Does the show need an injection of life, if so, then what?

[jakeyy.]

The show needs less 20 somethings and more a mix of cast. I think this creates a nice balance and then an injection of life and story narrative into the show. Some examples:

• Roo and Marilyn can be given a love interest with a teen - Its not that hard! Justin lacks a friend of his age and he is grouped with Lyrik or Alf and John. Bring in a current 20 somethings father in that case
• Reduce the sibling squads. We've had Rose/Xander (Jasmine really didn't last long with them), Tane/Ari, Cash/Felicity, Dana/Harper, Levi/Eden/Abigail, Mack/Dean in the last 3 years.
• More Nuclear families: The Astonis are sorely missed in my eyes (Bring back Ava or utilise Theo/Leah/Justin better)
• No more river boys: They just aren't the same
• Interwine old and new: Bring back some old cast and not recent departures, I am talking like Sally, Alfs family and make sure the actors they cast/recast want that recurring balance. It'll give current characters purpose.

Adam below has also said some stuff I think needs to occur (in bold and underlined)

I can't say Ive watched the show this year and I find it pretty boring

  On 26/01/2025 at 21:59, adam436 said:

I would like to see H&A return to the "family" aspect too. I feel like the current producers think families and teenagers as a backward step (i.e. how it was in the eighties or the Sutherland era), but it doesn't have to be, especially with a PG rating. The show can do darker/more adult teen storylines with the current ratings rather than just the usual "X has a crush on Y" or the latest school yard drama. The show seems to shy away from LGBT storylines (I'm not sure whether this is down to the current producers or Channel 7/Channel 5 though!), but the show could cover a teenager exploring their sexuality and coming out, plus other teen stories that Hollyoaks and some British soaps cover really well like a drug storyline, eating disorders, the online world, historic sexual abuse, self-harm, teen pregnancy etc. Some have been covered in the past and done well within the timeslot restriction, but I think it could be done better now with a PG rating. 

Here would be my solution: 

The twenty-somethings: I would keep a core group of 5-6 twentysomethings. The show has generally had some, but they've been one age group of many (often the most under-represented!). I would keep Mac, Remi, Mali , Kirby, Dana and maybe Theo for the Leah and Justin connection. So I would axe Rose, Bree, Eden, Theo, Tane, Harper, Levi, Abigail and Cash, and replace them with families and younger characters. It might make sense to keep characters with a purpose (i.e. a doctor or a police officer), but I struggle to see those exisiting characters fitting into a show with a bigger family focus.

If the school is reintroduced, we would need a teacher, so maybe Remi, Kirby, Mali or Mac can reveal they completed a teaching degree prior to arriving in Summer Bay. It honestly wouldn't be the worst retcon in recent years and would at least have a long-term gain for the show. It would also make more sense logistically to use an existing characters in the high school rather than to axe so many characters in an age group to introduce new ones for the role a teacher. 

If the show needed to round out a teen gang, maybe Mali could take on responsibility for a younger cousin or mentor a young River Boy onto the straight and narrow. 

Summer Bay House: I'd then introduce a recast Duncan as a single dad, having just lost his wife, and three children: his son Bryce, and two-step children from his late wife. Alf would have a large family to play granddad to, giving him a greater purpose as the show's patriarch, and make Summer Bay House the central family home again. With Emily Weir seemingly in it for the long haul, I'd also introduce a slow burn romance between Duncan and Mackenzie, with them eventually getting married and maybe even having a child of their own. I would then either axe Roo or move her into her own place (see below). 

John and Marilyn: I'd reunite them and introduce a foster child for them too. It is still one of the most baffling decisions as to why they even split up in the first place, since neither have developed as individual characters since. Aside from the odd storyline (Stunning Organics, the Heather stuff), she's pretty much just floated around the Diner and Summer Bay House. John has done even less in the last 5 years! If the producers deem them too old to be foster parents, maybe John's grandchild via Shandi could lob on his doorstep in the same way Seb did to Fisher or Ryder did for Alf, but I'd save the grandchildren aspect for Alf and Irene (see above and below!). 

Roo Stewart - As much as I like Georgie Parker as an actress, she's wasted and underused in the role of Roo, so she could easily be written out to be honest. I imagine losing her would also increase the cast budget and with Duncan and family around, she wouldn't be needed as family for Alf. If they were to keep her, she would need to be made principal of the high school and move into her own place. It would be hard for Roo to become a main parent/guardian given how much time Georgie Parker has off though. 

Justin and Leah - two characters I wouldn't be sad to axe, but as the younger stalwarts, it makes sense to keep them on, perhaps even more so than John and Marilyn. They could look into official fostering or maybe expand their family with maybe Leah's nieces and nephews (we still have Alex and Chris' families who haven't been explored!) in the first instance. Theo could stick around for a transitional period and perhaps even act as a big brother while the newcomers settle in. With Danny Raco working behind the scenes, it might make sense to start with Alex's family if Danny is willing to make the odd appearance on the other side of the camera. 

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[j.laur5]

  On 07/04/2025 at 15:16, jakeyy. said:

The show needs less 20 somethings and more a mix of cast. I think this creates a nice balance and then an injection of life and story narrative into the show. Some examples:

• Roo and Marilyn can be given a love interest with a teen - Its not that hard! Justin lacks a friend of his age and he is grouped with Lyrik or Alf and John. Bring in a current 20 somethings father in that case
• Reduce the sibling squads. We've had Rose/Xander (Jasmine really didn't last long with them), Tane/Ari, Cash/Felicity, Dana/Harper, Levi/Eden/Abigail, Mack/Dean in the last 3 years.
• More Nuclear families: The Astonis are sorely missed in my eyes (Bring back Ava or utilise Theo/Leah/Justin better)
• No more river boys: They just aren't the same
• Interwine old and new: Bring back some old cast and not recent departures, I am talking like Sally, Alfs family and make sure the actors they cast/recast want that recurring balance. It'll give current characters purpose.

Adam below has also said some stuff I think needs to occur (in bold and underlined)

I can't say Ive watched the show this year and I find it pretty boring

 

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But since Roo has been back she has definitely been given more to do, and she feels alive again but I guess in fairness Georgia needed time off too due to health reasons. 
 

I wouldn’t want to lose Roo as she is a great character and Georgia is a fantastic actress .

I think the whole reason why Martha was brought back from the dead was to give Alf and Roo a reason to leave town when Ray and Georgia need time off. 

[CaptainHulk]

^ Just thought Martha's return was a waste of plot, character and quite frankly, Belinda, who really deserved better.

[Jamie!]

  On 07/04/2025 at 15:16, jakeyy. said:

The show needs less 20 somethings and more a mix of cast. I think this creates a nice balance and then an injection of life and story narrative into the show. Some examples:

• Roo and Marilyn can be given a love interest with a teen - Its not that hard! Justin lacks a friend of his age and he is grouped with Lyrik or Alf and John. Bring in a current 20 somethings father in that case
• Reduce the sibling squads. We've had Rose/Xander (Jasmine really didn't last long with them), Tane/Ari, Cash/Felicity, Dana/Harper, Levi/Eden/Abigail, Mack/Dean in the last 3 years.
• More Nuclear families: The Astonis are sorely missed in my eyes (Bring back Ava or utilise Theo/Leah/Justin better)
• No more river boys: They just aren't the same
• Interwine old and new: Bring back some old cast and not recent departures, I am talking like Sally, Alfs family and make sure the actors they cast/recast want that recurring balance. It'll give current characters purpose.

Adam below has also said some stuff I think needs to occur (in bold and underlined)

I can't say Ive watched the show this year and I find it pretty boring

 

Expand  

I agree with a lot of what you say. And with the bit I've highlighted in bold - in the years before that, we've had Brax and Casey, Andy and Josh, Ash and Billie, Colby and Bella. And a lot of these sibling relationships, (all of the ones I've mentioned and a couple of yours), have all been the older sibling being overprotective towards the younger sibling. It's just exactly the same sort of thing for the past 14 years, repeated ad nauseam. We're way overdue for a change.

[adam436]

Also the Morgan siblings and Dean/Mackenzie too.

With all these sibling relationships, we've never seen a younger siblings for Theo, who would actually give Leah an additional family member.