Well, I definitely think this week has been fantastic. Please no one post spoilers about who pushed Paul, I like not knowing!

Lovin' Neighbours at the mo, best in ages, I think I know who could have done it, keeps mum

It was Rebecca Ritters

I've been watching a few episodes of this here and there lately and surprisingly I found myself really enjoying it. As well as all of the old faces from years back I quite like Summer and Andrew... I don't think much of Declan, Kate or Zeke though.

 

Is it as bad as it has been or is it beginning to get on to the road to recovery? Because what I've seen really doesn't seem that bad at all. My biggest gripe with it is probably the editing - Toadie and Steph will be at her house in one scene, and then at his house hours later in the very next scene, and then at the hospital together in the scene after that etc - it should really be interspersed with other storylines rather than following one for several consecutive scenes if that makes sense.

 

OH and I watched something called Be A Star On Neighbours before tonight's ep where they cast a British actress to play the role of Poppy who'll be in the show for four weeks starting from tomorrow. It was really interesting.

The quality of Neighbours is definitely on the rise-the week of the 6000th episode was particularly good. Summer and Andrew are great and I like Natasha too. I like that the new group of teens aren't as S Club 7 as the last group eg they have bad personal qualities and are therefore more rounded people and easier for the audience to relate to. I think overly self righteous characters is whats put a few people off Neighbours in recent years.

Strange as it may sound, generally Neighbours HAS got better, even though the viewing figures would suggest otherwise.

 

Although she made a big noise to the contrary, I think Susan Bower may actually have taken on board all the teen-overload criticism from last year, because this year it's been the adult characters who have taken back control. The big focus has been on two year-long arcs; the Steph/Libby mess

(which isn't actually over yet; it's Steph's downward spiral that ends up resulting in Ringo's death)

and Paul destroying his own family (I loved the whodunnit week). They're actually playing out stories over a long time period now, and we're also getting to see the long-term consequences long after the big reveal pay-offs. Which has never normally been Neighbours style, where events and people were often forgotten about within a week.

 

Like you say, Summer and Andrew actually aren't terrible characters. I don't mind Zeke truth to be told either, although I find Kate dull as dishwater, and I don't think the Declan recast has worked AT ALL. I'm not going to claim James Sorensen was the best actor in the world, but he at least was fairly likeable and charming, whereas Erin Mullally seems utterly incapable of expressing any emotion whatsoever; a big issue when he's involved in the big Robinson family demise this year.

 

The editing's been lousy for a while to be honest, and sometimes it's quite difficult keeping up with what's going on, who's where, etc. But Neighbours never has and never will be elite television; it's always been fairly lightweight fluff.

 

 

 

 

I do worry for Neighbours' future though, despite the improvement in quality control. There's a mass cast exodus coming

(Ringo, Zeke, Declan, Donna, Rebecca and Steph are all off in the next few months, and Lou only pops up once every six months now)

, viewing figures in Australia are at an all-time low and it's been shunted to a digital-only channel there. And whilst it's on Five, it's NEVER going to match it's popularity when it was on the Beeb. I really wouldn't be surprised to see this off-air within 5 years.

So it was Rebecca............not that it wasn't glaringly obvious. Her and Declan are starting to give me the creeps. If I were Kate I'd get out of Ramsay Street as soon as possible!

There is a new character by the name of Poppy I wonder how long she last, that's the girl from Britain, who won a casting role in Neighbours.

See my post further up the page. The contract she won as her prize was for four weeks of filming. Thankfully not any longer because judging by her brief appearance last week and the 'tomorrow on Neighbours' clip we saw today she's terrible!

Oh my lord, I'm so glad I started watching when I did. Seems I've timed it perfectly and got back into it just as it's on the up. Tonight's was FAB - Toadie's jealousy at Sonya's ridiculous ex and that HILARIOUS barbeque scene which somehow confirmed for Summer that Steph has totally LOST IT (I mean she EATING BURGERS and WEARING LEATHERS!). Time for a character RANK N' RATE I think:

 

LEGENDS

 

Susan - by far my favourite. Doesn't seem to have aged over the past decade.

Lyn

Karl

Lou

Libby - although she's barely been seen since I started watching again. Kym Valentine is AGELESS

Toadie - much better at being light relief than an angsty so and so though

Steph - thoroughly hateful bitch lately mind you

 

OTHER FAVOURITES

 

Rebecca - total QOL

Paul - fabulously manipulative

Andrew - strangely sexy, can actually act and I love that the Scottish in his voice slips through every now and then

Sonya

Michael - a very natural and warm actor/character

Natasha

Callum - freakishly mature for somebody who isn't even a teen mind you!

 

CAN TAKE OR LEAVE

 

Donna

Kate - not quite as bland as I thought as first but nonetheless not exactly a beacon of personality

Summer

Zeke

 

NOT SO HOT ON

 

Lucas - just strikes me as a bit of a loser and not especially likeable

Woody - awful obviously, worst 'villain' ever

Declan - no explaination needed

 

 

 

Not a bad cast at all!

For the most part I'm totally on board with your rankings. Although I'd probably bump Paul up into the "legends" category, and given more time Rebecca easily aswell

(sadly we know this is not to be)

.

Also I'd plonk Kate firmly at the bottom (well actually no, that's reserved for Nu Declan). She's just SO dull.

 

I'm also with you on Toadie. I did find myself getting a little bored of him when he was roaming around angsting over Steph. He's been much better now he's all happy and loved up with Sonya. On that point, Sonya is the one character who has really benefitted from the whole Steph/Toadie/Libby/Dan mess - before Sonya was a total NOTHING character, an older, blander Kate almost. But suddenly I found myself feeling very sorry for her when she got chucked aside in favour of Steph, and I was rooting for her.

 

Lucas is an odd one; I can totally understand your current rating of him, because he has spent the past year pretty much without purpose or any real firm link to the rest of the cast since he got sidelined by the Libby/Toadie/Steph palaver. It's a shame, because before that he was a very watchable character (I'm assuming this will have been during the time you weren't watching) - his pairing with Elle Robinson was genuinely one of the best couplings Neighbours has ever come up with; the spoilt princess and the greasy mechanic. The two bounced off each other so well, and he's been totally lost since she left.

So Monday's ep ended a decent streak! I can't believe that well over half of it was spent discussing PIE.

 

8pm edit - today's was AMAZING. I so hate that Rebecca is going, she's a world class actress. And Paul is astonishingly evil.

Paul's an odd one. His actions suggest he is downright evil, but then just as you think that, he'll be off playing father figure to Donna and being genuinely caring. He's a villain certainly, but never an irredeemable one, which is why I guess he's lasted so long on the show.

So Monday's ep ended a decent streak! I can't believe that well over half of it was spent discussing PIE.

 

8pm edit - today's was AMAZING. I so hate that Rebecca is going, she's a world class actress. And Paul is astonishingly evil.

 

 

Hopefully it'll keep getting better (yeah the pie stuff really was too much) as the divine Samantha Fitzgerald returns next week!

This week's been really strong considering the focus on the school kids and you can never have too much of Libby. Loving everybody giving Declan earache and some of the little touches have had me in stitches - Paul's rather harsh outburst of 'YOU MADE ME MISSPELL A WORD!' when Andrew was hassling him. Oh noes, a misspelled word!

Just stumbled across a really quite surprising and frankly RIDICULOUS (if true) spoiler;

Sonya is Callum's real mother. Neighbours fans are already up in arms as it apparantly contradicts what little backstory Callum had previously been given, and it would also pretty much mean completely re-writing Sonya's entire character as it looks like they're going down the she-knew-from-the-beginning route, which means she's been more than a little devious the last couple of years.

I'd read that, and yes it is true. Absolutely ridiculous and obviously being done for shock effect.

 

I'm really beginning to think about not watching anymore. It all annoys me. Just look at the Steph storyline. Susan Kennedy as good as ordering her daughter to lie in court? That would have been unthinkable 18 months ago! They keep going on and on about Sam just bearing a grudge but in reality, its their grudge against Sam that is driving them more than anything. And as for Sam, I'm upset they're still going down the villain road with her. Yes, she's a good villain, but everyone completely forgets the good characteristics she had in her first run.

 

But more than anyone, its Donna who annoys me. Ringo's death is a second rate version of Didge's death and the fact that Donna doesn't feel angry with anyone doesn't sit right with me. Its not a very human reaction and smacks of the writers wanting us to think about Donna as some sort of saint. I never thought I'd say it but she's one of the worst characters right now.

 

And Lucas has lost the plot too. We NEED Elle Robinson back.

Oh I was just cheering. Steph found guilty because of the actions of Libby (lying)! The irony. And I've been waiting for Sam to get a win for years. Hopefully this will have a positive effect on Libby and perhaps she won't be so self righteous from now on.

Oh booo, I'm a week or two behind and I know what happens now. Shouldn't have read the thread.

 

But Libby has every right to be self righteous. She's a QoL of the highest order.

Oh booo, I'm a week or two behind and I know what happens now. Shouldn't have read the thread.

 

But Libby has every right to be self righteous. She's a QoL of the highest order.

 

I'd say she was QoL. Since she came back they've overdone the selfrighteousnous. And they've done it with Susan too. I like to judge characters on how they are currently and not on their past glories and the Kennedys have unfortunately had a rotten 18 months.