Ben

New cast photos of the 4 new regular characters.

Group shots: Ben Kirk (Felix Mallard), Aaron Brennan (Matt Wilson), Amy Williams (Zoe Cramond), and Jimmy Williams (Darcy Tadich).

The last shot is of Aaron with his on-screen brothers Tyler and Mark.

They seem to be putting a lot of effort in promoting the new Brennan bro. I think they should also focus on Amy, as Zoe Cramond used to star in Packed to the Rafters, which was popular, and she could potential bring an existing fan base with her. Promoting the latest hunk doesn't always bring rewards.

Oh goodie...another “comedy” entrance and another scene where a female character wants the gay character before he reveals that he’s gay. Always new and original.

I laughed when I saw that they refer to him at one point as “Jonny.” I guess the Ben/Johnny knockoff writing lulled them into a typo.

http://www.soapsquawk.co.uk/news/first-look-at-paul-coker-in-walford.php

Paul Coker is basically a Johnny recast with some minor character changes - basically he's playing out Johnny's storylines. I can't believe it has been a year since this story started, and Ben still hasn't developed at all. The pacing and plotting on this show is awful. My investment in Ben's character has long gone. DTC knows how to kill the momentum.

I think it would have been better if they had introduced Paul in a much better way. Maybe settled him in with Pam/Les first, before hinting at future story with Ben. I also think they should have made him bi, and made Lola a love interest, too - it would have given her something to do, instead of her twisting in the wind like the invisible woman for over a year.

Alicia will be a loss to the show when she leaves. She is one of my favourite characters, and her and David are probably my favourite couple on the show. I really don't want Alicia to die (and especially not murdered); my first thought was that David should leave with her, as that feels like the best exit for both characters. Whatever happens, I hope it's believable and isn't death related.

I like Carly, but I don't want her with David. Carl's right: I think it's obvious that is where they're heading, despite Carly being better suited to Ross - shame they've gone the boringly predictable route of the triangle with Debbie/Pete.

Layla is a tricky character to predict future wise, as she's a supporting player, currently stuck in a dead-end triangle with Jai/Megan. I'd like to believe she has a bright future on the show, but who knows. I can easily see them sacrificing Layla for Megan's revenge or something. I'd prefer it if they just got rid of Megan all together; she doesn't bring anything to the show at all.

I also wish they would ditch Ali and Ruby. I can't believe they had a moving away story, but haven't actually left!

But the Brennan Boys are Beth's nephews!

(longstanding NeighboursFans.com joke)

But yes, it would be good to see if they could get Natalie Imbruglia back for a short stint with Ned. All they'd need to do is briefly acknowledge the same surname (and of course point out that Beth is not related to the Brennan boys lol).

The show kinda fuels the fires of that joke when they had Mark reference he has a sister! I don't think the family needs to be any bigger than it already is. I've not seen any press surrounding NI and her opinion on returning to Neighbours, so I live in hope that she isn't another Kylie. I think it would be good to see how well (or how unwell) Beth and Terese would get on.

Does anyone know why TPTB at Neighbours seem so resistant to Melissa Bell returning permanently as Lucy Robinson? The actress seems to actively want a proper return, and so do many fans. Surely she'd bolster the Robinson clan with Paul and Daniel?

All they've ever said is like having Lucy represent the wider Neighbours community, I guess much like how Sue Parker and Jayden Warley does. Now that Lucy is having Chris' baby, they can't bring her back permanently as they'd have to explain Chris not returning with her, considering his exit was all about being an active father to his child.

Still waiting for Piper Willis though. I can understand they maybe saving her for if/when Imogen and Josh leave but preferably I'd like there to be some overlap.

Plus the length of her exchange trip has become ridiculous!

Oh and Ned should turn up at some point too.

There's a rumour circulating that Piper Willis is being cast now; apparently it stems from a casting call and casting tapes that someone has seen. I'd like to believe that it's a possibility, as Piper really needs to be seen this year, and Terese has been making a lot of trips to Canada...

It feels like the Willises haven't been around for long, and maybe that's partly b/c they are quite under developed in some ways, so I don't want to see Imogen and Josh leave, yet. I'd like to see them interact with Piper for a while, and maybe bring Doug back for a longer stint, too, as he always brings a fresh dynamic to the family.

I'm happy to wait to see Ned for a bit longer. I'd love it if they could tempt Natalie Imbrulia to do a guest stint and reprise her role of Beth, if they introduce Ned. Might be a bit weird having two Brennan's on the show that aren't related.

Four new-ish regular characters arriving: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s14/neighbours/news/a647877/all-change-for-neighbours-four-new-regulars-join-the-soaps-cast.html#~pd2Z136eE188t6

Ben Fitzgerald (Libby Kennedy's son) is returning. Paul's long-lost daughter Amy Williams, has finally been cast, and will arrive with her son. Aaron Brennan will join his two brothers on screen.

Someone on NeighboursFans.com said they went on the tour last week, and it was mentioned that Saskia Hempele (Georgia) has left the show - this has been rumoured for months, so not surprising.

It shows what a good sport Chris Hemsworth is for wanting to do that cameo. Shame other ex-soap stars don't have his attitude.

If I had been the H&A PTB, I would have thrown together some scenes and had CH reprise his role of Kim Hyde. Sure, it would have been random, and probably lacked any kind of story, but one has to capitalise on these things when one can. LOL.

I'm guessing it will be the new teenage girl McQueen, Cleo.

The rumour is it will be Phoebe. Apparently, the ID of the victim is someone who was recently in an accident, and who was supposed to have died then, but didn't. Phoebe was in the train crash, and was apparently supposed to have been a victim. So says someone reliable on Tumblr. We'll see how reliable they are soon.

We know someone will die, as the McQueens have been filming a funeral last week.

That's what's worse: he hasn't been SORAS'd! I think fans would have taken it better if they had aged VJ with the recast, but they didn't. They chose to recast the character with an older actor without ageing up the character.

It would be like if Days recast Ciara with an older actress, but kept the character the same age as before. So, this older looking Ciara would still be hanging out with Theo, like nothing had changed. Weird, right?

Yum! New VJ is HOT! But is he that atrocious of an actor? Maybe I need to go look up his scenes and be the judge....

The acting is not the issue, it's recasting a character who was a young looking 14 year old with a very ripped 21 year old. VJ was born on screen in 2001, and should not look like this. They haven't even SORAS'd him; just left VJ still being 14, still best mates with 14 year old Jett, and still in the same class at school. It's ridiculous. It was a very unnecessary recast just so they could do Dan Ewing a favour by hiring his brother-in-law. I think they've made it worse for themselves, as they have insisted on doing shirtless photo shoots, sexualising what is supposed to be a 14 year old boy. It's all very inappropriate.

It would have been better if Matt Little had been cast as a new character related to Vinnie, which would have related him to Leah and VJ without all of this silly recasting. I'm not sure if they ever explained Vinnie's family tree, as I think we only ever met his father, so maybe they could have cast him as Vinnie's brother or cousin.

Also, casting him on H&A meant he could no longer guest on Neighbours as Paige's adopted brother Ethan. There were times when I think they would have brought Ethan back, as he was kind of popular.

Yes, it really is bad.

This sums it up nicely.

Out of all of the picture frame credits, I much preferred the 2004-2006 versions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3kp01xcRi4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s633BotQWWs

They had some nice ones in the past (I especially like the 2000/2001 one here).

What were Fisher and Alisa like? Were they big fan favorites? Did the actors want to leave?

I hated the blue fishes opening credits from 2000-01. I think they just represented a change in the show that I didn't like as much, and things got kinda boring around this period.

Fisher and Alisa were fan favourites, and I think Alisa had slightly more support. Fisher was one half of a very popular couple with Marilyn, which was quite unexpected, considering the age gap at the time. Judy Nunn has spoken about her wanting to leave the show at the time, so she could concentrate on writing her books. Alisa's death came as quite a shock to many fans. I think it was Norman Coburn's decision to leave, which was a shame, but at the time, it did feel like TPTB didn't really know where to take his character. Apparently, as it says on IMDb, he decided to leave after his dog died (he'd had it since he started on the show), which made him realize how long he'd been on H&A. Make of that what you will.

Shocked that Lincoln Younes (Casey) hasn't made the move, but I am sure he will eventually.

One thing I can say about Australian soaps, much like the British, seem to appreciate and adore their elder characters.

I thought he would have gone straight to Hollywood, but he chose to take Aussie roles instead. He has appeared on several dramas since leaving H&A, like Love Child, which he's still contracted to.

There was a time when Neighbours tried moving away from older characters, and flooded the show with random teens, but thankfully that's been rectified now. H&A has completely moved away from giving their older characters any kind of development (unless, like Alf, his portrayer goes public). They've struggled to give Irene, Roo and Leah any kind of story for a long time (Leah especially gets thrown the same old storyline every few months: failed relationship/health scare), while Alf is just an active counsellor to all the teens (his recent PTSD story is the first time Alf's had anything meaty to do for years); John & Marilyn are the only older couple that the show focuses on, but all they get is dull subplots involving moving house or questioning Jett's report card - nothing big.

The show right now has the worst cast in a long time.

Why did they stop having an opening? Money? Or shame?

@ the shame comment.

They ditched the opening in favour of a title card b/c at the time, it was the latest fad to come out of Hollywood. The official statement was that it would free up much needed drama time. Now, instead of opening credits, they have a 60 second recap. Viewers aren't even getting any new scenes to fill the space, just extra recap. Fans want the opening back, but they're too stubborn to cave on the subject.

This show used to have great closing credits to match the opening. The UK never got to see them, as ITV used to cut them down to 10 seconds for no apparent reason. Now, all Oz gets is credits superimposed over a promo - the same as the US. International broadcasts still get end credits, but they're pretty generic, and not as fun as the late-90s set was.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDbPX0f7RQU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gslxe1tWNWY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ux_hOwj8QRU

Doesn't Neighbours still have credits?

Yeah, Neighbours has thankfully kept their closing credits, which may have something to do with the fan base. They're very well aware that ditching the credits would be a bad move.

I compared Whitney and Daniel b/c both are deadweight and both are characters that they writers still try and make work but they never will.

Right. I guess I don't see them trying to make Whitney work, b/c if they were, I figured she'd have story and some kind of direction. Daniel gets thrown into everything and anything, so it's obvious they're trying to make him work, but not so obvious with Whitney. You're right: they are both dead weight.

That style was present (I think) throughout 1994-95, but that actual version, I think, is quite rare, as they revamped the credits in 1996. I've never seen the Irene/Donna shot, or solo Marilyn before, and I think that Shane/Angel shot was an update from their previous version.

Good find.

NBA: I don't think you can compare Whitney to Days' Daniel - he's shoehorned into every story going, while Whitney has been on the back-burner for over a year, barely making any appearances. Lola is more entrenched on the back-burner than Whitney, but only b/c she's appeared in even less episodes. I do agree that Whitney's story is over, and really she should just go.

Lee is dull, but inoffensive. He's more than irrelevant, he's basically non-existent. They can't even use him in an organic way. I don't know how he feels about his family dramas, b/c he never has a voice. They focus on Nancy, but not Lee, which is weird. I expected to see a scene with Lee confronting Dean, as that seems like a logical thing to happen, but there's been nothing. Lee does nothing. I kind of want him work, b/c I think he could work if they just put some effort into exploring his character.

I really like Kat & Alfie winning the £1 million scratch card. It's nice to have some positive scenes and some much needed development for these two. The only negative so far were those awful, stereotypical restaurant scenes.

I'm not feeling the Kim/Vincent story, but I do like the Ronnie/Vincent stuff.

I just don't really know what loose ends Rachel had to tie up outside of Charity and Jai. Her and Sam could have left things where they were, and she and Ali weren't really on bad terms; all they had to do was sort out some kind of amicable arrangement with Jai, and Rachel could have gone back to where ever she was living. The way they are writing her, it does feel like she will be leaving, again, and I don't feel she needed to return for so long if that is the case.

I was disappointed that the fake Archie story didn't go anywhere interesting, and has ultimately been pointless.

There was some great scenes surrounding the random hitman stuff, and I've found that Aaron and Paddy work really well together. I loved their hospital scene where Aaron kinda broke down, but I hope Aaron finds a backbone at some point, b/c he doesn't deserve to be no-one's seconds. Robert is a great, complex villain, and I love how he justifies his actions by turning it on to somebody else and making it their fault by default. He even managed to blame Chas for him hiring the hitman.

The Whites are odd. I don't feel there's enough of them to have a decent family dynamics, and Lawrence is a lot more ruthless than I feel he needs to be - ruthlessness seems to translate into nastiness; Chrissie is so unlikeable and unsympathetic for me, who I find quite cold, but not in an interesting way - I don't know if she's supposed to be a bitch or not. Lachlan is the most interesting, and probably the most likely to be redeemed as you say; I guess the arrival of his father will shed some light on Lachlan's personality. Still, the Whites are better suited to Home Farm than Declan ever was, so that's a bonus in their favour.

I really wanted them to use Priya more in the David/Alicia story, as I feel she probably would have went for Chrissie publicly in defence of Alicia. I'm just glad Layla has stopped pining over Jai.

I don't think Rachel approves of the Dingles visiting Charity; plus, the Dingles were against Sam getting back together with Rachel, as they believed she would hurt him again, and that he could do better. Lisa was quite antagonistic when Rachel moved back in.

I don't really get why Lisa has become so hateful, lately, as she used to like Rachel before, and I thought she would have had more empathy for her situation. I also don't understand why Rachel is being so schemy, as she was never quite like that before.

What has been a decent run for the show, has now taken a slight dive, again, now that the Dingles/Sam/Rachel are back on screen.

Not sure Robert hiring a hit man was all that great, either, as it seemed a bit random. After his guilt over Katie's death, I don't buy that he would be fine with hiring someone to take out Chas. This story doesn't feel like it has the clear direction it had before. I wonder if they'll have Lawrence find out soon? Could be a good way to tie-in his own past.

Thomas Atkinson is a very good actor but I don't know if I can take a story where they tell us Lachlan is the true victim, or he is a victim too, especially since Alicia will probably be the one to comfort and support him.

Lachlan is a victim of modern technology, but Alicia is more a victim, and I hope that distinction is made clear. Lachlan needs to have the epiphany and realize the horrible thing that he has done, but I hope Alicia will not be "comforting" him, and I hope no-one gives him too much of a free pass. When Lachlan is eventually truly remorseful, can they really touch on the subject of how damaging viewing adult material is for kids. It's a complex subject, that's for sure.

I'm loving Dastardly Dr. Nick, and all his evil schemes. He could easily be a bit of panto villain, but the actor plays him with a hint of conscience (just a bit), and some depth. I like how he stammered and shouted for everyone to stop looking at him after Georgia chucked juice down his trousers, showing signs that he doesn't like being publicly embarrassed. Although, faking test results to show Paul has leukemia will surely be a big mistake when Paul learns the truth - there's nothing like Paul Robinson scorned. I feel sorry Georgia, who I know will get caught up in Nick's schemes.

Has everyone seen the photos from the 30th b/day bash that had past and present cast in attendance? Let me know if you want me to post any.

There's no way it could have been Den because Sharon would then turn out to have had sex with her own half-brother and had a child with him. I'm glad the show put the kibosh on that right away on Tuesday's episode.

Just to clarify, I'd totally forgotten about Dennis! I'm really not advocating incest! For some reason, I had a total mind fade when writing that post.

Thank God you brought that up, Tim.

Carl: I also don't want it to be Kathy's Gavin, either. Too predictable and unbelievable.

So do any of you think they actually could go ahead and have it turn out that Pete Beale was Sharon's birth father, making Sharon and Ian half-siblings?

Do you think that would be a good idea to relate Sharon and Ian?

IMO, I don't think it would add to the characters or their relationship, and for that alone, it would feel like a very unnecessary plot twist. It's not like they aren't good friends, or have a rivalry going on that this kind of thing could smooth over. It's a short term plot point that will have no long term impact.

I think it would be better for the show and for Sharon, if her bio dad was someone unknown, a new character who isn't related to anyone on the show. I did quite like the idea of Den being her bio dad all along, but they squashed that. I don't know what it is, but something about this whole story leaves me cold (and bored), and I think that's b/c the way its been written so far is quite predictable and not that interesting.

On the topic of Martin, I am just not feeling this new actor at all.

Neither am I. Was Marin always this arrogant, moany, annoying, and kind of a jerk? I know Martin 1.0 wasn't the most interesting of characters, but I don't feel like he would have talked down to Fatboy for no apparent reason, like he's an irritant or something. Maybe it's the actor and his poor acting choices?

I also think it's unrealistic that Martin would just move into the Beale house like that, considering that Cindy - a teenage girl - doesn't really know him at all. The girl already has a baby, would Ian really care about her and Liam? Plus, what is Martin's problem with Sonia giving Liam condoms? It feels a bit super conservative of Martin to be taking the moral high ground on something he probably wouldn't do. Something about the whole story isn't believable for me.

On another note: Oh, Stan, why can't you hurry up and die? So tired of his repetitive scenes with Tina and co, moaning about them not caring about him, etc. and them falling over themselves to convince him otherwise. It seems to happen every other week.

Someone said it was a parody of the show's '80s credits. I don't know.

If that's true, then it wasn't very clear. Actually, I think if that was their intention, then it's worse. It felt more like they were parodying themselves than Neighbours.

With Jason Herbison confirming that someone will be killed off, it is being heavily speculated that the victim will be

Matt Turner (Josef Brown)!

Matt does get mowed down by a car, and spoilers do say that "the Turners grieve for Matt"...

I actually have to commend the show for keeping all their upcoming exits a secret. People will be speculating right up until the episodes air.

I left a reply in the Neighbours thread, but I'll add an edited version in here.

It was cute, but not as good as Neighbours' EastErinsborough sketch. I don't feel it was as coherent as it could have been. But, I am glad they cobbled together something to return the well wishes. It was good that they tried.

I liked the Babe/Jason Donovan scene, as it so reminded me of the time in Neighbours, when Rowena Wallace's character Mad Mary kidnapped Pepper and tied her up.

Their effort was cute, but not as well thought out as Neighbours' anniversary nod to EE. But, I guess they didn't have much time to think up a decent concept.

I did like the Aunt Babe/Jason Donovan scene (as it reminded me of Rowena Wallace's character Mad Mary kidnapping Pepper), and the Kat/Alfie one, as well as the comedic scene with Cora blowing smoke in Linda's face, only for her be engulfed in smoke.

But, Mick/Nancy carrying out the dead body seemed odd, and Lee boozing on the bench dreaming of Susan was just weird.