Neighbours: Discussion Thread

[Bright Eyes]

Unfortunately, looking at the actor nominees, they clearly have no chance of winning when they should objectively win all the awards in a landslide.

[DRW50]

I think in this case the nomination is what really matters anyway as it helps get the show attention. 

[John]

Guy Pearce could win the Guest performer Emmy

[DRW50]

I think Dick Van Dyke will win, but I'd be happy for Guy, to reward his loyalty to the show.

[Ben]

I’ve been meaning to come back here and post my thoughts on the show. I’m enjoying it a lot; the quality is back to what it was in 2022 after the bumpy return last year (let’s call that the Mischa Barton era

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). 

I think what we’re seeing on screen now is everyone settling in, so all the initial nerves and excitement of being back have gone; new actors are bedding in and recasts are clicking into place (I’ve warmed to nuByron now). Production wise, the addition of 4th walls in some of the sets have been very welcome, which has given those sets a more real feel and allows for them to freshen up the directing of scenes; the incidental music is now really good, too. 

Neighbours have produced some outstanding episodes this year, especially the episodes around the death of a long time character, with the grief being played brilliantly by all involved. Krista’s traumatic birth went into the kind of detail I’ve never seen the show do before, and it really elevated Chelsea’s gold digging to a whole new level of villainy. (I’m being careful not to give away specifics for those who haven’t caught up, yet.)

Chelsea, as a character, was difficult to get behind at first, as she seemed to be so cold and devoid of any caring side, even for her sister, Cara (I do like all the barbed exchanges between Chelsea and Remi and Leo describing her as a ‘trashy blow in’ ). But since the story has taken a dark turn with Krista, Viva Bianca has been able to show the guilt Chelsea feels (not enough to stop her from trying to push Krista into a drugs relapse, though), and I’m starting to love to hate her character now. I low-key want her to stay. 

I love the Rodwell and Varga-Murphy family units, and I thought the recent inclusion of Andrew’s brother Felix, was great, but his stint was shorter than I expected, which is a shame. 

I think the teen scene could be beefed up a bit; maybe give JJ a friend at least. 

Haz has suddenly become more interesting with his latest storyline exploring his past as a hacker. He definitely works better as this morally grey character instead of whatever they were trying to do before. I won’t say that I like him, but his scenes are certainly more interesting to watch now. 

The one area of the show that doesn’t work for me is the Terese/Toadie/Mel triangle. It’s terrible and really drags the show (and characters) down. The writing for Toadie has been especially damaging, and I’m happy that he’s currently off screen. 

I’m super-excited about the Emmy nomination for Best Daytime Drama and for Guy Pearce getting nominated, too. That’s a huge deal for the show in terms of publicity in the US. 

Edited April 21, 2024 by Ben

[Vee]

I'm so far behind but I hope to at least get to 75-100 episodes before possibly warping ahead. Very happy for the show's nominations - well deserved. Neighbours reminds me so much of what a revival of Guiding Light could do here.

Some of the acting in the Varga-Murphy/Rodwell non-reveal (just before Flashback Week) was extremely variable from the kids and Wendy, but I do like them. J.J. had some very green moments but I'm pretty fond of him. I hadn't realized the Rodwells were apparently a relatively new addition to the show themselves.

Edited April 21, 2024 by Vee

[Ben]

Yeah, they unfortunately were introduced just before the show was cancelled in 2022, so they never really had a chance to be developed in any kind of way. Andrew had been a recurring cop for a few years prior to becoming a regular, though. I think it’s testament to all involved that they have slotted back in so well and have been so well received.

I think he’s a very likeable actor, who has potential. The actor who plays Dex is pretty ropey, but he does get slightly better. 

[DRW50]

Great to hear your thoughts. I have had mixed feelings on the revival, which is inevitable for any soap, but I do think the quad and the decisions made with Haz have hurt the show.

The quad is just so hollowed out and feels so unbalanced to me - Toadie and Melanie were dragged through the mud to the point where I find them both very difficult to watch (Melanie's only solo story being Karl shitting all over Erinsborough kind of says it all - what a great use of Alan Fletcher when there was a perfectly fine plot in place about Susan's absences and their affect on him), while Terese and Paul are written as good and right. Somehow Paul throwing a thug at a pregnant woman got him about two or three weeks of backlash (all of which was framed as us needing to feel sorry for him) followed by all kinds of material about how wonderful he is, complete with singing "This Little Light of Mine" and leading funeral services. I just don't buy it. 

I get the feeling this story is written on the old Agnes Nixon "make 'em wait" idea for Paul and Terese. I don't know how their fans feel, as frankly I don't really care about either of them, but how many times have they done this with Paul and Terese? 4? 5? If we are also meant to want Mel and Toadie back together, I think that ship has sailed for many fans, who at best just went along with the pairing because Sonya was gone and Dee was never coming back.

Chelsea is such an unpleasant plot device, and on top of that, a complete idiot, which just makes her getting away with things more of a suspension of disbelief. I don't mind suspensions of disbelief, but that's in a story I actually care about. They also missed an opportunity to actually write a real relationship with Chelsea and her sister. I would agree the only scenes that have any real value are some of her interactions with Krista. Krista is also pure plot device, she doesn't seem to have a personality beyond graciously suffering, but the actress who plays her has done a great job. 

I actually did like Haz at first, when he was the sweet guy who was pining for Mackenzie, but that started to change when he just started using women and treating them badly, and this was never properly addressed. We were meant to feel somewhat sorry for Holly, but she got over the whole thing quickly because she too is basically a plot device. His other girlfriend, who was introduced as a kind person, suddenly became so horrible that she let his dog out at night and later came back to try to sabotage him in a competition. 

That pattern returned with this hacker story, where the emphasis is not on the terrible things he did to people, but on how the person he hurt is in the wrong (along with Mackenzie, who is, as is often the case, just there to suffer from Haz's behavior rather than have much of a life or voice of her own). 

It doesn't help that (to me) the actor who plays Haz just isn't suited for this type of material. He comes across as a kids' show host put into a soap opera. 

I think the show has done well with the Varga-Murphys/Rodwells, but I feel like that story has been rushed through compared to everything else. Maybe they thought - understandably given the increasing levels of homophobia out there - viewers wouldn't accept the family or their stories.

I do like that recent episodes have been mixing up characters more often, and had some side plots that I can feel a little more invested in (like Byron/Sadie [even if that doesn't feel like it's going to go beyond support material] and having Byron there for counsel Dex), but I wish the show's main stories were not so hard to get through.

[tiofmso]

They must’ve seen the story of Dr. Karl: Poo Jogger and thought it was Emmy-worthy.

Seriously though, i’m absolutely thrilled for Neighbours. Ever since they returned they’ve put on some of their best stuff since at least 2010.

[Liberty City]

At least he isn't storming into sets, like the Kool-Aid mascot, and slamming doors like a wannabe Hulk.

[Ben]

I don’t find the situation with Paul/Krista any different to his past crimes, especially the time he gaslit Steph Scully and tampered with her meds so he could drive her out of town because he believed she was a danger to his grandson, Jimmy. But out of those ashes developed a friendship between Paul and Steph after he was framed for the hotel explosion, a friendship that ended up being the best thing about that storyline.

I think we have to allow characters to change as a result of tragedy. Paul admitting he judged Krista harshly for being a recovering drug addict and a threat mirrors how he treated Steph; his own guilt has allowed him to gain clarity and to see Krista as a human being. Paul is capable of a lot of kindness and love, but also a lot of cruelty, and I think Krista’s tragedy has allowed him to show that side of himself. But what I like is that Aaron is still suspicious and hasn’t forgiven him. Plus, fans are very quick to forgive Paul no matter what he does, regardless of the writing. 

It has, but more so because Mel can do so much better than Toadie. How he treated her was despicable. 

Terese can’t really be painted as anything but good in this story, really, especially after Toadie and Mel did what they did. Whether you buy into their relationship or not (I don’t), we have to go along with what’s in universe, and despite Terese’s own internal conflicts, she didn’t deserve to be treated the way Toadie treated her.

This has been a disappointment, as that aspect of her character was one of the most interesting, not the gold digging. 

I’m not sure I agree with that. At the moment, Mackenzie is the only one that knows the truth, and I think they’ve made a point that what Haz and his crew did was wrong, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t also emphasise how wrong the new hacker is, too, especially as that’s a current threat. Haz did lose everything as a result of his past actions, so it’s not like he got away without consequences. Plus, the new hacker can be both a victim and an awful person, too, which is why he was hacked to begin with. 

I think they’ve struggled to adapt to writing 4 episodes a week instead of 5, so the pacing and juggling characters have been a bit all over the place. Certainly, I think it’s been obvious that they miss having the 5th episode in the week to pace stories out better.

[DRW50]

I haven't watched as far back as many fans, so I can't compare to most of his past crimes, but what bothers me about the story is I just don't think there was any real fallout for the severity of his actions. I don't need Paul to be drawn and quartered, but the most we got, beyond Aaron being mad at him, was Leo moving out for a few months. This was undercut by how much of the framing was on how he suffered, how Paul got his groove back, etc. 

There was no real need to tell this story - they could have had Eden find out about Krista another way, and David still die defending her. Then he and Krista would still be at odds and eventually he'd come to care about her. Chelsea would still scheme and exploit his grief. 

The way the story unfolded to me was the show having him inadvertently kill his son and somehow this be treated as a way to make us feel sympathy. I just find that a little grotesque, and unnecessary, and it didn't work for me at all.

[DRW50]

https://televisionau.com/2024/05/obituary-brian-wenzel.html

Beyond his bigger roles, including A Country Practice, Wenzel briefly appeared on Neighbours in 1995.

Gordon Orchard (Flakey the Clown) | Neighbours Soap Opera Wiki | Fandom

[Skylover]

I watched 1995 recently and really enjoyed the Flakey the Clown story, a quintessential Neighbours plot. RIP Brian.

Edited May 7, 2024 by Skylover

[Liberty City]

All caught up on the past two-weeks, and Majella Davis is magical as Krista!! The superior Sinclair sister!