Anyone else noticed that H&A has actually improved since Dan B?

[emzyflower]

Im getting completely tired with the "will they wont they" storylines. BORED of Kelly and Amanda (completely unbeliveable with the amount of times Kelly has been in public with Ethan), BORED of Martha and Jack ( Ash was bearable, but Cam..PLEASE how many more times is she going to be suckered into sleazy men), BORED of Belle and Drew and the endless pointscoring, and I'm BORED of Kim/Kit and Rachel (Kim is now cringeworthy to watch with his flippant tendancies and childish tantrums...and Rachel the pyschiatrist cant work out how to slap him back into line?! Kit has had a baby with somebody who is completely unlike her past boyfriends and turned out to be a drug addict when he needed to be written out when the story had JUS started to become obvious that the viewers were bored of the charade).

They have completely ruined these characters and made them really pathetic. Most of them were once leading, strong, willful characters that are now subjected to droning storylines. Take Leah and Dan, once Peter was written out and back in there is nothing for them. All they do is whinge and whine and one could mistake Leah for Madge Wilkins, tune into Five Life and you'll find a completly different person in Leah. Maybe they used her up in all the decent storylines during her youth?! What is Irene left doing now, as soon as Barry left and Belle moved out she has been left in the diner kitchen to ferment with the drip of Leah.

On the flip side we are also seeing some excellent development with other characters such as Matilda and Ric, Sally with the demise of Flynn and the entrance of Brad to the family. We saw a lot into Morag's character when Martha went off the rails the first time with Ash. We are seeing more of the grandad to Alf.

In conclusion whilst in the past there was a little too much drama after drama, we could certainly deal with a lot more now. The closest we have got Johnny which was an excellent storyline, I have to agree with the above poster, however this was TOO long ago, now all we have seen is Beths arm after her car crash and a bearly belivable Lily trying to save Matilda.

[Drew]

I found Dan B's era anjoyable, well should I say the first half. 2005-to the end of "Who killed Josh West?" Was really gripping and many stories filled with suspense. The Stalker, Corey, Amanda, Who killed Josh, Flynn's cancer.

Once Barry was arrested and Zoe arrived, I found the show went, not downhill, yet it had alot of holes in it and it wasn't as enjoayble as it once was. The Stalker sequel was complete rubbish, the writters could have done so much with that story, yet they didn't. It was all rushed and they brought her back for ratings. Soon later it was week after week, who would survive and everything became reptitive. Most likely he could of just had a writters block or whatever and didn't have the energy to construct great stories in the 06 season like he did for the 05. He wrote many good stories yet many blah ones. I'm actually finding Sarah Walker's stories kinda bland at the moment. Some of them are good, yet others are too bland. It's good to have a "lay-off" period of the "who will survive" after week, after week, yet I feel there's a spark that's missing that was once there 3 and so on years ago... It's improved now from the rubble Dan B left it in, so just hopefully she moves the show into a good direction.

[liam99998204]

I have to say that I think the show is more now in a state of disrepair than it was a while ago during 2005 and 2006. Those two years whilst they had their problems kept us entertained and provided us with stories that were amazing and has us posting on this boards wanting to know more, whats more they had us talkign about the show, and discussing the show regardless of whether it was in a good way or a bad way. The beginning of this year many people claimed that the show had moved on leaps and bounds and was becoming better and better. Myself included. However if i now look back. I ask myself why is that I feel in the last two to three months of watching home and away have the characters moved no where.

Whilst in 2005 and 2006 we had corey and Irene, we had characters we cared about in peril and we wondered what would happen to them these year we have been left with stories that quite frankly lack imagination. So Amanda has an evil sister and is simply misguided herself. Josie was misguided and Angie was the evil one. I feel like i've seen it all before and it seems to have gone on for months. Martha/Cam/Ash and Jack. To be honest i'm past the point of caring. Martha annoys me now so much, and i really do despair. Again with Beth's death. It just lacked oomph. There is not a single dramatic thing or anything i care about within the show at this moment in time, and knowing whats coming up on U.K screens i'm struggling to keep watching.

I find at the moment storylines are predictable Kim/Kit/Hugh/Rachel we all see where that's going, and again there is nothing to look forward to, and nothing that is going to actually suprise us. I would go as far as to say this is perhaps the weakest season that I can recall watching- however as an avid viewer i will stick by the show for the times that do make me laugh as there are some! Colleen and her cooking sherry for example. I do however feel that things need a big shake up...and soon!

[halcyon06]

I enjoyed the 05/06 season... I loved the Corey/Irene story, The Teens of Summer Bay storyline's and many more, but my fav's have got to be Flynn's cancer and The Stalker episode's, and I loved when the stalker returned also, even though they could have done so much more with it. I loved the whole Johnny/Rocco storyline and Sally stabbed, It was something...different. One storyline I hated, however, was he whole chopper/crash storyline....That just dragged on and on to the point I didnt care if they were found dead or alive, but you cant expect to love every storyline, some may have found that enjoyable.

This season is just so boring! Ok, again, I enjoyed the whole Sally stabbed and Ric jail storyline(although for once they cut this storyline too short!!) but that was all I found enjoyable. I thought the Beth storyline would stir things up a bit but what a waste, they could have done so much more! And one storyline I actually despise is this stupid Keli/Amanda storyline...I mean really!! 4 months it went on for!! I was actually so tempted to turn over every time that storyline appeared, Im so glad its ending this week in Ireland. Also, Lily? What was the point? And the Martha storyline is also dragging on way to long now...

[simmins]

The ex-script producer, Dan B, is now partly runnning Neighbours.

[simmins]

anyone think Dan will do a poor job in Neighbours?

i think he will

[alexx]

Yet you seem never to state why you think that.

[Foxy]

At the time of airing, I really wasn't sure what to make of Dan Bennett's time on the show (particularly 2005) - it had its definite highs, but also some quite meiocre lows. However, looking back, mainly in comparison to the show today I realise it was actually quite enjoyable. One of the main gripes of Dan Bennett's time, as has been brought up, was the lack of follow through and development but compared to what's going on today, I'd rather that any day. It currently seems like the writers are currently trying to give us character development but....almost, without actually doing it. We see long storylines, sometimes in which characters just seem to change personality, and then go back to 'normal' at the end of it which still bears very little ramification for the character or those around them. It's as though currently the show is trying to adopt a Dan Bennett style but give it Coral/Bevan-esque storylines....and unfortunatly, this really isn't working. The slower pace of Coral and Bevan for example works very well with what they are acheiving with their characters, and Dan Bennett's pace worked well with the stories he was trying to tell (for the most part) - they are two completely different styles merging them sort of gives us....well, a bit of a sloppy mess.

When I look at Bevan Lee's 2004 tenure (my favourite period of the show I think) we can clearly the see the way his characters develop. When viewing it as a whole, you can identify from the beginning that a lot of thought has gone into where he's taking the characters and sets its up very well. Whats happening currently seems to be that a plot sounds like a good idea, its given to a character, some development is thrown in for good measure, but the development clearly isn't thought about in depth - there doesn't seem to be any 'long term goal' with the character, beyond each individual storyline, whereas with previous writers, upon the reflection, the change has been evident from the moment it was first set in motion.

This post has sort of become a bit jumbled, but I will end with saying that I imagine big changes are afoot when Bevan Lee retakes the helm, and I highly anticipate his 'golden touch' reinvigorating the show and to myself becoming an avid viewer again.

[H&A_FAN]

Dan B's storylines were so unrealisitc and sensational - explosions, kidnappings, cults etc. There were never any normal episodes where people did everyday life things, which is how it used to be in the beginning.

Big storylines are more effective if they happen once in a while and are realisitc, not one after the other like the wedding explosion-missing in the woods-psycho Zoe era.

[alexx]

It's as though currently the show is trying to adopt a Dan Bennett style but give it Coral/Bevan-esque storylines....and unfortunatly, this really isn't working. The slower pace of Coral and Bevan for example works very well with what they are acheiving with their characters, and Dan Bennett's pace worked well with the stories he was trying to tell (for the most part) - they are two completely different styles merging them sort of gives us....well, a bit of a sloppy mess.

When I look at Bevan Lee's 2004 tenure (my favourite period of the show I think) we can clearly the see the way his characters develop. When viewing it as a whole, you can identify from the beginning that a lot of thought has gone into where he's taking the characters and sets its up very well. Whats happening currently seems to be that a plot sounds like a good idea, its given to a character, some development is thrown in for good measure, but the development clearly isn't thought about in depth - there doesn't seem to be any 'long term goal' with the character, beyond each individual storyline, whereas with previous writers, upon the reflection, the change has been evident from the moment it was first set in motion.

This post has sort of become a bit jumbled, but I will end with saying that I imagine big changes are afoot when Bevan Lee retakes the helm, and I highly anticipate his 'golden touch' reinvigorating the show and to myself becoming an avid viewer again.

Very much agree with you, good points!