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

[camy]

Dan B's era was boring every week it was always then same dragged on storyline and who can forget the 2 year stalker storyline which was probbably his doing and who can remember the ridiculous helicopter crash and now he has moved to neighbours no doubt he will have a good go at ruining that as well

[simmins]

Masny viewers enjoyed the whole stalker saga and the helicopter crash, Thats what kept many I know from watching, I enjoyed the stunts car crashes and other dramatic storylines in h&a, evwen though I like Nighbours I think its way better than Neighbours!

[-Andrew-]

Masny viewers enjoyed the whole stalker saga and the helicopter crash

Yeah but i'd say that most viewers didn't enjoy the stalker sequel or the helicopter crash and that's because they were absolute crap with rushed, pathetic endings. Things like this shouldn't be in H&A or neighbours because they are their downfall, which is pretty obvious with the way Neighbours is rating lately.

[Closer Each Day]

Masny viewers enjoyed the whole stalker saga and the helicopter crash

Yeah but i'd say that most viewers didn't enjoy the stalker sequel or the helicopter crash and that's because they were absolute crap with rushed, pathetic endings. Things like this shouldn't be in H&A or neighbours because they are their downfall, which is pretty obvious with the way Neighbours is rating lately.

I think Neighbours tried to emulate Home & Away which led to the mediocre ratings at the start of the 2007 season. Now it has the unenvible task of trying to lure viewers back and prove that it has left those days behind. Since the start of the changes, the ratings are slowly rising.

I know a lot of people have said that Dan B's era had far too many OTT and sensational plots yet now he seems to perfectly understand what people want in Neighbours and that those kind of plots turn people off. In the press, he has said numerous times that the show will move away from them and work on characterisation and "Real life" storylines, something which Neighbours was always known for.

He might have learned his lesson from H&A then?

I did prefer his time on Home & Away to the current era. I think the characters were just much stronger and more developed then, while now there is far too big a reliance on guest characters to force regular characters into storylines instead of the storylines developing naturally from the characters.

[seph12]

Yeah, i agree that we have a huge amount of guesties these days.

[seph12]

I don't know, after reading this whole thread...i really think each year has high and low-points and this year, so far has been no different.

I, personally loved some of DB's stuff...the first Stalker storyline more than the sequel..but i loved Tasha's pregnancy thing and Isabel was fantastic in those scenes.

2007 has had some very very weak points and some fantastic points..whereas 06 and 05 didn't have as many weak points.

LILY - the worst storyline perhaps ever on home and away...Cassie, "i'm going to miss u so much" we all shout, "why u barely know her..and she's an idiot."

Kelli/Amanda...it was good and a bit of a shocker when it started..ie Belle's kidnapping..but it lost it's spark...and after the wedding..it seemed to just go on for far too long.

Cam and Martha ..the whole strip club thing was fantastic in my opinion..i mean it was pretty obvious that Martha wasn't going to die..but i really enjoyed Cam...and it wasn't a repeat of Martha and Ash really....it was a better version.

BUT..i hate the fact Alexi's going to betray Leah...i know "he's changed" blah blah blah ...but really....he would NEVER betray her. Boo. However, the show is still enjoyable.

[petetown]

I am in two minds about this. I loved some of Dan B's stories, characters and as a writer of individual episodes he is fantastic - take for example the "Sarah Siege Olympic Cliffhanger" which although he didn't storyline he did script - fantastic...

I think sometimes recently the show has been guilty of bad planning... A story is thought of, done and then suddenly... "what now?" and a quick fix ending is thought up the most annoying example being Amanda's sudden pain-telepathy enabling her to fine Belle after the crash... A skill which was strangely missing when Belle was kidnapped...

Sarah Walker who is storylining the current UK eps before Bevan Lee returns is fantastic. When she was in charge of All Saints it was consistently good - a good mix or drama and comedy without the need for melodrama or stunts or going OTT... I hope she continues this way with H&A and I simply can't wait for Bevan to take over! The beginning of H&A coupled with his short take over after Coral left were fantastic periods... can't wait.

To answer the original post question I'd say "improvement" is a difficult thing to choose as it's a matter of personal taste. Personally I think it has... the constant hospitalisation and life or death situations were getting simply too much. We need more emotional drama, a few more saccharine cheesey moments and a bit more comedy mixed in with the excellent drama we all love!

[Eve Jacobson]

When Dan Bennett was good he was brilliant, and when he wasn't he was awful. He sort of swung between the pendulum. He wrote some fantastic episodes, and he wrote some crappy ones. I think his lack of life experience when compared with his predecessors was pretty evident. He joined Home and away at 17 and then got the job in the hot seat at 22 or 23. Thats quite an achievement and he is a good writer, but he had a lot to learn. I would love to see him do a crime series, or some one offs, but I think Home And Away requires a more mature person in the hot seat, and someone who can balance things out, look ahead more and know when things are not quite right. He tried to be clever, sometimes it worked, but when it didn't it bombed. The number of lives in the balance, murders, stalkers, psycho's, love triangles, really got out of hand, and just occasionally it would have been nice to see some reaction from the townsfolk to all of this. If I lived there I would be a nervous wreck.

[bttb-rox!]

Personally I think it has... the constant hospitalisation and life or death situations were getting simply too much. We need more emotional drama, a few more saccharine cheesey moments and a bit more comedy mixed in with the excellent drama we all love!

I don't think Home and Away ever saw so many life or death situations during DB's era!! It did get a bit ridiculous at one point (I thought most of the stalker stuff was well written and intriguing though ) , so i'm glad that with Sarah Walker in charge that's changed quite a bit . I can't wait until Bevan takes over...he is such a wonderful writer and I know he is going to do a fantastic job .

I think in answer to the question raised in this topics title I would say, yes. The dialogue and interaction between characters seems more realistic, and the storylines seem to have more meaning. 2006 did seem extremely bitty if i'm honest. It seemed as though it was just one drama after another. Whereas this year has seemed really different. We have had great storylines like Ric's imprisonment, Beth's death and maybe the not so good ones e.g the time when Kelli's revenge got a bit far fetched, the Jack and Martha will they, won't they get back together? ongoing storyline etc. But overall, this year IMO has been extremly refreshing compared to 2006 in particular...and that's manly due to the less drama, less stunts, more emotion and family driven storylines that have been introduced...that's what I love about Home and Away!

[John]

For me some of the individual episodes and storylines that Dan presided over were excellent. However I think in the end he suffered from "constant explosion syndrome". One explosion grabs your attention but constant explosions send you deaf!! There were so many dramas and disasters that in the end they became the norm and and he ran out of even bigger disasters to grab our attention.

I find it much more effective writing if storylines range from quiet reflective periods and build to climaxes with only the occasional highly effective "explosive" disaster or event which will grab our attention out of left field and set the scene for major character fallouts over a period building up to the next event.