Skylover

4 hours ago, Liberty City said:

Oh see, I liked 2012. 2013 was meh and 2014 was flat-out boring for me, hence why I jump-skipped to 2018.

2012 was a good year, IMHO! I'd recommend it.

It depends on what you like. I really like 2012 because it was a character-driven year, but most of the fandom would consider it one of the worst years. 

11 hours ago, althea-davis said:

I am going to start watching Neighbours since I have Prime, and it sounds very good. Is 2012 the best year to start with?

2012 is not a great year overall, one of the worst, which seems ironic given they started with it. But it depends on what you like. If you like character-driven storylines, 2012 is good, but it's not exciting. If you prefer more plotty stuff, I'd go to 2013, 2014 or 2015. If you like a mixture of the two, I'd say beginning of 2017 is a good place to start.

I would recommend the first two seasons, 1988 and 1989. It dips in 1990 but gets good again from 1994-1997.

That's great news. That character should never have been axed in the first place.

Regarding Lola, she did seem to be a popular character, though I'm not sure why, she was just a boring chav. That whole storyline seemed to engulf the show and I was close to switching off as someone who was never a Lola fan.

Most fans seem to be loving the direction the show is going in. The producer does seem to be making some good decisions at least, not all though I might add. 

15 hours ago, Liberty City said:

I fully intend on re-visiting the years I skipped at some point in the future.  But skipping ahead is to ensure I can watch the September debut.

Good idea. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.

On 6/27/2023 at 1:48 PM, Liberty City said:

So, at the suggestion of two amazing people, I've jumped from 2014 to 2018, and whew... what a change in everything.

I would highly recommend going back to the beginning of 2017. January to May 2017 is brilliant.

Posted this elsewhere, but will post here too.

That was absolutely nuts. But I did lap up every second so I'm kind of conflicted 

I'm a bit annoyed because I went on YouTube and saw a thumbnail for a video saying 'Cindy's back!' with a pic of Peter (recast back to Thomas Law) and Lauren. I really wish I had seen this unfold unspoiled, but it was still brilliant either way.

I feel like it all could have been slowed down a bit and played out way too fast. Great decision to have Lauren and Peter in the location scenes, but we didn't need to be told about the witness protection, for Ian to have a heart attack and for Lauren to find out about Cindy all in the same episode. It was like EastEnders on steroids. 

I think Thomas Law is the best Peter, but I think I would have liked to see the character recast again. He was the best Peter but still not a particularly strong actor. I love Lauren so I was thrilled to see her back. I couldn't remember if these actors had played opposite each other as Lauren and Peter before, but a quick online search shows they did overlap for a couple of months in 2010, with Lauren taking over as Lauren in September and Thomas leaving as Peter in December. They've not been on screen together much so it will be interesting to see how that develops (if they're both back on an ongoing basis).

I was hoping they'd use Lauren as a plot device to explain to the audience why Cindy was in witness protection. We've heard that these people were dangerous, but we don't know what happened yet. Much as it's great to see Ian, Peter and Lauren back, I think I would have liked to see Ian and Cindy's reunion on screen, so I hope that we get flashback sequences at some point.

I felt there was some emotion lacking from Michelle Collins in her scenes, which was really needed so we can be immersed in Cindy's story.

I hope Cindy jr is back at some point. I'm enjoying the story, but in a US soap storyline kind of way.

Much as I do think the Knights miraculously moving from Marbella to Cindy's old hometown is absolutely absurd, I do appreciate that the writers have actually created a life for Cindy since she's been away. Not many people would be absent for 25 years and not do anything with their lives, and this was something I always felt was a sore point in Kathy's return. I was up for Kathy coming back, but almost nothing has been done with her missing years. I don't necessarily mean kids (I think she would have been too old to have more kids by that point anyway) but Kathy was away for 15 years so you'd think we'd at least her something about that time.

I am interested to hear what you all thought of that, because to me, that was EE basically doing a US soap plot. Having said that, I was glued to it. I hope it continues to be as compelling.

I'm not keen on Jay and Lola so I'm glad that storyline will be moving on soon. 

I'm looking forward to Lisa's return.

I can't wait for the show to come back. 2015 and 2016 are going up on Amazon soon.

I also hate this Ben. I'd rather the character was just killed off, he doesn't resemble what Ben is supposed to be at all. The boxing stuff really highlighted that this week.

I really like Kathy. Though I do find it disappointing how they write her as too soft, with Ben constantly ignoring anything she says.

I'm 4 eps behind but catching up so I can see Roxy. They should never have killed her off.

6 minutes ago, Bright Eyes said:

It's always so weird to me when worlds collide like this, but good for her.

I'm certainly surprised! But excited to see what they'll do. I hope American audiences enjoy the show.

American actress Mischa Barton (The OC) has been cast as a guest character called Reece in the Neighbours revival.

Just uploaded some better versions of the 2002-2004 opening titles.

2 hours ago, Noel said:

Is Peacock not available in the U.K. yet? I read somewhere they were via Sky and its streaming service Now at some time this year. Otherwise, I would recommend a good VPN for downloading torrents with a bittorrent client like Deluge or utorrent. Currently, you can visit the DAYS torrents at bt4g. 

It's kind of weird though. This uploader chooses to use the day of the week and date instead of season and episode number. But, hey! It's free and video resolution is 1920x1080p. Then again, if you don't have many seeders, it defeats the purpose.

Thanks! Yeah, Peacock is available in the UK, but Days doesn't seem to be on the UK version.

Does anyone know if there's any way of watching current Days episodes in the UK? We have Paramount, but I can't seem to see Days on there. I'm guessing it's a rights thing.

On 4/5/2023 at 1:57 PM, Liberty City said:

I'm about half-way through the 2012 season, and whew... I am in-love with this soap. Cannot wait to continue through and into 2013.

Glad you're enjoying it! What are you liking in particular?

20 hours ago, DRW50 said:

That's interesting. I'm not surprised about Byron (although I'm sorry he couldn't return - the actor was gorgeous and charismatic), but Nicolette had been there for a few years...I'd have thought if the actress didn't want to return they might have waited a bit. 

Yeah, I'm a bit sad about it. I didn't like Nicolette much but I really liked Byron. It will be an adjustment if it's true.

3 hours ago, ~bl~ said:

I do wonder if the show will start being promoted on this side of the Atlantic with it being part of the Amazon family, as the knowledge/awareness about it is lacking here. 

Hopefully. Word is that both Jane's kids Nicolette and Byron Stone have been re-cast.

EE is a bit boring and plot driven at the moment. I do like the OnlyFans feet story though 

Has Moritz been absent? I saw that the actor wasn't well.

On 3/22/2023 at 1:36 AM, DRW50 said:

@Skylover Thank you for sharing such a lovely, personal story with us. You often hear about actors with attitude, or who are unable to connect, so I'm glad you had a very positive experience, especially with what you're going through right now. 

No worries! I have watched 100 of the 2012 episodes but I don't think I can watch any more, because I remember them all like yesterday. Same for 2013, although I did briefly watch the Turners arrival again.

Here is one of my favourite scenes from the 2022 season. I'm glad to see Harold is back in a guest capacity for the 2023 season.

On 1/29/2023 at 5:40 AM, Dion said:

For @Skylover

Lol, I love the Mrs Mangel and Gail bits  

I went to the Neighbours Tour at the weekend in Brighton and it was great! I posted this elsewhere, but will post it here too.

I go to a lot of events, mainly music gigs, and the Neighbours Tour totally blew everything out of the water that I'd seen before, which I think is testament to how good it was, and I can definitely be the biggest critic when it comes to all things Neighbours, so I'm thrilled with how it went. As someone who is very audio and visual driven, it completely exceeded my expectations in that sense, and I don't want to go into the finer details for risk of ruining it for anyone who is still to attend, but it absolutely can't be underestimated how much more of a satisfying experience this was that it was created by fan(s), it was a complete labour of love and that much was plainly obvious. It was everything you'd want it to be and more, it just couldn't and wouldn't have been the same if it was created by someone with more distance from the show, and that made it a completely unmissable experience. There's a risk with these things that placing so much emphasis on interviewing cast members can be a bit same old, with them recounting stories that you've heard hundreds of times before on This Morning and the like, but there was plenty of material and stories that had never been shared before which kept you engaged throughout. The choice of Leah Boleto as host was inspired, because she knows and loves Neighbours, and could delve into areas that lesser hosts wouldn't and couldn't have gone, and you're left getting the kind of experience that you get from modern day podcasts which offer so much more to the viewer than the average interview, but of course this was on a much larger scale. 

Again, I don't want to go into too many specifics because many people are yet to see the show, but I did almost have tears in my eyes at points and it was an emotional experience in many ways. Some moments I will truly never forget, for example (spoiler alert) a clip of Madge's death and the collective 'awwww' from the audience. It was amazing to be in a room full of people who love Neighbours as much as I do. It was also interesting to see the reaction of the audience at certain points, for example there were a lot of cheers when Pierce was mentioned, but stone cold silence when Elly was mentioned (which I certainly found interesting!).

Being perfectly honest, I'd had a terrible week in my personal life and didn't know if I was going to make it to the show. One of my longtime colleagues is currently on a syringe driver and palliative care, and that had taken a huge toll on my mental health this week. I've hardly slept for the last week, and have had huge bags under my eyes and my skin was breaking out, and amid feeling pretty deflated and upset, I didn't know if I'd have the energy to go to this, and I felt pretty sad that my photos in the M&G were going to be from a time when I wasn't looking my best. That's all very superficial though, because my friend and colleague is in her last days, so I shouldn't be selfish about my appearance of all things. I was in a pretty bad way when I turned up for the M&G, I'd not had a lot of time to prepare to come to Brighton unfortunately.

It turned out it was just what I needed really. I met April, Ryan and Annie first, and then Alan and Stefan (Jackie was ill, but was there for the show later). I was very nervous, but they were all lovely. I said to April she'd probably know me better as Edward Skylover and her shocked face was a picture, then she told Ryan and Annie that I started the petition (the host gave me a shoutout when they started the question section of the show too, which was a lovely touch!). Ryan gave me a high five and thanked me for the support, I then went on to explain that I came up with my username because I really loved the character of Sky back in the day. One of my main takeaways from this part of the M&G was just how stunning Annie Jones was. I shook her hand, and was in total awe of her utter beauty. She has the most stunningly attractive smile and I'll cherish the memory of being in her presence, she came across so genuine, graceful and sweet. April was also gorgeous. It's not that these people aren't attractive on screen, but I've experienced this with other celebrities too, they tend to look remarkably attractive in real life.

I also absolutely loved meeting Alan and Stefan though, that was probably my favourite part, because while I was disappointed Jackie wasn't there, it felt a lot less intimidating meeting just the two actors at a time, and I was more engaged than overcome with anxiety like I was with the first 3. An online fan involved in security sneaked over and told them about the petition and they were hugely grateful/thankful for that, but I said to them that I should be the one thanking them for bringing so much happiness to my life over the years. Alan said Amazon had told them the reason the show was coming back was because of the huge backlash over it being axed. Both of them were absolutely stellar gentleman and being in their presence was an absolute privelege. I told Alan that Karl and Susan were like my second parents, my 'TV parents' as I called it. I'm sure a lot of people feel that way.

But yeah, all this and the show later on was just what I needed to lift my spirits. I met the creator of the tour briefly at the show (lovely bloke!) and another online fan after the show. Had some great conversations with people in the queue, and people I was sitting near. 2 women I met in the queue said they had a Neighbours Whatsapp group with their friends, which I thought was brilliant. Another guy I met said he'd watched the show for as long as he could remember, but took a break between the late 90s and late 2000s, I got to tell him he should look for some 2004 episodes on Amazon! On the way home, I stopped at a bus stop to roll a cigarette and some people from the show were waiting for the bus and a member of the public took great fascination in their Ramsay Street sign and knowing that 'Toadfish' was currently in Brighton, and we all had a good chat about the power of nostalgia with the guy saying how he's watching old episodes of Brookside on the STV Player at the moment. I was impressed by how the message of Neighbours coming back on Freevee is spreading nicely (even the people at the bus stop were talking about how you'll be able to watch new episodes of Neighbours on Freevee soon!). 

But yeah, excellent night. I hope the creators are proud of the show, it is a complete work of art, and I don't say that lightly. My Ramsay Street sign you get as part of the M&G was too big to fit in my bag, so I got quite a few looks when I was walking round Brighton and London with it