No drama. Any time.

I think the problem is in Australia, Neighbours airs on Eleven, so the target audience is a lower age compared to the UK's varied audience at lunchtime older than 18 and evenings all ages.

So the direction the programme goes now is difficult because it wont please all audiences expectations. If Neighbours had stayed on TEN in Australia the audience would be similar to FIVE's.

Number 24 is still empty - I wonder what will happen with this house?

I've begun watching Neighbours again fully for the past three months or so now and I enjoy it. I stopped watching once the changes happened in 2007. My only problem is the way stories just wrap up after a week with barely no mention after. I know this has been a long running feature of Neighbours but why don't they change it?

It's like with the Walter situation, it was done and dusted after a few weeks and Sonia makes no mention after the 'devastation' it had on her.

Imogen is a great young character who i hope develops into a strong female in the street.

Neighbours is uber dull atm. Amber takes wooden acting to a new level and Josh must be the most boring teen on earth.

I don't get this whole "kids want to watch kids" thing. I was happy with the direction it was taking at the beginning of the year but I am sick of the sight of Mason and co.

When I was 4, MADGE was my favourite Neighbours character. As I grew up I was more interested in the older characters than the younger ones. Except when I was fascinated that Sky Mangel flooded the house... I remember thinking "uh oh, she's gonna be in trouble!".

The fact that Lucas and Vanessa have been axed has gutted me in fact as those two and Toadie/Sonya were the main reasons I was enjoying it so much this year. So much more mileage in the characters but alas, I guess Mason and the kids are more important.

I wouldn't mind so much if the stories they were involved in were actually convincing too (despite the terrible acting). For instance, in Neighbours a student bullying a teacher would be "Miss Ramsay has a boyfriend na na na na na na" whereas in Hollyoaks, they do it more realistically with things like "Mr McQueen touched me inappropriately."

I really do think Neighbours needs some new talent on the writing and storylining team. It's just not gripping me, sadly.

I know. Why do soap producers think that young people are so self absorbed that they will only watch if the stories are about people their own age? As a teenager, I remember loving the storylines in Hollyoaks about the sixth formers and the uni kids and hating the ones about school children.

I do think Neighbours need to have storylines that stretch out over a couple of weeks and not for them to be over in a day or two. Uncle Walter came and went in the blink of an eye and Sonya's going round as if nothing happened.

I think the show not being gripping on is bang on actually. I tend to dip in and out of it and not watch it for weeks. There just aren't any storylines that keep me hooked, I'm afraid.

This seemed to be a big complaint a couple of months ago, and I feel they kind of heard us, which is why they are dragging out the Kate/Kyle thing! It also feels like Robbo has been around forever. They drag out the ones that no-one is really engaging with, and wrap-up the ones that had heaps of mileage left in them.


Everything is coasting along in bland fashion. Imogen's story is probably the best thing right now, and she gets the least amount of air time out of the newbies. When you think what the show was like from February to May, and what we have now, it feels like a different show written by different producers.

well said

I started watching Neighbours at 14 a long time ago; even at that age I loved Harold, Madge, Lou, Karl, Susan. Apart from Lance I had no interest in the teens even when I was one. Too many teens is the death of any soap. You need characters that people care about, that are well acted, have defined personalities and are interesting. Good looks keep you interested for only so long. Neighbours desperately needs to invest in it's characters and develop them so we care. At the moment I really don't.

Strong new characters- Terese, Sheila and Lauren

Weak new characters- Mason, Joshua and possibly Matt

Mrs Mangel was my favourite in the old days along with Helen and the wonderful Myra de Groot as Eileen Clarke. I did not like Max or Maria. Shane annoyed me. Danny was ok. Nicki was a pain. Lucy was interesting. I liked Daphne. Des was a very kind man. Scott and Charlene brought a fun dynamic that really has not been properly repeated.

[quote=Hariken; don't get this whole "kids want to watch kids" thing. I was happy with the direction it was taking at the beginning of the year but I am sick of the sight of Mason and co.

When I was 4, MADGE was my favourite Neighbours character. As I grew up I was more interested in the older characters than the younger ones. Except when I was fascinated that Sky Mangel flooded the house... I remember thinking "uh oh, she's gonna be in trouble!".

The fact that Lucas and Vanessa have been axed has gutted me in fact as those two and Toadie/Sonya were the main reasons I was enjoying it so much this year. So much more mileage in the characters but alas, I guess Mason and the kids are more important.

I wouldn't mind so much if the stories they were involved in were actually convincing too (despite the terrible acting). For instance, in Neighbours a student bullying a teacher would be "Miss Ramsay has a boyfriend na na na na na na" whereas in Hollyoaks, they do it more realistically with things like "Mr McQueen touched me inappropriately."

I really do think Neighbours needs some new talent on the writing and storylining team. It's just not gripping me, sadly.[/QUOTE]

I completely agree. Although I liked the four teens they had during the classic era - Scott, Charlene, Mike and Jane, the older characters were amazing and non of them were bland. Madge, Harold, Mrs Mangle, Helen, Eileen, Jim, Max, Lou, Dorothy Burke, Des, Daphne, Cheryl, Doug, Pam... I could go on. This was from 9 years old onwards for me.

Exactly. The kids stories should be background or side-stories... they really shouldn't be the centre of every storyline because it alienates viewers. I really thought Jasek understood this... sadly not. I sincerely hope that he's not having to restrict his creativity due to pressures from Network Ten and Channel Eleven to be "teen focused". As a "teen focused" soap, they're doing it completely wrong... there are ways to make teen shows appeal to all demographics but Neighbours just doesn't hit the criteria for any of them, really.

I'm about 8 weeks behind on neighbours(I have them recorded)but I can't be bothered to catch up.
There's not one character I care enough about to watch anymore.
I think it was the amount of character changes in a short space of time that did it for me.
I'm really starting to miss the cast we had a year or two ago (Andrew/Tash/Rhys/Jade etc..)
never thought I would say that!

Neighbours was originally a more adult-focused soap. There were early and memorable teen characters - Scott, Charlene, Jane and Mike - but their stories balanced with those of Jim, Madge, Helen and the older residents.

Rhys was a great complex character and left too early.

It's frustrating how Neighbours have got talented actors like Kate Kendall, Kip Gamblin and Rebecca Elmagolou at the moment who do nothing except dispense endless cups of tea and hackneyed advice. When are the older actors going to be given some decent storylines?

I also think the show needs a couple of actors in their 20s/30s. I'm probably one of the few people watching Neighbours who likes Kate, but the show could do with beefing up that age group.

I STILL want to see the return of Doug and Pam!!!!! Who cares if they don't get on in real life (joke), they had great chemistry on screen. Hell, bring them back at separate times if they won't work together again!!!!! Pleeeeease!!!!!! I was going to suggest luring them back with a bit of a cash incentive, but the producer obviously felt aspirational back garden sets were what was really needed to spend a fortune on to get people watching.

It disappoints me that they got rid of so many characters in such a short space of time. Literally, Andrew, Tash, Rhys, Preeya, Ajay, Rani, Sophie, and now Vanessa and Lucas as well.

The new characters are okay, but they should have introduced them slowly. When I watch Neighbours now (which is rare), it feels like a completely different show and I can't get into it. The plotlines have also got a tiny bit dull. A few months ago, Neighbours was probably the best soap on TV. Now it's just lost the spark again.

I'd personally take Summer out and replace her with Elle or Jade.