Homeandawayfan. Posted October 26, 2014 Report Posted October 26, 2014 When H&A first began it was a breath of fresh air and due to the location, had many more location scenes than Neighbours did and more locations were featured, it had a much sunnier feel to it than Neighbours which was still a bit twee. In 1988 H&A had a great location and good quality, in 2014 the quality is low even if the nice location is there. I think Neighbours is now out of the ratings battle so can do what it likes whereas H&A relies on big ratings and has to have high drama. I think they may bring in a new criminal family when the Braxton domination dies down, perhaps as a rival to Andy or something.
TelephotoMarigold Posted October 27, 2014 Report Posted October 27, 2014 This discussion keeps going round in circles. Bottom line is for the folks who can't stand to watch it, Home and Away has been ruined by the producers (and writers). Bottom line is for the folks who can only watch a bit of it then it has been ruined. There is no way of going back in time and fixing things. If they did the Fletcher's or the Sunderland's or the Hunter storylines again then that would just be a repeat of what has already been seen and it wouldn't please everyone anyway. When the Braxton's leave they will be replaced with similar characters because of their popularity with a certain demographic of fans. If enough people shout that they want something then why should writers or producers change anything? The storylines and casting of characters are going to repeat until they eventually realise that they've backed themselves into a corner. Those that really care for the show will have moved on by then along with transient viewers who have only tuned in for specific actors.
Homeandawayfan. Posted October 27, 2014 Report Posted October 27, 2014 In that case I might as well switch off watching any more future episodes of H&A for good and just concentrate on the now golden soap, Neighbours. To finish off, I dont like what the producers have done to the show that was once my fave show in my schooldays in the late 1980s and 1990s.
TelephotoMarigold Posted October 27, 2014 Report Posted October 27, 2014 Switch off then. Or you know, fight for it. Write to the Producers and the Network and tell THEM what you want from Home and Away ... and WHY. Tell them how you can't watch any more crime stories. That it is a soap and even if they do things in moderation it can still be dramatic. Start a survey and get proper statistics to back up your views. Get together with others who feel like you do, or just want things to change and start a revolution... Use social media to express what is going on and see how many join in... Be polite, be concise and give reasons. Or.... just switch off. But if you choose to switch off be prepared for people to label you disloyal ... a Braxton-hater.... and other things.
Bobby Forever Missed Posted October 27, 2014 Report Posted October 27, 2014 But if you choose to switch off be prepared for people to label you disloyal ... a Braxton-hater.... and other things. I switched off in 2011 and have been called a Braxton hater had comments deleted off the FB and been trolled and I really don't care if Lucy and Louise want to lose the long term viewers that's fine but WE made the show popular to start off with and now they are just pandering to the teeny bops! it is a pathetic excuse for a show nowadays!
-Andrew- Posted October 27, 2014 Report Posted October 27, 2014 I don't think a television show is the kind of thing you can 'fight for', unless a show has been axed of course. All the network will care about is viewing figures/ money, which is understandable because that is what television is all about, it is a business. If H&A is still bringing in the viewers/ money, they will see no need for change. So the only chance of things significantly changing is with a massive drop in viewing figures and even then, the first restoration point they will turn to will be the beginning of the popular, though not to be confused with 'acclaimed', Braxton era. They won't even bother looking at what was popular in the 80's/ 90's because it won't be deemed relevant. I guess a producer who really fights for writing quality could make a great deal of difference, but then it'll probably still be the same sort of show it is now, just less crap somehow. The turnaround in Neighbours is a different story. The difference between 1991 and 2011 was like some 10 Million+ viewers. It went from massively popular, to massively unpopular and it was ridiculed even by those who stuck with it. So when the show fell to pieces, the obvious place to go looking for inspiration was the popular years, which luckily for fans could be any period between 1986- 2004, when the show was arguably of a consistently good quality.
TelephotoMarigold Posted October 27, 2014 Report Posted October 27, 2014 Of course you can fight for a show. We live in the age of social media campaigns that put people in touch with each other even though they live at opposite sides of the globe. And no, if your fight is balanced, rational and backed up by evidence like survey statistics then it has to have some influence. Basically we can all sit here and moan about how bad it is or we can do something....
-Andrew- Posted October 27, 2014 Report Posted October 27, 2014 But the show is very much 'alive' in terms of ratings, publicity and popularity, so they have no incentive to listen. The entire genre of the show has gradually shifted over the past decade and the fan base has almost completely 'refreshed' in that time. For every fan that disliked the new format and abandoned it, is a person who loves it (for reasons unknown ) As long as there is an audience there, lapping it up, they will not care. Home and Away has been the way it is for 5+ years, and even for 5 years before that, it was pretty rubbish, plot-driven fluff, with the occasional good moment/ storyline. So I'd say the damage is mostly done by now. I just think it is best to just drop the show if you don't like it anymore. The early years is there for those who are after a mostly well-written and entertaining version of Summer Bay, and with like 1,300 consecutive episodes available, there's already 10x as much content as you would get from any other drama series.
TelephotoMarigold Posted October 27, 2014 Report Posted October 27, 2014 If you think that then maybe you should check out the ratings. Compared to 2008 figures only a few episodes have reached the same peak of numbers. Promos and publicity are biased towards certain characters who have a finite timespan remaining with the show. You can easily check out the people on this forum who have already stopped watching the show as certain characters leave and those who have stated that they will stop viewing altogether when the last are set to leave. Sure, continue watching the 'Early Years' ad nauseum to get your fix of drama but surely there are only so many times you can view those episodes before you know them off by heart. Or you could even migrate to Neighbours. And you know it's never going to be the show it was all those years ago but it can certainly improve on where it is now.
cadyctslover Posted October 27, 2014 Report Posted October 27, 2014 I have the same attitude towards the show as I did with Neighbours circa 2010. I can't believe it will get any worse/insult me any more as a viewer, but I stick around in the blind hope that one day some producers will be hired that know what they're doing. As has been discussed multiple times now, that's not going to happen any time soon on H&A so I'm close to giving up.
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