Soap bubble bursts

[claire@easypeasy.com]

Neighbours has always seemed like fluff when compared to Home & Away which always seems darker and more adult.

I think Neighbours is long past its sell-by-date, although it is more popular here in the UK than H&A.

I agree with you. H&A is much more sophisticated than Neighbours. Neighbours seems very immature and like it is written for a teenage audience, while this is also true of H&A , H&A is written in such a way that it appeals to a broader age range, whilst Neighbours is very teenage and immature in it's appearance IMO.

[Foxy]

I am in no way a Neighbours fan, but I should point something out - most of the "young cast" are actors playing characters four years younger than them - so whilst it may infact appear that the standard is better, it's the case of the actors being more mature, though an anomoly of that is Indiana Evans. Neighbours tends to have characters playing their own ages, which always falls a bit flat, as I'm sure a bit of retrospect can add to the way in which actors play their characters.

[katya]

That article sums up my feelings perfectly. Neighbours is drab, bland and lacks any sort of excitement. While I'm aware that Home and Away tends to overdose on the drama, I'd much rather watch that than something that has the thrill equivalent of watching paint dry.

[alexx]

The re-vamp of the sets was stupid, as Ste mentioned they all look similar - I personally think they look like Ikea sets, and look so unbelievable that they are meant to be the interior of the exterior shots they use on location in the Street. The older sets looked like they had individuality and you could really believe they were the insides of the houses, now even though they look dark, it appears they have the lights on all the time as you can see the reflection on the actors hair...this is a bad sign, H&A has it too depending on what set they use, but are generally quite good at making it look like the light has come through the windows.

The Lassiters out-door complex looks cheap and very cardboard – there was a time you could believe it was a real complex with the bridge and the shops with their own walk-ways and separate areas, now they have a paddling pool in the centre of a very white, cheap looking outdoor setting.

The storylines and characters used to be interesting and they actually had cliff-hangers that made you want to tune in the next day, now Its so boring and they have no 'key characters' that have huge appeal. The comedy isn’t funny; they don’t seem to take the show seriously at all (which is needed).

One thing that is better – is the ‘art’ backdrops ‘out side’ the houses in the studios…it looks like they have taken pictures from inside the real houses (outside the door) and blown them up which looks a lot more real.

[bay girl]

I tuned into neighbours the other night for the fist time in a while and i couldn't watch it. The characters of Elle and Rachel were enough to drive me nuts.

[katya]

I was in the gym today and they showed Neighbours on the TV screens (luckily I had my Zen to listen to). I couldn't believe how amateur the opening credits were, and even though I couldn't hear what the characters were saying, I found myself getting really irritated. I don't know why, it's just something about the acting, and the characters.

Harold and Lou should be killed off. They're boring. At least Alf and Morag and Colleen make us laugh.

[~Lynd~]

Elle and Carmella drive me mental,they should be shot.It'd add some excitement to the show!

[loveangelmusicbaby]

I so agree with the article. I can go without watching Neighbours but I have to watch Home and Away. If I can't watch it , I tape it! The storyline, sets, character and lighting is so much better. Neighbours has definetly passed its use by date. Plus Home and Away have cuter guys and prettier girls.

[ste]

Home and Away are really good at making the light in the sets look like natural light through the windows, especially in Summer Bay House.

[claire@easypeasy.com]

The re-vamp of the sets was stupid, as Ste mentioned they all look similar - I personally think they look like Ikea sets, and look so unbelievable that they are meant to be the interior of the exterior shots they use on location in the Street. The older sets looked like they had individuality and you could really believe they were the insides of the houses, now even though they look dark, it appears they have the lights on all the time as you can see the reflection on the actors hair...this is a bad sign, H&A has it too depending on what set they use, but are generally quite good at making it look like the light has come through the windows.

The Lassiters out-door complex looks cheap and very cardboard – there was a time you could believe it was a real complex with the bridge and the shops with their own walk-ways and separate areas, now they have a paddling pool in the centre of a very white, cheap looking outdoor setting.

The storylines and characters used to be interesting and they actually had cliff-hangers that made you want to tune in the next day, now Its so boring and they have no 'key characters' that have huge appeal. The comedy isn’t funny; they don’t seem to take the show seriously at all (which is needed).

One thing that is better – is the ‘art’ backdrops ‘out side’ the houses in the studios…it looks like they have taken pictures from inside the real houses (outside the door) and blown them up which looks a lot more real.

Neighbours storylines are fluffy and do not appeal at all, I do not know how Neighbours earns it's drama at all. H&A is much faster paced and a better written show. The only 2 Neighbours characters I care about now are Karl and Susan, while I care about all the H&A characters. Characters like Toadie, Lou and Harold are only in the show now because the writers are too sentimental to kill them off or give them a good send off. Home and Away do not have any characters that I can think of who are there for sentimental reasons, they are all there to tell a decent story. Therefore the audience care more about the show and the characters and more people watch. I would have watched Neighbours with enjoyment during the 80s, 90s and more recently during the Dee and Toadie storylines, but in the past year or two , I haven't really enjoyed it and it is past it's sell by date IMO.