Ben

He made Denise an alcoholic who BEATS Patrick? You have to be kidding me. Disgusting. I'm really disappointed in that. REALLY disappointed. It also bothered me how they started off Ian and Denise, I liked it, but then she only stayed with him out of pity (because of Lucy's pointless murder, right?).

And I agree with you on him. Wasn't his first stint praised to hog heaven?

Denise isn't an alcoholic - yet. She just likes to drink a lot b/c caring for Patrick is stressful; Diane Parish has stated that Denise is not an alcoholic or dependent on it in that way. She beat Patrick off screen once. It came off very random and I choose to forget it ever happened, just like the characters have.

I think the reason Santer and DTC's first stint was praised so much is b/c it came off the back of the awful 2004-2006 period. They did turn the show around and made it more watchable. There was a lot of terrible story decisions like Lauren mowing Max down; anything involving Jack's sperm, etc, etc, and towards the end especially, things started to fall apart. Just like in 2007, DTC has stepped in after the horrors of 2010-2013, making the show watchable again. It hasn't been as good as what it could have been, and there has been an over reliance on shock and plot driven stuff that makes the characters look dumb.

How odd. ITV are investigating why the woman cast to play Bethany Platt seems to be 6 years older than they said she was. This is such common practice but there's been a bizarre backlash over it.

BIB: A bizarre backlash by armchair detectives who know nothing about the industry. Thanks to them (and Corrie/ITV's overreaction) they have gotten her fired for something of nothing. Actors have a playing age range, and hers was 16-20, so playing 14 wasn't that much of a stretch considering they actually hired her. Actors fudge their age all the time; it's no big deal to anyone. Now the poor girl's first experience is a negative one.

Corrie/ITV did this to seem kosher and not dodgy. But, all they've done is give credence to behaviour that should never have been taken seriously to begin with.

I think Belle is supposed to have schizophrenia. But we'll see...

I wonder if Emma is intended to just be a guest character for a few months? The story does seem to be moving quite fast at the moment.

ED churn out random 1 hour episodes every so often for no reason at all other than to clash with EastEnders (it would seem). They used to do 1 hour episodes on rare occasions and they used to be special, but ITV went crazy with ED's episode order and scheduling several years ago (probably when ITV decided ED needed to air 6 episodes a week for some reason - which has been a detriment to the show's creativity ever since).

The Bartons as a family bore me. But, I love Ross, and I like Finn, and I love Moira/Adam's relationship right now; but throw in Pete and James and I'm just so bored, especially by James. Emma is interesting and damaged. I think she has potential, but she could easily burn out quickly, so I hope they keep her the right side of crazy.

I love your idea Carl, about Emma moving in on Lawrence and Home Farm. But, I'd tone her down just a little, as I can't imagine Emma getting a kick out of tormenting Lachlan for no reason. I think she'd either try to mother him in some twisted way, or ignore him. She'd deffo clash with Chrissie and enjoy pressing her buttons, while locking horns with Robert. The Bartons (particularly Ross) would take advantage of the opportunity to gate crash Home Farm whenever they want, lounging about, eating their food and drinking their beer, whilst irritating the Whites. A good mixture of drama and comedy.

I was glad they brought back Gemma to do the voice overs, as the story really needed to be seen from Belle's POV. I've not really cared much for the story until now, which is weird, as it's a very similar situation to what my cousin found herself in after her father's death.

I actually think Harry Reid is decent but I just don't know what Ben's point is. There's nowhere to take him.

So, 5 years of Fatboy, long the ire of the DS purity brigades compared to the iconic Zsa Zsa "is she trying to talk? Please make her stop." Carter. What are your favorite Fatboy moments and stories? (or least favorite) Pairings? What would you do with the character?

Don't think Fatboy has done much of anything. His story was with his alcoholic father did nothing to make me care about him (Fatboy). The only pairing I really liked him with was Mercy (and this is probably my fave Fatboy story). I did like his thing with Denise, but that was more about Denise's character than Fatboy's.

His friendship with Dot is the best thing about the character, and I really want him to have a proper home, not keep moving around like a random stray. I think they could have done more with him in the Nick/Charlie story. He also needs a decent love interest, someone he has chemistry with and isn't one of his friends. They could introduce his mother (I forget if she's supposed to be alive or dead), but then all of this would mean introducing new characters just to keep him relevant.

I'm just glad they abandoned whatever plans they had of a Fatboy/Shabnam romance. No chemistry at all.

Thought this might interest some people: Caitlin Stasey (ex-Rachel Kinski) gives a blunt interview (and goes full frontal nude) on feminisim and sexuality on her new website. http://herself.com/caitlin/

It's a very thoughtful, abrasive, super-liberal and interesting read.

A small extract was published in the Herald Sun.

Jim's death is so iconic for the rolling oranges and the horrible CPR acting, not to mention how diabolical Fiona Hartman was.

I miss Rosemary and Helen.

A few things to note from that clip:

1) Hunter was indeed radiantly beautiful, even when wearing make up to make her look pale and dirty due to being held captive for several weeks. It's easy to forget how naturally beautiful she was, due to all the cosmetic surgery she's had since.

2) Morgan should have been around for years, much like how Sheila was, but she was dispatched with way too soon. 2001 was also the penultimate year before B&B took a misdirection with the introduction of Nick Payne in 2003. The show slowly became awful after that.

3) Salem Place on Days! One of the show's most missed sets.

4) Check-out Marlena's huge cell phone. I wouldn't have mentioned it, but there was a segment on BBC Breakfast yesterday about the anniversary of the mobile phone, and Marlena's cell phone was one of the models they were discussing.

Clearly, unmasking Lucy's killer is far more important than going to the hospital after being mowed down by a car. I let that slide b/c this is Emma: the ex-cop who thinks she's unmasked a killer and decided to confront said killer over the phone and in the park, instead of going straight to the police. In light of this, her not going to hospital is understandable.

I don't know, people are suckers for a stunt, and I think even if it wasn't DTC producing, they'd still get praised for this.

Ben Vs Lee randomly pops up for no real reason. I don't think it's even a story any more, just two characters who hate each other for no real reason.

Carl - the only thing left to do when a character is bland and pointless is to get them naked.

Yeah, I didn't like Denise beating Patrick - OK, so she hasn't admitted to it, but it's pretty obvious that's where it's heading. If they really want to go this way, then it would have been better if we had seen more of Denise/Patrick, instead of a handful episodes here and there, as it's all be played off screen.

The NYD episode was probably the best for a long time. It developed nicely, was written well, and was suitably dramatic in all the right places. Loved the soapie goodness of Ronnie dying, then coming back to life, while Emma randomly collapsed every time Ronnie was stable, making you wonder who would die. Also loved how all the suspects randomly held their mobiles and randomly looked suss at the same time just for the sake of the storyline. This was also the first time I've actually liked Emma - she's a terrible cop (who isn't in soap), but it was good seeing her be proactive for a? change, instead of acting like all drippy.

And, Nick finally served some sort of purpose.

So, do you think Cora really will leave with Dexter?

I loved Aleks and Roxy as a couple, but always knew that his wife would have to factor in eventually. I think this story had heaps of potential, but for whatever reason it feels like TPTB got bored of it, so decided to speed it all up without developing any of the characters involved. Marta arrives; Aleks takes Roxy on holiday; he dodges both women for a couple of episodes; Marta disappears for a month, only to pop back up and Aleks' two-timing is exposed. That's literally the beats to the entire storyline.

I really wanted to see Aleks go between Roxy and Marta in secret, showing us how different he is, and how different his relationships with both women are. But we got nothing. No reason to care about Marta and his daughter; no real reason to care sufficiently about Roxy picking yet another failure b/c they haven't really invested much screen time in showing us Roxy/Aleks as a couple. I also really wanted to see Tamwar feature in this more prominently, considering he knew about Marta. Then Charlie randomly found out and threatened to tell Roxy, which I thought made him look like a complete hypocrite considering he's hiding evil Nick, whose supposed to be dead.

Really awful story all round.

What year is Sweden up to?

If you take a Christmas break, combined with the overly huge number of episodes per week, you will never really catch up! (But, I don't know how many episodes Sweden airs per day...)

- the scene where Lee went "crazy" and "beat" Ben was so lackluster and so timid, especially the part where he supposedly got so nuts that he almost hit Nancy.

Forgot to mention this yesterday, but some viewers found that scene quite violent, apparently - too violent for the timeslot. I guess those people don't watch much TV in general. I thought that scene was written all wrong: Lee is a soldier, and would be trained in how to deal with the enemy in strategic ways. He should have locked Ben down and applied pressure to his lungs, cutting off his air supply, instead of pummelling Ben like a common thug with anger management issues.

This could have been a good time to showcase some of Lee's army training, giving the character some much needed depth, as really, you would never know he used to be a soldier. Much like how you would never know Johnny wants to be a lawyer. And does Nancy have any interests? Neighbours has done a much better job at writing a soldier in a believable way, and really shows Lee up for being a poorly defined character.

So anyway, apparently Jake Wood is still on Strictly. Good for him. I wonder if they put him in any nice outfits.

His last outfit showcased his arms nicely. He's had a number of dances that's drawn attention to his ass.

I like Zak. I think he's a fairly relatable guy on some level. I do think the family could do with a reshuffle. They made a mistake having Belle accidently kill Gemma, as she should have always been the one Dingle that was better than the rest.

I'd say Marlon could go for sure, preferably with Laurel; Chas can also follow him out the door.

I think this story with Belle is too big for the actress to do justice. She just doesn't have the personal experience (or acting experience) to give it the emotional gravitas it needs. I also think they should have had Gemma appear visually when Belle revealed that was who she was talking to, or at least had Gemma's voice echo in Belle's ears. I know they're going for realism, but it's a TV soap, and they're supposed to be visually creative, and I think this was an opportunity for them to be more creative with the material.

Bernice hasn't had much to do, really. She works well with Nicola, Rodney, Diane and Ashley, but her relationship with Andy was random and awful. I really didn't like how spiteful Bernice became over a man she dated for all of 5 minutes, plus she was reinforcing her demon daughter's demonic actions.

I'm not that enthralled by Belle's story. They're playing it up like she's being stalked by some mystery assailant, when it seems obvious that it's another mental health story for the Dingles. I just don't find it all that interesting, and I think that's down to the writing and how they decided to execute it. They couldn't just play it for what it is, they had to go and cover it with a thin veneer of mystery, like a whodunit. It's a bit too sensationalized, and not grounded enough for me.

It bugs me also how the Dingles have not recommended she see a counsellor. It wasn't long ago that they were referencing Zak's battle with anxiety and stress, but suddenly he doesn't recognize any of the signs that his own daughter is displaying. It's all very deer-in-the-headlights, 'what's happening to our little girl', 'it's all that Lachlan's fault', kinda stuff.

Speaking of Lachlan, I like him. He seems like a decent enough teen character, and he works well with Belle. He's the only interesting part of the whole story.

Carl: What do you think of Cindy and nuShabnam?

There must be a story behind Sam Strike leaving after just a year. Johnny wasn't featured in any storylines since the attack on The Albert (was that in June?) so something must have happened in the spring to cause production to put the breaks on.

I think Johnny's last story was in August with GuanLuca. It definitely feels like something went down to make Sam Strike quit, considering they clearly had the Johnny/Ben story planned to continue into 2015. That story has suddenly come to an abrupt end, and Johnny is randomly buying a vesper and asking GuanLuca if he can come and stay - in Italy! On the bright side, this awful Ben/Johnny story has ended; it isn't just regressive and annoying, but it makes every character look stupid, especially Abi and Phil.

On a different note: I think they do those bilingual scenes awkwardly. Marta entered the show needing her daughter to translate for her, while Aleks hopped between English and Latvian in a semi-believable way. A month off screen later, and Marta now understands enough English to know what people are saying (even with the slang), but still can't speak it. So, we get badly written scenes of Marta talking to Aleks in Latvian, and him randomly replying in English (her and Roxy throwing shade at each other in their native languages). I've never known anyone not able to speak a language that they can clearly understand. They did these scenes so much more realistically when Mas/Zainab used to argue in Urdu.

Carl, brilliant post. Summed up how I feel about the show very eloquently. I to hope they don't turn Robert/Aaron into a big love story.

Although, I don't really like Pete, as I find him to be a very dull character. I also appreciate Chas' off screen time.

NBA: They never utilize Victoria - ever. Diane had a small story a month ago with Doug, as they finally got together. She's actually being used very well with the whole Robert vs Andy feud.

7 Reasons Why Neighbours Is back On Form: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s14/neighbours/feature/a614569/ramsay-street-revitalised-7-reasons-why-neighbours-is-back-on-form.html#~oXAAVrRXev807y

I've lost count on how many Carter centric episodes we've had now.

If they were actually interesting and engaging, it wouldn't be so bad; but they're quite dull and tedious.

And I myself also do have to wonder about why some of these individuals waited years before coming forward with their story or reporting it. I get that Cosby was basically a king back then but still....say something or at least go on the record. Still another part of me has always looked at Bill Cosby and wondered if he was just too good to be true.

I wasn't going to post in this thread, but I've seen several posts question the validity of the alleged victims simply b/c they didn't come forward at the time. I don't know how much (or if any) of the UK celebrity rape cases made the news in the States, but one thing I learnt from all of that was the era that the allegations took place in (and this is the same for the Cosby allegations) was very important as to why the alleged victims didn't come forward at the time.

Those eras had a terrible stigma associated with women who reported rape: they may get blamed, made to feel like it was their fault; they were less likely to be believed; going up against a famous person who has national (and international) status made it even less likely you would be taken seriously. The 70s/80s/even the 90s, were eras where people turned a blind eye. So these alleged victims should not be blamed for not coming forward when it happened. That's victim blaming. Of course, not everyone who makes these kinds of allegations are legit, but it's important to take them all seriously for the ones who are genuine.

The way he described Darren and Nancy as being over for good, and signalling how they couldn't be together after the Sienna mess, sounded very final. They could have stayed together if he hadn't of ruined them by turning them into a toxic couple and ruining Nancy in the process.

It does sound like Nancy's days are numbered (and I hope if true, that it was Jessica Fox's decision to leave), especially given that he states she will not get back with Darren ever. With a regular character being killed off in January, who else but Nancy could it really be?

This Gloved Hand mystery reminds me of when Days had the Gloved Hand mystery... He does admit that they stole the story from one of the 80s soaps - probably one of the Oz soaps, like Number 96 or something similar.

Yeah, apparently the anniversary special is happening. It's a documentary and will air on Ten as part of the 30th anniversary.

There doesn't seem to be a news story, yet, but apparently it was reported on NeighboursFans by a very reliable (and regular) poster (J Bar), who said the planned documentary featured in Ten's 2015 Upfronts.

Here's the direct quote:

Network Ten has it's 2015 Upfronts party tonight where they make their announcements for shows in 2015 on Ten, Eleven and One.

On Ten News, just now, reporter Angela Bishop mentioned that Neighbours will be celebrating 30 years on television and Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan and Guy Pearce will be part of that. No further details at this stage but we might know more later tonight.

It's a shame to lose Johnny, as I think he is one of the better Carter kids, however, they've not done anything with him outside of his sexuality, not developed his character or given him any kind of story for months. Now he's saddled in this regressive love triangle with Ben/Abi, which doesn't do their characters any favours, and is actually quite weird and lazy. But, they've not developed any of Carter kids, so Johnny is not a lone there, merely a casualty of too many family members arriving all at once, and Mick/Linda/Shirley gobbling up all the story.

I think it's a bit of a failure to have the brand new family - the saviours of the show - fall apart within a year of being on screen.

Sorry I know I missed something big but I'm a little confused on a major point....is Nico really Dodger's? Or did Sienna really make that up (or did she just lie to cover her already fragile relationship with Nico?).

Well, Patrick told Sienna that Dodger is Nico's father... Basically, all we have is Patrick's word, and we all know how he likes to lie and manipulate people. Sienna believes him as she thinks it fits with what she remembers. I guess it leaves it open for them to change it later on if they want, without it being too ridiculous.

Both Christmas breaks for the UK and Oz begin Dec 5.

The UK is 2 weeks behind Oz, so they create two season finales. The show will be off air for 4 weeks.