Most Popular Character 2010

[Miranda]

Not surprised to see Sally and Aden at the top there. But Charlie? I like her, but I didn't think she was that popular Good for her though.

[-Kevin-]

I'm really surprised that Martha and Jack didn't rack higher. I guess it shows the popularity difference between JM and Adelle.

I think it's probably more to do with Aden and Belle being more recent than Jack and Martha - JM got together in 2005 and Aden and Belle in 2008, so they're most likely just fresher in people's minds. Wouldn't surprise me at all if both Aden and Belle slipped a bit come 2012.

I agree, JM were pretty big in their heyday which was quite a few years ago now! People just move on and fall for the next big couple I guess.

[jodlebirger]

I'm really surprised that Martha and Jack didn't rack higher. I guess it shows the popularity difference between JM and Adelle.

I think it's probably more to do with Aden and Belle being more recent than Jack and Martha - JM got together in 2005 and Aden and Belle in 2008, so they're most likely just fresher in people's minds. Wouldn't surprise me at all if both Aden and Belle slipped a bit come 2012.

I agree, JM were pretty big in their heyday which was quite a few years ago now! People just move on and fall for the next big couple I guess.

Very wrong to compare to compare JM 2010 to Aden and Belle in 2012!! Well JM got together in 2005 and Adelle in 2008, but JM got married for the second time in 2008 after years of separation and got some new fans too despite some had gone tired of them... And as the matter of fact Jack left under 7 months (onscreen) before Belle, and Martha's departure on the show was 5 weeks later than Aden's. So to compare Jack and Martha's popularity in 2010 with how Aden and Belles popularity are going to be in 2012 is very unfair, because then it will be more than 2 years since Belle departed, and almost 2 years since Aden dissapeared, Martha was still on the show in 2010 when the voting was closed this spring.

Those two couples are a bit similiar but at the same time very different from each other. They both had some break ups yes, and a lot of problems thrown at them.. But they dealt with different kind of problems and disasters, JM was more soapy.... and I think maybe in the beginning Adelle had more older fans (before it got too much..) because of the problems the storyline described. I will say that they both had their ups and downs, but still when they had their biggest storyline both couples were entertaining for their fans and was both very popular....

[Foxy]

Very wrong to compare to compare JM 2010 to Aden and Belle in 2012!!

Why on earth is it very wrong? I was only speculating, not offering actual inside knowledge on the results of 2012 (which would be an impressive feat...) - based on what you've said though, it's perhaps even more shocking Jack and Martha dropped so much!

[Red Ranger 1]

Well, three of my five in the Top 10.And given how tight it was, I guess my vote got Miles into 10th place.(Although I suppose everyone who voted for him can say that.)I'm glad, I think he's my favourite in the current cast.Looking at the results, it seems like the six in the Top 5(joint 5th)were way ahead of the others.Bit of a gap between 2nd and 3rd as well and actually there's not exactly one point between Sally and Aden, although with five points for a first place I suppose it would only have taken a few votes to swing it.

Two biggest disappointments for me:Pippa in 62nd with only 4 points, I'll definitely be voting for her next time, although I suppose 12 years after she left the show and with her last guest stint not exactly setting the world alight it was inevitable there'd be a drop.And Annie not placing at all, another one I'd have voted for if I'd known no-one else would, after a fairly creditable 50th last time round after only about six months on the show.Guess the people who voted Romeo, one of the worst of the current character, into 30th still haven't forgiven her for not being good enough for their idol.(Reminds me of the way the girls at school talked about Sally back in the '90s...)Seems to be a dip in popularity for Colleen as well, a character I haven't liked since she was nasty to Gypsy in 2000...

Matilda did finish 3rd last time so I'm not sure why her popularity would surprise anyone, although after two years out of the show I'd have expected her to slide further.Thinking about it, she and Ric were possibly the only ones of that teen group not to be ruined by too many storylines that portrayed them unsympathetically:Cassie, Lucas and Drew fell victim to that, I'd say Belle did too although she still seems popular.I actually think Matilda's character development was pretty consistent aside from odd little moments like her sudden decision to run off with a bunch of surfers for a week:She started off as a snobby boarding school brat, gradually became kinder but a bit more insecure, hanging out with bad boys just so someone would like her and wrecking her relationship with Lucas by being too demanding, then after her bulemia she became more confident and had a lasting relationship with Ric(and the strip poker was months after the bulemia, not days). Not sure what year she and Ric were supposed to be away from the rest of the cast, you could argue their storylines didn't really affect other characters but that's true of most couples.Even those last few months when Sally, Cassie, Lucas and Drew all left within a few weeks, they had scenes with the likes of Miles, Alf, Jack and Martha, Tony and Rachel, Belle, Jai and Kirsty.

I agree the poll's always going to portray the flavour of the month rather than the best of the literally hundreds of regulars and guest characters available for vote.Hence the likes of Aden, Charlie, Belle and Martha in the Top 10.Probably not a surprise that Charlie was popular:You can laugh at the logies but most popular in Australia is still more impressive than most popular in Home and Away.Guess it just shows there are people who come to this board and vote who stay out of other discussions.Be interesting to see how they fair in two years time:Will Aden still be the Best Character Ever, a unique character who explored hard-hitting issues and had a classic tragic romance with the love of his life, or just another bad boy eye candy with an ill-thought-out back story that was picked up and dropped depending on the storyline?I'm surprised Jack slid so far after only a year and a half being dead.Of course, most of the classic characters are guilty of exactly what the current characters get criticised for.Like Shannon didn't have a five minute anorexia storyline before going back to wearing revealing outfits, an abuse back story that appeared from nowhere and got dropped just as quickly and get turned into a stalker for a few weeks for the sake of a storyline.Like Angel didn't have her personal history constantly rewritten to introduce and accomodate hitherto unmentioned relatives.Like Donald Fisher had a consistent personality.Like Ailsa didn't make the world's fastest recovery from depression, three times.

As for Sally...Well, for about her last ten years on the show, Sally was Home and Away.If it's about taking in and nurturing lonely and abused children, she was the ultimate success story:A lonely girl whose only friend was a half-remembered brother no-one else knew about, who turned into an intelligent but insecure teenager before growing into someone who helped the next generation in need of someone to love and support them, first as a teacher then as a foster parent. Only Bobby came close to having that strong a character arc and she died horribly.I think it says a lot about the character than in my teen years while everyone else lusted after Fin or Angel, I loved Sally.Still, a few more years of non-appearances and I can see her down where Pippa is.Since she's left the heart of the show seems to have moved towards Alf and Irene, who seem to be the still points keeping the town's spirit alive, even if Irene is on the verge of turning into a token teen drama parent who never knows what her children are doing.Find it odd people ask whether she's had any scenes with Ruby, she's had quite a few lately.Whether she's had any meaningful scenes with Ruby, on the other hand...

As for Joey, I actually liked her more when she was a shy tomboy who was friends with Aden than when she started pursuing Charlie.Perhaps instead of pushing it as a great love story, they should have dwelled more on the idea of a vulnerable rape victim throwing herself at every woman she met to try and convince herself she was over it.Either way, I liked her.But then I liked Claudia, so what do I know.

Thanks for compiling those, Ryan, it's been fascinating reading!

[Ryan]

I think a good comparison for JM's ultimate popularity would be someone like Hayley & Noah are now. I think, if you go back to the very first scene of Jack it was written to be a hate-to-love type relationship, I guess, in the way that Shane & Angel went, but whereas in the first episodes of Angel, there was real reason for there to have been some antagonism when she sold Shane that duff ticket, Martha just went off on a random one at Jack and that started the rot. In the following 4 years of the two on the show, I think what could have been a good solid romance turned into two characters getting constantly rubbish storylines. Actually Martha had the odd good one or two, but then there'd throw in another honker.

Aden and Belle are different though because I think, especially probably Aden, they've got fans who aren't necessarily Adelle fans. When put together both had already got good solid character bases of their own and I don't think it was hugely lost within their relationship.

[-Kevin-]

I think if Aden and Belle hadn't have left the show then their popularity would have waned just the same way JM's did. When you look at it Jack & Martha's highly annoying breakup which lasted for over a year I think it had a detrimental effect on the fanbase with people getting fed up of it. Aden and Belle were even more unstable than JM were and I think it would have annoyed fans in the end just in the same way as it did the JM fans. I would nearly go as far as saying Jack & Martha spent more time together as a couple in their first year on the show than Aden & Belle ever did.

In a year Adelle spent almost more time apart than they did together and I think the show would have continued to write them as an unstable couple had she not died. They were just that kind of couple, same as JM. As a couple their storylines would be limited and with the characters being popular they wanted to give them lots of screentime which they got and sadly required make ups and breakups. I think Charlie & Angelo are headed down the same path actually!

It would have been nice to see Aden & Belle's relationship get to the stage that Jack & Martha's did where they spent their last 8ish months together as a solid couple and dealing with their problems like mature adults. Don't get me wrong Aden & Belle did get to that stage but it felt really rushed just to squeeze it in that their back together and really happy just before she died. If you ask me, if she didn't die then they would have most definitely dragged out the breakup more long term just to get every bit of drama out of it.

I agree though that both were great couples that were quite popular, and I don't think I'll ever love another couple like I did JM. You might say "oh everyone says that until the next big thing" but I'm not really like that, they were special to me. Adelle were also great, it was just like a huge whirlwind of a year and 3ish months, and really made a mark on the show! I don't think either couples will ever be forgotten.

[ebrett84]

Well, three of my five in the Top 10.And given how tight it was, I guess my vote got Miles into 10th place.(Although I suppose everyone who voted for him can say that.)I'm glad, I think he's my favourite in the current cast.Looking at the results, it seems like the six in the Top 5(joint 5th)were way ahead of the others.Bit of a gap between 2nd and 3rd as well and actually there's not exactly one point between Sally and Aden, although with five points for a first place I suppose it would only have taken a few votes to swing it.

Two biggest disappointments for me:Pippa in 62nd with only 4 points, I'll definitely be voting for her next time, although I suppose 12 years after she left the show and with her last guest stint not exactly setting the world alight it was inevitable there'd be a drop.And Annie not placing at all, another one I'd have voted for if I'd known no-one else would, after a fairly creditable 50th last time round after only about six months on the show.Guess the people who voted Romeo, one of the worst of the current character, into 30th still haven't forgiven her for not being good enough for their idol.(Reminds me of the way the girls at school talked about Sally back in the '90s...)Seems to be a dip in popularity for Colleen as well, a character I haven't liked since she was nasty to Gypsy in 2000...

Matilda did finish 3rd last time so I'm not sure why her popularity would surprise anyone, although after two years out of the show I'd have expected her to slide further.Thinking about it, she and Ric were possibly the only ones of that teen group not to be ruined by too many storylines that portrayed them unsympathetically:Cassie, Lucas and Drew fell victim to that, I'd say Belle did too although she still seems popular.I actually think Matilda's character development was pretty consistent aside from odd little moments like her sudden decision to run off with a bunch of surfers for a week:She started off as a snobby boarding school brat, gradually became kinder but a bit more insecure, hanging out with bad boys just so someone would like her and wrecking her relationship with Lucas by being too demanding, then after her bulemia she became more confident and had a lasting relationship with Ric(and the strip poker was months after the bulemia, not days). Not sure what year she and Ric were supposed to be away from the rest of the cast, you could argue their storylines didn't really affect other characters but that's true of most couples.Even those last few months when Sally, Cassie, Lucas and Drew all left within a few weeks, they had scenes with the likes of Miles, Alf, Jack and Martha, Tony and Rachel, Belle, Jai and Kirsty.

I agree the poll's always going to portray the flavour of the month rather than the best of the literally hundreds of regulars and guest characters available for vote.Hence the likes of Aden, Charlie, Belle and Martha in the Top 10.Probably not a surprise that Charlie was popular:You can laugh at the logies but most popular in Australia is still more impressive than most popular in Home and Away.Guess it just shows there are people who come to this board and vote who stay out of other discussions.Be interesting to see how they fair in two years time:Will Aden still be the Best Character Ever, a unique character who explored hard-hitting issues and had a classic tragic romance with the love of his life, or just another bad boy eye candy with an ill-thought-out back story that was picked up and dropped depending on the storyline?I'm surprised Jack slid so far after only a year and a half being dead.Of course, most of the classic characters are guilty of exactly what the current characters get criticised for.Like Shannon didn't have a five minute anorexia storyline before going back to wearing revealing outfits, an abuse back story that appeared from nowhere and got dropped just as quickly and get turned into a stalker for a few weeks for the sake of a storyline.Like Angel didn't have her personal history constantly rewritten to introduce and accomodate hitherto unmentioned relatives.Like Donald Fisher had a consistent personality.Like Ailsa didn't make the world's fastest recovery from depression, three times.

As for Sally...Well, for about her last ten years on the show, Sally was Home and Away.If it's about taking in and nurturing lonely and abused children, she was the ultimate success story:A lonely girl whose only friend was a half-remembered brother no-one else knew about, who turned into an intelligent but insecure teenager before growing into someone who helped the next generation in need of someone to love and support them, first as a teacher then as a foster parent. Only Bobby came close to having that strong a character arc and she died horribly.I think it says a lot about the character than in my teen years while everyone else lusted after Fin or Angel, I loved Sally.Still, a few more years of non-appearances and I can see her down where Pippa is.Since she's left the heart of the show seems to have moved towards Alf and Irene, who seem to be the still points keeping the town's spirit alive, even if Irene is on the verge of turning into a token teen drama parent who never knows what her children are doing.Find it odd people ask whether she's had any scenes with Ruby, she's had quite a few lately.Whether she's had any meaningful scenes with Ruby, on the other hand...

As for Joey, I actually liked her more when she was a shy tomboy who was friends with Aden than when she started pursuing Charlie.Perhaps instead of pushing it as a great love story, they should have dwelled more on the idea of a vulnerable rape victim throwing herself at every woman she met to try and convince herself she was over it.Either way, I liked her.But then I liked Claudia, so what do I know.

Thanks for compiling those, Ryan, it's been fascinating reading!

...and into a lesbian to accomodate her exit! I actually thought Shannon's anorexia and her obsession with Shane really fit her character. She was just incredibly insecure. She was always going off at Pippa about Pippa favouring her older foster kids (Sally and Steven) over her and stuff like that. So I think it made sense that she'd be insecure about her body, and I think they went back to it on multiple occasions. Her obsession with Shane was basically over the fact that she didn't have a boyfriend at the time when all her friends did and she was really insecure about it.

[alexx]

^Yeah Shannon's anorexia storyline (95) was touched on and 'revisited' up to her departure, first just after Michael died (96) and she stopped eating and didn't want her photo's taken at school - she 'caught' herself and went to get help after Sally and Selina started noticing what was going on and Pippa later found out - there was a nice scene between the two of them during Jack's departure episode where she told Shannon never to hide anything from her no matter what she (Pip) was going threw...it was touched on again during the Kye storyline (97)...