Skylover

Not long I imagine. I kind of liked her and Felix together.

In terms of the current show vs 2011-2022; I do think the current show is doing pretty well. 2021 was a pretty ropey year where not much happened, but the final 2022 season was pretty strong and I think the revival has been pretty much the same level as the final six months of 2022, if not a bit better with the introduction of a new family in the Varga-Murphys and the opprtunity to get to know the Rodwells in more depth. There was a stale feeling in 2021, so it's nice there are fresh dynamics. 2015-2018 is a bit of a golden era, with early 2017 being the peak of that time. There's a lot of change from 2011 to 2014, it's not as strong as 2015-2018, but it is still pretty good. 2011/2012 were quite character-driven but it went more plot driven from 2013 onwards, but there were 2 new families that year which gave it a fresh vibe. 2019 was a bit of a gemini year, with big highs and big lows, with Sonya being axed, and the introduction of Kyle, Pierce and Finn as weak male leads. Overall, I'm really enjoying it. I love having hotties Vic and Felix back. I also think the Boylesque story is quite genuinely funny and very old school Neighbours in a good way. I think the cast is very strong at the moment, Melanie is better now Toadie's not weighing her down like an anchor, Holly is persistently great, having Vic and Felix back is great, and I'm enjoying seeing Andrew and Wendy's marriage tested. Also loving seeing the Varga-Murphys together a lot as a whole family unit. The only real ways I'd improve it is I'd increase connections within the cast and explore more off-screen family relatives. Krista should have been revealed as Melanie's secret daughter IMO, I'd love to see a Petrides niece or nephew for Terese, an extra Kennedy like maybe Jackson, Kerry Mangel in the sharehouse attending Eden Hills uni, I'd explore the unseen relatives like Cara's or Remi's parents, or Remi's siblings, or introduce a secret third child for Vic he didn't know about to throw a spanner in the works and cause drama, exploring Andrew and Felix's parents would be good, as this could cause further drama with the Varga-Murphys due to their link to JJ as biological grandparents. I'd ramp up the drama a bit, but in a character driven way rather than a plot driven one, like maybe a pregnancy or something for Sadie, to test her and Byron's relationship. An unwanted young pregnancy could be interesting followed by an abortion or something, or maybe adoption following the birth? I'd explore Susan's brother as a black sheep of the Smith family, having not been mentioned since 1996. They could create a compelling reason for this, other than just the writers forgot he was ever mentioned. If I was producer I'd be begging Natalie Bassingthwaighte to come back, Izzy is iconic and with Holly in the show it would be brilliant to have her back. I'd have her cheat on Shane with Vic or Felix, if they can get back Shane for an extended period too. I would have had Izzy have a baby to Shane and got married to him off-screen in the meantime so she could be a Ramsay in name. I'd be looking to explore an alcoholism storyline with a younger 20 or 30 something character, which could be interesting as it's a complex subject. Maybe someone diagnosed with ADHD or someone with bulimia or an eating disorder. I would also be looking to explore homophobia, maybe a homophobic attack on Aaron and a resulting mental health storyline. The cast is great and diverse in terms of demographics, I'd just be looking for them to increase connections/family members in the households and be more diverse/ambitious in terms of storytelling and the subjects they tackle rather than someone being taken hostage every 3 weeks which gets boring real quick. Morally ambiguous characters like Vic, Felix, and Izzy are much more interesting than token guest villains who have no depth. Back to what I was saying earlier about off-screen relatives; in the 80s, mums, dads, siblings, grandparents were often introduced as guest characters and I think we should see that happen more frequently. The fact Terese has been in the show 11 years and we still know so little about her dad is something that I don't think is a good thing. Also, I'm really excited about the new generation Max Ramsay joining. The actor is beautiful, and the show has lacked eye candy in comparison to previous eras.

Fingers crossed! Kinda hoping Vic and Felix become regulars. Shipping Vic and Mel.

I hope so @Liberty City, I don't want to go through the grieving I went through in 2022 again!

Fingers crossed all is good. But I'd imagine now is about time discussions will be taking place about whether it will be renewed, I suspect the decision will be made by Christmas at the latest? I hope we get news by then.

Oh, do catch up! We could do with the support after the news that TEN will be cutting to 3 eps a week until December, it feels like an ominous decision.

I've just been on holiday so am behind a week too!

The actor playing Max Ramsay is beautiful. Looking forward to seeing the character! Will also be great to have Ramsays back in Ramsay Street.

Wow, I'm truly shocked. I have always absolutely loved John and Marlena. It was thanks to John and Marlena that I really got interested in Days when I saw it in Barbados back in 2008. RIP Drake, thanks for the fun memories you've given me of this iconic soap.

Just wondering if our American viewers have ever seen Bouncer's dream from 1990? 🤣

Really enjoyed Chrissie's return.

I don't watch the other UK soaps, but I'm wondering if EastEnders tends to recast more than the other UK soaps. There's been quite a lot of Peter Beales as well.

Yeah, I'd say both UK and Aus soaps recast less than US soaps.

Toadie's life flashing before his eyes really hit me.

I hope politics is going ok in the US. Please pray for us in the UK. I can't say more than that

I love this scene

I'd be interested to hear from US members here thoughts on Tess and Heath? Their American accents sound so fake and cringeworthy to me. I wish they'd hired American actors.

It's a real shock, as Janet was always so vibrant and had a youthful energy about her! It's been confirmed that Toadie was axed A sad week for Neighbours fans! https://www.backtothebay.net/news/2024/07/29/it-actually-wasnt-my-choice-ryan-moloney-on-his-neighbours-exit/

RIP Janet Andrewartha Was truly shocked to hear this today.

Completely agree.

I really like Harold and JJ scenes. I'm hoping they introduce one of Harold's great grandchildren as a regular character now Harold's back, and I'm wondering if the fact Kerry was mentioned as being in Year 12 means she might be back soon to attend Eden Hills uni as a permanent character. Yeah, I think I like Sky and Boyd together best. The Sky/Lana story from 2004 is what originally got me into Neighbours as a big fan, but at the time, Sky showed minimal reciprocal romantic interest in Lana. I think she wouldn't have been the type to shy away from pursuing a lesbian relationship if she wanted to, as she never really was the conforming type.

I am a bit disappointed if that's Sky's return done and dusted already. There are a lot of missed opportunities. She never interacted with Melanie (who hadn't returned yet last time she was back in 2020) and we heard absolutely nothing about Sky's life. I was hoping they'd sort out the mess they'd made of her last return as a detective, and fill us in on whether she'd had a career change, but there was nothing about that. We also heard nothing about Scotty, or her third child, or whether she had any more children, or what their names might be. We did hear that Kerry's now in Year 12, and it was a pleasant surprise that she hadn't been SORASed (speaking of which, I'm curious as to why her age has remained consistent, and I'm wondering if Steph McIntosh had any input into the script, as I'm curious about why the writers would keep her that age even if I agreed with the decision). I do think this is symptomatic of The Powers That Be not quite getting it right when it comes to returnees. Sky is a huge, iconic character, and she comes back for a B storyline with Harold, is gone within 2 episodes and we hear nothing about her life. Sky's return should be a huge deal, as apart from Izzy, she's the only character from that 2000s era who I'd consider to be an iconic character. Steph McIntosh hints that she'd be up for appearing more according to her BTS video on the Neighbours socials, and it does indicate somewhat a lack of forward planning that the producers introduced the Varga-Murphys with lesbian mums, when we could potentially have had Sky and Lana return with their own family. I don't really see room for 2 lesbian families, as well as Nicolette (and currently Kiri on screen). They couldn't exactly split Sky and Lana up, as that would anger a lot of fans (I'd accept it, but I think many wouldn't). I guess the most we can hope for is that Sky continues to make appearances, and more substantial ones at that, where she's given some characterisation and we actually learn about her life. Maybe she could bring Kerry, Scotty, her other child(ren) when she returns down the line, as the blink and you'll miss it return doesn't really do justice to such an iconic return. I'm actually wondering if there are many old-school writers around at the moment? Was it a new writer who wrote that Harold gun blunder, as I don't understand how that script got through the script editors untouched, and to be honest I'm a little surprised Ian and Steph didn't object to it. The script editing process has been a bit poor/lacklustre recently, with that gun line, and the Hugo suggesting Terese's fish name could be Goldfish, when that's already taken by Georgia. Ultimately, if they're going to do these returns for big, iconic characters, there needs to be adequate consideration given to that returning character themselves. I know Harold's a big, iconic character, but Sky is too, and deserves that recognition. The current team have never seemed to really understand/recognise Sky as a character though, given how she was written in 2020 and this time. I still think it was worth it for that lovely Harold/Sky scene in the cafe, which was so heartwarming. I'd never have thought a year or two ago that we'd even get more Harold/Sky scenes. But yeah, I hope they do better by Sky's character somehow going forward. And the producers really need to think about how the show all fits together and the overall plan, as they can be a bit gung-ho with their ideas, but I wonder if anyone looks at an overall plan in terms of the cast demographics and long-term plan. Sky is where my online username comes from.

I'm mixed. I really loved Chrissie as a character, and I can see as EP why there would be temptation to bring her back. But as @BetterForgotten says, I can't see any reason she'd realistically want to return to the scene of the murder. I hope at least that Kim Medcalf is coming back, as without Sam, I don't really see the point.

No worries, how is everyone finding the show?

Just been uploading more Neighbours opening titles to YouTube.