Annie Campbell - Charlotte Best

[idris]

It's O.K. jodlebirger, I was only comparing the worst part of upland U.K. in winter with your largest city.

I agree with what you wrote about Annie/Romeo - she was sacrificed to set (or as you said, reset) his character. In the end it was really poor writing. I'm not too sure that H&A have any interest in continuity of character, or community, these days. Perhaps the security of the C5 'lifetime' deal has made them complacent. Or perhaps they're aiming at an audience that has a much shorter attention/memory span than some of us have ?

I think the worst aspect of Annie's character decline/departure was that there wasn't a convincing explanation for her behaviour, or decision making, at the end.

[Red Ranger 1]

I know we're now about five weeks behind here but I'm not sure if they're trying to make the characters more innocent:April doesn't seem any different to Ruby and Romeo when they first came in.I don't think they've made Romeo more innocent unless you equate innocence with sexual experience, if anything it's the opposite:He started off a fun and carefree character and has now turned into an angsty introverted teen with an abusive past, abandonment issues and a fear of intimacy that's cropped up out of nowhere.(Although he'll probably still be sleeping with Indi by the end of the year.)Aden frankly was ruined for me the moment he beat Axel unconscious without a shred of remorse:All the character development since he moved in with Roman went out the window and everything else was just adding fuel to the fire.

Anyway...Annie.Can't say I noticed her developing physically but I always thought she was a pretty girl.They had a tendency to dress her young, at least until this year, but that's because she was young and I think it suited her.And I don't think she ever let anyone boss her about, she always had a mind of her own, right from when she was hanging out with Lucas despite Geoff and Bruce disapproving of him or insisting on giving Michael a chance when Geoff just accepted Irene's insistence he was bad news.I think her relationship with Jai was okay in 2008, although even at that point they tended to get neglected for lengthy periods:The scenes when they first got together and when they decided they weren't ready to sleep together were great.Going into 2009 it quickly became obvious that the writers weren't interested in them as individuals or a couple which was a crying shame since they were both likeable characters played by capable actors who always made the most of what little they were given to do.When their relationship was touched upon it was retreads of past storylines and then they were split up for spurious reasons.There was a huge potential in the relationship but no-one seemed interested in developing it at all.

I quite liked the Annie/Romeo romance at first, at least up until Romeo stabbed Jai in the back over the poems without any real comeback.But it quickly became obvious that the writers still didn't have a clue how to write for Annie as a central character.So the intriguing and engaging "Inexperienced young girl discovers hot older guy likes her" storyline just turned into a dull and generic teen romance.(Although Romeo was obviously not that much older, I think we were told he was seventeen early on and Martha certainly views him as a kid in his first episode.)It did feel that in their scenes together at the end of 2009 they were reshaping Annie into a more conventional teenage character, missing the point of her appeal.It's one of those occasions where I'd love to know when they found out Charlotte was leaving.I can see the argument that they wrecked Annie in 2010 to make everyone sympathise with Romeo.But it seemed to me more like a case of they'd set up Annie and Romeo and some of the fans seemed to like them so they were determined to have them date for a bit however much they had to force it in.Thankfully they didn't make Annie sex-obsessed, it wasn't even touched upon, but she did seem to go from not wanting to be filmed kissing Jai to copping off with Romeo on stage in a way that kind of demonstrated how far out of character she'd gone.I suspect that rather than deliberately ruining the character, they actually thought that was a good direction to take her in, so it's probably a good thing she got out when she did.

[idris]

RR - the point you raise about when 'they' (the writers ?) found out that Charlotte was leaving is interesting. I think the mgt. would have decided not to renew her contract, which I presume was for 2 years (ending autumn 2009 - which it did,) sometime around early 2009. An interesting question which springs from that is: - why did they develop Annie (and Jai) for about a year and then leave her/them in limbo for a year ? You'd know better than I would if the writing team changed around that time. It would explain some of the mess if that was the case. Otherwise I'll stick to my original thought that they didn't know what to do with a young girl who was developing so fast. As if that hadn't happened before in the history of the world.....ever.

I mentioned her growing up precisely for that reason - she seemed to shoot up during her first year. That hit me when I looked at one of the TV week scans earlier this year (January ?) about her 'coming return' for the ill-fated 6 weeks. They used an old 'stock' shot from 2007, when she was 13 - and looked it. So I did some height comparisons against Indiana Evans; - Charlotte was about 2 inches shorter in 2007, and 2 inches taller in November 2009 (and I presume that Indiana was also growing, not shrinking, during that time.)

I wouldn't have minded Annie being less naive/innocent, or more assertive in lots of ways for that matter - and not just with boys, but she became just plain unfathomable at the end. Not her fault of course, I just feel sorry for any young actor given that kind of mixed up characterisation to play out, followed by a dismal exit.

Edited August 27, 2010 by idris

[j.laur5]

Does anyone know why the actress quit?.

Edited September 20, 2010 by john003au

[idris]

j.laur5

Does anyone know why the actress quit?.

"Somebody Up There Likes Me."

(With acknowledgement to Rocky Graziano / Paul Newman.)

Rather than go over the previously posted discussions on this j.laur5, here's my take on a character from Neighbours that is, I think, relevant.

About 2 years ago, for about 9 months, I was a regular Neighbours viewer. I took an instant dislike to one character before I had even heard her speak. It was her walk - it was much too intense, attention seeking and well....actorly. She scampered everywhere on tip toes, a bit like you'd expect a vampire to do if they were hurrying around sucking the emotions out of the human actors.

Amazing fact about this character - Bridget - I saw that a Neighbour's fan had compiled a character episode count, for 2008 I think it was, and guess what ? Bridget, a recently introduced teen had the highest count for the year. It got better for me every episode I watched her in. The camera (Somebody up there...) loved her. When she was speaking, it lingered on her. When she was being spoken to, it lingered on her again for her reaction shot. When she was in a group scene, she always seemed to be centre stage and got the most close ups. It wasn't as if she was photogenic either.

Her best friend was Rachel (Caitlin Stasey,) I can safely say that no matter what Caitlin Stasey goes on to achieve, and she does seem set to achieve quite a bit, no one will get to know what the back of her head looks like better than the people who watched Neighbours during Bridget's time. Ironic and instructive really, that the director, or whoever favoured Bridget over Rachel, should have backed the wrong actor. They don't always get it right. That's one point to learn from this.

So......imagine what happens when "Somebody Up There Doesn't Like Me."

Less episodes, weak storylines, the camera leaves you before you've finished your line (not helpful when you've got a softer speaking voice than most) and doesn't return for your reaction shot when it should. You won't get many close ups, if any, even if you are photogenic. Group scenes ? Forget it - you'll be left out of shot if you're lucky, or worse, you'll be half / in half out of the shot.

If you agree that even half of this is true, who would blame an actor for wanting to leave ? But I still don't think that Charlotte quit.

[j.laur5]

j.laur5

Does anyone know why the actress quit?.

"Somebody Up There Likes Me."

(With acknowledgement to Rocky Graziano / Paul Newman.)

Rather than go over the previously posted discussions on this j.laur5, here's my take on a character from Neighbours that is, I think, relevant.

About 2 years ago, for about 9 months, I was a regular Neighbours viewer. I took an instant dislike to one character before I had even heard her speak. It was her walk - it was much too intense, attention seeking and well....actorly. She scampered everywhere on tip toes, a bit like you'd expect a vampire to do if they were hurrying around sucking the emotions out of the human actors.

Amazing fact about this character - Bridget - I saw that a Neighbour's fan had compiled a character episode count, for 2008 I think it was, and guess what ? Bridget, a recently introduced teen had the highest count for the year. It got better for me every episode I watched her in. The camera (Somebody up there...) loved her. When she was speaking, it lingered on her. When she was being spoken to, it lingered on her again for her reaction shot. When she was in a group scene, she always seemed to be centre stage and got the most close ups. It wasn't as if she was photogenic either.

Her best friend was Rachel (Caitlin Stasey,) I can safely say that no matter what Caitlin Stasey goes on to achieve, and she does seem set to achieve quite a bit, no one will get to know what the back of her head looks like better than the people who watched Neighbours during Bridget's time. Ironic and instructive really, that the director, or whoever favoured Bridget over Rachel, should have backed the wrong actor. They don't always get it right. That's one point to learn from this.

So......imagine what happens when "Somebody Up There Doesn't Like Me."

Less episodes, weak storylines, the camera leaves you before you've finished your line (not helpful when you've got a softer speaking voice than most) and doesn't return for your reaction shot when it should. You won't get many close ups, if any, even if you are photogenic. Group scenes ? Forget it - you'll be left out of shot if you're lucky, or worse, you'll be half / in half out of the shot.

If you agree that even half of this is true, who would blame an actor for wanting to leave ? But I still don't think that Charlotte quit.

But why do you think they axed her and i dont see what two Neighbours characters have go to do with it.

[idris]

But why do you think they axed her and i dont see what two Neighbours characters have go to do with it.

I'd have thought that my last post was self explanatory, but if you didn't understand why I wrote what I wrote, I'll spell it out for you.

I do think she was axed, for reasons I've posted on here previously. No offense, but please scroll back to see the discussions, because they are too detailed to keep repeating.

I expressed it as I did, through a direct comparison with what I saw happening to similarly aged characters on Neighbours, to highlight the fact that directors can, and do, pick favourites. I also picked those 2 because I think it's pretty clear the director got it wrong. The opposite of picking favourites is also true, they marginalise characters by employing the devices, on H&A just the same as on Neighbours, that I explained in my post. Another recent example of this in action would be Rachel and Tony sidelined by a lack of storylines.

Saying this might make some think that I'm strengthening the argument that Charlotte left because she was bored/frustrated etc. But if you look at it from another angle, that of the 'management'; - that they had little interest in her or her character, so they didn't develop it because they knew they weren't going to renew her initial contract when it finished - that fits the evidence that we have about her departure. There is, as far as I know, no evidence at all that she quit.

[j.laur5]

But why do you think they axed her and i dont see what two Neighbours characters have go to do with it.

I'd have thought that my last post was self explanatory, but if you didn't understand why I wrote what I wrote, I'll spell it out for you.

I do think she was axed, for reasons I've posted on here previously. No offense, but please scroll back to see the discussions, because they are too detailed to keep repeating.

I expressed it as I did, through a direct comparison with what I saw happening to similarly aged characters on Neighbours, to highlight the fact that directors can, and do, pick favourites. I also picked those 2 because I think it's pretty clear the director got it wrong. The opposite of picking favourites is also true, they marginalise characters by employing the devices, on H&A just the same as on Neighbours, that I explained in my post. Another recent example of this in action would be Rachel and Tony sidelined by a lack of storylines.

Saying this might make some think that I'm strengthening the argument that Charlotte left because she was bored/frustrated etc. But if you look at it from another angle, that of the 'management'; - that they had little interest in her or her character, so they didn't develop it because they knew they weren't going to renew her initial contract when it finished - that fits the evidence that we have about her departure. There is, as far as I know, no evidence at all that she quit.

Do you know, I think you may have point. Annie was pretty much just a sidekick of Ruby most of the time. I think her character was simlair to Lynn where they no longer knew where to take the character. That can sometimes happen a younger characters if they are not supposed to be a typical young teen girl like Carly, Angel, Danni and Nicole.

Edited September 25, 2010 by john003au

[MatildaHunterFan]

Hey, does anyone know in which episode annie thought she was gonna die?

Hope you'll answer

Sandra

[Red Ranger 1]

^Do you mean the episode where she had her first period, didn't know what it was and thought she was dying?That was 4489.