Ben

That sounds like one of those odd decisions that will either work or fail. Curtailing the number of episodes from being a daily drama to a weekly drama is one thing, but changing the whole show is completely different. They may as well start a new show.

Current viewers may have problems adapting to the new format, as surely it will no longer feel like VL, even though it will centre around familiar characters. I guess they aren't bothered about existing viewers as there isn't many, and are hoping they can entice old viewers/new viewers to tune in.

I guess they will be getting rid of several characters in order to sustain the weekly format? It does sound eerily similar to Revenge (right down to the new title), which I think shows a lack of imagination.

What do current fans think of these plans? I wouldn't be happy if I was a fan.

The days of having money to spend on sets has long gone.

When I first started watching, Lily was in Salem with Greta, so I missed seeing this set.

Neighbours Vs Zombies webisodes photos: David Bishop, Stingray Timmins, Drew Kirk and Robbo Slade have been confirmed to return as zombies, while Mason Turner returns along with an adult Hope Gottlieb (the daughter of Todd Landers and Phoebe Gottlieb from the 90s!).

The series débuts on Monday October 27 @ http://youtube.com/Neighbours

This does look pretty awesome, and a creative way of bringing back characters without encroaching the reality of the main show. Neighbours webisodes have so far been excellently directed, and I think the main show could benefit from more "edgier" directing.

I don't know what I think about Elaine. That scene with Dean was great, and kinda cemented who the character is, but a lot of her dialogue sounded like recycled Pub Landlady Clichés. I also hate how Linda hasn't told a soul about the rape, and how every time she tries to, each character gives her inappropriate advice. Not everything has to be a secret for the sake of having a secret, and this story doesn't feel organic with Linda purposefully suffering in silence until Christmas day. I think it would be great if she confided in someone random, a character who she doesn't share much screen time with, as it could be a good opportunity to develop friendships.

This whole Max/DC Dull story is so dull. Emma has turned out to be such a bland, whiny character, and I don't believe that Max is in love with her. I do like Abi's snarky comments, and how she's now a pessimist after being dumped by Jay. I hope these cops don't turn out to have anything to do with Lucy's murder, as that would be a cop out (no pun intended!). I don't get why the DS Bryant is stalking Lauren in such a creepy fashion.

It's disappointing that they basically dropped the Robbie/Finn friendship as soon as fans pointed out they had chemistry and would make an interesting couple. Suddenly, Kate Oates said they were not going down that route, b/c they didn't want to turn a straight character gay, even though it would have been quite plausible with Robbie, considering he was an outsider, and hasn't been developed much at all. Fielding the question of a Finn/Aaron hook up, and it was two characters shouldn't be thrown together just b/c they're gay. Fair play. Only, Finn and Aaron had a one night stand the first minute they made eye contact.

They were well aware of how hated Robbie was last year, and well aware of how likeable he had become this year. It's a shame they killed him off now, and couldn't see the potential he had.

It's good for ED, considering they have had zero promotion. EE has had promos playing the last couple of weeks, and DTC went out of his way to drum up hype on Twitter. Even with no promos, ED still managed a ratings increase. ITV treats the show poorly compared to Corrie.

This has been an awesome climax to what was a mediocre story. Declan has only ever been interesting when he turns psycho.

Poor Robbie. Should have taken out Megan instead. Or Pete. Or Jai (some convoluted explanation could have been given for being there). I'm not counting Declan out just yet.

Everything (bar Ronnie) about Peggy's cameo was awful. The acting was seriously bad, chewing the scenery bad, and the dialogue was the worst - 90% exposition and unnecessary recap. Peggy declaring all out war on Sharon felt like they'd accidentally added in scenes from 2001. The characters had moved on, and while they will never be BFFs, Peggy would have declined the invite, not had a silly OTT meltdown.

On the plus, I did like the scenes with Sharon softening towards Ben, and that scene in The Vic with Shirley being put in her place by Ben declaring his support of Sharon marrying Phil. I feel like they're trying to downplay Ben's previous psychotic behaviour a bit, probably so they can "feasibly" pair him with Johnny.

Killing off Dean will make Shirley a martyr, so this cannot happen for that reason alone. Shirley has yet to take responsibility for being an awful mother, so I don't want to see her having a pity party over her dead rapist son who hated her guts.

I think they've missed heaps of opportunities for Dean's character, and I think they've brought him back just to throw him under the bus to prop Mick/Shirley. When the truth comes out, you know Shirley will finally have the son who treats her right.

Sharon/Linda would have made better frenemies than forcing them into the best friend category. They have no depth and no real chemistry. I thought Sharon's revenge would rejuvenate the character and be really interesting, but it's been mediocre so far. It didn't get much air time, and it was full on contrived set ups, like Marcus meeting Sharon in The Albert where he could easily be spotted by Phil. I think Sharon would be better leaving the show, as they continue to waste her.

Spoiler photos of the tornado story:

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s14/neighbours/news/a591392/neighbours-tornado-causes-chaos-in-erinsborough-new-spoiler-pictures.html#~oNpsOnEmGtJf0s

This looks pretty epic!

Australia does get tornadoes. Here's a handy link that charts tornado activity since 1795-2012.

http://www.theage.com.au/data-point/TornadoesInAustralia

That promo looks hilarious. I think this will be fun. I just hope their budget stretches to something that doesn't look cheap.

Isn't "public school" in the UK actually private school? It's very confusing. And don't get me started on how in the North "dinner" is the term used for "lunch."

Yeah, public school, AKA private school, boarding school, and independent school. Not to be confused with state-funded school, which sounds like it should be public!

For a small country, we do have a strong north-south divide with naming things. The dinner/lunch thing bugs me, too.

On another note, I really hate how Sharon looks like she's just stepped out of the 90s. I'm all for rebooting the character back to her 90s glory days (seeing as they don't know how to develop her any other way), but there's no reason why she has to dress like a 90s reject.

So, Nick Cotton is alive - tell us something we didn't already know, EE! They could have had this "twist" months ago. And lets not mention the stupid, contrived debt story, that turned out to be a big fat plot device, of which Bianca will learn nothing from.

Anthony's scenes with Kat were awesome. I loved them as a couple back in the day, and you could see they still had chemistry. But, I thought his guest appearance ended on a negative and sour note. He basically came back to say that he wasn't going to look after Patrick, b/c he's got enough on his plate and still holds a grudge from all those years ago when Patrick wasn't around during his childhood. He could have said all that in a one-sided phone call to Denise.

I don't remember Anthony leaving the last time holding on to this grudge against Patrick. It seemed very cold and callous, and kind or random. I know they couldn't have Patrick move to Scotland to be cared for by Anthony, as the story would be over, but they could have come up with something much better that didn't make Anthony look like a jerk.

On a separate note, I see they're doing their best to reboot Sharon to the character she once was by giving her self assured lines, like: (Linda: "You're Sharon Rickman.") "No. I'm Sharon Watts!" I did like her blackmailing the Mitchell's ex-bent lawyer, Marcus Christie, plotting to leave Phil penniless.

Yes. Ashleigh Brewer (ex-Kate) landed the role of Ivy Forrester on B&B. I'm a couple of months behind on episodes, so I'm unclear when her first episode airs exactly, but I think I read that she first appeared last week? Someone would have to verify that though.

Is that IMDB rating for original Crossroads or the reboot versions or just the show generally?

Original Crossroads from what I've gathered used to get slated for having wobbly sets and being so bad it's good. The reboot version in 2001(?) was dull and didn't get good reviews, but the revamp of the reboot in 2003 was an horrendously cheap-looking mess. I think the reboots tarnished the original a lot.

What do you think the likelihood is of a network picking up Marienhof? And do you think it's a good idea?

I guess there are two major things you need to know:

1. Kate was murdered (and is now on B&B!) by a man called Victor Cleary who was out to make Paul pay for the murder of his brother Gus 10 years ago in the infamous Lassiter's inferno that Paul started. I think Hulu picks up the climax to this story.

2. Lauren and Brad kissed while searching for their long-lost daughter, who has come to town searching for them - this is Paige, who's keeping her identity a secret until she's fully sussed out the reason why she was given up for adoption. Paige is awesome - she's got a lot of personality, and it's really interesting introducing her like this, as gives the whole story a more interesting development.

Look out for Naomi Canning, she's a femme fatal, and is Sheila's daughter. Her father died of a heart attack, which has left its mark on her. She's looking for love and is finding it in married men! She's currently scheming to win Toadie by stalking herself. Toadie and Sonya have some issues of their own, namely Sonya's addictive personality that has seen her need to help people take over their life. Her current "charge" is Mark Brennan - Kate's ex who was in witness protection - who's grieving for Kate and involved in a vendetta against Paul. Toadie & Sonya's son Callum has just left for Silicon Valley after randomly becoming a child genius.

Also of note is Daniel Robinson, Paul's nephew, and the son of Neighbours' 80s golden super-couple, Scott & Charlene. He's a nice guy, with a boho, hippy-ish personality. He's developed "an intense vibe" (yeah, he talks like this) with Amber, who's falling for him even though she's with the self absorbed Josh. Basically. Amber has become a much more interesting character around Daniel.

Elsewhere: Karl and Susan's daughter Libby has returned for a short guest stint. Paula Abdul makes a cameo appearance. Oh, and, Kyle and Georgia are back together.

Last time I checked, Hulu streams both Corrie and Hollyoaks. I really dislike working with Hulu, so I haven't really tried to watch them there. I did enjoy Neighbours when I watched a bit of it a few months ago, so I might give it another go.

And yeah, it was definitely on Oxygen ten years ago with episodes from 1999.

I forgot all about Hollyoaks being on Hulu. Why did you stop watching Neighbours, AMS? Not enough time? If you liked it earlier in the year, then you'll like it now. It has upped its game.

Ok. How good is this soap compared to Corrie/Hollyoaks/US soaps. Is this like Knots Landing?

A bit off topic but I haven't watched Corrie/Hollyoaks yet but are they worth it?

I don't think Neighbours is anything like any other soap on air (or not on air). It has a different feel, tells stories differently to other soaps; it has a more positive outcome. It's character driven for the most part. You really need to sample the show for yourself.

I haven't watched Corrie for months, so I can't really say. Hollyoaks is a bit of a mess. Blessing's story is the best, but the rest is sensationalistic, OTT BS.

Yeah, watch out for FremantleMedia's dodgy press releases, BetterFogotten. There is always a distinct lack of research when it comes to Neighbours.

Unless they were referring to it being a first time venture into online media?

I wonder if Errol will run an article on this (if he hasn't done so already, as I haven't checked)? I'd love for it to do well that Hulu extends their contract beyond the trial period. I think it would give Fremantle some confidence in the show and its future potential. Hopefully American's will watch and like the show.

Is Hulu still streaming Coronation Street? Anyone know how that does?

Yeah, Michael French was a huge loss. I didn't realise how much, or that it would happen so damn quickly.

There's a lot of potential being wasted, which is a shame. I understand that they don't have the use of certain actors and characters, and that the summer is usually quiet on the story front, but if they're going to churn out filler, then at least make it good filler.

What do you expect when it's two episodes all about Bianca's annual poverty plight and her going another round with the loan sharks (it's all repeat and rehash with Bianca), Carol being dirt broke and going all Breaking Bad, pointless Terry, Nikki, Donna and Alfie scenes?

The highlight was Roxy and Aleks.

@ Shabnam staring at the half-eaten sandwich, then running off, starving due to Ramadan. And Cora hushing Mo when she guessed that Cora's real name is Carol.

The Jacksons/Butchers being dirt broke doesn't make any sense. I can't believe that between Carol and Whitney, they couldn't have scrapped together £350 without hawking jewellery and headphones. Ridiculous that Carol has no savings at all, and that Whitney (who has a job), could only contribute £20. Then Sonia appears, and not once does she offer to contribute - a woman who works as a nurse, should be able to lend her mother the money. Unbelievable. Carol's always been a martyr to own coarse, but she's become even more mardy. She morally judges Tina for selling weed, threatening her with the cops, like the girl's selling crystal meth, only to ask to be let in on the deal, all so they could go all Breaking Bad. I just can't with this lot. Too contrived.

I think Dean and Shabnam would have been very interesting to watch. Both have changed a lot since they last saw each other in 2007 (or 2008), and it would have been interesting seeing them talk about these changes and develop a genuine friendship; something that could represent some light in Dean's life (outside of the dark, revenge thing he has going on). I think Dean and Linda are a bit predictable and only serves to isolate them even further. I can also see Dean sharing scenes with Stacey when she returns, and will probably be predictably paired up.

It's easy to forget about Shabnam as she hasn't appeared for ages. She's supposed to have a secret, but with DTC's dodgy pacing, we probably won't know what it is until Christmas 2015.

I thought DTC said that there would be twists and turns at Christmas that would change who people thought was the killer? I guess it makes sense to reveal the killer to the viewers at Christmas, then have the characters find out in February. Still, they'll have to do a lot to make me care, as so far, I don't care who the killer is.

Oh, the Ferreiras, and "original" Shirley, and her cat, and the random Australian chick, and the one who used to be in Family Affairs - a period best forgotten.

Shirley should have been rebooted by bringing Dean back alone, as their history is enough to generate story without the need to recreate her history in the shape of a big new family that never previously existed. The Carters should have been a new family completely unrelated to anyone on the show.

Carl, I think a problem with the Carters is that they haven't really been integrated into the show all that well. They don't play support to other characters' storylines as they are constantly on the front burner with their own dramas. DTC has only really focused on Shirley, Mick, Johnny and Tina & Tosh (who are an unlikeable couple). They feel like they are in their own little story bubble sometimes, not really part of the main show. I think the Carters are there to prop Shirley, along with Dean, which I think is a shame, as he has a lot of potential away from Shirley and the Carters; I really want to see Dean interact with other characters, especially the ones he knew previously, like Shabnam - their scenes would write themselves.

I don't know why Nancy is sidelined and underdeveloped. They don't what to do with her. They also introduced Aunt Babe, who has be a disappointment, with little to no purpose so far; then there's Lee, who's another Carter who isn't needed. I don't think the Carters have been failures, but I don't think they are widely applauded offline, either.

I haven't even been keeping up with the show as of late because of the drawn out Lucy murder. I find it cliche (and tiresome) that they are waiting to reveal all at Christmas.

They're waiting to reveal Lucy's killer in February, for the 30th anniversary. So even longer to wait. It's a flawed storyline so far that has lost a lot of momentum from the moment Jake was arrested and everyone automatically believed he was guilty.

1994 episode with the car lot fire.

I loved Pat telling Carol, "I know you, you've had more traffic through you than a black wall tunnel."

You mean: "I know you, you've had more traffic through you than the Blackwall Tunnel." It's a tunnel in east London that goes under the Thames. I know, I'm being major pedantic.

The difference between eras is quite evident. 1994 had more heart and spark than anything modern EE can muster.

Thanks. That was the episode my attention was on multiple things, so I must have missed it.