Neighbours
I’m thought about posting here, but then I decided I had to get this off my chest. I didn’t want to post on NF.com because I didn’t want to cause offence to anyone, nor did I want to infringe the rules about what we can say about the TPTB. This isn’t meant to be a rant, but hey, it’s my LJ and I guess it’s here for me to say what I think, so here goes….. (May include references to spoilers for UK Neighbours viewers).
I’ve been watching Neighbours pretty much since it began in the UK, and daily since it moved to 5.35. Since working full time I tape the show everyday and watch it when I get home. Some would describe me as obsessed, and they might have a point. Over the years there have been good and bad patches for the show. Characters I have loved (Scott Robinson would be just one example) have come and gone, and equally there have been characters who have never warmed to or cared about in the least (Lisa Elliot would be an example). There have been storylines where I have laughed, and cried, episodes and scenes I have watched again and again and then there have been storylines which have seemed OTT or pointless. But there has always been good with the bad and so I have stayed a loyal fan.
Now though things are changing. When it was announced that Paul Robinson was returning to the show, I went nuts. I was sooooo excited. Now I almost wish he hadn’t returned. While I accept that Paul was out of the show for 12 years, and we don’t know what happened to him during that time, that character that now masquerades as Paul bears only a physical resemblance to the character I was such a fan of in the 80s and early 90s.
Before, while Paul could be a ruthless business man, he never completely sacrificed his family and friends. It was more a case of not thinking than setting out to hurt them and he never set out to bad. Even when he set his brother-in-law up for fraud, it was the act of a desperate man, who only picked on Phil because he thought Phil had done the wrong thing by Julie. When he realised the errors of his way he made a full confession so that Phil was in the clear. Nowadays Paul seems to relish being bad. Indeed his character has become so wrapped up in being evil that he is nearly a caricature. They have completely re-written Paul’s past, which I feel is insulting to long-standing fans, particularly as we were the ones who rejoiced so much when Paul’s return was announced. To me it is complete character assassination and they would have done better to bring in a new character to fulfil this role than resurrect Paul.
The concept of anyone brought up by Jim and Helen not only condoning but actively supporting their child in pretending to have a life-threatening illness is just absurd.
Paul is not the only character to have received this treatment. When I read several years ago that Karl and Susan were to split, I couldn’t believe it, I thought it wouldn’t work. But it did and made some really powerful television. It was done gradually and she saw the relationship disintegrate before your very eyes. The same cannot be said of Stax.
The recent Max/Steph storylines have been hard to watch. While performances, particularly Stephen’s continue to be excellent, the storylines are unbelievable. As a Stax fan who has been a firm believer in their relationship before they were (pre-kissage drove me mad, I thought they were never going to get there), to see this relationship dismantled at a rate of knots is insulting. With all the angst that Steph and Max have endured over the years, the show has placed them as one of the main couples, particularly now so few relationships last the distance in the show. Yet now they end it with Steph doubting Max’s feeling for another woman, and then later on announcing that she’s giving up on her marriage, and she’s almost ready to move immediately. I feel that well-rounded characters are being sacrificed for the sake of supposedly sensational storylines.
For the record I don’t believe that Max would have gone away with Katya for the weekend in the first place and I certainly don’t believe he would have run down Cam like that (even if he did believe him to be Rob). I also find Steph’s sudden friendship with Toadie (they haven’t spoken for years) hard to buy. I know Stephen wanted to leave and something had to be down, but thus far (and I know there’s more to come we haven’t seen) I’m not convinced by what I see, not because of the performances, but because the characters are acting in a way that makes a mockery of all that went before. Lyn is another character who has changed beyond all recognition and again I can’t understand why.
I love this show and I’m not going to stop watching. It’s too much of a habit, and I guess I’m hoping somewhere down the line it will sort itself out. Neighbours’ strength used to be its mixture of comedy and drama, the fact that in many ways it was almost utopian with the way problems were always solved. It sent out a positive vibe. While maybe the demands of an audience today are for more dramatic storylines, more relationships breaking down and more youth focus, it seems a shame for Neighbours to have to make such drastic changes (at least that’s how it feels) so quickly. I guess the seeds were sown with Paul’s return but now they seem to be gathering speed like no-body’s business.
As I say I’ll still be watching, but I have to say this, whereas once this show was the highlight of my TV viewing, and I laughed and cried with the characters, I’ve a feeling I’m heading towards using it as background noise, and heading into the ever increasing world of nostalgia, where Neighbours did become good friends, and the friendships endured rather than remaining in the world where Neighbours jump in and out of bed with each other, and issue death threats on a rather regular basis.
This may be the wrong place to say all that but I had to get it off my chest. If you’ve made it this far, well done! I promise my next post will be slightly less of a moan.
Hope all’s well with you.
H
x
I’ve been watching Neighbours pretty much since it began in the UK, and daily since it moved to 5.35. Since working full time I tape the show everyday and watch it when I get home. Some would describe me as obsessed, and they might have a point. Over the years there have been good and bad patches for the show. Characters I have loved (Scott Robinson would be just one example) have come and gone, and equally there have been characters who have never warmed to or cared about in the least (Lisa Elliot would be an example). There have been storylines where I have laughed, and cried, episodes and scenes I have watched again and again and then there have been storylines which have seemed OTT or pointless. But there has always been good with the bad and so I have stayed a loyal fan.
Now though things are changing. When it was announced that Paul Robinson was returning to the show, I went nuts. I was sooooo excited. Now I almost wish he hadn’t returned. While I accept that Paul was out of the show for 12 years, and we don’t know what happened to him during that time, that character that now masquerades as Paul bears only a physical resemblance to the character I was such a fan of in the 80s and early 90s.
Before, while Paul could be a ruthless business man, he never completely sacrificed his family and friends. It was more a case of not thinking than setting out to hurt them and he never set out to bad. Even when he set his brother-in-law up for fraud, it was the act of a desperate man, who only picked on Phil because he thought Phil had done the wrong thing by Julie. When he realised the errors of his way he made a full confession so that Phil was in the clear. Nowadays Paul seems to relish being bad. Indeed his character has become so wrapped up in being evil that he is nearly a caricature. They have completely re-written Paul’s past, which I feel is insulting to long-standing fans, particularly as we were the ones who rejoiced so much when Paul’s return was announced. To me it is complete character assassination and they would have done better to bring in a new character to fulfil this role than resurrect Paul.
The concept of anyone brought up by Jim and Helen not only condoning but actively supporting their child in pretending to have a life-threatening illness is just absurd.
Paul is not the only character to have received this treatment. When I read several years ago that Karl and Susan were to split, I couldn’t believe it, I thought it wouldn’t work. But it did and made some really powerful television. It was done gradually and she saw the relationship disintegrate before your very eyes. The same cannot be said of Stax.
The recent Max/Steph storylines have been hard to watch. While performances, particularly Stephen’s continue to be excellent, the storylines are unbelievable. As a Stax fan who has been a firm believer in their relationship before they were (pre-kissage drove me mad, I thought they were never going to get there), to see this relationship dismantled at a rate of knots is insulting. With all the angst that Steph and Max have endured over the years, the show has placed them as one of the main couples, particularly now so few relationships last the distance in the show. Yet now they end it with Steph doubting Max’s feeling for another woman, and then later on announcing that she’s giving up on her marriage, and she’s almost ready to move immediately. I feel that well-rounded characters are being sacrificed for the sake of supposedly sensational storylines.
For the record I don’t believe that Max would have gone away with Katya for the weekend in the first place and I certainly don’t believe he would have run down Cam like that (even if he did believe him to be Rob). I also find Steph’s sudden friendship with Toadie (they haven’t spoken for years) hard to buy. I know Stephen wanted to leave and something had to be down, but thus far (and I know there’s more to come we haven’t seen) I’m not convinced by what I see, not because of the performances, but because the characters are acting in a way that makes a mockery of all that went before. Lyn is another character who has changed beyond all recognition and again I can’t understand why.
I love this show and I’m not going to stop watching. It’s too much of a habit, and I guess I’m hoping somewhere down the line it will sort itself out. Neighbours’ strength used to be its mixture of comedy and drama, the fact that in many ways it was almost utopian with the way problems were always solved. It sent out a positive vibe. While maybe the demands of an audience today are for more dramatic storylines, more relationships breaking down and more youth focus, it seems a shame for Neighbours to have to make such drastic changes (at least that’s how it feels) so quickly. I guess the seeds were sown with Paul’s return but now they seem to be gathering speed like no-body’s business.
As I say I’ll still be watching, but I have to say this, whereas once this show was the highlight of my TV viewing, and I laughed and cried with the characters, I’ve a feeling I’m heading towards using it as background noise, and heading into the ever increasing world of nostalgia, where Neighbours did become good friends, and the friendships endured rather than remaining in the world where Neighbours jump in and out of bed with each other, and issue death threats on a rather regular basis.
This may be the wrong place to say all that but I had to get it off my chest. If you’ve made it this far, well done! I promise my next post will be slightly less of a moan.
Hope all’s well with you.
H
x