency these storylines are repeated over and over in such a short space and at times, with the same characters involved, tends to come across as writers with little imagination.

I honestly don’t view sexing the show up and introducing more violence and crime all that progressive, especially with the way they go about portraying it and in this day and age, why do the producers continue to avoid introducing more diversity? Because of criticism they create by stirring up trouble when they label storylines controversial, like they did with Charlie and Joey? What exactly is controversial about a same-sex couple? Neighbours has ethnic and gay characters and they ignored any negative complaints about these characters because they want the show to move forward. Home and Away have happily ignored all the complaints about the amount of drugs and violence on the show, so surely they’re not scared of the odd complaint about introducing a same-sex couple. Of course, that might take attention away from their precious Braxtons and would require some effort on their part to make these characters work and avoid the stereotypical portrayal, ie. gay until the next person of the opposite sex comes along and they become one of those TV bisexuals who then only sleeps with the opposite sex.

Unfortunately, instead of introducing more diversity, whether a same-sex pairing, an ethnic or indigenous family which would allow them to have some fresher storylines and potentially take the show in another direction, they’d prefer to just bring in another villain of the week, who serves their purpose, then leaves, either in a body bag, in a paddy wagon or just disappears. These days, there’s even a lack of diversity with their villains - they’re stereotypical bad guys, they’re evil, they come to shake up the Bay, blah, blah, blah.

...

I've snipped your post down for space, but that was honestly one of the best posts I've ever read on here, so thanks a lot for taking the time and effort.

The bits I've left in the quote are the main points I agree with. The most frustrating thing, as a fan, is that the suggestions you make about diversity etc are not HUGE ideas, they're basic things that other soaps have no problem incorporating into their show. Yet H&A seems to miss the mark and instead we see love triangles and pantomime villains absolutely done to death.

[-Andrew-]

Imo, the problems with H&A have been allowed to fester through quite a few producers, and have built up to create this new, ill-defined show we see now. They aren't solely down to the current team.

2005/6- The reliance on plot driven 'event storytelling' became prominent. With major focus on the hospital/ police station (Only let up during 2008 and the first half of 2010). These years also marked the start of a long line of attempted 'super-couples', one after the other.

2007- Irene was well on her way to becoming an extra at this point, not too different to how she is now really. Family based/ community storylines were almost gone.

2009- After major improvements in 2008, this year came along and literally undid EVERYTHING they had fixed. Crime was amplified hugely, with a lot of focus on the police/ hospitals.

2010- Romance/ love triangles/ breakups become major themes, wrapped around the crime element, leaving little room for any other type of storyline, allowing illness and life threatening accidents ofcourse.

2011- The Braxtons sweep in and instantly take over, crime remains a major theme.

I had had enough by late 2010 and switched off before the Braxtons had even arrived, so whilst they are no doubt a nuisance (I can tell, from what I've seen/ read) , the problems I had with the show were already in full force before they even appeared. Which is why when the news breaks that they're all leaving, I will still steer clear of this show. The characters they've been introducing have been getting more and more like basic templates for ages now. I remember when April was on her way (and I was on my way out!) all the marketing team had to say was something along the lines of "She speaks french, has a unique fashion sense and cares for the environment"... with mentions of a sister who would appear a little later..... Given the opportunity, any new character I introduce would have alot more to be said about them than that!

I'd say the last character to be introduced well, with great dramatic/ light content and who left having grown/ developed naturally was Jazz Curtis back in 2008!

Then there's also the major shifts in production, axing the titles, changing the style of underscore, exterior locations swapping every few years, losing all but one of the original sets, not having the Summer Bay House/ Van park (the sandy, run down one) all things that once upon a time, were an important part of the show, lost gradually over the past 13 or so years.

[Red Ranger 1]

I'd actually say that although the first half of 2008 was good, the second half took a huge downward swoop with characters having their development messed up in order to provide drama that was more damaging than anything else, couples being paired up for the sake of convenience or how they looked together rather than whether they were actually well matched, over the top stunts and two-dimensional villains.And the cancer cluster/development storyline, which was as bad as anything from 2009 onwards.I'd actually say there were more police/crime-related storylines in that period than there are now, it's telling that a good proportion of the new main characters that year were police officers.

[Blaxland 89]

Completing agree with the last two posts Both make very good points

[Homeandawayfan.]

I shall post my view of H&A. Yes it is Braxton orientated but I dont find it quite as ruined as some may do. Theree are still lovely beach scenes, beach babes being leered at by the River Boys etc and the John, Jet and his mates and Maz scenes, and any Flamin Galah scenes from flamin Alf. Jet and his mate remind me of the comedic pranks Jack Wilson and Sam used to get up to in the 1990s.

H&A is not far off having its 6000th episode and some may have to realise that the show has changed a lot since 17 January 1988 and it cannot remain stuck in the 1980s forever. The past can be seen through rose tinted glasses and I have watched H&A on and off since 1989 when it first aired over here. I have watched the show evolve. At leats it is good that 1989 is disliked by some and they dont see any H&A material more than 10 years old as flawless when it certainly wasn't.

[alexx]

I shall post my view of H&A. Yes it is Braxton orientated but I dont find it quite as ruined as some may do. Theree are still lovely beach scenes, beach babes being leered at by the River Boys etc and the John, Jet and his mates and Maz scenes, and any Flamin Galah scenes from flamin Alf. Jet and his mate remind me of the comedic pranks Jack Wilson and Sam used to get up to in the 1990s.

H&A is not far off having its 6000th episode and some may have to realise that the show has changed a lot since 17 January 1988 and it cannot remain stuck in the 1980s forever. The past can be seen through rose tinted glasses and I have watched H&A on and off since 1989 when it first aired over here. I have watched the show evolve. At leats it is good that 1989 is disliked by some and they dont see any H&A material more than 10 years old as flawless when it certainly wasn't.

It's interesting how a lot of those who disagree seem to think fans want the show to be like it was in the 1980's. No one does as far as I'm aware. But what they should be doing (Imo) is moving it forward whilst still retaining the same spirit the show had and the same basic premise. When people say 'it can't be like it was back in the 1980's' it doesn't help the situation because it's totally missing the point.

H&A was never just about beach scenes, babes and Alf routinely saying Flamin Galah. That's what the show is now. It used to have a certain charm about the show, which as someone else pointed out too, has been lost Imo. I agree with Andrew that this 'rot' started to set in around 2005 with the emphasis on plot focused Summer Bay. It seemed to really damage the flow of the series and it was never the same again, until Bevan Lee's 2008 stint. But at least it was still engaging at times and dramatic - it still had some of the original H&A elements.

[Jamie!]

Imo, the problems with H&A have been allowed to fester through quite a few producers, and have built up to create this new, ill-defined show we see now. They aren't solely down to the current team.

2005/6- The reliance on plot driven 'event storytelling' became prominent. With major focus on the hospital/ police station (Only let up during 2008 and the first half of 2010). These years also marked the start of a long line of attempted 'super-couples', one after the other.

2007- Irene was well on her way to becoming an extra at this point, not too different to how she is now really. Family based/ community storylines were almost gone.

2009- After major improvements in 2008, this year came along and literally undid EVERYTHING they had fixed. Crime was amplified hugely, with a lot of focus on the police/ hospitals.

2010- Romance/ love triangles/ breakups become major themes, wrapped around the crime element, leaving little room for any other type of storyline, allowing illness and life threatening accidents ofcourse.

2011- The Braxtons sweep in and instantly take over, crime remains a major theme.

I had had enough by late 2010 and switched off before the Braxtons had even arrived, so whilst they are no doubt a nuisance (I can tell, from what I've seen/ read) , the problems I had with the show were already in full force before they even appeared. Which is why when the news breaks that they're all leaving, I will still steer clear of this show. The characters they've been introducing have been getting more and more like basic templates for ages now. I remember when April was on her way (and I was on my way out!) all the marketing team had to say was something along the lines of "She speaks french, has a unique fashion sense and cares for the environment"... with mentions of a sister who would appear a little later..... Given the opportunity, any new character I introduce would have alot more to be said about them than that!

I'd say the last character to be introduced well, with great dramatic/ light content and who left having grown/ developed naturally was Jazz Curtis back in 2008!

Then there's also the major shifts in production, axing the titles, changing the style of underscore, exterior locations swapping every few years, losing all but one of the original sets, not having the Summer Bay House/ Van park (the sandy, run down one) all things that once upon a time, were an important part of the show, lost gradually over the past 13 or so years.

I agree with you. Certainly from 2009 onwards, it has felt like Cameron Welsh and his crew were saying, "This is what we're going to be doing with the show, and it's just tough if you don't like it." It felt like they were trying to come up with yearly themes for the show. The mystery storyline didn't work, so they decided to have loads of romances and breakups. That didn't work either so they decided to try introducing some bad boys for the next year and have the show revolve around them. They became popular and so I feel they decided to keep the show based around them until the present day and not change the theme again. Home and Away is a soap opera and making 2009 all about the mystery storyline, 2010 all about romance and 2011 onwards about the River Boys doesn't really make it a proper soap opera. It just makes it into a police drama, a rom-com and a show like Underbelly respectively, if you just mainly focus on one element above others.

I also agree about the production shifts. Why do they keep changing the locations all the time? Roman's house, (interior and exterior), disappeared after Aden left,

and after Indi, Dex and April leave, I wouldn't be surprised if that's the last we see of the Farmhouse too.

I really wish that they had rebuilt Summer Bay House and its caravan park again, (the original one used for the first 14-15 years). I see no reason why they can't. They're happy to spend loads of money on car crashes, explosions, lots of different location shoots, (etc). And also, Neighbours spent a lot of money on their sets recently for continuity purposes. Why can't Home and Away follow suit?

They should definitely bring back the titles too. The excuse that we see more action without them is just rubbish because the show managed fine for its first 18 years when it had them in every single episode. The theme tune is iconic. There's people who will instantly be able to recognise and sing the theme tune even if they don't watch it.

[Homeandawayfan.]

I shall post my view of H&A. Yes it is Braxton orientated but I dont find it quite as ruined as some may do. Theree are still lovely beach scenes, beach babes being leered at by the River Boys etc and the John, Jet and his mates and Maz scenes, and any Flamin Galah scenes from flamin Alf. Jet and his mate remind me of the comedic pranks Jack Wilson and Sam used to get up to in the 1990s.

H&A is not far off having its 6000th episode and some may have to realise that the show has changed a lot since 17 January 1988 and it cannot remain stuck in the 1980s forever. The past can be seen through rose tinted glasses and I have watched H&A on and off since 1989 when it first aired over here. I have watched the show evolve. At leats it is good that 1989 is disliked by some and they dont see any H&A material more than 10 years old as flawless when it certainly wasn't.

It's interesting how a lot of those who disagree seem to think fans want the show to be like it was in the 1980's. No one does as far as I'm aware. But what they should be doing (Imo) is moving it forward whilst still retaining the same spirit the show had and the same basic premise. When people say 'it can't be like it was back in the 1980's' it doesn't help the situation because it's totally missing the point.

H&A was never just about beach scenes, babes and Alf routinely saying Flamin Galah. That's what the show is now. It used to have a certain charm about the show, which as someone else pointed out too, has been lost Imo. I agree with Andrew that this 'rot' started to set in around 2005 with the emphasis on plot focused Summer Bay. It seemed to really damage the flow of the series and it was never the same again, until Bevan Lee's 2008 stint. But at least it was still engaging at times and dramatic - it still had some of the original H&A elements.

Alexx I hope you dont mind me saying this but to me it seems you do seem to not read some posts properly before your reply to them. I never said H&A was all about beach scenes and Alf saying flamin galah. I am just saying what I feel about the modern day show.

[Light of the Bay]

alexx was only pointing out your claim that fans who are disillusioned with the current format of the show want it to revert back to the 1980's.

No one has said that. I hope a brave producer comes in and brings in new writers and look at each character from a fresh perspective - it'll do wonders for the show!