Ranking the deaths

[adam436]

So I just watched a video on YouTube, which ranks the Neighbours deaths and had a little bit of a discussion about each one, so I thought I'd generate a similar discussion here. I've not watched much of H&A after 2005, so I've only included everything before Flynn, but I'd love to know what everyone else thinks. 

I've also ranked the deaths based on the actual episodes/moments themselves, rather than how much I liked the character. 

 

 

1. Flynn Saunders - I actually stopped watching the show a few months earlier, but tuned in for this one. This had me in tears, especially his final goodbye to little Pippa and Alf. I had zero interest in Ric and Cassie, but I loved the performances by Kate, Joel and Ray. A very emotional episode and it had me in tears, despite having not seen most of the cancer storyline leading up to this episodes. 

2. Ken Smith - Never really a fan of the character, but the death was very well done. Anthony Phelan and Zac Drayson knocked those scenes out of the park and the moment when Irene is told has stayed with me forever. 

3. Bobby Simpson - a classic character and a classic death scene. So much drama came out of her death though, such as Morag's return, Greg's departure and Adam's guilt/the town turning on him. Her death was felt by nearly every character, which is why I ranked it so high, but I do think, in the long-term, it's a shame she had to die when her onscreen husband departed a few weeks later. The three Marshalls could have left as a family, which meant Nicole Dickson could have popped up every now again like her foster siblings did.

4. Tom Fletcher - the most major character to die. I have very little to say here and I think it is marred by the behind-the-scenes rumours that it wasn't Roger's choice to go. A great death scene, but it felt a bit too OTT for me. He could have had the heart attack without the big car accident. I felt like Pippa moved on too quickly, which probably didn't help with the change of actress. 

5. Michael Ross - another classic scene and I actually think his death had a bigger long-term impact on Pippa than what Tom's did. This is the first time a major "disaster" storyline actually resulted in a regular's death. Never liked the character, but the scenes immediately after his death were really said and Steven and the foster kids played those scenes well. 

6. Stephanie Mboto - a short-term regular, but her death had a profound effect on me. I started watching the show when I was about 7, and this was the first major death for me. The scene where Stephanie falls and Liam screams has stayed with me forever, as has the moment where Travis is informed. Her death had very little long-term impact though and like most teens, could easily have been written out another way. 

7. Shane Parrish - the montage where everyone is told is sad, but I can't stand Melissa George, and this was all about Angel. Angel had also moved on within a few weeks and left the show, so there was no long-term impact there. 

8. Phil Matheson - an unofficial regular so I've included him, Phil's death provided so much drama. Despite not having an actual on-screen death scene (or even a "this is the last time we'll see him" scene), the episodes were really well done. The Fletchers and Bobby were amazing when they believed it was Frank's body and then the shock realisation that it was Phil really hit Steven had. There was a great knock-on affect too, including the Dodge stuff and Roo's boyfriend being framed. 

9. Noah Lawson - I never understood why Noah had to die, as he and Hayley only got back together a few months before. The siege episodes were really well done, but his actual death was over and done with really quickly. It was the storyline that initially brought Kit back to the show as a semi-regular too, which was always a good thing

10. Ailsa Stewart - enough has been said on this one in other threads, but it felt too quick for one of the show's longest serving (and one of my all-time favourite!) characters. Her death felt like the end of an era, when you take into account the other changes of the show, so maybe TPTB wanted to just move on as quickly as possible. The actual death scene didn't bother me so much, since it was more realistic than most we've had, it was more the way the aftermath was dealt with that let this one down. 

11. Charlotte Adams - another character who had zero reason to die. She was already planning to leave to work in Vietnam, Jude left a few months earlier, she had few close relationships to really grieve for her and she was hardly a popular character that her death was going to have fans in tears. I had nothing against the character, she was just very forgettable and it was a really odd decision to kill her off. 

12. Chloe Richards - This one makes me really angry and, having wavering loyalty for a few years at this point, was the moment where I finally gave up watching for good. The producers brought back a classic character just to die and then send another regular character to prison for killing her (I couldn't stand Jesse in his second stint, but it was unnecessary). Other than Jesse's exit, there was no immediate long-term impact. At the time, I thought the long-term plan might have been to set up Olivia as another foster child for Sally and Flynn or Irene, but she too quickly left within a few weeks of her death. As Kristy Wright had returned for this stint, who's to say she didn't want to return again over the years, so it's a shame that opportunity was lost. Even during Olivia's 2015-2018 stint there were missed opportunities, such as bringing back Jesse, Diana or James to cause some drama. 

 

I couldn't include Josh West, Beth, Dan, Jack Holden, Belle, Charlotte, Gina, Romeo, Casey, Denny, Oscar, Hannah, Billie and Kat, as I've not seen those episodes, but someone who has seen everything might want to give their rankings

[j.laur5]

I never like off screen deaths like Beth and Dan .

[jrobertshk]

Flynn's death was probably one of the best ever episodes. Noah's was good too and the mini storyline that followed with his ghost. Off-screen deaths; Beth and Dan are terrible and the characters deserved more, especially Beth. 

 

On 25/05/2019 at 05:20, adam436 said:

So I just watched a video on YouTube, which ranks the Neighbours deaths and had a little bit of a discussion about each one, so I thought I'd generate a similar discussion here. I've not watched much of H&A after 2005, so I've only included everything before Flynn, but I'd love to know what everyone else thinks. 

I've also ranked the deaths based on the actual episodes/moments themselves, rather than how much I liked the character. 

 

 

12. Chloe Richards - This one makes me really angry and, having wavering loyalty for a few years at this point, was the moment where I finally gave up watching for good. The producers brought back a classic character just to die and then send another regular character to prison for killing her (I couldn't stand Jesse in his second stint, but it was unnecessary). Other than Jesse's exit, there was no immediate long-term impact. At the time, I thought the long-term plan might have been to set up Olivia as another foster child for Sally and Flynn or Irene, but she too quickly left within a few weeks of her death. As Kristy Wright had returned for this stint, who's to say she didn't want to return again over the years, so it's a shame that opportunity was lost. Even during Olivia's 2015-2018 stint there were missed opportunities, such as bringing back Jesse, Diana or James to cause some drama. 

 

I couldn't include Josh West, Beth, Dan, Jack Holden, Belle, Charlotte, Gina, Romeo, Casey, Denny, Oscar, Hannah, Billie and Kat, as I've not seen those episodes, but someone who has seen everything might want to give their rankings

I completely agree. They like bringing back ex regulars as guests to kill them or send them to prison, like Will in 2011. Although Gypsy's brief return was fun. So many characters go to prison and then we never hear from them again- Raffy's sister Hope, Jesse, Barry and probably some others i've forgotten about.

[Lila_Q]

I agree, I don't like how they brought back ex regulars just to put them in jail, like Kane and Will, even Josh West just to kill him. Or what they did to Pippa and Sally. Even if characters get some sort of happy ending, they bring them back and give them some tragic storyline just to boost ratings for few a weeks.

I thought that Romeo's death was unnecessary (both Luke Mitchell and Robert Mammone were against it). Also, IMO they didn't have to kill off Denny, Oscar and Hannah. I found the aftermath of their death disappointing. Beside Evie being lost for a few weeks nothing much had happened. IMO if they want to kill a character they need to make sure that its death triggers the next storyline, like Billie's (custody battle) or Charlie, Casey and Kat's (revenge). Most of the time they just kill off character to have beautiful funeral and they all move on in 2 days. I feel that H&A became TV show Smallville (for people who haven't seen it, long story short, in every other episode someone died). Fans made t-shirts with logo: "I went to Smallville High School and I survived", I think that characters that leave the Bay need t-shirts: "I left Summer Bay alive". 

[adam436]

5 hours ago, Lila_Q said:

IMO if they want to kill a character they need to make sure that its death triggers the next storyline, like Billie's (custody battle) or Charlie, Casey and Kat's (revenge). Most of the time they just kill off character to have beautiful funeral and they all move on in 2 days.

I think Bobby's was the first death to do that. Her death lead to Morag's return and Sam's custody battle, Adam being ostracized from Summer Bay etc and I think her death was felt by every character in their own way. 

 

5 hours ago, Lila_Q said:

I agree, I don't like how they brought back ex regulars just to put them in jail, like Kane and Will, even Josh West just to kill him. 

I guess Josh was a pretty forgettable character. During his regular stint, was he every anything more than Dani's boyfriend? Even still, from what I've read, his final stint could have just as easily been replaced with any evil two-dimensional guest villain. Chloe and Will are iconic characters, so deserved better with their endings. 

Talking about bringing ex-regulars back to die, I was convinced someone was going to die in the big reunion episodes in 2002, but it didn't happen. 

 

On 26/05/2019 at 21:13, jrobertshk said:

Off-screen deaths; Beth and Dan are terrible and the characters deserved more, especially Beth.

I understand Tim Campbell's exit was rather rushed, so it was probably unavoidable. It was probably either an off-screen death or off-screen break up. 

I don't know what happened with Beth. Maybe Clarissa House was initially meant to return after a break but changed her mind, maybe the producers thought they could talk Clarissa into signing a new contract and bought some time by giving her a "temporary exit" or maybe the writers wanted her death to coincide with Kit giving birth to make it more dramatic? Who knows? 

 

[Lunar]

6 hours ago, Lila_Q said:

I thought that Romeo's death was unnecessary (both Luke Mitchell and Robert Mammone were against it). Also, IMO they didn't have to kill off Denny, Oscar and Hannah. I found the aftermath of their death disappointing. Beside Evie being lost for a few weeks nothing much had happened. IMO if they want to kill a character they need to make sure that its death triggers the next storyline, like Billie's (custody battle) or Charlie, Casey and Kat's (revenge). Most of the time they just kill off character to have beautiful funeral and they all move on in 2 days. I feel that H&A became TV show Smallville (for people who haven't seen it, long story short, in every other episode someone died). Fans made t-shirts with logo: "I went to Smallville High School and I survived", I think that characters that leave the Bay need t-shirts: "I left Summer Bay alive". 

I agree - I thought Romeo's death was unnecessary as Indi left that year anyway. I didn't like how him finding out he had cancer was so rushed. I think as a couple that went through a lot, it would've been nice for them to have their happy ending.

I didn't really like the aftermath of Evie losing everyone as it felt she partied a bit too much for a few weeks and then that was it. I feel like Ziggy's drinking has seemed more extreme and she's only getting divorced - not lost all of her family.

[CaptainHulk]

Tying Shane and Flynn's due to the Awards brought in by them.

[D.B]

On 27/05/2019 at 22:55, Lunar said:

I didn't really like the aftermath of Evie losing everyone as it felt she partied a bit too much for a few weeks and then that was it. I feel like Ziggy's drinking has seemed more extreme and she's only getting divorced - not lost all of her family.

I'm not so sure about that, as there was more trauma that she faced weeks or months after, such as when she was imagining Oscar after the plane crash, or when she panicked after the fire at the garage.