Are the current producers ruining Home and Away?

[Pacer]

When the Braxton's leave they will be replaced with similar characters because of their popularity with a certain demographic of fans.

They've already been replaced. Andy and Josh were obviously designed 'River Boy' replacements as soon as they entered the Bay, they are their contingency plan. That's why they Barretted Casey, to align them with the Braxtons and cement their status. It's like they took the worst traits of Brax and Heath and stuck them in Andy, and Casey's worst traits ended up as Josh. I actually love the Braxton's unlike most here in this thread but I would appreciate fresh meat instead of recycling similar characters, let them stand on their own two feet. I find Andy and Josh to be poorer characters because of it.

As Emmasi asked recently in the episode thread, are there any River Boys left in Mangrove River?

In terms of the question about repeating storylines. I have no issue with this and would expect a show that has been running for over 20 years to keep touching on similar topics that have been touched on before. I think it's a major issue when they rehash the same thing that was done the year before, or bring in a new characters very similar to one still there. As long as it's done well I don't think many would care how many storms, murders, marriages, cults, explosions etc occur. As long as it's done well and not too soon after the previous storyline/character. But then as Telephoto pointed out, why would they fix what isn't broken? I think it's a shame to get bogged down and to keep around a similar characters and rehash the same storylines just because it's currently popular. They need to mix it up, take chances and keep moving forward. If they hadn't taken a chance with the River Boys they wouldn't have had that surge of popularity they saw during the heights of the Braxton era. Although I may have enjoyed it even I can only take so much, and now we're in the twilight of that era we're piling in new River Boys to take up the load. It's time to move onwards.

That said I still think it's main issues are lack of continuity, rushed storylines and lack of community/friendship.

[LondonF4]

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.

Why do people think Neighbours is out of the ratings battle? I know its not on a major TV channel any more down under but it's surely very much in the ratings battle on Five. If you keep up with the ratings published on digital spy it's doing so much better than H&A with the gap widening. Surely that must tell H&A something. Or is it that the Braxton's work on one side of the world and not the other and it's only Australia that matters to them?

[gutterboy]

Factions of fans claiming ownership of the show and trying to force people to make it the way they want is not a good route to go down.Everyone has different ideas on what makes shows good and it's reminiscent of the Doctor Who fans of the 80s who went from hailing a new producer like the saviour to publishing hate pamphlets.(Yes, people were saying that Cameron Welsh was ruining the show.And Dan Bennett before him.)As far as I can see the choices fans dissatisfied with the current show are decide they don't like it anymore and stop watching; keep watching it in the hope it will get better; or accept the show's changed and find something to enjoy in the way it is now.

We aren't just making up any ol ideas for what we want the show to be like and then getting annoyed when it doesn't happen........ we just want our show back, what it was before the current excuse for a show it has become.

Not sure if he is a permanent character or not, but looks like the bad boy trend isn't stopping with two of the river boys having left and now surprise surprise another one enters the bay.

[Homeandawayfan.]

Home And Away is 27 in January 2015, then it is just 3 years from reaching its 30th birthday. It has one of the richest histories of any soap and I find the shows history very compelling even under its more dire moments like it has been in the past 4/5 years. But many people now are very unhappy with the way the show is going. I still watch casually and it actually does have some episodes where nothing much happens and focuses on characters like Palmer, Marilyn, Irene, Alf and Roo. But when it has a Braxton centric ep or a MacGuire episode it is doom and gloom and sloppy writing. And I agree about lack of character development especially with Nate, Oscar, Josh, Andy etc.

[Red Ranger 1]

I agree with some of what's been said but not all of it.Andy is a disaster of a character who should never have been kept on but I don't think that means that every character who's a bit dodgy has "probably done drugs":The characters that do drugs are the respectable ones like Romeo and April, not people like Josh, who aside from misplaced loyalty to his brother is pretty much a law-abiding citizen, or Kyle, who managed to recover from a terrible introductory storyline to become a relatively "normal" person.I think what they were trying to do with Brax was bring him in as an antagonist and then have him turn good, probably is they kind of messed it up or maybe were victims of their own success as he never really moved away from the crime storylines.(Maybe someone was trying to make the point that once you're part of that world it's hard to get out of it, but that possibly suggests too much thought.)Phoebe is a pointless character, an aggravation who we're meant to believe is somehow good for Kyle even though he seems as annoyed by her as everyone else, and who quickly fell into line with the Braxtons:The scene of her threatening Chris, who's meant to be her friend, would have been her nadir if there weren't so many to choose from and frustratingly was never followed up on.Nate is a very pointless character, although he's maybe improving.Sasha, frankly, should have left with her family, she's just wandering aimlessly around the show taking screentime from other characters.

Spencer did show potential but the bipolar was a clear sign things had gone wrong, sticking him with an "issue" that would inevitably be ignored once the storyline was okay.Maddy I actually really like. "Who many guys has she had?"I dunno, two?Depends how you count them.Definitely less than Sasha and way less than Casey's had girls.

Her being pregnant could either be really good or really terrible.

Oscar has potential once he got over his anger issues at the beginning of the year and is definitely more than a cutprice Dex.Chris is genuinely funny and endearing and has one of the best relationships with Irene we've seen in a long time.Zac, despite a horrible period when he became an emotional punchbag for the vile Hannah and Evelyn, continues to be a decent, likable everyman character.Hannah got killed stone dead by being paired with Andy and will require a lot of resuscitating.Evelyn I've completely given up on:Like Andy, every time you think there might be a decent human being in there she reminds us what she's really like, and after a period of deciding she wanted any more that spoke to her she finally settled on Maddy's boyfriend, which messed Josh's character up to and feels like someone being desperate to drag the MacGuires into the Braxton/Barrett storylines.It's notable that all three women in that family hooked up with the three Barrett brothers completely out of nowhere, which really did Denny's character a disservice after she initially showed promise.

I did say when Marilyn came back that she was too iconic a character to change and that is a weakness up to a point but I think she just has a naturally young personality.Her, John and Jett have potential as a unit but need better direction.While there's an overarching storyline in there, they mostly seem to get thin two episode storylines, and there's an occasional tendency to portray Marilyn as in the right when she's not (ie changing her mind about moving in with John and not giving an explanation).

VJ has been hopelessly miscast and it's wrecked the character's history.

Leah...well, pairing her with Zac isn't the worst decision they could make and might give her something to do for a bit but she needs more than a succession of temporary romantic partners. It might be controversial but if they can't think of a role for her she might as well be written out.She might have been in the show a long time but she's a bit too bland to be a truly iconic character like Alf and Irene.

[Gerard]

I see this discussion is a year old now. I went back and re-read James's first post, and really not much has improved with the show since then. It still seems to revolve around the Braxtons and their associates. Brax is still the hero. We still have an emphasis on crime and wrong-doing which usually goes unpunished. The older cast, Irene, Alf, Roo, and to a lesser extent Marilyn and Leah, may as well not exist. I do find myself agreeing with a lot of the current analysis of individual characters and storylines.

On the bright side H&A seems to generally re-invent itself every 5 years or so: Tom & Pippa, Pippa & Michael, Nashes, Sutherlands, Sally & Flynn, er..., Braxtons.

While H&A has changed from the familiy-centric days, it is still watchable though maybe not as enjoyable, but many of the current characters feel weak and one-dimensional compared to the characters of past eras. There is potential for some good characters among the current cast, but a lot of them seem to be consigned to repeating the same storyline time after time, whether it is a love triangle, or criminal (or at least shady) activity. Take some of the current chracters and trying to be true to the character, put them in a situation that would challenge them (in a good way).

Hopefully at some point, sooner rather than later, H&A will evolve again into something that those of us who aren't too fond of the current era will enjoy. Surely the series can't be stuck in this current rut forever?

[gutterboy]

My next question is....

When are the Braxtons going to buy the Gelato Bar!? They forced Angelo out of his own restaurant, then invaded their way into the Gym as employees, but since the departure of Heath and Casey they had to keep the Braxtons involved with that business by Brax of course buying it of Indie. Next up they will buy the Gelato Bar of John so he can get some money for his holiday lol and they will own everything inside the surf club......... hey Irene - is the Diner for sale? What about the Bait Shop Alf!? Caravan Park too? LOL

[Jezz]

There's no doubt that the current show has some problems and I can't say it's perfect by any means. I've always liked the Braxtons but now they've become stale especially with Heath and Casey gone now and they either need to go or be re-invented as characters especially since they've been the forefront of the show since 2011. I don't mind Andy and Josh but they need to change the way they write about them rather than letting them go into this direction of being Braxton replacements. The Braxton brothers have always had a unique bond no matter how flawed they have been so I can't see how Andy and Josh would successfully replace this.

Most characters are dull these days like Spencer, Maddy, Zac, Hannah, Nate and Phoebe for example. It doesn't necessarily mean I hate all of them but they're all too one-dimensional these days to be exciting to watch.

There are characters with great potential if the producers head down the right path with them in terms of storylines and character progression and such characters include Matt, Oscar, Jett, John, Chris and Sasha. The old timers like Alf, Irene, Leah, Marilyn and Roo all need better exposure and more storylines to grab older viewers again and not just the occasional storyline but consistent storylines that make them the forefront of the show in the future.

It may sound silly but I feel like I have this unwavering loyalty towards the show hence I've never tuned out or stopped watching it before but to say it's struggling at the moment would be a fair assessment of things. I've watched the show long enough to understand that it's not in a great state but I always hope that with time it will evolve and become a better show of the future.

It will be interesting to see how it transpires.

[hward]

There's no doubt that the current show has some problems and I can't say it's perfect by any means. I've always liked the Braxtons but now they've become stale especially with Heath and Casey gone now and they either need to go or be re-invented as characters especially since they've been the forefront of the show since 2011. I don't mind Andy and Josh but they need to change the way they write about them rather than letting them go into this direction of being Braxton replacements. The Braxton brothers have always had a unique bond no matter how flawed they have been so I can't see how Andy and Josh would successfully replace this.

Most characters are dull these days like Spencer, Maddy, Zac, Hannah, Nate and Phoebe for example. It doesn't necessarily mean I hate all of them but they're all too one-dimensional these days to be exciting to watch.

There are characters with great potential if the producers head down the right path with them in terms of storylines and character progression and such characters include Matt, Oscar, Jett, John, Chris and Sasha. The old timers like Alf, Irene, Leah, Marilyn and Roo all need better exposure and more storylines to grab older viewers again and not just the occasional storyline but consistent storylines that make them the forefront of the show in the future.

It may sound silly but I feel like I have this unwavering loyalty towards the show hence I've never tuned out or stopped watching it before but to say it's struggling at the moment would be a fair assessment of things. I've watched the show long enough to understand that it's not in a great state but I always hope that with time it will evolve and become a better show of the future.

It will be interesting to see how it transpires.

I feel the same about it, especially the last bit. I feel as though it's got to the point where I want to switch off but I'm stubbornly refusing to in the hope that the next episode I watch is going to be a miraculous return to the H&A I used to love so much. But I'm even looking forward to the season finale so I can have a break from watching. Even last hear seemed a whole lot better than this year has been.

[Jezz]

I agree that the show was better than last year. I guess I'm hoping that the show improves and we may see a good finale coming up.

As I always say, I'm always eager to see how the show evolves over time hence I never stop watching it even if the quality or standard may warrant such an action.