Neighbours: Discussion Thread

[Ben]

Hey Ed,

I'm sorry to hear you've been having problems - I hope they're all sorted out now. I know what you mean about these posts being quite in depth. I wanted to reply the other day, but it was too hot to be typing out a lengthy reply on the laptop.

I've made a couple of replies stating pretty much the same on NFans (I'm Benjy over there) about my thoughts on the current show (in the Aus discussion section). I think they tried to fix everything too soon, and after eclipse week, the show became all about the plot, and all the underdeveloped Turners and Willies were shoved front and centre, and they've crashed and burned. I've never warmed to the Turners since they first arrived, b/c they've been plot driven and have yet to be developed in anyway. I enjoyed all of the returns, but all of them could have been longer. During those few months the show was pacey and dramatic, but still the characters were there, and maybe that's b/c they have history to back them up; there was also a good balance of characters and storylines. Sarah's and Steph's returns could have been longer, but they were good and decently written; Lucy's and Mark's were too short - Lucy was treated as a plot device, while Mark was pointless (it's unrealistic that Kate would not chose Mark over Mason). Lucy should have been treated with more respect, and Mark shouldn't have returned until further in the year, once we had seen more of Kate and Mason as a couple. I did think Carla Bonner was phenomenal with her acting - she never missed a beat at all. Seriously, Steph should have returned permanently.

Angie's return was awesome, but they ruined it when she randomly disappeared from the wedding and didn't feature in any key scenes. In fact, the explosion saw a lot of characters just disappear and reappear like they were never there. Flashing forward 5 days and skipping over Priya's and Rhys' funerals and all the initial aftermath was a big mistake, IMO. I think they dropped the ball not making Rhys's death impact Vanessa and Lucas' relationship a lot more. I was also disappointed that they didn't bring Connor back for wedding after he returned only a few months previously.

ITA with you about the current state of the show. The Turners are so underdeveloped and the Willises are lacking in distinct personalities, that I don't care about any of them. But, they've thrust them all into story from the bat, and it hasn't worked; they should have been introduced slowly, especially considering they are 9 new characters, and that's a lot in a small space of time. I feel the Turners have eaten through mountains of plot in the space of 4 months, which should have lasted them the majority of the year. Now, we're stuck with boring, dull plots about Lauren and Brad's past and all the faux drama over the Brad sketch. I still don't know how they work as a family, but some how, I'm supposed to care. The Willises are slightly better, as Terese is the best of the bunch, and Imogen is likebale, and you're right about Bailey being the best of the Turners. I think the Turners were miscast, especially Lauren, who doesn't resemble any form of her old character. I don't understand how they could create two new families and not give at least one family distinct personalities with layers. Epic fail.

Amber's a total disappointment; she's so whiny and needy, and I don't know why, considering her family don't display any of these issues. Her friendship with Chris was random and forced, and they could have made more of her being a Tash replacement for him. It's kinda insulting that she went from crushing on Chris, to pinning and stalking Josh the falling week. Josh comes off very self absorbed and not that likeable. Matt is Michael Williams 2.0. Like you say, Brad is a pointless return. And to think, this family has another sister on a Canadian exchange, and of course Beth's long lost daughter waiting in the wings, yet the Robinsons have been reduced to Paul, who has been kicked out of Ramsay Street! Shameful. LOL.

ITA with all you said about Kyle's blindness and him and Kate sleeping together - just awful. That whole blind story made him stupider for the sake of the plot, which made him very annoying and unlikeable - his whole merry-go-round with Georgia was dragged out and boring. Georgia used to have spirit, but now she's miserable and annoying; I was disappointed with how they wasted Scotty's return, which didn't shed any light on his character at all. The whole Georgia/Kyle/Kate thing is a rehash of Jade/Kyle/Kate and that was only last year!

You're right, the pacing is uber fast, and it's too much. One of the reasons why I don't like Kate & Mason, is b/c their relationship has happened way too fast, and I just think it was a mistake pairing Kate with a younger guy. She works better as a character with older characters, as younger ones always involve her in immature plots and they always make her annoying. II also think it was a mistake moving Kate into #26, she should have stayed w/ Paul. I do like how they are trying to ground Paul a bit with Terese pulling him up over him taking liberties from Lassisters. I also quite liked the sexual harassment story with Caroline, as it wasn't (surprisingly) preachy at all, but had a good central message - Caroline was also a decent guest character, too.

I also haven't liked how everyone is in their own little bubbles, and not really interacting with other characters. Chris shared no scenes with Lucas during his cancer story, and it felt like he didn't even know Lucas had cancer; as a community, no-one seems to care about others as much as they should. I don't know what was going on with Jackie Woodburne, but they wrote her out for a long time, during a period when Susan was needed in a lot of story, like the climax to Rani and Ghost Priya, the Twitter war story, and Steph's return. Every scene is about moving the plot forward, nothing is about advancing characters. Mark should have shared decent scenes with Lucas and Kyle, while Lucy needed time to reconnect with Paul and get to know Kate. We also seen nothing of Karl & Susan's relationship since they reunited.

I'm one of those viewers who think's Mason's a terrible actor, complete with poor characterisation and bad writing overall. How he's written and how he comes across are polar opposites. He was only hired for his looks. The same for wooden Pete the barman, and ditto for Matt and Josh. I wasn't fussed over Rhiannon to begin with, and it was only in her last week that I really warmed to her. But, I tired of the newbies, and I think I wasn't very receptive to her b/c of her connection to the terrible Mason.

I've actually quite liked the Callum/Rani/Bailey triangle, but not the play - too many play rehearsal scenes than was necessary, IMO. I love the Ghost Priya story, and thought Priya's death really gave Coco Cherin a chance to shine as an actor. I still miss Priya, too. I don't believe her pregnancy was the reason she was written out, as the timeline between writing the scripts, filming and Menik learning she was pregnant don't fit at all. I don't believe she would down a return, for the same reasons you mentioned. I think with the creation of the Turners and Willises, I think Richard Jasek only ever planned for the Kapoors to stay a year (give or take). This would explain the rushed nature of the affair with Paul. In an ideal world, they could have done so much more with Paul & Priya. I've become fans of both Rani and Ajay, and for some reason I think while they would have left anyway, I do think Sachin probably did want to go to Hollywood. I just find it odd how no-one had said one way or the other whose decision it was to get rid of Priya.

What do you think of Lucas leaving and the possibility that it may not have been his decision to leave? I've hated how they've treated Lucas & Vanessa in terms of not having a stable home. They are a new, young family, and I think there's still a lot more story to tell with them. I don't think they've handled Lucas' cancer all that well. It started off good, but since Steph left and his treatment began, it all became a throwaway line. With Lucas leaving, what will that mean for Vanessa? They're one of the best couples on the show, and I think it's a mistake getting rid of either one of them.

[Ben]

Kym Valentine (ex-Libby) is suing FreMantleMedia for "pain, hurt and humiliation".

http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/neighbours-star-kym-valentine-sues-over-pain-hurt-and-humiliation-20130725-2qmv6.html

The DS article says that she would like to return, which seems a bit odd when you're suing your bosses.

Can't see Libby returning now, unless they rehire the recast.

[DRW50]

Given her history with the show, that she sued them shocks me.

[august1229]

I should feel bad for Kate, but she's just so high maintenance. You'd think Paul did a crappy thing, where he did a good thing for once in his life. He may like to be controlling, but Kate never lets him control her anyway. I'm feeling kind of bad for Mason. She was so obviously being cold to him, what did she expect? He needs to get over her and get with Imogen.

[DRW50]

Not sure who this is but she's returning.

http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/s14/neighbours/news/a501916/neighbours-confirms-rhiannon-bates-return.html

[soapgirluk]

She's Mason Turner's ex, she showed up not long after the Turner's arrived.

[august1229]

I've already forgotten what she did.

[Ben]

She had a lot of confidence issues, and was using her sexuality to manipulate men. She mostly had story with Paul and Sheila, who made her see that she was worth more than what she thought, and how she needed to have more respect for herself. Paul thought she was a skank at first, but was attracted to her when she changed her image. He paid her (like an escort) to keep a councillor sweet, who he wanted to bride in order to obtain his vote to push through his development of the Eclipse Apartments. But, the councillor wanted sex, and Paul wanted Rhiannon to seduce him and tape it, but she refused and ratted Paul out to the cops. She left to be with her son, who she felt was a bad mother, b/c she couldn't afford to buy him a birthday present.

I know Rhiannon proved popular with a lot of viewers. Probably b/c she was quite different and had emotional layers.

[Bright Eyes]

Sachin Joab Interview:

http://www.digitalspy.ca/soaps/s14/neighbours/interviews/a505631/neighbours-sachin-joab-on-low-key-exit-diversity-on-screen-more.html

He does not hold back. Good for him.

[Ben]

So glad you posted that link, Bright Eyes. If there's one interview you read today, then make it that one.

I never bought the theories that Menik (Priya) left the show due to her pregnancy (which as it turns out was just a coincidence), so it's nice to finally see it confirmed that she was indeed fired, just like Sachin (Ajay), Coco (Rani), Alin Sumawarta (Vanessa) and Scott Major (Lucas). I think they've all been treated appallingly, and Ajay and Rani's exits were offensive. Going back to India, when the characters are Australian born and bread was insulting, made worse by writing that sweeps them under the carpet. Poor Scott Major even had to fund his own leaving party - a guy who has been with them for 5 years! Disgraceful.

Citing reasons like budget constraints and lack of storylines is again offensive to the actors and the viewers. Everyone knows they had a $1 million budget increase, hired two new families (which suck for the most part), and if they can't write for 4 characters who have been with the show for a year, then they have no business calling themselves writers.

And then there is Hudson, Chris' new boyfriend, who he actually has chemistry with and is a likeable character, is also not being made permanent, and is getting a negative exit.

Institutionalised racism. And it all leaves a very bad taste in the mouth.

[august1229]

Thanks for the interview link. So true there was a lot more that could be done with Ajay and Rani. They also had Jade for awhile. Hopefully they will come up with some new multicultural characters and get back with it when it comes to that.

[soapgirluk]

Now the Willis & Turners have been around awhile, Seems they cast them both the same imo.

Mum's both played by great actresses, Dads not bad actors, Daughters not brilliant but getting better, Sons really bad. & then Bailey who I'm liking

[august1229]

I'm liking Who killed Robbo. That is, if he dies.

[Ben]

Interesting article from Producer Jason Herbison on diversity, returnees and more Lucy.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s14/neighbours/news/a534674/neighbours-producer-jason-herbison-ethnic-diversity-is-important-to-us.html

FYI: In case anyone missed it, Kym Valentine settled her lawsuit. No word on whether that was a monetary settlement or simply a guarantee of a return. She has also left her management, too, at about the same time. It did feel like a very out of character thing for Kym to pursue, so maybe she was under pressure from her management to file the lawsuit, and she was still attending the Neighbours Nights, and who would do that if they hated the show. Either way, I hope Libby does return, as it would be a shame for this to end so messy after so may loyal years to the show.

[DRW50]

Sounds like he was passing the buck in his comments about diversity.

I'm trying to remember any soap situations like what happened with Valentine and the lawsuit. They're rare. It's a first for an Australian soap isn't it?