Changing Back Stories/Cutting Corners?

[sunshine girl]

Excellent posts by redbats, stra gilr, and hils. You have between you said what I have been feeling for ages. I some times wonder If I am watching Home and Away, and if it weren't for the ad breaks and the HAA titles I would think I had stumbled onto the wrong channel. What are they doing to it?

Re the re writing and laziness - I don't think its justified. Just because you can wing it sometimes does not mean you should keep doing it.It all seems to be part of a mad rush to be sensational at any cost. the cost being the characters, and real heart of the show.

[John]

Interesting thread!! I'm a great fan of long term character development. I loved the early part of the Kane "redemption" which developed over time. I wonder whether the failure is at the Script Supervision level. They seem to have lost track of some characters in the changeover of writers.

The sad part of all this is that we lose consistency in the long term characters such as Alf, Irene and in later years Beth.

[Jocy]

I have been reading this site for a while now, and joined today as I wanted to add my comments to this thread.

Like so many others I really like proper character development and when that's not done properly I am disappointed. Like the last poster said, consistency is being lost and I think this results in the development and the reality of longer term characters becoming muddled and confusing. The change of script producers should not in itself be a problem and should not have led to anything other than a change in style, but it has.

They are at grave risk of throwing the baby out with the bath water if they continue in the current vein.I really hope that somebody says whoa and slows them down before it it is too late.

[greg098]

One storyline i am angry over because they quickly got rid of it was the stalker storyline. She died and then what? I thought they were going to do tests to find out if it was her that died? how come nothing was said afterwards? Sounds like the writers just wanted to move onto another big drama. As for Irene. How many guys has she had in 10 years? About 10? To be honest, it would be hard for someone of that age to find so many guys. Remember Paris, Dodge, Mud, Hyde, that guy from the Uk, and the list goes on... Some storylines I think they cut and ignored...heres a list I can think of:

* Rics Diabetes...ever hear about it? NO!

* Leah upset over having Pippa...Strange how she was upset, then all of a sudden, EVERYTHING IS OK! As if lol

* Sally falling off the ladder and having surgery. Remember how important it was for them to operate. A whole episode was based on it. Its strange that Sally only had the bandage on for 3 days and there is no scare? Very strange considering she got a hole drilled in her head.

* Colleen feeling lonely after the plane accident...Strange she just got over that? How can someone feel lonely for one minute and then feel ok next?

* The 4000th episode car crash. Wasnt it funny how no one cared about them being in hospital as no one came to see them? Just seems they all went home lol...That truly pi.sed me off about that storyline. I am a big fan of HAA and the way they just ignored EVERYTHING and made it all about the accident. Also on that episode, Sarah didnt even talk! What is the point of being her back, if she didnt even talk!!!

* The palace fire...hmm I thought they were going to move back into it in a few months cause the fire was put out and it would be easily repaired. More then 6 months later, still no palace!

* Kane and Kirsty leaving. I missed the episode that Irene found out that they left, but its strange cause the next episode after, NOTHING was mentioned. If Irene says she cares about ALL her foster kids, she would be worried like hell. Shame she didnt really care that Kane and Kirsty went.

* Jesse ringing up Rachel just before he went to jail. I thought Rachel hated Jesse and didnt want to speak to him? That is what Will said. Funny how everything is ok now, even tho they havent talked in over a year lol

* Pippa and Ian...Pippa may come back, but what about Ian or even her baby? First time Pippa came back for Sallys first wedding, it was mentioned that Ian couldnt come because their baby had an ear infection. After that, when Pippa comes back, nothing is mentioned.

I am a big fan of home and away, but why do they cut and just over so many storylines. Kinda is dispointing. Anyone got any other storylines that u reckon they just skipped over?

[ste]

Yep I agree with you as soon as one drama is over, we don't really get any kind follow-through with it, it's just straight onto the next drama. (Like after the final stalker episode, the very next day we were straight onto the Brett Macklin development.) I kind of understand why they are doing it, they probably built up a lot of viewers for the final stalker episodes and didn't want to lose them so they had to keep the drama coming, but sometimes it's all too much!

What you're saying about it not feeling like Home and Away anymore. This was true a year ago but not now. I used to watch and think "Apart from Alf, Sally and Summer Bay House, there is NOTHING linking this show to the Home and Away I used to love. It's basically a different show about different characters, but is just carrying the H&A brand name." However this year, Daniel Bennett is constantly referencing old characters/storylines and bringing them back. I think he is doing his best to make it feel like H&A again, but remember this is 2005 and times have moved on. He can't and won't make the show back into what it used to be in 1988, but he can try and blend the two together. Bring back old H&A, and reintergrate it into 2005's show, and characters. Whether you like what it becomes or not, is entirely up to the individual viewer.

Generally I think DB has done a great job this year. There are some things I will never forgive him for (writing out Josie for example; or telling us that the stalker is one of 4 main characters, then turning out to be none of them).

I'm going to have to wait and see where this storyline with Kim and Hyde regarding his mother goes. If that was the end of it, then I agree that changing the backstory was pointless and just lazy writing in order to make a few good episodes with complete lack of respect to the audience. However, if the storyline continues to develop and doesn't just dead-end like stalkergate, then it will have been worth changing the back story. It all depends on where it goes from here.

[Frankie]

In the main I think changing back stories shows a singular lack of imagination. However, I enjoyed the Barry and Kim story so If they actually take it somewhere and do something with it I shall be happy. But they have had heaps of good stories this year which they have not done anything with, they do them and it's like a conveyor belt. I am not confifent that they will do anything with it, and thnk it will have been forgotten soon enough. I hope I am wrong though. Ric's story was as everyone else has said totally ridiculous.

On the more general themes of this thread I agree with redbats and a few others. I am disappointed. The stories are fine in them selves but they are not gelling together and whoever used the scattergun analogy was spot on.I agree they need to be up to date and we can not expect HAA to be what it was 10 years ago, even though we liked all that at the time we probably would not now. Times change. I don't watch avidly like I used to and am a bit dissapointed to tell the truth.

[-Ben-]

On the subject of changing back-stories, I think that if they have a really good story that doesn't fit with there chosen characters due to their history, but they run with it anyway, they should at least attempt to explain the change and not assume the viewers won't notice.

I do think that H&A feels like H&A, at least how it was a few years ago. There was a period when they were churning out heaps of stories, some which only lasted 2/3 weeks. This has that same feeling. Plots should have a begining, middle and an end, which doesn't just abruptly finish, more like fade out naturally.

The stories so far this year have been good, in a self contained way. Everything's been done as if the show is more of a drama, than a soap. Stories get started, that lead to no where, when really they have the potential to carry on for a few more weeks. (Basically I totally agree with Redbats.)

Over all, I am disappointed with the show. There have been times when characters have done things for the sake of the story. But where DB has done crap, he has done good too. It's just the bad outweighs the good. Shame really.

And I have to agree about lazy writing, there has been a lot of that. I think this kinda applies to Amanda, in the sense that she seems to me like a carbon copy of one Izzy Hoyland.

[ste]

And I have to agree about lazy writing, there has been a lot of that. I think this kinda applies to Amanda, in the sense that she seems to me like a carbon copy of one Izzy Hoyland.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Which is annoying to me because Neighbours has always been the one that copies H&A, not the other way round (though you could argue that Izzy was a direct result of Angie).

[Jonno]

I agree with redbats, what an excellent post.

I have been so disheartented this year. It started so well and like a lot of others I had high hopes. I also think the look at the ratings arguement is silly. Yes the ratings were at an all time high when the stalker was revealed, but they slumped back to normal after. If HAA was a good as it used to be, the drama would not have stopped there and there would have been something else to hook us in. It didn't. The ratings are no better than they have been before. They win the time slot because there is nothing much up against it.

The stories as others have said are good in themselves but there is no continuity or follow thru; Soaps are about people, these stories could be about any Tom, Dick or Barry.. If they do not follow through on the Barry and kim story they will havewasted the change in the back story. I actually think its never really justifed, its incredibly lazy, and getting away with it does not mean its OK, the ends do not justify the means.

[chatter box]

Forensically speaking it does not make sense to change back stories.. Until recently everything about Barry made total sense in terms of what we knew about his past. This new story has completely changed things. The Barry we knew up until a few months ago would not have done all this. He was a repressed but lovng caring man who was passionate about his job, his son and Irene. He struggled to show this but was slowly coming out of his shell. I wasn't going to watch after they split up Irene and Barry..sobs..but did watch the episodes about Kim's search for his Mum as I was curious to see how they resolved this. As everyone has said these episodes were, in themselves, well done. I think it was noticeable in this and in other recent stories that at times the actors have seemed a bit bewildered when the back story they have been drawing on to play their character, and which has for a long time contributed to their motivation is no longer something they can rely on. These have now gone and something else is threr instead. It must be annoying to have everything that you have previously based your character upon suddenly thrown out and something else put in its place. A bit like dissociative identity disorder I should think. If like others you follow a soap because you like the characters then all this is confusing.

If on the other hand Daniel Bennett manages to rescue this, by making it that Barry did not kill Kerry, he just thought he did, and that somehow he gets back with Irene where he is supposed to be, I for one will forgive him.... ...In fact if he reunites them he can rewrite the entire cast's back stories....LOL....

As a general principal though I agree that changing back stories is not worth the momentary adrenalin rush. Robbie and Tasha and Ric are good examples which have been mentioned in other posts. Their backstory rehashes have not been succesful.