End of 2007 - Anticipation of H&A's 21st year

[Homeandawayfan.]

I also remain optimistic, I may be hoping for an improvement that will never come or may never come but I do hope that H&A can turn the ship around. I think Neighbours went through a dark and destructive phase from 2006 to 2010, and H&A is having the same. Wishful thinking but we need Richard Jasek or Jason Herbison on H&A, as I do have concerns Lucy and Louise will be replaced with carbon copies.

I found 2009 H&A quite watchable. The show started to become darker in about late 2009, early 2010.

[Red Ranger 1]

I agree the first half of 2008 was one of the show's more successful periods of recent years.It wasn't perfect, Cassie was pretty much beyond salvaging after the last half of 2007 and the best Bevan managed was making her be just about bearable so while it was relief that she left before she could become annoying again at least we didn't cheer that much at getting rid of her.Sally's departure was a triumph of style over substance in many ways, hitting the right emotional beats but never really convincing that she'd actually leave town at that point and especially that she'd leave and not come back.(The really weird thing is it was only a couple of storyline beats away from being credible, with the idea of her going to teach at an orphanage in Phuket being introduced as an afterthought weeks later when it should have been the crux of her decision.)As others have said, he took characters that were bland or aggravating like Aden and Roman and gave them life, brought in new characters like Melody and Nicole who added something different to the show and the other characters, finally put an end to the dragged out Jack/Martha will they/won't they thing(Sam's personality transplant grated but that had already started before his time so might not have been entirely his fault)and taking a good look at characters that had become stale and putting them in interesting new directions.

And then he left and it felt like the show either made a mess of carrying on his storylines or hit a giant reset button.So Aden and Melody's storylines descended into melodrama, with Melody getting character assassinated by being stuck in a love triangle with the writers' preferred couple(who broke up as soon as the storyline ended), while someone decided to ignore the fact Bevan had already resolved Aden's issues by undoing his character development and making him violent and unstable.I know the character was popular but looking at the first half of 2008 you see what the character could have been:A likable protagonist who was still capable of adding an element of uncertainty in that you couldn't automatically trust him to do the right thing, almost a lovable rogue character.He didn't really get that way again until 2010, and then he was derailed again by a departure story that basically replayed the latter half of 2008 like someone thought it was a good storyline.Bevan realised that Jack was a joke as a police officer and had him resign, only for him to be reinstated as soon as he left.He tried to give Leah a new purpose as a youth worker and she was quickly stuck back in the Diner(it's telling that the show ended up reusing the idea in 2013).He tried to progress Belle from a slightly bratty teen solely defined by an on/off relationship into a responsible big sister figure, and she soon went back to being solely defined by an on/off relationship.And yes, we had the toxic waste dump story which everyone seemed in a hurry to forget.

I think 2009 was not entirely successful, with the whole overhyped year-long mystery and the tendency to fall into the trap of putting popular characters and couples through so much drama and trauma that they lost everything that made them popular in the first place.2010 I think was actually an upturn and most of its faults lay in the inability to let go of some of the more unsuccessful aspects of 2009.It's the point where John and Xavier, two characters who weren't particularly likable, really came into their own and became two of the show's highlights, and a lot of the new characters that came in that year did show a lot of promise and it was only in later years that things went wrong.

2011 did introduce a lot of unfortunate elements.I'm not sure if they've gone now or if I've got used to them, probably a bit of both.The transformation of Heath from a two-dimensional thug into a caring but still deeply flawed character has worked extremely well.But I agree that the disconnection between characters has got worse.One of the complaints in recent years has been the lack of on-screen friendships but I think the show has actually handled that sort of thing quite well, even if it does require a lot of attention at times, keeping track of where characters are at and making you believe that they do spend time together off screen so that there's a believable familiarity between them when they do share scenes together:We saw enough of Charlie and Bianca bonding that their friendship didn't come out of nowhere, April and Tamara felt like friends no matter how big a gap there was since their last scene.Nowadays, it seems almost like we're heading in the opposite direction with characters only meeting each other if there's a plot reason for them to do so:The way that Casey and Denny were randomly thrust together, in a way that suggested that two people who visit the same places, have numerous common acquaintances and know each other's families weren't even aware that the other one existed, was appalling and something that would never have happened just a couple of years ago.There's a difference between not knowing someone well and not knowing someone at all and that fell on completely the wrong side of it, making their suddenly being joined at the hip ten times less believable than it should have been.And there's still an unfortunate tendency to desperately thrust the writers' favourite characters into the spotlight at the expense of other characters when they don't really have a reason to be on the show anymore(step forward, Sasha...).On the other hand, I don't think it's all doom and gloom and I don't think there's contempt for the show's history either, it actually feels more like the situation with Neighbours last year where they want to put in touches for long-term viewers but don't know the details so get it a bit wrong and end up annoying the very people they were trying to appeal to(eg acting as though Marilyn knew Alf and Roo when Roo was a schoolgirl).It just needs a bit of tweaking and to be brave enough to let go of certain elements.

[Jezz]

In my opinion 2008 was Home and Away's last great hurrah. Can't believe it was 6 years ago. I heard that Bevan has all but washed his hands of the show these days, he casts his eyes over the scripts in his duty as Network Script Exec, but apart from that, he has no emotional involvement in H&A, the ship has well and truly sailed. And if that is true, who can blame him for giving up on it? He came back in 2008 and returned the show to excellence, he showed them how it's done, and then almost as soon as he leaves, it just goes back to rubbish again.

It wasn't just Sally's exit that was good during Bevan's brief return. It was the normal, everyday episodes. They were so good. I strongly urge anyone to go and watch some back-to-back episodes from those first months. After the (IMO) dire 2007, Bevan really showed them how it's done. Every character was given a chance to shine, there was a real feeling of community, and all the storylines that were unfolding overlapped with each other, Geoff and Annie's storyline affected Cassie's storyline which affected Sally's, which affected Leah's, and so on. The Sally/Milco storyline was awesome, but even without that,

The show today (what I see of it) reminds me of Sunset Beach and other cheap American daytime shows. Most episodes contain 2 or 3 storylines which have NOTHING to do with each other, each story develops completely independently of the other, and the characters in each storyline barely know the characters in the other storylines, let alone mingle with them. They are like ships that pass in the night.

Basically, Bevan KNEW what fans wanted to see.

Episode 1: He brought Morag back and wasted no time in fixing her damaged relationship with Martha. Even though their early 2007 fight wasn't specifically mentioned, he clearly knew their relationship was important to viewers, something the 2007 writers hadn't bothered about despite Morag's returns in that year following their fight.

The introduction of Melody and vague references to a less-than-pleasant sounding mother whom we didn't actually meet for a while, was very reminiscent of early years storylines about kids from troubled homes finding refuge in the kind arms of the Summer Bay family.

He took the fascinating character of Aden and actually used him.

He took the awful Dom storyline (which had been building and building towards the end of 2007, even though nobody cared about it) and tied it up quickly without a fuss, yet at the same time, didn't cheat the audience, and gave it a satisfying end.

He turned the dodgy "hospital attacker" storyline into a very emotional, sad storyline with the R everend Hall. He saw how that was much more effective than the way previous writers had dealt with villains, being wheeled off to the police station never to be seen again (aka Mumma Rose, Charlie, Corey and so many more...)

^^^He knew what was good for the show, and what wasn't!

Great post Beau! I agree with all of that.

The beginning of 2008 really did re-introduce that community feeling into the show that had been missing in recent times before that. It's clear that Bevan Lee knows the show inside and out and I would be delighted if became involved in the show once again in the near future.

It's no coincidence that some of Home and Away's best periods in its history has been during the time when Bevan was in charge of the show's direction in terms of writing and producing it.

[Homeandawayfan.]

Many of the newer viewers love the crime stories and hit and runs and bed hopping whereas many of us long term viewers like the show to be how it was pre 2009. I watch Neighbours religiously but dip in and out of H&A and often switch over when there is yet another dramatic scene with rubbish harsh incidental music, if you can call that music. And this is the show that 20 years ago I used to think was the best show on TV.

[beau_t]

It's no coincidence that some of Home and Away's best periods in its history has been during the time when Bevan was in charge of the show's direction in terms of writing and producing it.

I completely forgot about that 2004 stint. Again a great period of Home and Away, culminating in probably my favourite season finale. Can't believe that was 10 years ago!

I thought Neighbours was finished in 2010/2011, with an executive producer in charge who plainly didn't care about the fanbase, and actively ignored them and the history of the show. We're seeing exactly the same attitude from Home and Away's producers today.

That's true, and IMO Neighbours has completely turned around these days. When I was a fan of H&A I never watched Neighbours, I thought it was a pale immitation of Home and Away. These days, I love Neighbours. It's closer to Home and Away than Home and Away is.

often switch over when there is yet another dramatic scene with rubbish harsh incidental music, if you can call that music.

Yeah the underscore is no longer iconic, it's generic and could belong to any show. It used to be very unique to H&A.

[Homeandawayfan.]

The underscore music is like what is played in those highly hideous US thriller dramas and crime serials. I have flicked through and seen the odd scene of those rubbish TV shows. That is not what Home And Away is about.

[beau_t]

But what with losing the opening titles and other things, that's sadly exactly what they are trying to resemble. They are no longer interested in making Home and Away a unique product. They want it to be the same as everything else. Very sad.

[Homeandawayfan.]

Neighbours has reclaimed a lot of its uniqueness now. It came out of a bad patch and is one of the best soaps going, and a lot chirpier than some of the British soaps. As the show is about to turn 30 I congratulate the show on its landmark.

[James Martin]

Bevan didn't write the stalker storyline but he did write the Sarah Lewis/Noah storyline culminating in the Olympic Siege. That's still, for me, the best thing the show's done, ever.

My favourite spots of the last decade are definitely the post-Olympic to end period of 2004 and the first six months of 2008.

[beau_t]

Bevan didn't write the stalker storyline but he did write the Sarah Lewis/Noah storyline culminating in the Olympic Siege. That's still, for me, the best thing the show's done, ever.

My favourite spots of the last decade are definitely the post-Olympic to end period of 2004 and the first six months of 2008.

After posting in this discussion a few days ago I went and watched some eps from this period, when the town held a concert in memory of Noah, and Josie was in contact with Tasha's father who was a twisted millionaire who planted secret cameras in Irene's house! I forgot what a good character Josie was and she seemed much more layered than I remember her being in 2005. Was she Bevan's creation? It seems his replacement Daniel Bennett wasn't as invested in the character. Watching her this time, without having Angie in mind, she really was a completely different character.