Is Martha given too much air time?

[gmgirl]

People say she's been given to much air time and maybe she has but you have to look at it the other way round too. Because of the air time she's been given she has improved as a character out of sight and become fantastic in my opinion. The pole-dancing and abortion storylines in particular were brilliant in developing the character and were really original for Home and Away and wouldn't have suited any other characater on the show - they were the perfect choice for Martha. In fact that was probably my favourite storyline of the year. Also I think the acting by Jodi has improved greatly too from when she first started - she is far from the weakest actor on the show anymore.

[Varsha]

i agree

[Varsha]

i don`t wanna be Martha , but i think she`s has grown seens she started on the show !

[Big Ben]

She is certainly a lot better than she was. But I disagree that no one else could have been given the pole dancing or abortion story lines. I think Cassie certainly could have done them, and I think Matilda could have done an abortion storyline with far more depth. Martha is fun, and I like her a lot, but I think they are over saturating the market with her. She is nice to look at, but so is Matilda and so are a lot of others on the show. Most of the others are better actors, so I wish they would get a life and give some one else a shot. Even if she's your favourite surely you realize you need to have some respite. It's like your favourite meal. You can't possibly eat it every single day. It would bore the hell out of you and would quickly stop being your favourite. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

[Jocy]

She may have improved, she may be nice to look at, but that is not this issue, for which ever way you want to look at it she gets more than the others. I would like to see less Martha, and when we do see her for it to be more quality and less quantity Martha and to see a bit more of the others. At the moment its all too much.

[lukeindiana]

I personally don't think Martha gets more air time than the others. But then, along with Matilda and Jack, she's my favourite character. I think Belle gets alot of air time, for example, Monday's episode in Australia, was pretty much all Belle and her storyline, and hardly anyone else was in the episode, save for a few people. I didn't like that. Martha is a great character and I look forward to watching her scenes, especially all the Jack and Martha scenes, and think she is a better actress than some of the other actors in the show. Maybe I'm crazy, but I think there should be more Martha, because I think all the characters get pretty much equal air time.

[Frankie]

If you look at scene counts etc.. Martha comes out well ahead of the field. Belle was in a lot this week, but most of the time she is on a for just a few scenes per week..... Every now and then one or other character will get a week, maybe two when they get a lot of scenes.....but most weeks Martha's scene count is the highest....or seems to be... when some characters only get one or two scenes per week for months on end and Martha gets more scenes per episode that they get in a month you cant really say they are given equal air time....do you seriously really think characters like Leah, Dan, Ric, Tony, Rachel, and Irene, get the same air time as Martha?

[I love music]

I never understood why H&A finds one character who seems hugely popular and then focuses almost all the stories around them. Much as I loved Kane and Kirsty (well, Kane anyway) it did turn into the Kane and Kirsty show at one stage! I couldn't imagine Coronation Street focusing solely on the same character for months on end, all the characters take equal turns at being the centre of attention with the main storyline.

[Mistified]

I never understood why H&A finds one character who seems hugely popular and then focuses almost all the stories around them. Much as I loved Kane and Kirsty (well, Kane anyway) it did turn into the Kane and Kirsty show at one stage! I couldn't imagine Coronation Street focusing solely on the same character for months on end, all the characters take equal turns at being the centre of attention with the main storyline.

On the contrary, the UK soaps do exactly that, i.e. focus on certain characters for weeks on end, even months, while others aren't seen at all. At the moment think of the Platts in Corrie, compared to Dev, or Ashley whom we haven't seen for ages since the whole focus was on him and his affair. So in that case you made a bad example.

I think in H&A case they just realise who is the most marketable and as most of these people are only going to be in the show for a total of 3 years, they have to make hay while the sun shines, so to speak.

Rachel was shown to death for the first 18 months of her contract. She's only been taking a back seat since Kim left. While he was in the show every story was about them.

Martha is on a lot too because of the story arc with herself and Jack. As H&A said to me in an email, the J&M story is the biggest story arc they have ever done on the show. It has encompassed everything the 2 characters have done. The pole-dancing was a consequence of the seperation, and it was Jack who saved her from it, and out of that they fell back in love. Jack's relationship with Jack is only about how it effects his relationship with Martha. It's an ongoing thing over 2 years now almost, and thus warrents a lot of screen time I guess.

[I love music]

I never understood why H&A finds one character who seems hugely popular and then focuses almost all the stories around them. Much as I loved Kane and Kirsty (well, Kane anyway) it did turn into the Kane and Kirsty show at one stage! I couldn't imagine Coronation Street focusing solely on the same character for months on end, all the characters take equal turns at being the centre of attention with the main storyline.

On the contrary, the UK soaps do exactly that, i.e. focus on certain characters for weeks on end, even months, while others aren't seen at all. At the moment think of the Platts in Corrie, compared to Dev, or Ashley whom we haven't seen for ages since the whole focus was on him and his affair. So in that case you made a bad example.

No, I don't think it was a bad example. For instance, the Platts and the John/Sally/Fiz/Rosie story are the two main storylines of the moment. So other characters, like Dev and Steve, are in the background, just seen saying the odd line in the pub or the shop. When it moves on to another main storyline, characters that have just been the main focus of attention (like the Platts) will fade into the background again.

I was just being too lazy going into detail explaining as I'm going to bed soon (up early for work tomorrow! ) Have to go now tho! 'Night!