adam436

I agree. And Neighbours is certainly looking and feeling more aged than H&A. I'd say a large factor in that has been the volume of returnees and older characters. There was a long period where the producers chose not to introduce any new characters into the cast and just brought heaps of returnees back as regulars, which really does not work in such a small cast. I don't think it's a coincidence that the only characters I am really invested in at the moment are Haz and the Varga Murphys, the few new characters to be introduced in the revival. H&A has its faults - the disregard for its history and spread of characters ages being the primary ones - but it has evolved and moved with the times. It looks sleek and modern, the storylines are more engaging and watchable and it's still rating well. If it were still a soap about a foster family in a sleepy coastal town, it would most likely have been cancelled years ago. H&A has always felt a head of the game to me. In 1988, H&A was airing stories like Carly's rape and Roo's pregnancy, Neighbours were playing it safe - I think the worst they had that year was Scott kissing Jane. In 1995, when H&A went darker, Neighbours had one of it's dullest years. When the Braxton era started, Neighbours was in the peak Susan Bower years. Perhaps the only time Neighbours has felt like the stronger soap (ignoring the first few years, before H&A aired) has been 1992-1994 when Neighbours had that revamp and went a little darker. The rest of that time it has felt like Neighbours have just been catch up.

I hate to say it, but you're right. Most viewers wouldn't care, even if those characters do have links to the current cast. Any sort of 40th anniversary reunion is likely to be top-heavy with cast from 2011 onwards like Heath and Bianca, Ricky, Dean and Ziggy, Ash, Jasmine, Jett, Bella, Ryder, VJ, Tori etc. with maybe one or two token early years icons like Sally, Gypsy and Colleen.

I don't think it was a coincidence that Judy quit when they started giving her big stories. In 1999-2000, she had the PTSD story after the diner siege (was that when Ailsa shot Alf?), the car accident and subsequent story when she thought Alf wanted her dead, and then the Shaun story. She was also involved in the mudslide, but Judy would have given her notice by that point. Prior to that, she didn't really do much for most of the nineties - her and Alf had marriage issues at one point which seemed like a B plot (I can't remember the build up, but he moved into a caravan and met a blind woman played by Belinda Giblin!) and then her breakdown in which she saw Bobby, but that was probably written as a temporary exit story for Ailsa.

I imagine it was a bit of both to be honest. Pippa had no real reason to return without Sally around and it sounds like Debra was done after that latest stint.

She definitely did, but H&A was also undergoing an overhaul at the time so it may have been a mutual decision, especially when you consider the original diner set and Stewart house were both gone a few weeks before Ailsa's exit, the remaining original cast were relatively underused in 2001/2002 and Judy has been quite open about just going through the motions in her final years on H&A because writing was her passion. I suspect it was ultimately Judy's decision to leave, especially after the long-running story to introduce a long-lost daughter for Ailsa, but I also think it's likely the producers didn't fight to keep her with all the wider changes happening at the time. Just recently on Hollyoaks, Stephanie Waring has publicly said she was given the chance to say it was her decision to leave, but chose to say she was axed. It absolutely would have happened on Australian soaps in the past too and probably with some actors/characters we'd be shocked to learn about.

Will and Gypsy's was amongst the worst too. Chloe's death made little sense to me - Other than generating some hype for the 4000th episode by publicising that "someone would die", the only purpose her death served was to facilitate Jesse's exit, which could have been achieved with him killing a random guest character. But then Jesse's exit made no sense either - he could have simply moved away to be closer to his daughter, or got a happy ending with either Chloe or Josie, who was written out at the same time.

I think that's probably they were reluctant to give Pippa more than just appearing for Sally's life events. She didn't come back to stay with Sally because she was running away from Ian or needed money. They kept her ending happy. They pretty much did for Donald too up until his final return. Steven Matheson's return worked because he was in a different stage of his life. He'd been through so many things during his time, but he'd left as a teenager and returned as a teacher, so there was fresh story ideas for him. Marilyn had equally been through so much, but because she had such a long hiatus between her second and third regular stints, there was also plenty of fresh stories for her. Again, Marilyn worked. Upon her return, the only remaining regulars were from her last appearance were Alf and Irene. She also knew Colleen because she was engaged to Lance, and Morag, though I can't remember how frequently she was appearing at that point. Good writing or a well-developed character quickly will quickly re-assimilate into the new cast anyway, and probably only need to have the stalwarts hold their hand for the first few episodes anyway. This happened with Marilyn and Steven in 1995 before Marilyn moved into the Beach House, and Steven became friends with Travis and Kelly.

I agree. The current producers have little regard for history that it's probably best to leave legendary past characters in the past. We've seen with some characters like Don, Pippa, Will and Gypsy how returnees can be messed up and they returned in an era where history was more respected.

It was the Soap on the Box podcast with Lee Salisbury.

I can't see any new families being introduced to be honest. The closest we are going to get is all the sets of adult siblings. The next family until to enter the show will be the Braxtons. Heath's kids are old enough to have their own storylines now. The show could introduce some proper family units while still keeping the dark and adult tone about it, therefore still appealing to the more adult audience. Like, the teenage storylines could be the issue-based stuff like drugs, teen pregnancies, self-harm etc. rather than just teenage crushes and school dramas.

There was also Gypsy and Will in that period too, who I'd say were trashed by their return story. I think it's the way they've been used more so than how many have returned: Shelley Sutherland only appeared in a few scenes, despite Kirsty being in the show for 18 months Duncan Stewart - I have no issue with the recast, but more so the way he was used. Quinn Jackson - I can't recall how her previous stint ended, but from memory she's had nothing to do with Alf for 25 years and then suddenly shows up on his doorstep to dump her son on him. I applaud the producers for remembering she exists, but because of her and Alf's relationship, it was definitely a convivence thing more so than trying to bring back a legacy character. I've got no issue with recast, since she was only a minor character in her first stint. Dimitri - only a minor character so I'm not sure we can fairly count him here. It's great they got the original actor back, but I feel that comes down to Ada's relationship with Salvatore Coco and probably mentioned it to the producers moreso than the writers appeasing long-time fans. Celia was ruined by her return story I struggled with Olivia's return because she was the same age as VJ, who was born over 3 years later. I'd also say they threw James under the bus for the sake of the story too. Sally's return wasn't great - after all the tragedy in her life, it's a shame to think that continued after leaving Summer Bay Roo was recast, so essentially a new character for me. They share the same history, but I struggle to view them as the same character. That would be my argument if they recast Finn or Damien too, which I'm fine with to be honest if it gives Irene a purpose. Pippa's 2009 was not the best - Debra Lawrence explains why in the Soap from the Box podcast. As I said, I think it's the way those early years have been used upon their return. I think to fit into the current show, the returning characters have to be given such storyines in order to fit into the current format. Will, Gypsy and Celia are hardly going to return for a nostalgic visit to see Alf and Irene, are they? Which is fine if that's the producers' stance, but I'd rather such characters not return at all and live happily-ever-after then be brought back to be treated the way Will, Gypsy, Sally etc. were. It's not like there is a disproportionate number of returning characters from the Lucy Addario years anyway: we've only had Jett Palmer on a few occasions, Heath and Bianca (who I imagine have an open invitation to return because they are Braxtons), Angelo Rosetta and then Bella for Nikau's exit. It's not even like more recent characters like the Ben, Maggie, Willow, Brody, Raffy, Ryder, Olivia etc. ever returned for a visit after they left, despite having connections to the current characters. I found Marilyn's storyline quite offensive because much of her second stint revolved around her and Don trying to get pregnant and having a baby. It pretty much ruined her and Don's marriage for me in the same way the Martha secret did for Alf and Ailsa.

Tempany now lives in the US and Adam has left acting completely. I also doubt Steven would come back any time soon while there are two unrelated Mathesons around. The same could be argued for Frank Morgan too (we have Justin Morgan!), Roo's ex husband. He'd be a prime candidate too as it would give Roo a potential story and Alex Papps is still acting. I think the problem with characters returning for Alf's wedding was Martha's backstory. Having Duncan return for the wedding would mean that the writers would have had to address the fact that Ailsa existed and Alf lied to her for so long, and others like Fisher would need to address the fact that Martha left Bobby high and dry since Morag didn't know where to send the money to. The perfect opportunity for Fisher to return would have been Marilyn's amnesia story about 10 years ago when she thought she was still married to him. I always think it's a shame Lance never returned to visit Colleen in her final years when Marilyn was back. Lance is well and truly moved on, but they've actually never appeared onscreen together since 1990, despite both characters returning several times over the years. Lance began making sporadic appearances in 2000, just a few months after Emily Symons left and then he never appeared after 2006(?). I assume for Peter Vroom wasn't interested or was unavailable to return to return, since I assume he would have otherwise been back for Sally's or Colleen's exits, and he was a constant at reunion episodes up to the mid 2000s.

There was also the recast Duncan in 2016 too, who is pretty much brought in to drag out Tori/Nate, rather than provide a story for Alf and Roo. I also suspect many of those mainstay actors like Kate Ritchie and Debra Lawrence probably have little interest in returning to the current show either. I don't want the show to feature shoehorned returns or overkill volumes for anniversary specials like Neighbours, but it would be nice to acknowledge the past of existing characters at least. I'd like to see Irene's family acknowledged or even appear, especially since Finn's children are now the age of most of the cookie-cutter current characters. It would probably mean recasting Finn and Damien though, which I could live with. It would be less controversial than recasting Roo, and there are definitely actors of the right age would be a coup for the show.

Lynn's year level became the central school group by 1989 (Steven, Viv, Emma) so she would have had more to do then had she survived until then. I found her and Viv quite similar-natured, so it probably just would have meant forgoing Viv and Emma becoming Steven's main love interest I guess. Lynn also came from a large family, so there would have been scope to bring other siblings into the Fletcher household as needed, like they did with Will/Hayley/Nick and Finn/Damien later on.

I've only been watching Hollyoaks regularly since 2013 and seen older episodes available on Hollyoaks Favourites, but from what I understand the original premise of Hollyoaks was about a group of college students, and it has morphed into being about the characters in the village as a whole. Hollyoaks has recently had a new producer who has really shaken things up. The upcoming cast and episode reduction aside (I feel like that's a separate issue and not part of the changes currently playing out onscreen), she's axed a bunch of characters who were spare parts or didn't really add much, reintroduced the iconic Freddie Roscoe, started some intense but well-written teen issue stories (Frankie's abuse, Ro's transition, Lucas' sexuality) and completely shaken up some stories that were treading water and a bore to watch (the Sienna/Rafe/Dilly story being the prime example!). It's not all great though - many of the newer regulars aren't doing it for me and I've no interested in one of the main storylines at the moment (the Ste/Warren stuff), but on the whole it's really shaken things up and made it more exciting to watch. H&A could really benefit from something similar - perhaps part of me is still mourning the loss of the early years H&A and if I wasn't comparing it to that, I might enjoy it more, but I feel like the volume of cookie-cutter twentysomethings really limiting in terms of storylines. It's all relationship dramas or Lyrik stuff at the moment with not much else in between. It's pretty much a PG rated Secret Life of Us at the moment and it's not really working for me because the the PG rating is somewhat limiting and those more adult soaps have fewer episodes per year/week. I'd be curious to know what demographic H&A's audience is - if it's not teenagers and families anymore, I am starting to think that a move to a later-night timeslot would actually help to shake things up (keeping in mind it would still be available for streaming for those who don't watch it "live", so it might not be as damaging to viewership as people think!).

Still a happily-ever-after (at the time!) ending for Des that wasn't really needed. There were plenty of ways he could have left Erinsborough. I don't even remember Juliet or even how James left the show. I assumed he just had a quick and quiet exit since he was pretty much just a spare part without Chloe.

You could argue Mandy and Shannon too, though at least that was different to the standard exit. Donald Fisher and June was another, but that came in 2003 and was undone in a future guest stint anyway. I'm struggling to think of any others from that period right now. It was pretty standard in Australian soaps in the 80s and 90s though. Cathy Hayden, Brendan Jones and Maggie Sloan in A Country Practice, and then characters like Mrs Mangel, Des Clarke, Lance Wilkinson and Dorothy Burke in Neighbours are other examples.

I'd say the tried with the Sutherlands. They fostered Brodie Hanson, which I imagine was pretty much a nod to the former foster families of the past. Plus Rhys' nephew Max later on. We had a foster family unit again with Sally and Flynn, but that also felt short-lived due to Flynn dying so soon after moving in and the fact their only foster teens were dating at the time.

It made sense for Ailsa's shop to go when it did, regardless of the real-life issues. Yes it had a small diner area, but it wasn't very "hip", especially when Celia took over. It was very drab and it felt more like tearooms (I think Celia wanted to turn the flat into those, didn't she?) than a vibrant and happening hub for young people to meet made more sense. There was a conscious effort to make the show more appealing to young people in 1988/1989, so the introduction of the Bayside Diner fitted in with the youthful focus that came into play here. Celia's store was pretty much replaced with Alf's store anyway. This worked better - it was used less frequently than the General Store, and pretty much just used for the interactions between Alf and Marilyn or if we needed a chance meeting between two customers.

I've always said that 2000 was the end of classic H&A with the revamped theme and titles, cast changes and losing the iconic Diner and Stewart House sets, so I actually think Sally's wedding episodes would have made a great final episode. It was filled with many returnees, nostalgic reminiscing and a wedding (albeit a non-one) to bring the former cast and existing cast together. I recall the final scene of those episodes was Pippa walking through an empty Summer Bay House one last time (maybe with Sally?). The only thing that let those reunion down episodes down was that Judy Nunn was unavoidably missing, as she had fallen all and Nancy Hayes had stepped into the role, but that was obviously out of the control of the writers, producers and Judy herself. Had it been the actual final episode, I suspect we'd have seen more characters return than what we had. Apart from Jack Wilson, they were all from the 1988 season, which was having a re-run on Channel 7 at the time. We also had one of Alf's most iconic one-liners: What part of no don't you understand, the N or the O?

I often feel like Executive Producers of soaps should have a limited appointment. If a new EP came in every 4-5 years, it would help soaps fresh as they come in with their own vision and ideas. The producers would obviously be subject to other pressures like budget, network influence etc. The producers of both Home and Away and Neighbours have been around for too long and the shows have suffered as a result. We've clearly had different eras of the show under Lucy (the Braxton era, the Morgans/Astoni era, the Parata era and currently Lyrik), but ultimately it's still the same show with crime, evil guest villains and relationship merry-go-rounds with the twenty and thirty somethings being the key themes of each. It's time for a change.

I guess other than Sally's almost-wedding, I don't remember the rest to be honest or considered them minor storylines. I feel like all of that except her PTSD and getting engaged to Luke was pre-Sutherland too. Alf felt very more like a supporting character after losing Ailsa, Duncan, Mitch and Shauna in quick succession. He was obviously the unofficial town sherrif, but he felt like a spare part until he got a new family with Ric, Martha, Morag and Sally. He obviously had the brain tumour story, but that's the only noteworthy story between 2001 and 2005ish. I wish I remembered Don's PTSD too, simply because I know Norman would have smashed it.

1995-2000 did seem to use the remaining original cast members more than what they did in 1990-1994, during which they were largely supporting characters. Sally was old enough to have more adult storylines as she moved into adulthood, Don was given more to do following Rebecca's return and being paired with Marilyn, and as we already mentioned, Ailsa and Alf were pushed to the forefront more with their storylines. Alf, Don and Sally were all sidelined again in the early 2000s with the arrival of the Sutherlands though.

The irony is that I suspect Judy Nunn decided to leave because they were giving her too many storylines and she wasn't getting as much downtime. In 1998-2000 there was the Diner shooting (was the fallout from that when she shot Alf?), the car accident that left her in a coma/hating Alf and then the Shauna story. That's probably more than what she got in all of 1990-1997. It's a shame she didn't negotiate to go part-time (or maybe she did, and an agreement couldn't be reached?), but the show was also going through a bit of a revamp at that time, so maybe it suited them for Ailsa to go too. Who knows? Ailsa became quite watered down after the first season (along with many others!). She was a strong survivor in 1988, having survived her father's abuse, a prison stint and stood up to the harassment of Roo, the Macklins and whomever else. In later years she seemed to breakdown over the Diner break in, the Diner siege, her car accident, post-natal depression and probably others I've missed.

From what I understand, Craig was poached from Neighbours, so it's interesting he didn't stay. I guess these days the show would sign actors on for 3 years, but Craig probably had the negotiating power if he was poached. Were contracts generally shorter in the early days? The majority of the original cast were gone in less than 3 years, and then we had a number of regulars like Viv, Emma, Karen, Ryan, Haydn etc. that didn't stay long. It would make sense, since no one could have predicted how long the show would last.