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Old 27-07-2014, 23:01
Danny_Francis
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As many of you may know when it comes to the Aussie soaps, I lean more towards H&A. However, having attempted to give Neighbours a fair go i've come to the following conclusions. IMO.

1. It does try to cover storylines in a realistic way
2. It's of course more light-hearted/cheesy and that's not bad I suppose
3. They make good use of family stables and sense of community
4. There are some good characters

However, what lets it down for me is the acting quality and writing isn't as good as on other soaps. And compared to other soaps, the production appears to be a bit cheaper and low budget. P.S. not a dig (H&A fan in peace)
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Old 27-07-2014, 23:31
Brookside
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I would like to know the FULL history between Paul Robinson and Karl Kennedy?

Also Paul's history would be nice...
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Old 28-07-2014, 10:31
Towie1977
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Danny I used to be a H &A loyalist too and always thought Neighbours was poor by comparison. Over the past year I've reversed my position. Neighbours is much better written in my opinion though it does look very cheap! But I still prefer it over H&A which looks very pretty with the Aussie outdoor setting but is no substance nowadays.
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Old 28-07-2014, 12:41
Tellystar
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I like neighbours, but it is made up of good looking young people, no one is really poor, rarely involves disabled people, Even the middle aged are well dressed prosperous looking people, hardly representative of the average neighbourhood.
Apart from the Kapoors , it can hardly be called multiracial.
I wonder at how a BBQ or party can be whipped up before you can say Paul Robinson.
If anyone leaves, there are no arrangements shown, suitcases pack themselves.
Wish I lived in soap land!
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Old 28-07-2014, 21:35
lobeydosser
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I like neighbours, but it is made up of good looking young people, no one is really poor, rarely involves disabled people, Even the middle aged are well dressed prosperous looking people, hardly representative of the average neighbourhood.
Apart from the Kapoors , it can hardly be called multiracial.
I wonder at how a BBQ or party can be whipped up before you can say Paul Robinson.
If anyone leaves, there are no arrangements shown, suitcases pack themselves.
Wish I lived in soap land!
Same could be said of many soaps. How many of them have really poor people? Some neighbourhoods are quite like Ramsey Street I would think. Look at HO 9if you must!)- how many of them are old, poor or disabled. They have had a couple of people in a wheelchair but both times it looked a bit contrived.
As for leaving - in every soap people get places to live, new partners, new jobs or somewhere to go at the drop of a hat! If these things were done in real time they'd be one big yawn.

Part of Neighbours' charm is that it doesn't take itself too seriously, or 'raise issues' all the time. We watch soaps for escapist entertainment. not to have our conscientiousness raised. If I want that I'll watch PAnorama!
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Old 29-07-2014, 18:26
Deschanel
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However, what lets it down for me is the acting quality and writing isn't as good as on other soaps. And compared to other soaps, the production appears to be a bit cheaper and low budget. P.S. not a dig (H&A fan in peace)
I know it's subjective, but I think Neighbours has a lot of strong actors these days; I don't think they have anyone who is as wooden as Mason Turner or Bridget Parker or Ned Parker. All of the new additions (Naomi, Daniel and Paige) can act, IMO, and have certainly shown they can hold their own alongside the great actors of Karl, Susan, Paul, Lou, Sonya, Toadie, Sheila, Lauren, Terese... Some of the younger actors have shown they can act when given the right material, like, Imogen, Kyle, Chris and even Josie Lamb.

I also don't think the writing is that bad, either. It's certainly not worse than some of the other soaps. I do agree about the production values (or lack thereof), and how cheap the show can look. But, I think they do the best they can with the budget they have.

I would like to know the FULL history between Paul Robinson and Karl Kennedy?

Also Paul's history would be nice...
The basics of Karl and Paul's history stems back to the days of Phil Martin. Paul framed Phil for fraud. When Karl moved to Ramsay Street, he became good friends with Phil, but by then Paul had already left town. When Paul returned in 2004, Karl instantly disliked Paul based on his treatment of Phil. This dislike was intensified when Paul seduced Karl's then girlfriend Izzy Hoyland. Over the years Paul has meddled in the Kennedys lives, like the time Paul's psycho son Robert planted a bomb on a plane, which killed Susan's then husband Alex Kinski and their friends, the Bishop family, all in revenge for Paul being an absent father; or the time he published an article detailing Susan being daughter Libby's surrogate, which resulted in a public backlash; and the time Paul deliberately humiliated Libby in public by playing a tape of her best friend Steph admitting to being pregnant with Libby's husband's baby; and most recently, Paul used Susan's MS relapse against Karl in the mayoral race.

For a very comprehensive look at Paul's history check out this link: http://www.perfectblend.net/neighbou...inson-paul.htm

I like neighbours, but it is made up of good looking young people, no one is really poor, rarely involves disabled people, Even the middle aged are well dressed prosperous looking people, hardly representative of the average neighbourhood.
Does every neighbourhood consist of poor and disabled people? Ramsay Street is supposed to be set in a middle class suburb, with professional residents. No-one should be really poor, as they wouldn't be able to afford to live in the area! I live in a middle class area, and no-one is poor, most people dress reasonably well, and I haven't seen a disabled person for a very, very long time (like many years).
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Old 29-07-2014, 21:02
lobeydosser
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I like neighbours, but it is made up of good looking young people, no one is really poor, rarely involves disabled people, Even the middle aged are well dressed prosperous looking people, hardly representative of the average neighbourhood.
Apart from the Kapoors , it can hardly be called multiracial.
!
when Sonya was throwing her strop today, a passing woman in a hijab took a good look!
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Old 29-07-2014, 22:26
Old Bloke
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One point - Alex Kinski survived the plane crash, but later died of cancer.
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Old 30-07-2014, 01:18
Tom_Stockton
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Neighbours is far, far better than Home & Away in my opinion. H&A seems to show the exact same stories but with different characters on a two/three year cycle when all the young cast clears out and new ones are brought in to replay the storylines again!

Although issues of representation aren't great in Australian soaps in general, Neighbours clearly trumps H&A for this. Plus the characters are so believable and mostly likable. It's in a really good state right now, the cast gels really well and the storylines are really watchable. Of course there's a few weak links, but for other viewers that might be what they enjoy!

Personally, I don't really find Amber's whole position between Josh and Daniel very entertaining because I don't really like Amber, so don't care who she ends up with. Also, Imogen has become reeeeeally unlikable recently, which is a shame because she was one of my favourites during the eating disorder storyline, the actress is clearly capable of more than playing being a bitch to everyone. Matt bores me silly too!

Positives though are plentiful:
- Naomi is fantastic, perfect casting and classic soap bitch! I find myself saying "oh she's awful!" at the screen whenever she does anything! I love seeing her stir things up and meddle!
- Sonya is still one of my favourite characters. Eve Morey is amazing and plays the character so, so well. One of the most believable and watchable characters on TV for me to be honest! Love the family unit with Toadie and Nell. It's a shame Callum has gone but I've not really MISSED him.
- Karl and Susan are iconic. They'll be there forever. They ARE Neighbours!
- Paige/Lauren/Brad storyline is fab too, the actors are all very good and the direction that the plot is moving in is very watchable and well written.
- Georgia and Kyle are delightful, very fun and sweet.
- Chris is a sweetheart, absolutely love that there's finally some good realistic representation and he's not just there to tick a box. A very well written and very likable character, someone the viewers can really care about.
- Paul and Terese have a very nice friendship, they bounce off each other as actors SO well and every scene they're in is one I try not to miss a word of. Strong characters with a long shelf life, hopefully!
- Bailey has real potential. The kind of guy he is isn't really depicted on Aus soaps very much, as in not being hugely muscular for his age, not completely preoccupied with girls, and with real issues such as the alcoholism that he will constantly be dealing with. Hope he stays with the show for a long time.
- Sheila is hilarious and very well played.
- Brennan is gorgeous and I love his platonic friendship with Sonya, he deserves a bigger role in the show I think. The idea to pair him and Paige up as housemates was smart as they work very well together.

Sorry I've gone on a bit longer than I expected to but there's very few chances to talk about Neighbours on this forum!
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Old 31-07-2014, 13:18
Deschanel
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Sorry I've gone on a bit longer than I expected to but there's very few chances to talk about Neighbours on this forum!
ITA with a lot of what you've said Tom. Not quite feeling the Kyle & Georgia love like you, as most of the time I just want to knock their heads together.

That last sentence is sad, b/c I'm sure this forum used to have a large(r) fan base than what it is now. People used to be a lot more positive about the show, but these days it seems to be difficult getting people to tune in again.
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Old 31-07-2014, 14:01
Tellystar
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Same could be said of many soaps. How many of them have really poor people? Some neighbourhoods are quite like Ramsey Street I would think. Look at HO 9if you must!)- how many of them are old, poor or disabled. They have had a couple of people in a wheelchair but both times it looked a bit contrived.
As for leaving - in every soap people get places to live, new partners, new jobs or somewhere to go at the drop of a hat! If these things were done in real time they'd be one big yawn.

Part of Neighbours' charm is that it doesn't take itself too seriously, or 'raise issues' all the time. We watch soaps for escapist entertainment. not to have our conscientiousness raised. If I want that I'll watch PAnorama!
"Some neighbourhoods are quite like Ramsay street? "don't think so !
Look at Corrie - is it full of good looking people? Definitely not, nor is any neighbourhood anywhere. Does it have really poor people? Yes. Old people? Yes.
Disabled people, people with believable mental illness? Yes.
Same for Eastenders and Emmerdale.
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Old 31-07-2014, 15:01
lobeydosser
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"Some neighbourhoods are quite like Ramsay street? "don't think so !
Look at Corrie - is it full of good looking people? Definitely not, nor is any neighbourhood anywhere. Does it have really poor people? Yes. Old people? Yes.
Disabled people, people with believable mental illness? Yes.
Same for Eastenders and Emmerdale.
As said above, Ramsey Street is meant to be a middle-class neighbourhood , of which there must be many world-wide. So it would not have any poor families in it. why does it have to anyway? It has recently had Doug with his encroaching Alzheimers but the problem with anybody on Neighbours who becomes disabled is that, being Neighbours, they are quickly cured! (remember Fraser? Lucas was disabled for a while and even the dreaded Ditch! And I query the assumption that Neighbours is full of good-looking people> Admittedly Corrie isn't and has 'poor' people, but it is meant to be a back street in MAnchester, not a middle-class Australian suburb.

Neighbours is a bit escapist, which is why I like it. I got sick of the endless rapes, murders, explosions and general gloom dealt out by other soaps - in my opinion they're not too much like real life either. Hopefully most of us will go through our lives without being taken hostage, encountering a serial killer or being involved in an explosion or fire. Most of the soaps have piled sensation on sensation to attract viewers and it's become very unrealistic, not to mention depressing viewing. Neighbours is OK!
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Old 31-07-2014, 17:24
evole
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I still can't get over that Kate got a gig on the Bold and the Beautiful here in the states! WTH??

Ivy Forrester


You know she'll be hideous. Maybe they'll showcase her fantastic dancing skills, lol
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Old 31-07-2014, 21:41
lobeydosser
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I still can't get over that Kate got a gig on the Bold and the Beautiful here in the states! WTH??

Ivy Forrester


You know she'll be hideous. Maybe they'll showcase her fantastic dancing skills, lol
Ha HA Any teaching jobs on that show?
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