Rewatching The Early Years

[CaptainHulk]

9 hours ago, hapitoby said:

Oh yes ofc. Interestingly, it was Leahs first year too.

In her first ep her mouth went 25 to the Dozen!

Edited April 3 by CaptainHulk

[Homeandawayfan.]

1995 onwards was when the writers cranked up the pace and it alienated some long term viewers who had watched it for its feel good factor, not for it to be a Australian EastEnders which H&A felt like from 1995 onwards. Maybe the writers felt that is what a lot of the viewers wanted though, but the tone changed to darker stories and more ominous underscore music.

[Luigi Severus Fletcher]

Heck, you could say the revamp of the Bayside Diner was a sign of the times.

I saw the episode where Ailsa dies and it didn't feel like 1988 - 1996. 2018 - now feels more like 1988 - 1996, even though the original format is long gone. It's not like 1988 - 1996, but there's a similar feeling, I can't explain it though.

[nenehcherry2]

20 hours ago, Homeandawayfan. said:

1995 onwards was when the writers cranked up the pace and it alienated some long term viewers who had watched it for its feel good factor, not for it to be a Australian EastEnders which H&A felt like from 1995 onwards. Maybe the writers felt that is what a lot of the viewers wanted though, but the tone changed to darker stories and more ominous underscore music.

Agree! 

I also think Mid 88 - late 89 had a very 80s/early 90s EE feel to it. The "who's the father" with Bobbygate (alas Simon Wicks), Roo's teenage pregnancy and jilting Frank (Michelle/Lofty), the secrets and lies with Dodge burning down the store and covering it up for 80 episodes, Who killed Gary Samuels (Reg Cox/Eddie Royle vibes), Ailsa threatening to snuff Baby Duncan felt like Mary's reaction to her second baby. Then the yuppie characters of Stacey/Brett/Nicolas whilst EE had James WB, Debbie etc. All glued together with Celia acting like "the Dot Cotton of Summer Bay" (to quote two other forum members' regular analogies! ).

Edited April 4 by nenehcherry2

[adam436]

On 04/04/2024 at 05:06, Homeandawayfan. said:

1995 onwards was when the writers cranked up the pace and it alienated some long term viewers who had watched it for its feel good factor, not for it to be a Australian EastEnders which H&A felt like from 1995 onwards. Maybe the writers felt that is what a lot of the viewers wanted though, but the tone changed to darker stories and more ominous underscore music.

I felt like the show needed it though. I must admit I've never watched the 1994 season, but from what I understand it is thought to be one of the dullest periods of the show. I'm not sure if Australian or UK ratings reflected that though. I'm sure it would have alienated some viewers, but it also probably wouldn't be around today if it hadn't have made the move. 

I, for one, did not bother with mid 1990 through to early 1995 when the show was rerun on 7Two because I found it a little dull. I know there were some big moments in there, but not much of note in between. 

I'm struggling to think of many "lighter" moments in 1995 to be honest. There was the country music competition with Irene and Donna, but that was very early in the year, before the changes had really taken their full effect. 

Edited April 4 by adam436

[nenehcherry2]

25 minutes ago, adam436 said:

I felt like the show needed it though. I must admit I've never watched the 1994 season, but from what I understand it is thought to be one of the dullest periods of the show. I'm not sure if Australian or UK ratings reflected that though. I'm sure it would have alienated some viewers, but it also probably wouldn't be around today if it hadn't have made the move. 

I, for one, did not bother with mid 1990 through to early 1995 when the show was rerun on 7Two because I found it a little dull. I know there were some big moments in there, but not much of note in between. 

I'm struggling to think of many "lighter" moments in 1995 to be honest. There was the country music competition with Irene and Donna, but that was very early in the year, before the changes had really taken their full effect. 

Completely agree, the 95 revamp was very gradual and, if anything, that's why it worked for me. Even in later 95, there's still lots of day to day scenes in the mix alongside the bushfires, cults, Dodge etc. But (perhaps thankfully) the comedy storylines were mostly gone by then (it was mostly one liners from say Maz or Irene in the context of dramatic scenes). 

Early 95, pre-circa Laura's train crush, is just carryover from later 94 for me. Still lots of the comedy-centric filler from earlier 94 but with a bit of early 90s style melancholy becoming more mixed in. It's much closer to say 1990/1 in style than it is to the show of 12 months later. 

[cymbaline]

I liked 1994 and don't think it's as dull as people remember it to be. They moved on several main characters who had largely reached their sell-by date. Adam and Fin are the two most obvious ones. They brought in some of the mid-90s teens who are still fondly remembered - Jack, Shannon, Curtis and Selina. Even though there weren't any bush fires, crashes or natural disasters there was still some good drama going on. Angel's ex turned out to be a psycho. Donna Bishop got back with her violent ex, Haydn came back and conned his dad into taking out a large bank loan, Tug suffered from depression and tried to take his own life, Pippa and Michael split up after months of drifting apart. 

[adam436]

The Donna and Angel stories you mentioned were definitely in 1995, but I wasn't even aware of the Tug one. I found Michael and Pippa's seperation quite boring too (I only watched from very late 1994, wmso maybe missed some of the build up), but perhaps that's because I wasn't overly invested in them as characters.

I've not watched much of 1994, but how much did Shannon, Selina, Jack and Curtis do in 1994? They all had massive stories and took centre stage in 1995, but I assumed 1994 was a bit of a transition year between the teen groups, with both groups sharing the screen.

[cymbaline]

Thanks for the correction. Part of me thought the Donna one might be from '95 because I have a vague memory of her ex being around when Shane and Angel got married. 

Maybe you might give 1994 a go sometime and see how you found it? Even though I've obviously got my years arseways, I found it perfectly watchable. Then again I don't care for catastrophe after catastrophe. Even if I hadn't stopped watching H&A in 1996, it'd have lost me once the River Boys came along. 

Selina and Jack first appeared in April 1994, so they were well established by the end of the year. Curtis and Shannon came along in September. I don't know what you mean by "how much did they do?".  

[nenehcherry2]

5 hours ago, cymbaline said:

Thanks for the correction. Part of me thought the Donna one might be from '95 because I have a vague memory of her ex being around when Shane and Angel got married. 

Maybe you might give 1994 a go sometime and see how you found it? Even though I've obviously got my years arseways, I found it perfectly watchable. Then again I don't care for catastrophe after catastrophe. Even if I hadn't stopped watching H&A in 1996, it'd have lost me once the River Boys came along. 

Selina and Jack first appeared in April 1994, so they were well established by the end of the year. Curtis and Shannon came along in September. I don't know what you mean by "how much did they do?".  

The Donna/Andrew storyline feels very early 90s to me. Partly because it starts before that pivotal train crash. Essentially what could have become of Ben and Carly had they stayed around. It just doesn't have that later 90s feel (not good or bad, just neutral observation). It's more earlier 90s dark (there's a difference, I just can't articulate it well for some reason!). I can easily see how it could have fitted in 94 as one of the more darker stories like Tug's depression or Haydn's gambling. Whereas the likes of Bobby in the fridge, Somali war victim ghosts in caravans, earthquakes, Saul, Robert Perez, Ailsa shooting Alf every week etc would NOT have worked pre-95/6. THEY felt like the "newer" breed type of darker, somewhat mystical, themes that the later 90s became known for (and helped to define the show against the other soaps at the point in time). 

Personally, I don't hate 1994. The scriptural continuity is on point, the characters are very true to themselves and I never hit the fast forward button when re-watching. Unlike say late 89 / early 90 which was just... A mess in those senses. I just wasn't a fan of the more slapstick comedy stories like sausage mixups & netball matches were (pardon the pun) somewhat overplayed. And I like a little more drama. But very subjective. 

19 hours ago, adam436 said:

The Donna and Angel stories you mentioned were definitely in 1995, but I wasn't even aware of the Tug one. I found Michael and Pippa's seperation quite boring too (I only watched from very late 1994, wmso maybe missed some of the build up), but perhaps that's because I wasn't overly invested in them as characters.

I've not watched much of 1994, but how much did Shannon, Selina, Jack and Curtis do in 1994? They all had massive stories and took centre stage in 1995, but I assumed 1994 was a bit of a transition year between the teen groups, with both groups sharing the screen.

I liked how Selina, Jack, Shannon and Curtis spent their first few months (12 months even in the case of Selina and Jack, to @cymbaline's point) just mucking in with the lighter 94-early 95 storylines. It gave us a chance to get to know them as individuals and to appreciate their "gangship" with one another before the revamp put each of them through the ringer! It was, though, very sad to see Jack go from being such an energetic, zany, fun "jack the lad" into a sullen, miserable, bad boy as 95 progressed. Wasted opportunity and didn't play to Daniel's strengths.  

1995 ruined quite a few well established characters in my opinion, as much as it bought back the drama and touched on some new ground. Shane became a lapdog, Angel nags more, Ailsa became a shadow of herself, Michael vanishes into the background (obviously written out), Jack becomes sullen, Pippa seems to lose her spark even more so, Alf lost his store and sense of humour, Don becomes an arse again... the list is endless. At least we had Maz back.

On a side note, anyone notice how Curtis comes in as a studious, sensible counterpart to Jack but quickly becomes a surf-addicted burnout? Was that intentional?

Edited April 5 by nenehcherry2