What do you think of the writing/storylines?

[~Lynd~]

I put some storielines are ok because I'm really liking Rosie and also the John/Jett stuff but for the most part I'm really just watching out of loyalty in the blind hope it'll one day return to the show I loved for so long.

There's far to much crime and repetition.I wouldn't find the Braxton's to bad if they evolved but Brax is the same yet gets treated like a saint and Casey has gotten worse.Heath is the only one who's changed for the better but I still can't get my head around him and Bianca.I can't even begin to understand what they have in common to make it work.It's just an odd pairing to me and the others aren't much better.

There's also the issue of screentime others get compared to the braxtons.It feels like a lot of the other cast are just extras which surely must be annoying to them if the audience is noticing it.How many enemies can possibly come to town to get revenge on the braxtons?Enough already.

Like Ryan, I find it very cold and clinical.I just don't care most of the time which is sad.The reason Noah's death and even the stalker storyline worked so well is because those sorts of stories were used sparingly.They're used so often these days they have absolutely no affect.

[Inactive User]

I had always loved watching the show for a long time since mid-2005/early 2006.

I have to admit I am not a fan of the Braxtons and I just cringe when they come on-screen.

But I am a fan of Casey because he's my favourite character.

I found the Braxtons really boring and over-used because they had been getting lots of screentime more than the other characters. I do wish the writers would give the Braxtons less screentime and focus on the other characters, and give them storylines to begin with.

I am just interested in watching the storylines that involves Rosie and John/Jett, Apex and Casey, Sasha at the moment.

[alexx]

Not that I have been watching the show, but the crime element had definitely been reduced towards the end of last year. The reason I stopped watching was because it was all so tedious and repetitive.

The same old storylines happening to the same characters - predominant break-up/make-up stuff, heavy focus on romance, heavy focus on 'bad girl/bad boy'. Boring character dynamics, inconsistent character interaction, unimaginative plots and a lack of balance.

It's ironic that H&A has a better reputation these days as a 'drama series' (due to the production values) when the writing was so much better when it was considered a 'cheap soap'.

[sindikatas]

^ Yes I knew as soon as Tele drew attention to the fact that no one had voted that 'the writers are getting it right' that it wouldn't be long before a member with an agenda would be voting it up.

Honestly I think they have dialed back the more extreme Braxton nonsense, with none of the gang warfare of 2011. I especially enjoy Heath's storylines which have mostly revolved around his relationship with Bianca, their son's death, and most recently his efforts to secure custody of his daughter. This storyline in particular I have really been enjoying. That is why I chose 'some storylines are ok'.

However I also chose 'I think the writers are getting it wrong', and this is because - as is repeated 100 times in each thread - the more established cast members like Irene and Alf are completely neglected by the writing staff. Having highlighted that Irene hardly gets any screentime, this is something they have clearly been working on more recently, as she often gets more than two lines of dialogue in the episodes she features in.

However there has still been no effort to give these characters a storyline, like at all. Think back to the last storyline Irene had - breast cancer. That lasted a couple of months from the latter part of 2011 into early 2012 and even that wasn't given much focus within the wider program. Since then she literally hasn't had a storyline, and compared with the quantity given to Casey or Brax for example, I'm not sure how much credit the 'the same effort goes into writing all 22 characters' statement has.

I can't believe she actually said that. There's no point in contacting her anymore.

[Light of the Bay]

^ Definitely not - she never replies to anyone other than the same people who bombard her with tweets saying how much they love the Braxtons.

When they leave she's going to get a real shock. I can't believe how much effort has gone into writing for them while Irene, Alf and Marilyn are sidelined.

I think writing across the board is poor though.

I just hope and pray this is their last year.

[TelephotoMarigold]

^ Definitely not - she never replies to anyone other than the same people who bombard her with tweets saying how much they love the Braxtons.

When they leave she's going to get a real shock. I can't believe how much effort has gone into writing for them while Irene, Alf and Marilyn are sidelined.

I think writing across the board is poor though.

I just hope and pray this is their last year.

She replies to you though!

I think the thing you need to remember is that the average tweet is 140 characters long. So to have any impact you have to be blunt to the point of rude or bombard her with multiple tweets. Also, this is her tweeting and whilst she is responding to fans, albeit mostly Braxton fans, she doesn't have to listen or respond to anyone on her personal twitter.

Out of 30 replies, only 2 have indicated that they believe the writers are doing a good job whilst some indicate that most of the stories are ok.

The more verbal amongst us are selecting most of the categories in "the writers are getting it wrong" category. So how are the writers getting it wrong? What isn't working?

For me it's the focus on the Braxtons. I don't care about the characters. That's not an "I hate them" but that the writers have never made me WANT to care about them and what they do. They were brought into antagonise the Bay with their River Boy companions and as an afterthought almost, made into series regulars. Once ensconced the writers were at a loss about what to do with them. Are they a dysfunctional family unit or just criminals? Even if there was a simple answer to that question the whole point is that I just don't care about them.

Alf and Irene as long term cast don't have any storylines and are used as fill in characters. Maybe the actors want this, want to slow down a bit and ease back on the acting side. We don't know. But what we do know is that if Ray and Lynne decided to leave there would be no one to take their places in the character dynamics of the show because the writers don't know how to write for them.

The pacing of the storylines is also off. Jamie stalking Leah for example. There was no gradual build up of the story, Jaime went from strange boyfriend to wacko in just a couple of episodes. I know that timewise the story had to fit in with Ada's maternity leave but even so more could have been done to build up the story into something believable.

Romeo's exit storyline. There are so many things wrong with this one that my brain threatens to explode each time I think about it. Sid's involvement. Not telling Indi. Disappearing when you have responsibilities (such as taking on a large loan to buy a business and then not doing any legal steps to ensure that the people you've left behind aren't saddled with huge debts.). AND finally CANCER again. I know people can find themselves with the disease but seriously, Summer Bay must rate with the highest Cancer Cluster numbers in Australia...

There are others I could bring into the discussion but at the risk of going into rant mode I'll stop.

[summerbay18o]

Someone should tweet this thread to Louise Bowes

[Ryan]

I think in terms of the questions, I would have answered "I've stopped watching" and "Some of the stories aren't that bad." There's a storyline you'll watch and think that's pretty good, that's not bad etc, but we don't swithc off due to one poor story and whilst one good story probably gets us watching, if the next story is rubbish, it doesn't get us hooked. So, some of the stories aren't that bad, but too many of them aren't that good.

[Inactive User]

Someone should tweet this thread to Louise Bowes

Maybe that's not a bad idea, eh? But I wonder if she knows about this forum...

[becksterbabe]

The writers are given storylines and then go away to write them. Not sure you can blame them per se, unless you mean individual lines or dialogue and stuff. It just seems to me that this is more about storylines than the writing itself (there is a difference). I agree that Irene, in particular deserves more storylines. I think more long-term, bigger storylines would be a good idea. I'd also like to see more funny stuff but that's just a personal perference.