Ben

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 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.

The actor who plays Kirin is 21, while actress who plays Vanessa is 39 (even though she doesn't look it).

That was the worst episode this year. Les and Pam are awful, but so is Donna, and sadly, I can't muster up the will to care about Carol's story, b/c it should have happened last year. It's like they didn't care enough to finish her cancer story after she was given the all clear, so they're randomly revisiting it now (despite the fact Carol has been her usual self for the last few months), and if they don't care, I don't see why I should. I can't believe they're going to waste Ellen Thomas' character on Les. Seriously, of all the men, she has to be attached to him?! I can't wait for the awful reveal of Pam discovering her husband has another woman. The Cokers are so pointless - even more than Donna. Les, Pam, Donna, and Nancy have had no development since they arrived last year, but we're now supposed to care about them. Nancy sure spilled all the tea to Tamwar really quickly. She has a big mouth. I like Shabnam and Kush, but they're giving them boring material. What was the point of Shabnam's secret? It's had no affect on her at all since she spilled to Stacey. Now her and Kush are being wasted with this secret-romance-that-no-one-knows-why-it's-a-secret-romance story. I like Tamwar (or at least how he used to be). He always worked best when he was with interesting characters, like his family and Afia. But since Zainab, Syed and Afia have left, he's had no one to bounce off of, and due to being shelved for the last 3-4 years, he slowly become boring and very dull. Now I feel Himesh Patel is just phoning it in, and sadly Tamwar has been reduced to a caricature, due to having zero development. I'm really not feeling him and Nancy like I thought I would; they don't have any chemistry, and I don't believe Nancy would look romantically twice at someone like Tam. I always thought Tam would have worked better with Lucy during that time she had her cancer scare. How unrealistic was Kat getting all of her stock stolen? Everyone just stood idly by watching as they took everything.

Some of the cast of B&B wish Neighbours a happy birthday! It's so cute. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjFw8-Ugt44 New promo for the anniversary week. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PquhrIisenI

I've actually grown to like Linda, and I think she's the only Carter who I like watching. I think the writing has been poor for the whole family, and I think Mick and Linda were never developed enough to sustain the amount of air time they have had. DTC came in and decided to put his family on screen - big mistake if you're only basing the characters on your family in one particular story (Johnny's coming out), b/c once that was over, they all lacked direction, and ended up changing their personalities (Linda aside). They were certainly not the mega hit DTC intended them to be. I like Linda b/c I think she retains some sense of likeability underneath it all. I can see the type of character she's supposed to be, but has yet to realise it. You can tell she's supposed to be a woman who has had a lot to deal with from a young age, who has pulled herself up and carried on regardless; she's still with her childhood sweetheart, and that's actually, quite sweet; she likes to be in control, and cares about what other people think (makes sense when she had Lee when she was a teen). But where they went wrong was not communicating her reaction to Johnny being gay, as it made her appear unsympathetic and kinda homophobic when that wasn't the case; then they had her keep so many secrets to the detriment of the character. I don't believe Linda would have kept the rape a secret for as long as she did, or from Mick; I don't believe she would have kept the fact her and Mick aren't married from the kids (that seems ridiculous). I just don't care for Mick, Nancy, Lee, Tina, and I hate victim Shirley. Stan's OK, but he's dying soon, so no big loss really. I like seeing Linda interact with Kat and Sharon, b/c I think all the Carters need this - they're too isolated and wrapped up in their dramas, which has damaged them further from not having friends to interact with. Mick's "friendship" with Ian is forced and contrived, Nancy has no friends, Lee just has whitney, and Tina only has Sonia. I thought Linda and Sharon was another contrived pairing, but recently, I've enjoyed their scenes together. What the Carters need is to have a break from being frontburner, and just play supporting roles in other characters' stories; give them time to breathe and develop. ETA: I didn't really like the Linda/Kat stuff, as this type of pairing always leads to regurgitated dialogue. Anyone who shows they have standards, who are ever so slightly middle class, gets accused of being snobbish and looking down on everyone else, like Lord and Lady Muck. Urgh, Kat - your so far in the gutter, even the local hobo looks down on you. That whole episode was a bore-fest. Of course Shirley had to be randomly included, who added nothing to the group. Kim's story is a mess, and lacks the emotional integrity it should have. I think this should have been the time when we saw Kim and Vincent interact, not have him be this mystery man off screen (while we wait for filming to catch up to Live week), like viewers hadn't guessed is her long-lost husband. Her whole explanation of what she saw Vincent doing sounded like a joke.

I think it's more important that they present this in a realistic way. The only way the CPS would take on the case is if there was some kind of evidence, and Alicia unfortunately has none due to the nature of the attack. It would be wrong for the show to present this in any other way. But, we know that there is the photos on Lachlan's laptop, which if not deleted, could be used as evidence of stalking, and could be enough to persuade the CPS to press charges. The sad reality is that most rape cases don't end with a prosecution or a prison sentence. I really don't feel ED are using this in any sensationalistic way to create melodrama, b/c so far, it has been written sensitively. With a story like this, it is so difficult to present it realistically and at the same time be positive about reporting sexual attacks straight away, as the two don't always gel in real life. At least they have shown Alicia to be treated respectfully by the police and in a sensitive manner. I hope it doesn't discourage people from reporting attacks as well, as you never know whether your case will be one of the success stories in getting a prosecution. It's way better than the time Corrie's Carla was raped, and the cops treated her harshly, like she was in the wrong, not to be believed; or the time HO had John Paul get sent to prison after being set up by his student rapist for inappropriate behaviour with a student (Sam the cop being vile to him as well); or EE having Linda keep her rape a secret for months for no real reason other than to create drama, while throwing in an unnecessary who's the daddy? twist; or recently on Neighbours, when Terese reported her almost rape to the police, only for the story to randomly vanish like it wasn't important (accidental on their part, I'm sure, but still...).

Channel 5's 30th anniversary promo (the video to match the cast photo). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1S4WErqsx4

Promo for the documentary - Neighbours 30th: The Stars Reunite. It will air on Ten and Channel 5 on Monday 16. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jSiNiIf9NE

Apparently so. Chris' departure hasn't been officially confirmed, yet, but a reliable source has confirmed it to be true (the kind of source that people believe). The show is neither confirming or denying anything (much like with Bailey's rumoured exit), which is probably the best way to go.

The omnibus used to have a fixed slot on a midday Sunday, which used to pull in a decent figure for that time of day. Occasionally, it would be moved to BBC2 for sporting events, like Formula 1 or the tennis, etc. But, over the last few years the ratings fell, and more and more sport occupied the slot, pulling in better ratings, so from a business perspective, the omnibus had become kinda pointless (especially with DVRs/PVRs/iPlayer/BBC3 rerun). It did disappear all together for a few weeks, but people complained, so they brought it back in a Friday graveyard slot, which seems to rate similar to what the Sunday episode used to (it could be that it's helped by Graham Norton being its lead-in some Friday nights). I get why the actors would be upset, but the fact is, the whole notion of an omnibus is kinda outdated in the age of on demand services and catch-up TV. iPlayer episodes pull in more viewers than the omnibus does sometimes (I realise there's no way of knowing how many viewers are watching more than once). Where did you hear/read about the change in pay, Tim? Will being paid weekly instead of by the episode be a negative thing?

A few cast shots that have been released. For some reason, they've yet to publicise any shots of the Willises, Kyle & Georgia, and the Turner men.

Yeah, that whole spoof was kinda retro in nature. Susan's love of soaps was acknowledged (which it hasn't been since 2004), and she did indeed slip on spilt milk, and lost her memory in 2002. The accents generally were a lot better than I thought they would be. I did like the Kat/Zoe spoof with Naomi/Paige, and then Lauren appears to say, "No, I'm her mother," highlighting how Paige was Lauren's long-lost dead daughter from 20 years ago. I hope EastEnders do something to congratulate Neighbours on turning 30. It would awful if they didn't. I think it's a nice, easy thing to do, especially in the social media era. The soaps used to do this kind of thing in the 90s, and then it all fizzled out for some reason. Ian Smith was right the last time (either 2009 or 2011), and he's right this time. Susan Bower didn't love the show the way a producer should have, and Ian even had to tell her in 2011, that the way the characters were all behaving was unpleasant to watch. I remember he said he had to fight to get them to write a scene where he visited Madge's grave, before he married Carolyn, b/c Harold would never do anything like marry another woman without consulting Madge. The fact they had Harold marry Carolyn never felt quite right, anyway. From what has been said of the H&A producers, they don't take criticism lightly. Ray (Alf), actually went to the previous producer (Cameron Walsh) in 2009 saying the same thing (2009 was the year they had a people smuggling mystery last the whole year), and that gave way to the boring 2010 year, which went the complete opposite. I'll be interested to see what the current producers make of his comments, especially at a time when the last of the original Braxtons (who have dominated the show) leaves this year. Hopefully they'll inject some balance back into the show. Ray is probably the only one who can get away with criticising the current team - Robert Mamone (ex-Sid Walker) was the last actor to openly criticise them for writing Romeo's cancer story so badly, and they responded by firing him (which he alleged in a tweet). Maybe she will. I don't think it's a coincidence that the mystery dog is the same breed as Bouncer was - maybe this dog will be a relative?

I uploaded it to my photobucket account. I'll leave it there for a few days, but I may take it down, just in case of copyright and stuff. http://vid1248.photobucket.com/albums/hh498/BeachDude44/Jackie%20Woodburne%20has%20a%20message%20for%20Oscar%20winner%20Eddie%20Redmayne_zpsq22bgdgg.mp4

OK, I'm going to attempt to upload it somewhere else. Have you guys seen the EastErinsborough video they did congratulating EastEnders on 30 years?

Where did you try watching, Carl? (Just so I don't end up posting the same one you can't view!)

The idea was for the theme and credit shots to be retro, a throwback to the original, 90s, and early 2000s styles. The broadcast version was slightly altered so the vocals aren't quite as drowned out by the music as they are in that video you posted. They do take a while to appreciate, that's for sure. Here's the 2015, 30th anniversary cast photo. (Left-right) Top Row: Kip Gamblin (Brad Willis), Eve Morey (Sonya Rebecchi), Ryan Moloney (Toadie Rebecchi), Ariel Kaplan (Imogen Willis), Travis Burns (Tyler Brennan), Colette Mann (Sheila), Scott McGregor (Mark Brennan), Josef Brown (Matt Turner). Middle Row: Tom Oliver (Lou Carpenter), Rebekah Elmaloglou (Terese Willis), Tim Phillipps (Daniel Robinson), Jenna Rosenow (Amber Turner), Stefan Dennis (Paul Robinson), Jackie Woodburne (Susan Kennedy), Alan Fletcher (Karl Kennedy), James Mason (Chris Pappas), Chris Milligan (Kyle Canning), Morgana O'Reilly (Naomi Canning), Harley Bonner (Josh Willis), Olympia Valance (Paige Smith), Kate Kendal (Lauren Turner), Saskia Hempele (Georgia Canning), Meyne Wyatt (Nate Kinski). Front Row: Bossy, Calan Mackenzie (Bailey Turner), An unknown mystery dog, that is not on screen. I'll post some of the new cast photos if anyone's interested (or hasn't seen them). They were taken when they filmed the opening credits.

I've always felt Nicola's progression has been natural - may be it helped that I skipped the De Souza era? She still has moments of bitchiness and the schemer she once was, but pairing her off with Jimmy has really mellowed her for the better. Bright Eyes is right about N&J: they have become one of the backbone couples and heart of the show, and who would ever have believed that?! I'd never have imagined David being a schemer - that's certainly not what he is today, or has ever been for the last few years. I'm glad they moved him away from that. Can't imagine he or Nicola would ever flirt with each other, let alone sleep together. Did this all happen in 2008/09? I loved Chloe, but she was never used to her full potential really. I remember her being in the triangle with Syd and Scott (Syd was another character they wasted), and I do remember some of the Carl/Chas story. Didn't she concoct a fake pregnancy or something to snare Carl? I'm sure she faked something at the time. I don't know why they killed off Carl; another silly, thoughtless stunt by Blackburn. Don't watch - yet. I haven't watched Corrie for over a year, then yesterday I saw an episode, and it was so boringly dull. Nothing happened at all. It certainly had that Blackburn look and feel to it that ED had when he was exec producer: grey and miserable with not much happening half the time. It reminded me why I tuned out in the first place. There was one scene with Sean and that guy; they looked like mates, when I think they are supposed to be dating. Todd was acting nasty and jealous for some reason. Tim spent the episode locked in a house being scared of a rat; Gary took some orders in the cafe and dropped a cup; Steph, I think, harped on about making sure Audrey knew how to do black hair; Les Dennis mopped around looking permanently miserable and melancholic for no reason that was stated (is he always like this?), which made Gail look like a ray of sunshine; Michelle outed Steve for being clinically depressed after Norris was being hateful. Terry would have been much more interesting to keep on than Bob. I hated how they killed off Viv, and I think that was quite spiteful of TPTB at the time who were having "issues" with the actress (I forget her name). It would have been so much better if they had bumped her to recurring, that way when new producers would be hired to replace them, they could have reinstated Viv. Of course that's wishful thinking; most writers seem to let their egos do the thinking and they make decisions that ultimately damage the show.

For Robbie, Megan was probably his closest relationship, and they shared some lovely moments; both would have protected each other, even though they acted like they hated one another at times. It was frustrating in their last year, b/c Megan acted like Robbie didn't exist for months, due to the PTB forgetting about them. You could feel that Declan and Megan loved each other a little too much, like it would at times step over the line and fall into something more creepy. They both had each other's backs, and were super loyal to one another to the point of extreme; at one point, all they had was each other, and their closeness was unbreakable, no matter what either of them did to others or each other. I don't think the incestous vibe was intentional, just something that came about from the actors that the writers picked up on. Declan and Megan's last scene together was of him kissing her on the lips, before going underground (nothing passionate, but enough for it to be a bit odd for siblings). Nicola in full on bitch mode is awesome, but she's been toned down a bit over the last few years. She can still deliver the odd acid tongued quip when she needs to. Her and Jimmy are really good with the comedy, too. I wasn't watching during that period with the Valeyard. What was that all about. ITA about David and the buzz cut. He suits it longer and more styled, something that suits the character, IMO. I'm a David/Alicia fan, and knew they would eventually get together during the whole Priya saga. I think his pairing with Priya was quite frustrating b/c David was only with Priya b/c he thought Alicia didn't love him; it all hinged on communication errors and pridefulness from both parties who didn't want to admit their feelings to each another (this part of the story seemed to drag on for months). Priya's character wasn't that sympathetic then, so I think it really helped her character when she developed anorexia while pregnant, as it enabled viewers to see her vulnerable side and flesh the character out a bit. In the end, Priya suits Rakesh more than she did David.

Nicola got pregnant last month, only to discover she had a rare-ish condition - I forget what it was called, but it meant there was no baby, more like an empty shell had formed which meant the pregnancy would not progress. She wanted to try for another baby straight away, but has since been unable to sleep with Jimmy. She's just realized that she has no desire to have sex at all. James is a failure. I don't know if it's the character or Bill Ward's acting choices, but something has gone wrong. It's quite odd thinking that he's related to John, who was much more of a charismatic character than dull James. On another note, Megan has just run off with Fake Archie. I wonder where they're going with this story?