The 1997-1999 Dip

[gmgirl]

I agree with what others have said. I think the main problem with that era was the teen group. They were really hard to care about. Looking back I was a teen during that time and I disliked all of them. I could not stand Tiegan, the selfish, whining so and so. Her relationship with Joey was bordering on embarrassing it lacked any sort of chemistry. It was just like they were thrown together because they were the two ‘weird’ ones. Whoever compared them to Robbie and Tasha – one of the best and most unique relationships ever on the show imo – I am amazed. I also really disliked Casey – I found her irritating and selfish. And then there were just characters that were so bland you instantly forget about them – Liam, Aaron etc. A lot of the acting was really bad also – Tom, Liam, and Stephanie – they were all painful. In fact that whole era just contained no one even slightly memorable for mine. The show improved out of sight when it got another great teen group: Edward, Peta, Gypsy, Will and Hayley. Suddenly you actually wanted to watch the show again.

[codyw1]

1997 was one of the few "later" seasons I liked and watched! Quickly lost interest afterward, though, as they again got rid of everyone I liked (esp Casey). Tis always the way...

[jldraw]

History To Repeat Itself?

Well the 97-99 era in my opinion was really just a lesson that the creators of H&A had to learn in that you couldn't keep going back to the same well over and over again and expect to enjoy the same level of success. During the 97-99 era they didn't really have much of a "core cast" that could carry the storylines they were running. Eventually they had to admit that the only way they were going to rebuild the franchise was to begin to develop new characters that weren't carbon copies of characters from years past. They started doing this in 2000 with The Sutherland family over next five/six years really were able develop a young fresh cast which breathed new life into the franchise.

One of the most important things they began to do in rebuilding the franchise was to cultivate young talent. A great example of this was what they tried to develop characters using actors who were significantly younger than the actors they'd been casting only a few years before. Indiana Evans is a great example of this. I believe they cast her when she was thirteen and allowed her character to "grow up" onscreen. They tried to do a similar thing with Tobi Atkins but for whatever reason the Henry Hunter character didn't work out as well as his on-screen sister. You win some, you lose some. The bottom line is they weren't solely going to put all their eggs in one basket by hiring only actors in their late teens or early twenties to portray characters 3-5 years younger than they were as they had in the past. They were going to try to develop their own young talent with the hopes that they would one day be able to carry the show.

I think they also began to take cues from American teen dramas such as "The OC" and began to develop characters with a little more of an edge to them when compared to the somewhat tame characters of the 97-99 era. I think the development of the Ric, Cassie and Belle characters and the casting of Mark Furze, Sharni Vinson and Jessica Tovey was a direct result of the success of shows like "The OC". I think overall H&A finally got the message that if they wanted to revamp the franchise they would have to bring the show in line with other popular shows of the era. This resulted eventually in a much slicker, more fast-paced H&A.

I think where the show is right now (2010) is a very interesting place because it's been a full ten years since the rebuilding process began and although the show has had a great run of success during this era, it appears that this era is coming to a close and the show is faced with another period of transition that can either be a smooth transition into the next era or another dip. It's no secret that H&A has lost an immense amount of talent in the past year alone

and is facing more significant departures this year

. That combined with the fact that the young actors who are going to remain on the show are for the most part not as strong as the ones who are leaving might mean this show is heading for another dip. I personally think it's all going to depend on how Tessa James, Rebecca Breeds and Charlotte Best develop as actors. The overall success of the show hinges on they can fill the void that their predecessors left.

[Red Ranger 1]

Wow, I found this thread really interesting.I do think the dip was down to the fact that Michael died and then Pippa left, it meant the core of the show was gone.They tried to use Travis and Rebecca as direct replacements and they were possibly too young for it to work, ironically since these days characters their age would be the biological parents of teenagers!I think the real problem was that Travis was far too affable a character to fit into that "kind-hearted but a bit grumpy and has to be dragged into things by his earth mother wife" role that Tom and Michael and later Joel, Rhys and maybe even Flynn filled. Joel and the new improved Natalie worked a lot better in that role but sadly they ruined it by giving Natalie a dreadful, out of character departure storyline which seems to have led a few people to remember her as "that horrible mother who had an affair and wrecked her family."Bringing in the Sutherlands and making them a biological family rather than Tom and Pippa substitutes brought about a change in direction that wasn't entirely successful but stopped the show changing into a parody of itself.

I didn't really dislike any of the teen group but looking back none of them really stand out as great characters.I've got to give a word of mention to Justine because no-one's mentioned this:I was pretty apathetic towards her for a while but when they gave her that storyline where the baby she'd been looking after was killed and she was blamed, I absolutely fell in love with her, she played it with a perfect balance of strength and vulnerability.

History repeating itself?Well, the caravan park house has lost stability a lot, by having Melody and Kirsty flitting in and out without really settling and leaving Nicole and Romeo who seem more like residents in a hotel than members of a family, especially Romeo.I don't think there even has been a teen group since early 2008 when Lucas, Cassie and Drew left in quick succession:Belle was left on her own and paired up with someone she'd never had anything to do with before, Geoff and Nicole didn't seem to have any friends and their much-hyped romance was over surprisingly quickly and we're left with a bunch of younger characters like Jai, Annie, Melody, Xavier and Ruby who never had any storylines and spent more time with older characters than each other.Guess time will tell.

[j.laur5]

Wow, I found this thread really interesting.I do think the dip was down to the fact that Michael died and then Pippa left, it meant the core of the show was gone.They tried to use Travis and Rebecca as direct replacements and they were possibly too young for it to work, ironically since these days characters their age would be the biological parents of teenagers!I think the real problem was that Travis was far too affable a character to fit into that "kind-hearted but a bit grumpy and has to be dragged into things by his earth mother wife" role that Tom and Michael and later Joel, Rhys and maybe even Flynn filled. Joel and the new improved Natalie worked a lot better in that role but sadly they ruined it by giving Natalie a dreadful, out of character departure storyline which seems to have led a few people to remember her as "that horrible mother who had an affair and wrecked her family."Bringing in the Sutherlands and making them a biological family rather than Tom and Pippa substitutes brought about a change in direction that wasn't entirely successful but stopped the show changing into a parody of itself.

I didn't really dislike any of the teen group but looking back none of them really stand out as great characters.I've got to give a word of mention to Justine because no-one's mentioned this:I was pretty apathetic towards her for a while but when they gave her that storyline where the baby she'd been looking after was killed and she was blamed, I absolutely fell in love with her, she played it with a perfect balance of strength and vulnerability.

History repeating itself?Well, the caravan park house has lost stability a lot, by having Melody and Kirsty flitting in and out without really settling and leaving Nicole and Romeo who seem more like residents in a hotel than members of a family, especially Romeo.I don't think there even has been a teen group since early 2008 when Lucas, Cassie and Drew left in quick succession:Belle was left on her own and paired up with someone she'd never had anything to do with before, Geoff and Nicole didn't seem to have any friends and their much-hyped romance was over surprisingly quickly and we're left with a bunch of younger characters like Jai, Annie, Melody, Xavier and Ruby who never had any storylines and spent more time with older characters than each other.Guess time will tell.

I did think this at the time but after watching the Shelley episodes again I think she would have ended up becoming nearly as good as Pippa, but the actress quit the show due to family reasons. Travis and Rebecca were bad foster parents because they were too young so all the kids ran away. First Sam moved in with Donald and Tess moved to live with Pippa. Rebecca and Travis are two characters on my top ten least favourite regulars ever.

[_chris70_]

I'd say the central reason for the dip was Pippa leaving and the void that opened up. For me 1997 was a good year, but then 1998 and most of 1999 dipped significantly. The show lost it's sparkle, hard to define, but it seemed very bland. The teenage group was boring, the Nashes was ok, but the heart of the Tom/Pippa and later Pippa/Micheal combination, together with humour wasn't there. It's also interesting that Alf and Ailsa lost a spark too, apart from nervous breakdowns I don't think Ailsa really had any storylines and Alf neither, apart from the very funny Camping trip Fisher and Alf did. It's interesting, what they needed and perhaps tried to do with Travis and Rebecca would be the rejunation of 2008 with Miles taking centre stage...

[alexx]

I agree and I've probably posted in depth somewhere already in this thread as its years old, but I enjoyed 1997, yeah it was different to 95-96 but it did follow 96 well Imo and I consider it apart of the 'golden era - 95-97, and I think the reason it changed more dramatically was that Shane and Angel had gone and so had Michael then later Kelly and Shannon and the show soon shifted in direction too. Then came 1998 and I think it was ok until Pippa left early in the year then, as mentioned, there was that void, the central Summer Bay House felt like a bit of a mish mash, Sally moved out and in with Vinnie and Jesse and it really just carried on from there into 1999. I dont think they were disasters whatsoever and there are some really memorable storylines and characters from that 98-99 era, Joey is one of my favorite H&A characters and he took a more central role in the show during 98-99, also Justine, the Nash's taking centre stage in 1999 was great because it felt like we knew them very well even though they had only been in the bay a short time and that was because they were all given fantastic back storys and they had their own distinct personalities.

[Romeo Smith fan]

I think certainly in the UK the show wasnt as popular in the late 1990s as it was in the early/mid 1990s. It seems to get more coverage by the press/magazines in the early to mid 1990s.

I think the loss of Pippa and many other long term characters like Angel, Shannon, Selina etc were certainly a blow for the show and characters like the Nash family, James, Lachie etc were no replacements.

[ryno_091]

the nash family were bad except 4 gypsy

[devon]

the nash family were bad except 4 gypsy

I thought they were OK - better than most of the characters on the show today at least.