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

[justmichello]

On 08/11/2025 at 23:31, hward said:

I've just said something similar in the weekly thread.  I've watched on and off for the last 25 years, maybe even a bit longer, and this is the worst I've ever found the show.  There's only a very small handful of characters that are keeping me watching, but even then I sometimes just put it while I'm working and don't really watch properly.

Although the band has fizzled out it still seems like they're trying to keep the musical element going to some extent but I can't see it having any longevity and tbh it seems as though a lot of people are fed up with the music storylines (including me!).  The characters they're bringing in now are mostly all 20/30 somethings which leads to the same repetitive relationship storylines.

They shy away from the tougher storylines nowadays that they used to tackle and now when they do attempt a decent storyline it just fizzles out or has a quick fix so everyone is back to normal within a few weeks.  Irene's storyline was an attempt but again it felt like it didn't hit the mark because it went from 0 to 100 so quick.  Losing the school, teens, and the main fostering theme was a major loss and again leads to new characters just being bland rinse and repeats.  Unless something new is done and they make big changes and shape up the storylines (and preferably get rid of some of the naff characters) then I can't see the show lasting all that much longer.

Need the school back . Need the caravan site used again properly to house new characters , tourists etc. can’t Roo run that ? She has little else to do. The new bait shop got a few scenes … then forgotten again . 
Definitely need a family with children. Give Marylin a love interest for crying out loud..! 
Everything now seems short-term , the fixtures and the characters. 

[adam436]

12 hours ago, justmichello said:

Definitely need a family with children.

David would have been the perfect opportunity to do that, but instead he only has adult children rather than younger children or teenagers.

If you want a foster family, you could build one around Levi and Mackenzie (their conception issues) or Eden and Cash (as a former foster child) and actually take the characters in a new direction. Anything long-term for Roo is difficult whilst Georgie Parker is taking extended breaks.

I guess if you want a nuclear family, you could introduce Duncan Stewart, his son Bryce (a teenager but now?) and maybe a new wife and stepchildren. Unless the producers want an unconnected nuclear family to shake things up a little.

 

12 hours ago, justmichello said:

Give Marylin a love interest for crying out loud..! 

I still don't understood why her and John broke up. There seems little onscreen reasoning for it, and both have been a bit of a spare part since. It seems like a baffling decision.

With Irene gone, it could be the perfect time to reunite them, if not romantically then at least as besties/housemates. I thought her jealously/misreading of the John and Irene situation last year was the beginning of their path to reunion, but sadly it wasn't.

[Homeandawayfan.]

I look forward to the 40th in just over 2 years time, in January 2028, Roo will be around, and I am sure Alf will. I can see Alf staying for a good few years yet. 

[adam436]

50 minutes ago, Homeandawayfan. said:

I look forward to the 40th in just over 2 years time, in January 2028, Roo will be around, and I am sure Alf will. I can see Alf staying for a good few years yet. 

I agree, barring any health crisis etc. that might force Ray to retire early. 

I also assume Marilyn, Leah and probably John will still be around (though we all never thought Irene would leave either!). It's hard for me to believe that by that stage, John will have been around almost as long as Sally 

We'll also likely have Justin and Mackenzie, who will have been around for 11 and 8 years respectively. I assume any onscreen marking of the anniversary won't hark back to the 80s/90s heyday, but there will be enough long-term cast to potentially actually make a celebration out of it, instead of letting it pass quietly onscreen like the 25th and 30th. 

[j.laur5]

I am glad they bought in new family to replace Irene at beach house even though it’s missing mum but glad they replaced with new people instead of just having Dana and Harper take over house .

[Homeandawayfan.]

I think even the 10th anniversary way back in Jan 1998 passed quietly, yet the 21st in 2009 was quite well celebrated. 

[adam436]

2 hours ago, Homeandawayfan. said:

I think even the 10th anniversary way back in Jan 1998 passed quietly, yet the 21st in 2009 was quite well celebrated. 

I guess the 10th and 20th anniversaries saw the loss of its then-lynchpin characters in Pippa and Sally. I can't remember if it they did much in terms of flashbacks etc. for Pippa's exit, but Sally's exit was certainly nostalgic with all the returns and creating a real link to Sally's Milco. I feel like that was a joint celebration of Sally and the 20th anniversary. 

I can't remember what was done for the 21st in 2009 other than a TV Week special magazine. 

[j.laur5]

On 15/11/2025 at 12:05, adam436 said:

I guess the 10th and 20th anniversaries saw the loss of its then-lynchpin characters in Pippa and Sally. I can't remember if it they did much in terms of flashbacks etc. for Pippa's exit, but Sally's exit was certainly nostalgic with all the returns and creating a real link to Sally's Milco. I feel like that was a joint celebration of Sally and the 20th anniversary. 

I can't remember what was done for the 21st in 2009 other than a TV Week special magazine. 

Pippa's exit had no flashbacks or mentions of anything with past foster children; no mention of Michael or Tom.   Pippa didn’t even get a proper goodbye scene with Sally and Pippa had no goodbye scenes with Ailsa or Irene or anyone else. 
Pippa really had a bad exit and I'm not sure if was because at that stage they were hoping Debra might have agreed to return down the track.

I know Pippa returned many times but most returns were to do with Sally and had Sally left earlier then 2008 we probably would not had as many Pippa returns .

In fact the 4000 episode was the only time Pippa return that was not to do with Sally other then when she returned in 2009 after Sally left .

[hapitoby]

4 hours ago, adam436 said:

I agree, barring any health crisis etc. that might force Ray to retire early. 

I also assume Marilyn, Leah and probably John will still be around (though we all never thought Irene would leave either!). It's hard for me to believe that by that stage, John will have been around almost as long as Sally 

We'll also likely have Justin and Mackenzie, who will have been around for 11 and 8 years respectively. I assume any onscreen marking of the anniversary won't hark back to the 80s/90s heyday, but there will be enough long-term cast to potentially actually make a celebration out of it, instead of letting it pass quietly onscreen like the 25th and 30th. 

It really annoyed me that both those celebrations went by with a whimper l, especially as they contained the 7000th and 8000th episodes. That alone was enough to celebrate, especially given it was a milestone year.

[adam436]

H&A has never really acknowledged milestone episodes or anniversaries onscreen though, with the exception of episode 4000, which you could argue was in response to Neighbours' 20th anniversary celebrations. 

Other than episodes 2000, 4000, and 8000, the other milestone episodes were just regular episodes really. Episode 2000 featured Angel's exit (arguably the biggest character at the time!), and episode 8000 had Flick and Tane's wedding. Vinnie and Leah's wedding occured in the same week as episode 3000, but not the episode itself. The 20th, 25th and 30th anniversaries went by largely unacknowledged too, with the exception of Sally's exit. Would the producers have found another way to shoehorn all those returnees and nostalgia into a 20th anniversary story if Sally wasn't leaving? Unlikely, but who knows? Weirdly, Sally's non-wedding in 2000 and Summer Bay's bicentenary(?) in 2002 had the mileston celebration vibes, yet they just occured at random times. 

I've read that Sally's return and the Martha retcon were meant to be the big 25th and 30th anniversary storylines respectively, but are probably both best forgotten to be honest.