Does the show need an injection of life, if so, then what?

[Gerard]

I agree, you see the same characters interact with the same groups over and over again, and a real lack of "community".  Also the "20/30-something" characters like Cash, Tane, Eden, Harper, Dana etc seem to be at the forefront, while characters like Alf, Roo, Marilyn, John, Leah, Justin (those two to a lesser extent), seem to be in more supporting roles much of the time. It's still watchable, but certainly is far from the best it could be.

I can't help thinking that introducing perhaps 3 teenage characters and bringing the focus back to Summer Bay, rather than Yabbie Creek (less crime and medical storylines, more focus on families and community) might be the injection of life that is needed.

[adam436]

On 02/01/2026 at 13:04, joany208121 said:

Catching up on recent eps, it blows my mind how little some characters interact. When did Mack and Maz have a scene together, or Abby and Jo, or even Mali and Leah. The show is split into a few groups with very little crossover now, which it never was like.

Alf, Marilyn and Roo feel very much segregated. Marilyn has incidental interactions with Diner customers (and Roo and David during the Cohen story!), but otherwise they really only interact with John, Leah and Justin.

The writers have definitely made more of an effort to integrate John since Irene left, when the temptation must have been there to just throw him into the Alf/Marilyn/Roo clique.

There were certainly pockets of characters who little to do with each other. A twentysomething like Kelly Watson or Jesse McGregor had little interaction with someone like Donald Fisher for example, but it was less noticeable because overall, the different age groups interacted well, rather than being segregated.

 

[joany208121]

On 06/01/2026 at 11:03, adam436 said:

Alf, Marilyn and Roo feel very much segregated. Marilyn has incidental interactions with Diner customers (and Roo and David during the Cohen story!), but otherwise they really only interact with John, Leah and Justin.

The writers have definitely made more of an effort to integrate John since Irene left, when the temptation must have been there to just throw him into the Alf/Marilyn/Roo clique.

There were certainly pockets of characters who little to do with each other. A twentysomething like Kelly Watson or Jesse McGregor had little interaction with someone like Donald Fisher for example, but it was less noticeable because overall, the different age groups interacted well, rather than being segregated.

 

I believe removing the school, and teenagers as a whole has really impacted the community feel of the show. Characters aren’t interacting as easily anymore… I think your example of pointing Kelly out as a doctor is what you have pointed out as being one of the worst example of cross pollination in the 90s, when translated to today’s show (Levi) would actually be one of the more integrated characters due to his profession. 
 

I agree with the above statements that the Alf, Maz and Roo group aren’t interacting with the younger generations enough. It almost feels like we have two different shows.

Edited January 21 by joany208121

[c120701]

14 hours ago, joany208121 said:

I believe removing the school, and teenagers as a whole has really impacted the community feel of the show. Characters aren’t iterating as easily anymore… I think your example of pointing Kelly out as a doctor is what you have pointed out as being one of the worst example of cross pollination in the 90s, when translated to today’s show (Levi) would actually be one of the more integrated characters due to his profession. 
 

I agree with the above statements that the Alf, Maz and Roo group aren’t interacting with the younger generations enough. It almost feels like we have two different shows.

The school kids were what used to connect everyone as you’d have the teachers, parents and the fellow parents interacting with each other because of them.

[adam436]

On 08/01/2026 at 16:00, joany208121 said:

I agree with the above statements that the Alf, Maz and Roo group aren’t interacting with the younger generations enough.

It's a shame they can't take in one of the younger characters as a lodger to bridge the gap a bit. it worked for Irene over the last 5 years or so with the Matheson girls, Jasmine, Willow etc. I guess the problem is they probably want to keep room for the guest character fostering storylines that Roo has....

[Luigi Severus Fletcher]

On 30/11/2025 at 01:35, Light of the Bay said:

It’s mainly LGBT representation I was referring to (should have specified) and it does make me think there is an agenda at 7 against this. Let’s be honest, on the whole they haven’t exactly shown same sex relationships in a positive light historically. 

Any queer character or storyline on Home and Away was always fleeting. Shannon (from what I know), Joey (from what I remember) and Tai (that guy who kissed Ryder)? IIRC, he was in it for a few months and was gone once his character came out and the pride flag sticker on the diner's door that Marilyn put up is long gone, too...

Comparing it to Prisoner again, Prisoner featured two long running queer characters Joan Ferguson and Judy Bryant, plus one of the original characters Franky Doyle was queer.

[Revealed]

It's hard to tell whether it's a good or bad era of the show when you're in the moment. Much easier to conclude when looking back.

I don't want to curse it in case any of the current characters does the unthinkable but I think the show is in the best shape it's been in for years. Last years departure of Irene helped because she should of left by the end of 2012.

I know from past mistakes I might be wrong. I thought the Sutherland family were a great addition to the show at the time. When I was still watching at UK pace I learned via the internet they'd all gone at Australian pace which I was sad about. However Dani and Kirsty ruined their legacy, I'd be breaking the forum rules if I was to say why so I'll leave it at that. No doubt some of you will know.

I thought Cassie was a great addition to the show when she first joined but she wasn't at all.

I also didn't like the addition of the Nash family when they first joined and was horrified when they were added to the credits, confirmation they were sticking around. Looking back though I cannot think of a better mother character than Natalie Nash. In fact I decided to seek out the Baywatch episode Antoinette Byron was in (don't bother, it's not worth it).

The challenge the show has is the fact it's 2026 where the moral attitudes of society have changed for the worse. Some of the hurdles now didn't exist in 1988 and that's always going to put it at a disadvantage. On that basis it's doing pretty well given the circumstances.

[adam436]

8 hours ago, Luigi Severus Fletcher said:

Any queer character or storyline on Home and Away was always fleeting. Shannon (from what I know), Joey (from what I remember) and Tai (that guy who kissed Ryder)? IIRC, he was in it for a few months and was gone once his character came out and the pride flag sticker on the diner's door that Marilyn put up is long gone, too...

We also had Willow and Alex. Alex was only introduced to cover Penny MacNamee's maternity leave, so she was never going to be a long-term addition either, even though she seemed popular. Willow and Alex got their happy ending, but I feel it was becase convienent (i.e. Willow was being written out) rather than giving them a big romantic ending. If it were the latter, they'd have brought Alex back for the exit. 

I wasn't watching during the Joey/Charlie story, but I really enjoyed Ty and Alex as characters and they had more to offer. Going back further, I quite liked Chirstopher Fletcher too, though from what I remember he seemed worried about how Pippa would react, which seemed poor writing when the writers treated her like the World's Greastest Mother for most of the Pippa2 years. 

[CaptainHulk]

As of 2026; Laughs, to answer set question.

[Revealed]

If you listen to public opinion about why Neighbours is no more I've heard many people say go woke go broke. On that basis it's good that Home & Away are sticking to their guns. That said a lesbian couple would be good, they're the only relationships I care for in any TV show.