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

[atrus]

Marilyn should have first dibs on the Beach House. I associate that with her from the early days almost as much as I do Irene. I agree she needs some family or a love interest though. Maybe Heather could move in.  

[James Martin]

I'm not gonna lie the Cohen storyline is a step in the right direction, but "adopt" instead of "foster" in THAT house, come on!

I'll be honest, if I had my way the first thing I'd do is make Roo "the new Pippa" and if Georgie Parker isn't able to film season round, I'd be moving Leah in there.

I've not watched properly/religiously for a LONG time and only really committed back in properly because of Irene's exit.

Yes you have to have an evolving show but I feel the one immovable object is an elder statesman/stateswoman of the show in Summer Bay House with a revolving door of waifs and strays.  It feels like The Beach House plays that role more now but with older teens or young adults and that's always been the way throughout Irene's ownership (didn't she take it over after Bobby died and Greg moved on?) as I assume a recovering alcoholic can't foster kids.  In a way The Beach House might have the same existential crisis SBH had 17 years ago when Sally quit.  What do you do with it?

The reality is the show is called "Home & Away" - you can evolve the show but you can't really ignore the original USP. Emmerdale changed irrevocably in the 90s - it had to to survive - but it is still a rural show set in a North Yorkshire village.  EastEnders and Coronation Street are still ultimately rooted in, let's face it, grim working class communities.

If it was called "Summer Bay" then yeah you could pass off the current show.  But when it's called "Home & Away" and there's no heavy foster element l struggle a bit.  Ray is probably going to retire in the next five years.  Shane won't be far behind.

Seven need to start succession planning because Leah and Roo won't be enough to carry the show.  Go back to basics, bring the school back in to it, get a matriarch in SBH to look after a bunch of teens who fall in love then get married.

And apart from anything Seven should be giving teen actors the platform.  As Debra Lawrence herself said, "Australia has two great acting schools.  One of them is NIDA. The other is Home & Away."

[adam436]

2 hours ago, James Martin said:

In a way The Beach House might have the same existential crisis SBH had 17 years ago when Sally quit.  What do you do with it?

There's been a few attempts to bring that back to fostering/a refuge for young people. 

Firstly with Miles taking in Jai and Nicole. Then with Harvey and Roo fostering Maddie and Spencer. Then moving Leah and the Maguires in there, but that fell apart pretty quickly with many actors moving on.

 

2 hours ago, James Martin said:

Ray is probably going to retire in the next five years.  Shane won't be far behind.

Seven need to start succession planning because Leah and Roo won't be enough to carry the show.

You've got Marilyn as well. She's just as iconic to 90s viewers, as Leah is to early 2000s viewers. 

To be honest, I'd say Georgie won't be far behind Ray either. She's said in the past she isn't going anywhere while Ray Meagher is around.

I agree there needs to be a succession plan. I kind of saw Irene stepping up as the "guardian of Summer Bay" once Ray retires, so who fills that role. Marilyn? As you say, Leah and Roo aren't enough to carry the show on their own.

Some other cast like Justin, Mackenzie and Tane are clocking up the years. It's great we've got some actors who are committed for the long haul, but their characters aren't very appealing to me as long-term stalwarts. I'd say if they were the succession plans, then things aren't great.

[pembie]

Justin is alright Tane should have been written out with his family or at a push after Felcity his just very boring now 

Mackenzie I don’t dislike or like really I don’t really believe in her pregnancy struggles story really I don’t really find many characters interesting these days Mali Abi Theo Lacey’s family all quite dull ALf

Edited September 2 by pembie

[adam436]

3 hours ago, pembie said:

Mackenzie I don’t dislike or like really

I think that's my problem with her becoming the succession plan/future of the show. The stalwarts should ultimately be likable/fan favourites to bring viewers back after a few years away or steady the ship during periods of change. I just don't see Mackenzie, Tane and even Justin to an extent fulfilling that role in the same way other past and present stalwarts have. 

Compare her to Leah, who was quite fun and bubbly during her first few years on the show, and probably one of the most popular characters of the time, thanks to Ada's energy she brought to the role and her relationship with Vinnie. She's lost that spark and likability now, but she managed to cement herself as a fan favourite and stalwart before she did. Emily Weir joined the show at a similar age to what Ada did, yet I don't see the character having the same impact.Admittedly the writing for Leah was much better in her early days than it ever has been for Mackenzie, but it's hard to imagine what the writers will be doing with her in 10 years time if she's still around. 

There are many current characters I dislike more than Mackenzie, but she's certainly not one of my favourites either.

 

[pembie]

Adam Leah is awful lol I don’t really know what Justin sees in her 

Out of the main characters or older ones I say John is the best 

[c120701]

I’m not sure what the show gained from splitting John & Marilyn up other than the much more recent John & Irene friendship. The two of them could’ve been great foster parents long term. 

I think the problem is bringing someone new into Summer Bay House and have them foster seems forced, but with Roo, Leah & Marilyn it seems/would seem natural as it’d be more about them giving up children or for Leah not being able to have more. I’d much rather one of them than shoehorning it in.

[adam436]

21 hours ago, c120701 said:

I’m not sure what the show gained from splitting John & Marilyn up

I've said this for years! Neither have developed long-term as a result of the split. If anything, it's made both more of a spare part in my opinion.

 

21 hours ago, c120701 said:

I think the problem is bringing someone new into Summer Bay House and have them foster seems forced, but with Roo, Leah & Marilyn it seems/would seem natural as it’d be more about them giving up children or for Leah not being able to have more. I’d much rather one of them than shoehorning it in.

No need to bring someone new in when you already have a surplus of characters could fill that role, all of whom have fostered in the past. I can't remember if any of Leah's were ever official though, but she's taken in youngsters like Matt, Tamara, Ruby and also Evie, Oscar and Drew as the niece/nephews of her husband at the time.

[cymbaline]

The early 1988 iteration of Home and Away had a better mix of characters of varying ages. It wasn't perfect by any means, but it gave the writers more scope to write stories for all ages. 1988 Home and Away explored everything from teenage pregnancy to grandparent alienation, with plenty of drama in between. The school's never coming back, but I think it would liven the place up if we saw a few teenagers around. Long-term fans would love to see that iconic school uniform, even if they never show the school again.

[j.laur5]

14 hours ago, cymbaline said:

The early 1988 iteration of Home and Away had a better mix of characters of varying ages. It wasn't perfect by any means, but it gave the writers more scope to write stories for all ages. 1988 Home and Away explored everything from teenage pregnancy to grandparent alienation, with plenty of drama in between. The school's never coming back, but I think it would liven the place up if we saw a few teenagers around. Long-term fans would love to see that iconic school uniform, even if they never show the school again.

I really enjoyed the 2nd half 1988 season and early 1989 season as we had more of a range of characters in the older age group. We also had several older recurring characters with Morag/Colleen/Barbara/Betty and Bob and Nigel . 
 

I think 90s Home and Away was more teenage focused and although it still did have a few recurring older characters like Lois/Jean/Diana/1st Irene they were used as villain characters. 
 

I think by 2011 with the return of Marilyn and Roo and the introducing of John/Harvey/Sid/Eiljah/Gina the show moved into adult focus again. 
 

I think when the Sutherland's arrived as a nuclear family it was the beginning of new era away from the foster focus. 
 

I think the show was always going move on from the foster focus eventually even if Pippa had stayed long term.