Storylines

[alexx]

I think the writers spent far too long portraying the violence and criminal involvement that is part of that world. It was indulgent and I think those who see it as an attempt to capitalise on the popularity of the Underbelly series are probably right. By doing this they alienated a part of the audience who then ceased to believe in the possibility of characters developing into a more socially acceptable form . They just wanted the characters gone, to jail or anywhere just not on the show any more.

That delay lessened the impact of Danny's appearance which should have deepened our understanding of just how difficult the upbringing of the Braxtons had been and how they had to struggle to survive. By the time Danny appeared a section of the audience didn't care any more.

I'm still puzzled as to where they're taking Brax. I'll be quite annoyed if he just becomes a part of the endless cycle of breaking up and making up relationships. The way he is gatthering his brothers and their partners around him is sort of like a fostering relationship at best and at worst an annoying attempt to hang onto something that is over. He is still a strong influence in the family group and if they are to be "redeemed" he will have to be an important part of that.

I completely agree with those three paragraphs.

I think the major problem I always had was that the Braxtons appeared to be quite shallow; I know that isn't what you're saying John, but the lack of character development (on an emotional level) made them come across that way to me. (I'm talking past tense because I'm not currently watching).

The other problem is that due to the 'Underbelly' focus, the producers have created a divide.

To me they still feel like guest characters who are overtaking the show, but to a large amount of other viewers, characters like Gina/John/Roo/Harvey etc. seem like guest characters who are boring and not needed; and to those viewers Home and Away is a show about The Braxtons and it's the only reason they tune in.

The producers have really messed that up because they now seem to have two different sets of viewers, and both sets seem to want to see very different things from the show. So it's inevitable that one of those sets of viewers will give up and at the moment I'm in the set that gives up.

Having said that, please don't think I'm blaming the Braxtons completely - I'm not at all, I dont feel like I enjoy the show on whole anymore i.e the way stories are told, how characters are developed (or not). Summer Bay just isn't a place I like to visit anymore.

[John]

Continuing a discussion from the "We need more Foster Kids thread".

I think some fairly big strategic decisions on the content and target audience of the show have been made in recent years. I think this has been an attempt to update the show and attract a new audience among young people. This has to happen if the show is to survive. I think to date this has had some successes and some failures.

I see two major examples of these decisions.

1. The decision to move from the G rating to the PG rating. This has had an obvious influence on the content of storylines. The inclusion of more violence and more explicit depiction of sexual encounters are a couple of these. My personal view is that these have been overdone at times to the extent of being gratuitous. The worst example of this in my mind is the ongoing journey of the Braxtons. I'm a fan of the Braxton concept, I have some real issues with its execution particularly the overuse of violence and crime and the timing of introduction of back story information. We met Danny and got to know Cheryl far too late in the journey. We needed to understand their influence on those characters much earlier.

To be fair on the writers I think there has been a real attempt in recent months to correct this and return to exploring the ongoing character development of the individual Braxton brothers.

2. The second is the decision to generally employ older actors to play the roles of teenagers. I suppose this delivers some advantages in the sort of material that can be written for them and in the hours they are permitted to work.

However it delivers a huge disadvantage in that many of these older characters stay for only one contract period and then leave to seek the bright lights of Hollywood etc. This makes it very difficult to develop and sustain long term teen friendship groups or even longer term relationships among the younger cast. This tends to lead to more and more "making up and breaking up" which I personally find tedious. Also it demands a constant quest to find interesting departure scenarios which break up relationships that we have been built up to believe are between "soul mates".

I'm sure that the powers that be are constantly conducting surveys and reviews. These shows only continue to exist if they attract ratings and audience.

I think the writers need to be encouraged to proceed further down the path of the last few months. I can't subscribe to any campaign to sack writers or get rid of any particular group in the cast. I don't think that would necessarily achieve anything good. It would just bring in a new group who would then take time to establish a direction leading to another confused period in the writing of the show.

[Light of the Bay]

I'm posting my response in this thread rather than 'The Braxton Brothers' thread is it's obviously not related to them!

I think Irene's cancer storyline was horribly written and I remember being so excited that she had such a major storyline coming up after so long in the background.

I was so disappointed. And Lynne even says it's her favourite storyline - though her friend battled cancer so presumably that's why she felt so strongly about it.

I don't know what's wrong with the writing when it comes to serious storylines but there's something missing.

[cadyctslover]

On the subject of serious storylines I feel that so far Gina's death and the aftermath have been handled excellently. Although I will miss Gina I hope they continue to develop the bond between John and Jett and devote appropriate screen-time to this development. I suspect that they are moving towards a relationship between John and Marilyn, which would be great as I think they have good chemistry and it would give Marilyn new storyline material and a more active and important role within the show.

[Light of the Bay]

Oh yes, you have to give them credit for Gina's death and the aftermath. I liked how some of the community rallied around John.

I thought Alf might have shared his own experiences (Ailsa's death) and comforted John though. Maz being with John could be interesting and anything that gets her out of the background is good for me. I just hope they can have a relationship that doesn't involve breaking up like every other couple in Summer Bay though!

[cadyctslover]

Yes I think it will cause some tension between John and Jett which will cause at least the first break up! Hopefully they can maintain a relationship between John and Marilyn and keep it fairly stable as they did with him and Gina for the most part.

I think there was a mention in today's UK episode of Alisa from Alf.

[Light of the Bay]

Really? I don't watch really so I missed it! Don't suppose you know the episode number?

[Jezz]

Yes it was mentioned in episode 5733.

[Light of the Bay]

Thanks, Jezz.

[alexx]

I'd love to write for H&A, actually my ideal position would be to produce it so I can shift the direction and put my own H&A stamp on it. I really think a show like this needs to have someone who understands the history, gets it and embraces it - but at the same time has enough vision to move it forward in an inventive and modern way. I certainly wouldn't axe all of The Braxtons, I can think of some fantastic storylines that are both dramatic and emotional/character driven that I'd give to them. They'd stay true to character, but realistically evolve.

I'd balance the entire show out again and give every character a decent run of storylines throughout every year, whilst developing them nicely in between with either lighthearted/up lifting storylines or comical sub plots. I'd probably push for very gritty drama overall. But I think what the show would benefit the most would be all of the short scenes that are thrown in here and there that help establish Summer Bay as a tight nit community. I'd put the emphasis back on Summer Bay as a warm and inviting town, to balance out the gritty plots. I'm sure there would be some viewers who dislike aspects of the show, but I'd certainly be keen to cater to everyone - not just new fans, not just old fans - the lot.