joany208121 Posted March 21, 2015 Report Posted March 21, 2015 Home and Away these days is very obviously biased towards a handful of characters as the central household, namely the Braxton/Barretts. The other characters, even the likes of Alf, Irene and Marilyn feel like supporting cast by comparison. A bit like when H&A started, it could be argued that Tom and Pippa, and the Fletcher household were the main characters. (I'm not suggesting the series revolved around them as much as it does around the Braxtons now, obviously back in the day, all characters got a look in). I completely agree, remember when teens had a problem (such as Blake Dean or Hayley Lawson) and they would confide in a elder cast member, either Irene or Alf of Ailsa. The teens used to display respect for them and always referred to them as "Mr Stewart" or "Mr fisher", but now I can only think of a few teens who have properly interacted with Alf, in the past 2 years. What is TPTB? TPTB = the powers that be. Which refer to the "head of the show"
Jacklost Posted March 21, 2015 Report Posted March 21, 2015 I think Neighbours is much stronger and a lot better then Home and Away right now. Neighbours had the disadvantage because it was moved to Channel 11 but it has risen from the ashes to be amazing. I am eager to watch every episode as it hooks me in. Something Home and Away has not done in a very long time. I also think because Neighbours uses social media to their advantage to get people to watch the show. Lately they have been posting daily behind the scene videos and special web only episodes like the back from the dead episodes which just increases their popularity. Home and Away would benefit from doing something like this as their Facebook group is kinda stale. I don´t get what people see in Neighbours, it looks so boring
cadyctslover Posted March 21, 2015 Report Posted March 21, 2015 I don´t get what people see in Neighbours, it looks so boring Looks so boring? I'm such a fan of your in-depth analysis. I think (and I can only speak for myself here) that I enjoy Neighbours because of the interesting storylines, unique characters, inherent humour and warmth. They also pay respect to the history of the show, and there is a visible effort from the producers to appeal to the fans. Kind of the opposite of Home and Away today.
CaptainHulk Posted March 21, 2015 Report Posted March 21, 2015 Each to his own but Neighbours is clearly superior in terms of continuity and storytelling at the minute. Hitting the reset button in 2013 did them a favor. It's time H&A did that, but a HARD reset.
Homeandawayfan. Posted March 21, 2015 Report Posted March 21, 2015 Neighbours is everything H&A isn't right now. H&A is just cold, bland and quite unwatchable. When I dip in it is another Braxton crime drama, someone being run over, boring love triangles, hospital visits, shouting and unbearable harsh background music. Lucy and Louise have ruined the show. They have zero interest in the history of the show. If they leave and the show hits the reset button it will be a long time before it fully recovers. Kidnappings in H&A years ago were isolated events such as Perez abducting Gypsy. He was a baddie who did his bit and then was off, he never hung around for years causing misery. And everyone interacted with everyone. The teens and oldies are segregated now.
Jacklost Posted March 21, 2015 Report Posted March 21, 2015 I don´t get what people see in Neighbours, it looks so boring Looks so boring? I'm such a fan of your in-depth analysis. I think (and I can only speak for myself here) that I enjoy Neighbours because of the interesting storylines, unique characters, inherent humour and warmth. They also pay respect to the history of the show, and there is a visible effort from the producers to appeal to the fans. Kind of the opposite of Home and Away today. Heh? It´s opinions, you think Neighbours is much better but i just think it´s a lame show, i think Home and Away is the best than it has been for years. I don´t get why everyone is hating on the Braxtons when they saved the show, would you rather want the show to be cancelled back then? Home and Away in 2010 was a disaster so it was perfect when the Braxtons arrived and made the show good again
Gerard Posted March 21, 2015 Report Posted March 21, 2015 I didn't realise the Braxtons saved Home and Away, or that Home and Away was actually in need of saving a few years ago. I'd say it needs saving moreso now than then! But I can see why the producers would have brought the Braxtons in, to try to inject something new and take things in a new direction. No doubt this won the series a lot of new fans, but equally many people will have given up as what was once a family drama turned into some sort of crime thriller. People watch for all sorts of different reasons, clearly the Braxtons appealed to some viewers, but I would hazard a guess that they didn't appeal so much to long-term viewers. Back in the day, as Homeandawayfan says, something like a kidnapping was a major exciting storyline. I remember myself being gripped by the Robert Perez plot at the time. But every time they do another kidnapping or stalker it seems weaker than before - less shocking. So to counteract this they have to up the ante, to the point where nowadays someone is almost always either at the hospital or police station due to some catastrophe or other. I'd be more shocked if, in the space of any fortnight, someone wasn't kidnapped, stalked or murdered, or (at the very least) lives were not in the balance!
jodlebirger Posted March 21, 2015 Report Posted March 21, 2015 I don´t get what people see in Neighbours, it looks so boring Looks so boring? I'm such a fan of your in-depth analysis. I think (and I can only speak for myself here) that I enjoy Neighbours because of the interesting storylines, unique characters, inherent humour and warmth. They also pay respect to the history of the show, and there is a visible effort from the producers to appeal to the fans. Kind of the opposite of Home and Away today. Heh? It´s opinions, you think Neighbours is much better but i just think it´s a lame show, i think Home and Away is the best than it has been for years. I don´t get why everyone is hating on the Braxtons when they saved the show, would you rather want the show to be cancelled back then? Home and Away in 2010 was a disaster so it was perfect when the Braxtons arrived and made the show good again Did you actually watch Home and away before 2010? You keep talking about the 2010 season and how bad it was, but you have never mentioned how H&A was before that season. 2010 season had a dip, but 2009 and earlier had as much viewers as it has today. And even more in 2008 and earlier. And the show had existed for 22 years before 2010.
Angelica Posted March 21, 2015 Report Posted March 21, 2015 Home and Away these days is very obviously biased towards a handful of characters as the central household, namely the Braxton/Barretts. The other characters, even the likes of Alf, Irene and Marilyn feel like supporting cast by comparison. A bit like when H&A started, it could be argued that Tom and Pippa, and the Fletcher household were the main characters. (I'm not suggesting the series revolved around them as much as it does around the Braxtons now, obviously back in the day, all characters got a look in). Anyway, if several more of the current Braxton household were to leave at some point, the producers have two options (as with any character leaving): 1. Replace like for like - so introduce very similar characters to those who are departing. This minimises altering the look and feel of the series, so it carries on with as little disruption as possible. 2. Introduce fresh characters who are very different and will take the storylines in a new direction. It depends what TPTB want to do. A cast turnover is a good opportunity to refresh the series, but if they feel the current formula is successful, it would be less of a risk to go for the safe option (option 1). So if/when the Braxton/Barretts leave, there is no guarantee that the same crime drama storylines will not continue with a new set of "gangsters". I guess time will tell, but given the nature of soaps, they are bound to alter the formula eventually. Agreed. The problem was not so much the fact that the Braxtons were brought in at all, but the fact that they have been allowed to dominate the show to the extent that all other characters are marginalised in comparison. I think the thing is that when they first came in, they added a bit of excitement, by adding in some tension with pre-existing characters. But the problem was that the longer that the Braxtons stayed, and the more regularly criminality occurred to the point where it became normal, the worst things have gotten. People are committing murder in Summer Bay with no repercussions, crime is being perpetrated regularly with no repercussions. It means that any crime storyline just feels redundant, and loses any potential shock factor.
jodlebirger Posted March 21, 2015 Report Posted March 21, 2015 this is a copy of something I wrote back in 2013. I am copying and pasting it, because this information is no longer available on Tvtonight.com: "I have done a quick research of ratings in week 36 in three different years: 2009, 2010 and 2013. Source is the tvtonight.com.au site. 2009 Monday 1 241 000 (rank 5) Tuesday 1 263 000 ( rank 7) Wednesday 1 203 000 (rank 7) Thursday 1 125 000 (rank 6) 2010 Monday 1 013 000 (rank 10) Tuesday 1 106 000 (rank 10) Wednesday 1 035 000 (rank 13) Thursday 998 000 (rank 9) 2013 Monday 992 000 ( rank 7) Tuesday 952 000 (rank 9) Wednesday 943 000 (rank 6) Thursday 901 000 (rank 7)" And then I add the rating numbers for Wednesday 11th March, the last day with information on TVtonight.com: HOME AND AWAY Network 7 .........878,000 I know that the viewers numbers aren't that high as it was some years ago, but H&A was ranked as number 8 on March 11th... in Australia. And that is about the same as in 2009 and in 2013... So I don't understand that the Braxtons have saved the show...
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