Skylover

I bought Final Draft 8 today, Ben.

Right, mammoth post in store now... The second half has been a lot more character driven but I'm not sure if I preferred the second half over the first half overall. Although the second half was very character-driven, I think by that point I'd lost a lot of passion for the show which is gradually fading away as I see the show become worse and worse. It's nice to see the characters being a priority, but the small cast undermines everything; all the characters are over-exposed and storylines which are meant t be good turn out boring. The earlier half of the year was superior IMO because it had more characters in it, but by the time they'd left the show just felt desserted. Chris, Kyle and Jade have all been great characters, but I feel like the show has got good characters and stories but it somehow isn't enough. I just loved the Sonya/Callum story at the beginning of the year. A lot of fans are unhappy with how the backstories were changed but I personally feel that the revelation that Sonya is Callum's mum is actually far more believable than Karl and Susan splitting up again. The Sonya story gave us so many brilliant scenes, and Eve shone throughout. Perhaps it was the focus on Sonya's character which made this part of the year so special for me. So many scenes stand out - her chat with Jade on the couch at no.30, Callum telling her on the couch that story of how his mum stole money from his piggybank. At the same time there was other brilliant stuff, loads of great comedy, Libby bringing Lucas over 'for dinner', Rebecca's scene revealing to Paul how she felt that he'd succeeded in bringing her down to his level. I don't particularly see Harold's return as a highlight. Kyle and Jade's romance has been the highlight of the year for me, but even then, there's been parts where I've got bored due to over-exposure of the characters. There have been a lot of times where it feels like the story isn't moving forward at all. The Kyle/Jade and Michael/Tash plots have been amazing in parts. Tash finding Emilia, Helena's ghost, the pictures of Helena the Teen Beauty Queen™. I think Karl and Susan's story has been a total disaster. It's mainly the tail-end of the season where things started to pick up for me. Perhaps from about September onwards or whenever Malcolm and Jade started their affair. The Michael/Tash thing picked up a hell of a lot when Tash found out the truth and Val did a geat scene telling Chris that she was responsible for her mother's death. Unfortunately the episodes before Val and Sandy did a terrible revelation scene. I can't see Natasha working when Michael's gone. While most of the stories have picked up come November, the Karl and Susan plot has just got worse really. There were some great flashbacks to The Slap™ and their fight in the street when Susan thought Karl was having it off with Jade, bu we still have no idea why Susan wants to separate. The Kate/Sophie/Noah stuff as well as the text on the screen has undermined the second half of the season for me. I still can't accept that Neighbours has no proper families in it and that is ruining my enjoyment of the show. When you look back, the show has always flourished when it has established families. In 2004, we had the Kennedys, Scullys, Hoylands, Bishops etc the show just feels like a vital element os missing. The way Paul flits around annoys me no end, and Lou literally just says lines now he may as well be an extra. Rhys has come a long way. I guess you could say he's an another example of the character driven direction they've gone for. Working in medicine and his mum is paralysed. I think it's great to see why he is so motivated to work his way up the ladder an I felt really sorry for him when he was denied entry to the surgical programme. As for the development story, do you not think it's terrible? It's by far the worst story for a long time and I find myself just falling into a coma while watching it. I don't see what the point of it is? I don't really care about Toadie as a character anymore, and watching him struggling at work isn't something I would consider entertaining. It's jsut eating up screen time and is another exmple of why the small cast doesn't work. Had there been say another 5 characters in the cast at the time, not all screen time would have been to associated with the development and a wider variety of (hopefully interesting) stories could have been told. I guess it's meant to show the effect it's going to have on the family but I couldn't care less. Bring back Angie I say! She'd cause some friction and I'd love to see her trying to get Sonya and Toadie to marry. I guess you're right about Callum, I think the kindle/book comments were just technology being shoved in our faces rather than having any substance. I rolled my eyes at that. I also way prefer books to ebooks so I was on Susan's side! I think Jordan is a fairly poor actor - I don't know if I'm repeating myself now but there was recently a comedy plotline involving Andrew getting a tattoo at schoolies and Jordan's portrayal just failed to evoke any emtion from me whatsoever. Considering Neighbours can do comedy quite well (or used to, at least) it wasn't very good. The writing wasn't too bad, I think another actor could have carried it off better. He's also really monotone a lot of the time and the accent bugs me because I don't see why it was necessary for the writers to edit Anrew's backstory just so Jordan could play the role. If he wants to be a serious actor, he needs to be able to master different accents because I don't think he'll get roles using his natural accent. April in Home and Away originally comes from Canada and has a very strong accent, but Rhiannon puts on an Australian accent and you can barely notice. Very interesting what you say about friendships. Now you've come to mention it that is a huge issue which needs to be addressedand maybe that's why the show falls flat a lot of the time. There are good characters but when essential elements are missing it's hard for it to all come together. I guess it's like baking a chocolate cake without eggs - the chocolates still good but you can't make the end product without those essential ingredients. Someon pointed out the other day that the cast is very male-heavy at the moment and it is true that the balance is all wrong. The Kapoors should be good hopefuly and I am glad they're an ethnic family too, but it being a family of three kind of defeats the object. What we need is a family similar to the Scullys, 3 kids, or even perhaps the Timmins. 3 kids at east with some off-screen and a grandmother or grandad. I am sure that if they did this the show would be brilliant again. It's hard to explain why Neighbours doesn't have that spark that it once did. It was that spark the made it so special, which was achieved through a variety of very specific things which come together and make magic. The film effect needs to go, the dialogue and sound has become distant since the show's move to Five, on the BBC you felt involved with the action, the sunny/warm/inviting aspect has gone, perhaps also linked to this visual change. The dark sets need to be revamped but it looks like they're doing something about that if you read PB depsite the fact the logisitcs of the sets don't make sense. And adding a family likke the Timmins to keep the show fresh, lively and to bring some energy and shake things up would be a good start.

Thanks Huntress I loved seeing the promo pictures for GZSZ. I'm upset that Zack doesn't appear in them! Nice to see that the show is getting a new regular. Who are your favourite GZSZ characters? Emily is great, I really like Tayfun, but to me it seems like Dominic, Jo and Jasmin are some of the best characters. Katrin is ok but like I said before, she's a bit cold. I might have to start watching Verbotene Liebe. From what I've heard it seems it's the German soap with the biggest international audience of the main soaps, even my French flatmate watches it with subtitles!

Janine is, hands down, the best soap character of all time. The only character who comes close is Sally Fletcher from Home and Away, for me.

Thanks for the info, Huntress. I've still been watching GZSZ. I really do love it. I've noticed how certain characters seem to feature for weeks on end, while other characters don't appear for a long time. It took half a month for me to see Zack again after the incident where Lilli threw up on him! He is so very attractive Meanwhile, this show is really well-written. Although Emilie and Thune getting together seems really unrealistic, the characters have had so much air time and you really see the connection build between them. I don't like the separation between the two older characters (I forget their names) the woman just comes across as cold, and I was very surprised when she had sex with Tanja's dad in the toilets of the club! I don't understand the love triangle between Zack/Tanja/Vince. At the end of the episode I just watched (22/11) it seemed like she was leading both of them on! Dominic's recovery from the kidnapping has been really interesting to watch, and realistic too. I can't stand Patrick though.

Thanks for posting that scene, Y&RWorldTurner. I'm glad you like the videos, Carl. I'm tempted to get hold of the beginning years of EastEnders, as many fans really think they were brilliant seasons. And it wouldn't even take that long to get through them seeing as there were only two episodes per week! That was a lovely scene between Pauline and Paul, did they share a lot of scenes in the early years? As I'm too young to remember that era, I only recall the 2000s onwards and those characters had nothing to do with each other. What's the story between Wendy Richard and the BBC? Why was there bad blood between them? I heard somewhere that Pauline tured into a grouch because the writers intended her to turn into her mother but I think they went too far and just made her nasty. For me Ian represents the basis of the entire show at the moment, and not just because he's an original cast member. I downloaded some early 2007/6 episodes from when Pauline died, but it was all dominated by Sonia thinking she'd killed her I'm ashamed to admit it, but I fancy Jake Wood

I got a fan card from Shane Withington a few weeks ago. He plasys John Palmer. My collection is going strong, there's only a few from the current cast I don't have, including Gina, Leah, Roo and I think that might be it.

Is the theme tune for that video real? If so, I never realised how awful Emmerdale's theme tune used to be. It's like something a high school student is playing on a keyboard.

It appears that the Kapoor family are the new regulars in Ramsay Street. As confirmed on the official site: Ajay, Priya and Rani are regulars from 2012. As well as new character Vanessa Villante...

I never liked Dennis all that much. I'm watching this video. Have you seen it? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9SrJQbqDCQ I think I'm gonna watch some Dot and Ethel two-handers soon as well ETA: I've just read Lou Beale's entry on Wikipedia. It's worth reading just for the shoddy continuity of her children. It's quite funny. Over the course of the show, the following kids have been mentioned: Pauline, Pete, Keith, Paul, Norma, Kenny, Harry, Ronnie, Dora, Maggie and Maureen.

Thanks Carl, that is a nice little video to get us in the Xmas mood! Derek Branning has turned out to be as predictably cartoonish as everyone expected. I just knew from the second they announced that he was joining the cast he would be a stereotypical character to make me stop watching. Everyone's like 'do you know who he is', and he's already ruining Rainie's character.

What are your opinions on the Millers? Thanks for the link. I like it when they bring up the past. I've heard that that was one of the main criticisms of Louise Berridge's era, however. Apparently characters would make references to the past at the expense of the advancing of current storylines. TheFrank/Phil/car lot stuff was good.

I just watched a clip of Deano's return and a fight he had with Sean Slater. liked Deano, but Sean was a truly terrible character. One of the worst things about 2005-2008 was Sean frickin Slater. Watching him made me really appreciate the current show. There's nothing worse than a panto character who doesn't ring true. I guess Michael is the modern day equivalent of Sean.

I've been meaning to reply to this post for a while. I can definitely see why people wouldn't like Ben but I still find him a good character and think there's untapped potential with him. I do wonder how people would have reacted to him had he not been re-cast from Charlie Jones. I do agree that he's written in a messy way, but I think you can empathise with the character because his father is Phil Mitchell. He's had such a dysfunctional upbringing and relationship to his dad, constantly feeling that's not good enough and doesn't fit in, which has caused him to become so conflicted and kind of lost. I actually blame the writing more than Josh Pascoe for the reason Ben has gone down badly as a character. I think Josh is great - he comes across with this awkwardness which I think really rings true in the circumstances.As for there being no consequences to his actions, isn't that part of being a Mitchell? The Christian twist is stupid, but there you are, I guess you can't expect a great story consistently from the writers these days. A lot of things are such a mess. The Masoods are ruined almost beyond repair. I much prefer your scenario where Amira was not involved with Yusef. n fact I don't see why they couldn't have brought back Amira further down the line once the Yusef plot had tied up. They're rushing all the stories at once. The Yusef plot had potential, but was stuffed up pretty fast. Everyone's acting out of character, irationally and everyone's become dislikeable. I really enjoyed tonight's episode though. The Brannings/Crosses are great, even if Tanya is driving me insane by refusing treatment. My favourite thing at the moment is Lauren the Slag™. I think it's a good route to go down considering her parents actions. It may be predictable but it has loads of potential for future storylines. Abi is such a weak character though.

I think you're right there, Carl. It is nice to see some backing for them. I voted for 'Jade's crush on Kyle'. Easily blows everything else out of the water for me. 'Summer and Paul Erinsborough News scholarship'

I bet the only difference between this and the Gangster Era is that the characters have families. It will probably be the similar crap, Derek and Phil at war because Derek stepped on his foot or something.

Thanks for the link to the interview. It sounds like Max is going to be a long-termer seeing as Jake says he'll stay at EE for as long as they want him. That's good news as Jake is a great actor and I love Max when he's not going round in circles, story-wise. And I sigh deeply at the thought of Derek and Phil. The only thing that's keeping me interested in Phil's character is Ben at the moment, and even that there's problems there. If they're not going to do the character justice then they should cut their losses. You'd think they'd learnt from the failure of the gangster years mid-noughties but they're rehashing it all again.

Anything rather than the atrocious Max/Tanya pairing. I've still no idea why they went down that road again! P.s. That video made me realise how much I love the current cast! Who was missing?: Tanya, Janine, Phil, Ben...?

Thanks for posting those credit sequences, Huntress. I way prefer te second version of the credits, because it's got my favourites in them: Vince, Emily(?) and Zak(?) I have since watched Unter Uns but I haven't attempted Alles Was Zaehlt yet. UU comes across as quite cheesey but not in a good way. AWZ opening is quite harsh, I'm drawn to GZSZ which I didn't think would happen. I love the opening titles and the theme song. Plus the stories and characters are very engaging, I can see why it's the most popular soap. GZSZ <3 It makes me laugh to read in the credits that it was created from an idea by Reg Watson, considering my love for his other show Neighbours.

Thanks for the video, YRWorldTurner. I can't say I'm overly looking forward to 'Branning week'. It looks like they're setting Derek up in competition with Phil, which instantly puts me off the storyline. The Branning brothers are a farce. Sperminator Jack should have been axed long ago yet they kep him in the show, he's just awful and serves no purpose. And Derek looks like the sort of character the show really does not need right now. At the moment we have the awful Michael Moon, Janine, who's a great villain but being misused at the moment, Yusef, et al... I was glad when I heard that they were bringing back Derek, I just think it's a shame he's this gangster type. Carol is brilliant, and Lynsey Coulson deserves more from the show than this. I'm glad to hear that Lucy's finally been re-cast. I think the Lauren and Ben re-casts have worked well.

Thanks for posting that interview, Ben. The more I hear about Bryan Kirkwood, the more annoyed I get. It seems like he's really into characterisation over plot, but at the same time it seems like he doesn't really understand characterisation. It seems like he thinks couples can't work if they're happy, they always need to have problems. The fact he he calls Max and Tanya one of the show's classic couples, the way he harps on about Danielle Harold's 'Lola' as if she's some sort of star... get a grip. And I'd take Sharon over Kat and Alfie any day of the week. I can no longer stand Kat and Alfie to the point that watching them makes me want to stick pins in my eyes.

Thanks for all the info, Huntress. I thought something had happened to Philip because he keeps having flashbacks (obviously to Verena) so it's good to find out what did happen. I really like Vince, the actor was pretty convincing in the emotional scenes. Jascha Rust is my favourite cast member - but he doesn't seem to feature all that much? I read that he came to Berlin as an exchange student from America, but his German is perfect? Poor Lilly being sick all over him when she was drunk! I really feel sorry for Thune<sp> after the way he was treated by that girl for his size and looks. I thought it was particularl effective when he was sitting on the pavement looking at the billboard for erotic underwear! I really love Tanja, she's one of my favourites so far. I have also noticed that the opening titles don't feature the same cast members for every episode. I've seen two versions so far. That's quite unuual, I've never known a soap to do that before!

I've just updated my avatar to reflect my new-found love for Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten. Not only does it feature the hot boy from my avatar, but it's got some really intriguing stories going on. I think I might start watching it full-time. Do you know th backstory for Vince and his family (Is the dad called Leon?) They've had some really emotional scenes which has been great for me improving my German. I had to laugh at the party scenes with the teens, purely because the girl got so sick after having 5 alcopops. In England, our binge-drinking nation, we'd have had 7 or 8 ciders by the time we got like that Loving this show, gonna keep up with it. I am also going to take up Alles was Zahlt.

Do you think perhaps that Sandy Winton chose to leave? I think it's a bizarre decision if so, and I also think it's silly not to keep Emilia on. They could create a little family out of Lucas/Tash and Emilia. It would be goo if Michael was killed off and Tash had to adjust to living with her aunt. I am going to be furious if Tash ends up at the Kennedys. Mainly because it's getting beyond a joke how many randoms they take in, but also because she has barely ever interacted with them at all in the past. It makes the show lack substance and ruins the overall story arc when they mess with the foundations like that.

Rene Zandveld's Twitter has confirmed that Michael's on his way out. Tash is staying, and Emilia won't be kept past her 6 month stint at this stage.