Contacting TPTB on Twitter

[Light of the Bay]

A lot of people do? So because some teenage girls on twitter send tweets to Lucy/Louise that means many like them?

Anyway, I agree with all of Kevin's points and I would like the writers to have a bit more imagination when it comes to older characters. It shouldn't be that hard - they are employed to produce storylines. I think it'd help if they didn't take the twitter mob so seriously.

[-Kevin-]

They are just aiming the show at this young teen audience,which they are obviously doing pretty successfully. They are paid to bring in the ratings which they are doing so its job done for them. We cant win, they've really started to drift into this format over the past couple of years. I think it began slowly during the Aden/Belle saga which pulled in quite a big young audience, as did Charlie & Brax (who I thought weren't that bad, even though it destroyed Charlie's credibility as both a cop and a character)

Heath and Bianca are just about everything thats wrong with the show. Whats the betting she will also meet a grisly end at the hands of some criminal seeking revenge on a Braxton.

[cadyctslover]

Are the ratings good though? I know they were better in 2011 than 2010 but, are they better or even as good now? I'd say probably not.

Even with all the 12-year olds tweeting Louise to tell her how great a character Brax is (especially when he takes his shirt off) that doesn't tell the story of the entire audience.

[b2sb09]

^Actually, by the end of 2011, the ratings weren't all that different to 2010, having levelled out to being the same as the start of the year, but they dropped even further during 2012 and for the first time, Home and Away was being beaten regularly in the timeslot by the ABC news and at times, Home and Away had slipped to third or fourth in a timeslot it used to dominate and in the past, it even held up a lot better than it has been recently against the reality shows. This year, ratings are down even more and where in 2010 a Monday and Tuesday night all but guaranteed a million plus viewers (even 1.1 mil+), that just doesn't happen these days - in the first six weeks, there's only been one million plus episode and in the last year and a bit, a lot more episodes that are falling under the 900,000. They seem to be losing more viewers than gaining every year, so perhaps they do need to look at balancing the show to attract and keep more viewers and finding storylines that appeal to a broader range or ratings may continue to fall even further - that's just my opinion though, but the stats show that under Lucy's watch, ratings are lower than they've ever been.

[Ukfan2013]

A lot of people do? So because some teenage girls on twitter send tweets to Lucy/Louise that means many like them?

Anyway, I agree with all of Kevin's points and I would like the writers to have a bit more imagination when it comes to older characters. It shouldn't be that hard - they are employed to produce storylines. I think it'd help if they didn't take the twitter mob so seriously.

I'm sure it isn't just twitter. Facebook, fanmail etc. You probably know as much as I do so there isn't much point in debating over the same points all the time. Nobody has the right answer. I just didn't think it was fair calling them idiots just because they like someone you hate. And like i said before how do you know it's just teenagers that like them

[~Lynd~]

I haven't found it to bad so far this year.There are some things I'm really interested in.My main issue is the ridiculous relationships we're supposed to by into.I love Heath but on what planet would someone like Bianca even look at him?I know that opposites attract but they're just ridiculous.They have nothing in common and I can't see the parents of Bianca's students being to happy she's playing happy families with someone with a background like his.

And what's the deal with Natalie panting for Brax?She has no point other then that and again what do they have in common?

I accept that Tamara and Casey have some sort of bond after what happened to them but it's nasty how they keep flaunting it and Tamara is just vile most of the time.She was inappropriately happy about the breakdown of his relationship with Sasha and is to clingy and controlling.

Sorry for the rant but I just can't see the point of any of these girls throwing away all their self respect for the Braxtons.And this is coming from someone who likes Casey and Heath.I just also like girls to have some self respect to.

[Light of the Bay]

I agree Lynd. It's like the writers expect us to favour the Braxtons all the time and see them as being hot and irresistable. Well I don't buy that.

[TelephotoMarigold]

I'm a big Braxton fan but I'm also a long-term viewer of the show and I love watching the Early Years of Home and Away as well. At the moment, it's obvious that this is the 'River Boy' era, but it won't last forever, trust me. The show goes through phases and the River Boys are currently at the centre of it. I bet you people were complaining about the Sutherland family as they were the forefront of the show between 2000-2004.

First off: "you people"? I didn't realise we were a select group. Perhaps we should have T-shirts made and get a secret handshake?

I resent being labelled one of 'you people' because I've given the Braxton/River Boy storylines a fair go. I've suspended belief over and over again at the poor storytelling and the convenient plot points. Like how Cheryl Braxton changed personalities and only pops up for random family scenes. The way that Heath is all about 'Darce' one minute and then seems to conveniently forget her the next.

And not just them but Natalie is another random character. Gina has a problem so Nat is there to listen. She counsels both Sasha and Casey and doesn't see a conflict of interest there, especially when Sasha confides in her regarding a pregnancy scare.

Then you have Gina and John. How come they can eat in the diner or Angelo's so often especially when John lost so much money? Have we had a line of dialogue where John mentioned whether there is a court case or whatever regarding the embezzlement? Or even a comment from John about his other stepson, Trey. Remember him? The one John bullied so much he tried to blow up a bus. John obviously doesn't. And how come Trey was never mentioned when John and Gina were going through the fostering application to take care of Jett?

At the end of the day I'm not against the show because it is Braxton-centric, I'm arguing because I'm fed up of the poor storylines and storytelling. I want to sit down and spend my time watching something that entertains me, not that makes me depressed because there is so much more they could do in H&A. But as long as Braxton fans, whether teens or long term fans of the show keep telling them that they are doing a good job then we'll never get any real improvement.

[Blaxland 89]

I'm a big Braxton fan but I'm also a long-term viewer of the show and I love watching the Early Years of Home and Away as well. At the moment, it's obvious that this is the 'River Boy' era, but it won't last forever, trust me. The show goes through phases and the River Boys are currently at the centre of it. I bet you people were complaining about the Sutherland family as they were the forefront of the show between 2000-2004.

First off: "you people"? I didn't realise we were a select group. Perhaps we should have T-shirts made and get a secret handshake?

I resent being labelled one of 'you people' because I've given the Braxton/River Boy storylines a fair go. I've suspended belief over and over again at the poor storytelling and the convenient plot points. Like how Cheryl Braxton changed personalities and only pops up for random family scenes. The way that Heath is all about 'Darce' one minute and then seems to conveniently forget her the next.

And not just them but Natalie is another random character. Gina has a problem so Nat is there to listen. She counsels both Sasha and Casey and doesn't see a conflict of interest there, especially when Sasha confides in her regarding a pregnancy scare.

Then you have Gina and John. How come they can eat in the diner or Angelo's so often especially when John lost so much money? Have we had a line of dialogue where John mentioned whether there is a court case or whatever regarding the embezzlement? Or even a comment from John about his other stepson, Trey. Remember him? The one John bullied so much he tried to blow up a bus. John obviously doesn't. And how come Trey was never mentioned when John and Gina were going through the fostering application to take care of Jett?

At the end of the day I'm not against the show because it is Braxton-centric, I'm arguing because I'm fed up of the poor storylines and storytelling. I want to sit down and spend my time watching something that entertains me, not that makes me depressed because there is so much more they could do in H&A. But as long as Braxton fans, whether teens or long term fans of the show keep telling them that they are doing a good job then we'll never get any real improvement.

When its put the way you out it, its hard to argue against it. What awful continuity the show now has.

[cadyctslover]

I haven't found it to bad so far this year.There are some things I'm really interested in.My main issue is the ridiculous relationships we're supposed to by into.I love Heath but on what planet would someone like Bianca even look at him?I know that opposites attract but they're just ridiculous.They have nothing in common and I can't see the parents of Bianca's students being to happy she's playing happy families with someone with a background like his.

And what's the deal with Natalie panting for Brax?She has no point other then that and again what do they have in common?

I accept that Tamara and Casey have some sort of bond after what happened to them but it's nasty how they keep flaunting it and Tamara is just vile most of the time.She was inappropriately happy about the breakdown of his relationship with Sasha and is to clingy and controlling.

Sorry for the rant but I just can't see the point of any of these girls throwing away all their self respect for the Braxtons.And this is coming from someone who likes Casey and Heath.I just also like girls to have some self respect to.

Although I like Heath and Bianca together, I completely agree that their relationship makes no sense! He has a terrible record of drug dealing and violence, and she's a high school teacher. There's no way Bianca should be associating with him, so I wish she would realise that and make a change to her career.

I liked Natalie for her first couple of episodes until I realised that she isn't really a character as such. There's clearly no plan to develop her, no character arc. She is Brax's on-off girlfriend, end of story. I also think TelephoneMarigold's point that her counselling of both Sasha and Casey is a huge conflict of interest is bang on.

I'm also interested to hear some opinions on Tamara. I think she's already quite a flawed character, and not in a good way. She swans in and deliberately and selfishly drives a wedge between Casey and Sasha so that she can get him all to herself. I think we're all supposed to be enamoured by the 'true love' that exists between them, but I find them just as vomit-inducing as Brax and Natalie.

^Actually, by the end of 2011, the ratings weren't all that different to 2010, having levelled out to being the same as the start of the year, but they dropped even further during 2012 and for the first time, Home and Away was being beaten regularly in the timeslot by the ABC news and at times, Home and Away had slipped to third or fourth in a timeslot it used to dominate and in the past, it even held up a lot better than it has been recently against the reality shows. This year, ratings are down even more and where in 2010 a Monday and Tuesday night all but guaranteed a million plus viewers (even 1.1 mil+), that just doesn't happen these days - in the first six weeks, there's only been one million plus episode and in the last year and a bit, a lot more episodes that are falling under the 900,000. They seem to be losing more viewers than gaining every year, so perhaps they do need to look at balancing the show to attract and keep more viewers and finding storylines that appeal to a broader range or ratings may continue to fall even further - that's just my opinion though, but the stats show that under Lucy's watch, ratings are lower than they've ever been.

I'm not surprised to read this. I wonder if someone is keeping track of the ratings year over year in Excel or something. I would be interested to see that.

I fully accept that there needs to be drama, and that's what keeps people hooked. But emotional and engaging storylines are also important, and if you push the drama so hard it begins to loose its effectiveness. That's why I imagine people are switching off.