Are there too many 20/early 30 somethings now?

[adam436]

Does anyone else think there are too many 20something and early30something characters in the show now? 

We have Ash, Tori, Justin, Brody, Mason, Robbo, Jasmine, Willow, Dean and Colby, plus Ziggy (who is only 20, but clearly looks much older and is dating Brody). On top of those nine, we also Olivia and Hunter, who are recent school leavers, but clearly look older than their characters too that a casual viewer could mistake them for 20somethings.

In comparison, we now only have 3 school-aged teens (Raffy, Coco, Ryder), which must be close to being a record low for the show.. 

 

The show has clearly evolved (with the shift of focus from teenagers to this age group), which is fair enough if that's the direction TPTB want to go, but a number of these characters are two-dimensional and underdeveloped. There is also only so much the writers can do with a large group of characters the same age, which is why we get the constant love triangles and relationship-merry-go-rounds. I think it's been a developing problem in the last 2 years or so, around the time we lost Maddy, Oscar, Josh and Skye in quick succession and VJ morphed from a sweet innocent kid into a 20something widower and single dad. 

 

I never used to feel that there were "too many teens" back in the day when the show was dominated by them, perhaps because it was more character driven back then or maybe because the premise of the show was about teens and children. I also think the pre-Braxton eras tended to have a balanced focus (i.e. every character had a "fair go" with major storylines), whereas now the older characters are basically glorified extras. 

[KKB]

Yes I agree there are too many older people now miss the good old days of teens

[Luke39]

Ziggy looks just hear age imo. I don't think she looks that much older then 20. 

You do have a point though. The show is dominated predominantly by late teens e.t.c. But that is clearly the focus tptb want to go in. Shows original premise was centred around fostering. Don't really have that aspect atm. But like you said. A lot of the current characters are under-developed and one dimensional. Justin imo is the most developed Morgan. So I also don't think its just because their is a lack of balance. Its also not character driven as it was pre 2008. 

[joany208121]

I think this issue is also down to the fact that the ages are extremely ambiguous, and as a result all the characters are clumped together. Justin is supposed to be 34, yet hangs around with Willow who is 27 (with Dean and Colby the same age). Ben and Maggie are also in their late 30s , and Leah is the same age awell, but, they seem to be aged up in a group with Roo and Maz, unlike Justin. 

Willow and Justin didn't even raise an eyebrow at the fact he's ten years older with a kid, as opposed to your Cassie and Henk or Don and Maz storylines. 

Similarly, storylines about friendships with age gaps, like Colleen and Max, or what Leah and Irene previously were worked well as they were based on the mature one receiving advice and the younger one teaching the other new things. But because ages or groups aren't as clear as they have previously been mean that we don't understand who characters are and where they fit in. 

[j.laur5]

7 hours ago, joany208121 said:

I think this issue is also down to the fact that the ages are extremely ambiguous, and as a result all the characters are clumped together. Justin is supposed to be 34, yet hangs around with Willow who is 27 (with Dean and Colby the same age). Ben and Maggie are also in their 30s, and Leah is the same age awell, but, they seem to be aged up in a group with Roo and Maz, unlike Justin. 

Willow and Justin didn't even raise an eyebrow at the fact he's ten years older with a kid, as opposed to your Cassie and Henk or Don and Maz storylines. 

Similarly, storylines about friendships with age gaps, like Colleen and Max, or what Leah and Irene previously were worked well as they were based on the mature one receiving advice and the younger one teaching the other new things. But because ages or groups aren't as clear as they have previously been mean that we don't understand who characters are and where they fit in. 

I think Ben and Maggie and Leah are early 40s. 

[Matt]

16 hours ago, j.laur5 said:

I think Ben and Maggie and Leah are early 40s. 

Nope, they’ll all be 39 at the end of this year...

[jakeyy.]

Ben and Maggie had Ziggy at 19

[adam436]

Interestingly, Neighbours is going the same way. They barely have a central gang at the moment and have teens from various ages (Yashvi, Xanthe/Piper and Jimmy/Kirsha) as opposed to a central "gang" and have an oversupply of 20somethings, which results in endless love trianges and hookups because they have more characters than they do storylines for that age group.

[Homeandawayfan.]

Neighbours and H&A are both just knackered and old. Over 30 years of air time is taking its toll. In 1988 they both catered more for all ages but today they are just all about babes, hunks and totty. I do feel they are overloaded with 20-30 year old characters. 1988 has many youngsters in it (more so than older characters) but they interacted with the older ones and the older ones mentored them.

In 1993 for example, Neighbours and H&A were in their prime and were at their peak. In 2018, 25 years on, they are like what Elsie Tanner said in the first ever ep of Corrie, "Ready for the knacker's yard".

[adam436]

You have a fair point there about the wider interactions. The original teens would interact with all the adults and not just Tom and Pippa. I think there might have been a few exceptions (i.e. Celia and Morag), but they would talk to Ailsa, Alf, Neville, Floss etc. as well as Tom and Pippa. 

The show was more character driven back then, whereas now it is largely, if not solely, plot driven. The same could be said for Neighbours.