Are the current producers ruining Home and Away?

[Homeandawayfan.]

Cannot wait. It shows there is always hope and H&A can be saved and I feel closer to the 2 Aussie shows since meeting Jason Donovan and Nicola Quilter last year. Even thought H&A is going through a blip I will stick by it. No show can last for almost 30 years and not have low points as well as highs.

Just need Lucy Addario to decide it is time to move on and maybe produce Underbelly where she can have as many crimes as she wants, as Home And Away is not the place for them. Dan Bennett may soon be producer in a few years.

[alexx]

I didn't like what Dan Bennett did to the show in 2005-2007 (pretty much changed the format completely and it went from character driven, Summer Bay vibes to plot plot plot) however, it was addictive to watch and I do think that it was a lot more enjoyable than what's been produced these days. He also did quite a few things right like giving Sally a rightly deserved push to the forefront and spreading out the drama so that all of the characters got a look in.

It has been ten years so he's probably matured as a writer/producer so it will certainly be interesting to see what he comes up with. But I think I'm going to wait and see what happens before feeling like H&A will be 'saved'.

[Matt]

Thanks for the info Matt .

Is that correct, Dan Bennett is going to become Script Producer, taking over from Gary Sewell? Or will he become Series Script Executive taking over from Louise Bowes?

This gives me a timeline of when to start watching again!

Sorry, you're correct! Dan is The Series Script Executive, taking over from Louise. He has complete control over the story lining of the show.

[Spinach]

I agree with alexx. I'm surprised that Dan Bennett's return is being greeted with such enthusiasm as I feel that his previous tenure was when things started to go wrong. It was certainly a new and exciting approach - and it was OK to start off with (I loved 2005, for example) - but by 2006 it was just exhausting. But, as alexx also said, he has more experience now - so perhaps the balance will be better this time around.

[downy2009]

Whilst watching the arrival of the new character, Billie, it struck me that this programme just does not like female characters. Almost immediately, she attempts to seduce the dreamboat that is Kyle, without knowing a single thing about him - he just happens to be in the living room, when she first meets him, and ends up spending the night with him. Immediately, she is being defined by her relationship with a man. Her first important scenes are to sleep with a Braxton - she is now an appendix to the Braxtons, to be used by the producers and writers to produce more "drama" for this family.

Looking back at the repulsive Heath, when he was on his stag in Melbourne, he decides to sleep with a random barmaid, because he had a fight with the odious Bianca. Once again, the female character is used to bring drama to the Braxtons. But it gets worse - instead of coming back with a nasty STD, which in reality is much more likely, the barmaid turns up in Summer Bay pregnant and conveniently dies so we can see how wonderful Heath really is whilst bringing up baby.

We have had an insane teacher who, quite rationally, believed she should have been Principal of Summer Bay High rather than the gangster's moll, Bianca. So, instead of challenging this through "The Department", she tries to blow everyone up instead. Last year, tthe doctor rejects his wife and she then tries to commit mass murder too. It goes on and on and on - but the immediate characterisation of the new female, Billie, has really, really angered me

[kmp1963]

Whilst watching the arrival of the new character, Billie, it struck me that this programme just does not like female characters. Almost immediately, she attempts to seduce the dreamboat that is Kyle, without knowing a single thing about him - he just happens to be in the living room, when she first meets him, and ends up spending the night with him. Immediately, she is being defined by her relationship with a man. Her first important scenes are to sleep with a Braxton - she is now an appendix to the Braxtons, to be used by the producers and writers to produce more "drama" for this family.

Looking back at the repulsive Heath, when he was on his stag in Melbourne, he decides to sleep with a random barmaid, because he had a fight with the odious Bianca. Once again, the female character is used to bring drama to the Braxtons. But it gets worse - instead of coming back with a nasty STD, which in reality is much more likely, the barmaid turns up in Summer Bay pregnant and conveniently dies so we can see how wonderful Heath really is whilst bringing up baby.

We have had an insane teacher who, quite rationally, believed she should have been Principal of Summer Bay High rather than the gangster's moll, Bianca. So, instead of challenging this through "The Department", she tries to blow everyone up instead. Last year, tthe doctor rejects his wife and she then tries to commit mass murder too. It goes on and on and on - but the immediate characterisation of the new female, Billie, has really, really angered me

Thank you for putting so well, what has been my biggest problem with the show for the last four years, their portrayal of women.

I have been angry about the violence and the crime. But the mysoginism the show has been full of, was the biggest concern I have.

[cadyctslover]

I didn't like what Dan Bennett did to the show in 2005-2007 (pretty much changed the format completely and it went from character driven, Summer Bay vibes to plot plot plot) however, it was addictive to watch and I do think that it was a lot more enjoyable than what's been produced these days. He also did quite a few things right like giving Sally a rightly deserved push to the forefront and spreading out the drama so that all of the characters got a look in.

It has been ten years so he's probably matured as a writer/producer so it will certainly be interesting to see what he comes up with. But I think I'm going to wait and see what happens before feeling like H&A will be 'saved'.

I agree with alexx. I'm surprised that Dan Bennett's return is being greeted with such enthusiasm as I feel that his previous tenure was when things started to go wrong. It was certainly a new and exciting approach - and it was OK to start off with (I loved 2005, for example) - but by 2006 it was just exhausting. But, as alexx also said, he has more experience now - so perhaps the balance will be better this time around.

I think I'm mostly relieved to see the back of Louise Bowes, as I think her story-lining and characterisation has been more damaging to the show than Dan's stint between 2005 and 2006 ever could have been.

I am also optimistic that Dan has matured and that this will be reflected in his influence on the show this time around.

[kmp1963]

I am currently hanging on by the fingertips as far as sticking with the show.

Having enjoyed the ANZAC story, the current Braxton centric rubbish is just more of what made me switch off two years ago.

Its only the knowledge that Dan's tenure starts takeing place in just over a month, that is keeping my fingers off the remote right now.

[cadyctslover]

I stopped a while back and now Dan's return is the only reason I have to catch up with the show again. I might start a few weeks before 6216 to see if there is a marked improvement as Dan moves in.

[TelephotoMarigold]

I pointed this out to Lisa Gormley on twitter when she stated that she was "proud" of her character Bianca punching Heath at their aborted wedding when she found out he was unfaithful and there were numerous other occasions when she slapped him. If it had been the other way around and Heath was hitting her we would immediately be shouting about domestic violence.

Woman are just stereotypes on H&A. They have to hook up with random guys they have nothing in common and are repeatedly pushed to conform as though strong confident women have no place in Summer Bay and cannot exist outside a relationship.

Until the writing changes there won't be anything different.