Skylover

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.

I feel like I have the British Soap Awards 2005 or 6 and maybe 8 on DVD somewhere.

I can't stand Reiss, the actor can't act.

Ooh thanks, @Errol!

How Neighbours came back from the dead. https://variety.com/2024/tv/global/neighbours-revival-daytime-emmys-back-from-dead-1236027221/

Ted, Harry and Barney Mitchell are due to be introduced, an extention of Billy Mitchell's side of the family Would rather Ben, Courtney, Louise, or Mark jr were recast. Not introduced in more Billy.

I wonder what they'll do story-wise. Will they kill off Gail? I'd quite like to see her move to another country or something, rather than something sad.

Neighbours didn't air in the US previously, and now it does. So presumably they want to appeal to the American market.

This was a great scene in the aftermath of Den's death.

No worries, do share your thoughts if you watch!

Madge's death, the Lassiters fire and plane crash are probably the best ones I think.

Hopefully they will in time, you never know. But I doubt it! Have you watched any of the Classic eps on Amazon?

Thanks! I have some of the old years on a drive, but the 80s especially is pretty poor quality visually, I guess due to how old the episodes are. 1995 and 1996 seem to have survived pretty well, so I've watched all of 1995 now and did start 1996.

That's a good quality recording! I wish I could watch more old Neighbours episodes.

I think Zainab was great too. I agree that Joshua Pascoe was good. I really don't like the Max Bowden version at all. I really like Lauren, so I'm glad they brought her back. Pat and Frank's dynamic was really interesting.

Ooh, that's a difficult question! I've pretty much watched all the characters now having seen the Drama repeats. My favourite character of all time is probably Janine Butcher. My top 3 are probably: 1 Janine Butcher 2 Ben Mitchell (Harry Reid version) 3 Carol Jackson I really enjoyed Janine's 1999-2004 stint, and she was also very troubled even as a little girl on screen. I wasn't so keen on her later stints. I also really liked the Harry Reid version of Ben Mitchell, but the recast to Max Bowden has pretty much destroyed the character for me, because he's now nothing like what Ben was supposed to be at all. I think Carol is a brilliant character, mainly because the actress was very good. I think Pat was a great character, and Peggy. I also feel like I appreciate Pauline more as a character now, having seen her entire stint. I'm also a big fan of Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf's version), and I really liked Chrissie Watts. Here are some of my favourite characters in action! I wish I had some better clips of Harry's Ben.