Were Adam and Matt supposed to be the new Lance and Martin?

[adam436]

I was just watching a 1989 episode of Home and Away in which Adam is trying to scam some tourists and take them "Bunyip hunting", which seemed like it would have been and should have been a scam that Martin would have devised. In the same batch of episodes, Martin and Lance were involved in the silly storyline with Nina and the band.  

 

This got me thinking, were Adam and Matt meant to be the "new" Lance and Martin? Once Adam arrived, they seemed to be relegated to the sidelines a fair bit, and were given more immature storylines. In terms of cast numbers, Adam pretty much replaced Frank (since he arrived in the same episode as Frank left), however I feel like in terms of storylines he took over what should have been given to Martin. Matt took on a bigger role in late 1989, by which point TPTB might have known Lance and Martin were on their way out. Even Marilyn, who previously formed a trio with Lance and Martin, simply slotted into the Matt/Adam dynamic after they left. 

 

Matt and Adam were smarter and seemed more mature, however I don't think they had the same level of comedic timing or personality as Lance and Martin. In fact, I found Matt to be incredibly dull. They could however, do both comedy and drama, which I feel was something Lance and Martin could not. This was not the fault of the actors, but just the way they had been developed meant that it would seem weird for them to suddenly to have dramatic storylines. 

 

Just out of interest, were Peter Vroom and Craig Thomson axed or did they leave of their own accord? I suspect they were axed: Julian McMahon and Craig McLachlan also joined the cast around this time and they felt like spare parts once Adam arrived and Matt's role was beefed up. I also think the comedy element was pretty much dropped by early 1990 and the show took on a darker tone, so perhaps TPTB decided they didn't really fit the new direction. Incidentally, Celia left around the same time and I could see her struggling to fit into the show post-early 1990 as well.

[Sally Keating]

I actually always felt that Adam replaced Martin. Not when he first arrived, Adam was quite different then - but certainly when Martin left, Adam became the new scammer looking for ways to make a quick and easy buck.

I don't think the writers wanted Adam and Matt to be exactly like Lance and Martin (for a start, neither of them were conveyed as the "dumb" one). Unlike Lance and Martin where Lance was usually Martin's downfall, Adam was usually his own foil, mucking up in some way, and Matt was just along for the ride. But I don't think they were meant to be an exact replacement because I think they were supposed to be more well-rounded characters who could do comedy but could also serve other purposes and weren't seen only as a joke by the rest of the town as much as Lance and Martin were - this meant they could be involved in other stories and other characters' stories more.

Overall I think they were used in a Lance and Martin type way but also in a more updated way as the show moved on with the times. Marilyn moving on from Lance and Martin to Matt and Adam certainly made it seem that way too.

[j.laur5]

2 hours ago, adam436 said:

I was just watching a 1989 episode of Home and Away in which Adam is trying to scam some tourists and take them "Bunyip hunting", which seemed like it would have been and should have been a scam that Martin would have devised. In the same batch of episodes, Martin and Lance were involved in the silly storyline with Nina and the band.  

 

This got me thinking, were Adam and Matt meant to be the "new" Lance and Martin? Once Adam arrived, they seemed to be relegated to the sidelines a fair bit, and were given more immature storylines. In terms of cast numbers, Adam pretty much replaced Frank (since he arrived in the same episode as Frank left), however I feel like in terms of storylines he took over what should have been given to Martin. Matt took on a bigger role in late 1989, by which point TPTB might have known Lance and Martin were on their way out. Even Marilyn, who previously formed a trio with Lance and Martin, simply slotted into the Matt/Adam dynamic after they left. 

 

Matt and Adam were smarter and seemed more mature, however I don't think they had the same level of comedic timing or personality as Lance and Martin. In fact, I found Matt to be incredibly dull. They could however, do both comedy and drama, which I feel was something Lance and Martin could not. This was not the fault of the actors, but just the way they had been developed meant that it would seem weird for them to suddenly to have dramatic storylines. 

 

Just out of interest, were Peter Vroom and Craig Thomson axed or did they leave of their own accord? I suspect they were axed: Julian McMahon and Craig McLachlan also joined the cast around this time and they felt like spare parts once Adam arrived and Matt's role was beefed up. I also think the comedy element was pretty much dropped by early 1990 and the show took on a darker tone, so perhaps TPTB decided they didn't really fit the new direction. Incidentally, Celia left around the same time and I could see her struggling to fit into the show post-early 1990 as well.

I have heard actors who played  Martin and Lance quit the series as well as Fiona Spence and Greg Benson.

Fiona Spence said the reason why she quit was because she wanted to return to doing stage work. 

I think Celia would fit the new era as the show was lacking an older lady busy-body. Look at Colleen, they kept her around when show became even more dark in 2004.

[KKB]

I think Adam was meant to replace Martin but I dont think Matt was meant to replace Lance. Matt is one of my faves. Besides no one can replace Lance

[adam436]

2 hours ago, j.laur5 said:

I have heard actors who played  Martin and Lance quit the series as well as Fiona Spence and Greg Benson.

Fiona Spence said the reason why she quit was because she wanted to return to doing stage work. 

 

I just find it interesting that Lance, Martin and Celia all left around the same time, and in my opinion, were probably the most underused characters at that point. As I said, I feel the show lost that light/comedy element around then too, which incidentally all three characters majorly contributed to in 1988-1989, along with Floss and Neville, who were axed a year earlier. 

 

2 hours ago, Sally Keating said:

 don't think the writers wanted Adam and Matt to be exactly like Lance and Martin (for a start, neither of them were conveyed as the "dumb" one). Unlike Lance and Martin where Lance was usually Martin's downfall, Adam was usually his own foil, mucking up in some way, and Matt was just along for the ride. But I don't think they were meant to be an exact replacement because I think they were supposed to be more well-rounded characters who could do comedy but could also serve other purposes and weren't seen only as a joke by the rest of the town as much as Lance and Martin were - this meant they could be involved in other stories and other characters' stories more.

Overall I think they were used in a Lance and Martin type way but also in a more updated way as the show moved on with the times. Marilyn moving on from Lance and Martin to Matt and Adam certainly made it seem that way too.

 

This pretty much sums up what I was trying to say I guess, just in better words

They were more down-to-earth and less caricatured than Lance and Martin and as you said, were written to serve other purposes too. Matt was more of a more voice to Adam I guess, whereas Lance was more of an accident foil for Martin's scams. I guess to put it another way, would Matt and Adam have stayed on so long had Lance and Martin stayed? Or do you think they would have tried to write Lance and Martin as more rounded and mature? 

[CaptainHulk]

I think by 1990 Lance and Martin had kind of run out of steam and their actors were getting itchy feet.

Martin characterwise wanted to make something of himself outside of the bay. Lance missed him terribly and followed him after and proved to be so much better at the army thing (he made Sarge after all!)

[adam436]

Do think one could have worked without the other, had one left in 1990 and the other stayed? 

If Lance had stayed on with Martin, I think they would have married him off with Marilyn and done all the newlyweds storylines, maybe with a baby and/or consider fostering. If Martin had stayed on, I don't think Adam would have - they would have just made Martin slightly more mature and he probably would have come into his own.

[CaptainHulk]

Mat Stevenson actually wanted to quit a Year in as he outwardly admitted he wasn't happy with his own work but was talked into staying another 4!

[adam436]

I did not realise that - if you're not happy with a job, being talked into staying another 4 years, as opposed to 6-12 months, is pretty good. 

I stopped watching the early years during the 1990 episodes, but was Adam "matured" at that point. I'm just wondering if Mat Stevenson's unhappiness with his work was reflected with an onscreen change? 

[CaptainHulk]

Adam turned into a bit of an arse when he and Maz broke up and didn't really redeem himself until he helped Blake out v Josh and (attempted) to stop Karen from ruining her life (Superman couldn't have prevented that)