How Do You Think The Characters Have Changed This Season?

[ter06]

Thanks for pointing that out, I've edited out the big spoilers. For some reason I thought this thread was in the Australian Discussion section.

[bttb-rox!]

I thought I should probably mention it . I would like to know what you guys would like to see happen to some of Summer Bay's 'older residents' e.g Jack, Sally, Brad, Alf etc. this year, that could possibly change their lives. I think this could make for an interesting if not amusing discussion!! These are my thoughts...

Jack: I would like to see Jack get a promoation this year actually. The police force in Summer Bay is a bit lacking at times so with Jacky in charge that could all change!! Jack and Martha should stay as they are....friends. They are much cuter and get on better too when they are not a couple.

Martha: She's a difficult one actually. I guess her and Sally could go on an overseas trip, but i'm not really sure that that would 'change' her life that much!! But maybe she could decide to live in the place she went on holiday to.

Sally: Well, as has already been discussed...her letting her hair down certainly wouldn't be a bad thing. Her and Tony getting together...now that would be exciting!!

Brad: He could run a buisness with Dan...that would make for an interesting storyline. I have discussed what I would like them to run below .

Alf: Him falling in love with Irene, that would be interesting and a new experience for both of them .

HotDad (Tony): I have plenty of ideas for what I would like to see happen to him this year!! So first of all he and Sally get together...graduallly, nothing rushed or anything like that. Then it could be revealed that he had a son or daughter nobody knew about then they could move into the caravan park house and live happily ever after ...big chance of that happening in Summer Bay!!

Leah - I'd like to see her move back to Greece with Dan and VJ actually. She is a good character played by a great actress but I think they would have more to do in Greece than in Summer Bay .

Dan - Move to Greece with Leah and VJ. But before that he could set up a buisness with Brad. I can imagine him running some sort of buisness...a bakery perhaps!!!

Irene - Foster more kids, thats what i'd like to see Irene do more of. Since Robbie and Tasha's departure, she hasn't had much of a chance to do that unfortunately.

Colleen: A life-changing event that could happen to Colleen...mmmm...she could stop gossiping!! I guess if she didn't do that she wouldn't really be Colleen would she?! She could also go on the overseas trip with Sally and Martha. I'm out of other ideas for her at the moment...as you can probably tell!!

It doesn't have to be just the older characters I just thought it would narrow it down a bit.

So what life-changing thing would you like to see happen to the residents of Summer Bay??

[claire_louise]

This year has relied heavily on guest characters which at the end of the day had no effect on the show. James was a pointless character, there only to fill the gap until Archie was born. Lily, I will never know why they brought her into the show. Bad story, bad acting, bad taste. Then there was the guests who had a big impact such as Rocco and Kelli but I dont understand how H&A can bring in people for three months or whatever it may be and give them huge stories when there are great actors in the cast who havent had a story in ages.

I know it's annoying when you really want to see characters you know and love in the big storylines, but the reason why they bring in guest characters so often is that if they didn't they'd simply run out of storylines. Either that, or it would become totally unrealistic having so many huge dramas happen to the same few people (and it's not exactly believable as it is!). There are only so many times people can swap partners etc, and personally I'm glad that they decided to introduce a few more guesties this year. I think they made a big mistake with Jade/Kirsty/Seb/Nick having the girls constantly switching boyfriends, so I liked it when they brought in Macca for Cassie rather than having her get together with Lucas, for example.

[bttb-rox!]

Either that, or it would become totally unrealistic having so many huge dramas happen to the same few people

That is a very good point you brought out there Claire . Guest characters arrive to add a bit of variety and drama to the show which is great, wheras if the same characters kept getting lots of storylines it could get a bit annoying .

[ter06]

I see where you are both coming from, and of course the show has always had guest characters and it wouldnt be able to operate without them but the past eighteen months in particular have seen a huge amount of them. Some nights, there are more guests on the credits than the proper cast! The stalker stories of 2005 and 2006 saw a lot of murders but it was all guest cast so it didnt have any effect whatsoever on the show. Whereas the 2004 siege, despite being a ratings grabbing shootout was also very character and emotionally led as it was a well loved character dying. James is my main example of a pointless guest character. His time in the Bay achieved nothing, neither did

Lily's. Even the helpline was never again mentioned.

In response to your question about what we'd like to see happen the older characters bttb-rox, I'd like for Sally and Brad to go through some rough times and eventually split up. Their relationship just doesnt cut it. I'd like to see Morag come back and face up to her past. I'd like for Irene to get a big story but I'm not sure in what context! And I would like to see Leah and Dan go through a rough patch. Leah has strayed before so maybe she could take a fancy to someone again...maybe Brad! And this would be a full on affair not the one kiss shocker. Then Sally could storm into the Diner and throw plates at Leah!!

[bttb-rox!]

I'm liking your theory about Sally throwing plates at Leah...well not right at her but you know what I mean!!

Its also very true what your saying about James and Lily being a bit...pointless I guess.

They made for interesting characters while they were in the Bay but when they left I was like well they were good characters while they were in the Bay but now that they are both gone (in Aussie anyway we still have Lily in the UK), what did they actually do??

Quite a few of the guest characters that are on Oz screens are great to watch and are actually adding something and are not just 'filling' in until the next big drama. I think that the UK has quite a few guest characters at the moment that some of us would like to see the back of . I'm being very critical again so i'm going to try and be more positive and say that even though some of the guest cast so far this year (UK pace ) haven't really contributed that much and haven't really effected the other characters lives that much. There are always exceptions though e.g Rocco and Johnny I think are quite good examples of great guest character development and they weren't in the Bay for that long and yet they had a huge impact on the lives of many of the characters.

[ter06]

Yeah, Rocco and Johnny did have a huge effect on the Bay with Sally's stabbing, Rocco's subsequent murder and Ric's imprisonment. And even though some people despise the character,

Kelli had a huge impact as Peter and Amanda left as a result of her campaign

.

I'd definitely like for Sally to go mad and throw plates at Leah, to show she has a human side and she is not Miss Perfect!

[claire_louise]

I agree about Kelli having an impact. Even though I don't like her, I do see a point to her and I think the storyline could have been great if it had been done better. Both the writing and the acting are sloppy and over the top IMO, and I don't think the actress who plays Kelli is particularly well cast.

[emmasi]

The characters in general seem to be darker and meaner and more self-centered. It's hard to discuss without giving spoilers away as it seems to have escalated recently in the Aus eps, but... I'll just say that it feels like I'm watching a different show sometimes. I'm yet to decide if that's a good thing.

[bttb-rox!]

The characters in general seem to be darker and meaner and more self-centered.

I've thought that sometimes too. I don't think they are all like that though, some of them have actually become more friendly and likeable but I can see where your coming from though. Like you say its hard to descibe some characters without giving certain spoilers away, but Lucas has definately become more like that...but again we can't go into great detail on him as that would be spoiling .

I guess there has to be a mix of different personalities. If everyone was nice and friendly, yeah it would be great but then again it could get a bit repetitive after a while. And I don't think there is really any need for everyone to be really nice and friendly, Home and Away is a drama (I prefer that to soap ), and therefore I think the viewers kind of expect some changes in the characters over time whether that be good or bad ones. But overall I think most of the characters this season have changed. I have to say, I like the mix of personalities at the moment both Aus and Engalnd pace...its quite varied. Each character has got a different side to them whether that be a cheeky, friendly, horrible or annoying one:P etc. But thats what makes them who they are so as a viewer I wouldn't really change much in terms of the characters personalities . I presume that we would all like to change something about what a character does or doesn't do from time to time e.g get together with that person or something like that .