Teenagers

[Reo]

I agree, they need new teens and they shouldnt give them the same storylines about relationships with each other over and over again or older people..And move on in a week to someone else equally as bad and a person they have known for 5 minutes..Its just the same thing with a different couple..How many times is Cassie going to fall for the bad guy she has known for five minutes and ignore her family,then run back to them when the guy turn on her...Plus she knows that they are bad guys and what they have done,yet she wants to be with them.

I would love it for Jules to come back,while he isnt in the same 'section' as Nick and Seb..He was lively and fun and different to the 3 male teens we have now..I laughed when he got caught nearly naked in the caravan waiting for Cassie and his jealousy with Alex..But they had to go and get rid of him.

I could also see Jules steal a traffic sign lol

[Anaya]

Reo i have to agree with you... i really miss Jules too and the biggest reason for this is that he was fun, cheeky and acted his age and he was different to the other teens on the show at the moment! I really think they should have made him permanent as he was a great fun character and he even made me like Drew during the time he was in the bay! When Jules/Drew were together it felt like they were real best mates!

Also Jules reminded me of the teens of the past who had immature fun together and had real friendships and different storylines that weren't always about love and relationships. The teens nowadays all have the same storylines rehashed and they dont seem like real friends... they dont have much individuality and all seem so similar like clones of each other!

[emmasi]

Re Kim being usurped as Tash & Rob's best friend: Martha purposely did it because Kim worked for her father, who she hated. She turned Tasha against Kim, and then Robbie was forced to choose his girlfriend over his best friend, and nothing was ever the same after that. Jack was only ever their friend through Martha. Funnily enough, I think he was actually closer to Kim.

[Reo]

Jules was very fun and if they had given him a chance and not put him in the same storylines as the other teens,he would of given the show a whole new feel.. Also he was 17 or 18,so he could of had a mature storyline aswell and then easily gone back to being a fun and lively person because that is in his nature..They always change characters from what they were,its unrealistic,but Jules was different..He should of been kept in the show.

[Frankie]

Jules has been the closest thing they had to a normal teen in the last couple of years, and his friendship with Drew was a bit more realistic than some of the other supposed teen friendships they have tried to portray. I think they have a very screwed up idea of what teenagers are and what they think if the way they present teens is what they think teenagers are and do all the time. Its a crap example to be setting as well. I loved Nick and Sebs friendship.. also the ones between the girls.. Selina, Shannon, Chloe etc.. I remember Roo being a bitch and always being a bitch..... her character was consistent...Kim was Tasha's best friend.. until someone decided that Martha had to be everyones best friend...they had enormous potential in Robbie and Kim's friendship which was ruined and wasted...basically they forget that teenagers have lives outside of boy girl relationships. i also think they have relationships with adults.. parents, carers which are neglected.. they used this a lot more... Nicks relationship with Irene , Pippa's relationship with her kids. etc..was much more evident that the relationships between the adults and the teenagers today..in fact you would not know they lived in the same houses half the time.... their story lines were often intertwined and they had meaningful conversations..they respected each other... in moving away form this they have lost something important I think.

[Anaya]

That is very true it's not just the teens friendships with each other that are not portrayed and explored properly onscreen but also their interaction with the adults/parents/guardians that is also neglected! Not showing this properly has actually lost the soul of the show... they could stick any teen character in any of the storylines and there would be no difference in how the story would play out!

[Contrary Mary]

Nick Smith was a fantastic teenager - always up to some something - I loved him - this lot are just plastic. I think it reflects the current media obsession with image as opposed to substance. Jules was cool too - but they got shot of him - why? I bet some guy in a suit complained he did not look the part of the sun kissed bronzed adonis they need for the magazine shoots - the suits can be brainless dorks sometimes .

Also - they need more interaction between the adults and the teenagers - its not realistic otherwise. I did not spend my teenage years ignoring my parents. It might be cool in the idiot gang to say parents are naff but most people actually quite like their parents - love them even - we might raise our eye brows sometimes - a lot even - - we might row with them - but we do talk to the - we do not lead parallel lives.

[Frankie]

Very true... if an alien species came across Home And Away they would think teenagers lived in a parallel universe having little or no contact with adults except for attending school... which these days they do very infrequently anyway .. .. except when the plot needs them to.. and when they need a parent to bail them out of trouble... otherwise they do not meet to talk... very weird.

I am one of eight kids.. it was not always like The Waltons... there were.. and are... rows.. I roll my eyes daily.. and my mum does too... ..... but I remember having lots of chats over coffee with her as a teenager about sex and boys and all sorts of other stuff...and so did my mates.. .. there would be a whole crowd of us at our house all the time... and that is still the same as my younger sister brings home half her class after school... they hang out ... my Mum is not expected to disappear into the woodwork.. and my Dad chats to the guys.... they do give them space though trust goes both ways ... ... I just think they need to get back to how the adults used to be in Summer Bay... and the kids need to go to school... we need to see the school age kids in school uniform more often than not in term time... this last couple of years they have gone OTT in putting them in fashion items instead of what they would realistically be wearing at 10.00 am on a wednesday... i.e a school uniform.

But back to my original point... the teenagers.. IMO they need to get them acting like teenagers instead of pretend adults... and they need to make their characters consistent and stop messing with them to suit a story line.... like they did with Robbie, Kim, Tash, Kit etc.... bring back Jules... teenagers who look like teenagers and not 23 year olds pretending to be 15 ... a few messed up teens and some stories that don't involve couples, sex and alcohol please. and I will be a very happy viewer...

(Did Nick Smith have a mini me type kid bros by any chance? )

[Dalby]

After watching episodes back on Five Life, I love the likes of Seb, Nick & Kirsty and really miss them, the teens we have now I am getting rather fed up with. Don't get me wrong I do like them all, Matilda is one of my favourite characters but her friendships with others on the show that isn't there like the old days. I loved it in the past with Irene how she was connected and there giving advice to Hayley, Nick etc!!!

[*KitKat*]

Nick and Seb and the gang were just awesome, and I know what you mean about the adults. Rhys Sutherland was a total pain but at least you knew he cared and it was lesson in how not to relate to your teenage kids at times. Irene and Pippa were good examples in how to listen, lay down the law but let your kids make mistakes etc... I liked Irene's relationship with Will and Nick, and also with Selina and Chloe which were so good. We saw more then than we see of the ones with the kids she has today.

I liked Jules, he was vulnerable, gauche and unsure of himself. He was normal. I don't see anything remotely normal in any of the other teenagers. They are quasi adults. Its much more fun when they behave like teenagers. Nick and Seb and the gang into mischief were so funny I miss that. I miss the mateship side of stuff.