Well I haven't been slagging off SS, I hadn't even mentioned it until my last post, so don't go telling me to get lost.
I agree, this year hasn't been the best year for storylines, but it has had some good ones and I'm sure it'll get better soon, especially now we have a new Executive Producer.
The only thing I can do is ask Chris J not to reply to my posts and I will not reply to his - hardly grown up but if we cant get on then we cant get on and thats it!
Ignoring each other is even more childish! I'm sure we can get along if we try. We had no problems chatting in the HTV West thread yesterday, so I'm sure it can be the same everywhere else.
Well I haven't been slagging off SS, I hadn't even mentioned it until my last post, so don't go telling me to get lost.
I agree, this year hasn't been the best year for storylines, but it has had some good ones and I'm sure it'll get better soon, especially now we have a new Executive Producer.
The only thing I can do is ask Chris J not to reply to my posts and I will not reply to his - hardly grown up but if we cant get on then we cant get on and thats it!
Ignoring each other is even more childish! I'm sure we can get along if we try. We had no problems chatting in the HTV West thread yesterday, so I'm sure it can be the same everywhere else.
Agreed?
Yeah we have other stuff we could chat about in other threads like HTV Wales and West and Coro St so I suppose we could get on. Its not so much that I hate Neighbours its more that I just cant be bothered with the show these days.
AS
AndyS
Interesting reading your comments on the Neighbours DVD - I got a copy sent from Australia too.
Couple of inaccuracies though. Russnet said about there being no 'end of part one' etc, but what you see on the DVD is exactly how they end the parts in Australia. There's no 'part two' etc caption as such, the action starts again straight after the advert break. As it's made by Network Ten, each local TEN affiliate puts in their own station caption at the bottom of the screen at the start of each part, along with the name of the programme and its rating - Neighbours is always G for General Viewing, but there's also a PG equivalent etc too. There are adverts between the cliffhanger and the end titles of each episode too, so they basically come in four parts.
CN said that only the 1994 finale episode is on there, but the 2001 finale is too. It's combined with the first episode of 2002 and is why the opening titles and the end titles are in a completely different style. This is my only complaint about he DVD - I would rather have had the two episodes intact than combined into one.
It's a great DVD though - also I must credit the excellent Neighbours Worldwide Fanpages for my info about the finale epsiodes.
Chris are you blind? You say you never mentioned SS in this thread but you practically tell me to **** off and go into the SS thread and chat - well I would if there were a few more fans that were willing to chat about SS with me - I dont understand why more people dont watch the show.
I'm glad you've decided to calm down a bit Jez, cos in fairness you said at least 4 times on this thread that Neighbours is crap -- once would've done, and even then you could've put it better. And no-one is slagging off SS either. You have to admit you're being v confrontational.
Some reasons, I'd suggest, why not many people watch Shortland St, is that, in the greater scheme of things it's just not very well established. Neighbours has been around in the UK since 1986, and has been at 5.35pm since 1988 [a bit later in Wales], and that is a very regular timeslot. Most people are back from school and work, it's straight after kids programmes, and it's reared stars like Kylie, Jason, Natalie Imbruglia, Holly Valance etc etc, which keeps the profile up.
SS has been messed around with by most regions, and not ever shown in others. It's not networked across the whole of the UK simultaneously like Neighbours. SS is also on in the afternoon -- I don't know if you're in to watch it, or whether you tape it, but most people are at school or work then. If I know I'm going to miss Neighbours, I won't tape it -- it's not that important. In summary, an afternoon low-profile soap, shown only in some regions, could never compete with Neighbours.
CN posted:
As for there not being any Aboriginal characters, would that not have more to do with it's very suburbian Melbourne setting. I know another Network Ten soap Breakers did have Aboriginal characters, but then it was set on Bondi Beach in Sydney which itself has a more diverse ethnic mix. Besides, I'm quite fond of the show's innocence in such issues. The recent story where Valda mistook Harold for being the 'Rock Hudson' type was hilarious and I wouldn't have thought anyone would be offended by how they merrily danced around actually saying she thought he was gay. In this day and age when society has gone PC mad, is it not refreshing that Neighbours, often considered 22mins of pure escapism can be just that, somewhere that you can turn off entirely to all the madness in the world and just chill with these simple, cheesy scenarios that appear onscreen. I like knowing that what I'm watching is solely to entertain, not to subtly reflect some social issue or the like. If anything, that's where Brookie perhaps went wrong, by being too issue based that once they were all exhausted, it ran out of ideas!
Oh, I'm glad someone else remembers Breakers -- it was absolutely execrable! With various Neighbours rejects and dodgy accents in it. I take your point about Neighbours being a bit 'escapist' and light-hearted and yes they can get away with things perhaps other soaps can't, e.g. the Harold thing you mentioned. It's just the moralistic and Christian outlook in more things [I'll accept it's a major part of Harold and Rosie's characters] -- it just doesn't suit, and I don't appreciate it. H&A doesn't do it. And no, I can't imagine Neighbours ever running out of ideas!
Chris J posted:
Karl and Susan renewing their vows and Lyn revealing that she's pregnant. There was no action or anything exciting in it.
It would have been a whole lot better if Sarah had re-appeared in the Finale, as planned.
It would've, you're right -- I was being a bit dramatic, though I hope Sarah does come back as eventually planned. It's been an interesting storyline how Susan has coped with losing all memory of her family, and relating to her feelings towards her children and Karl, and her ex from years ago. It got quite emotional at some stage, with some brilliant acting. Just the whole cause of it -- slipping over on some milk, was a bit pathetic.
--Neighbours Worldwide Fanpages are very good too -- with episode summaries going back right to the beginning.
Some reasons, I'd suggest, why not many people watch Shortland St, is that, in the greater scheme of things it's just not very well established. Neighbours has been around in the UK since 1986, and has been at 5.35pm since 1988 [a bit later in Wales], and that is a very regular timeslot. Most people are back from school and work, it's straight after kids programmes, and it's reared stars like Kylie, Jason, Natalie Imbruglia, Holly Valance etc etc, which keeps the profile up.
SS has been messed around with by most regions, and not ever shown in others. It's not networked across the whole of the UK simultaneously like Neighbours. SS is also on in the afternoon -- I don't know if you're in to watch it, or whether you tape it, but most people are at school or work then. If I know I'm going to miss Neighbours, I won't tape it -- it's not that important. In summary, an afternoon low-profile soap, shown only in some regions, could never compete with Neighbours.
I know the show cant compete with Neighbours but I just think that if the show had been networked and shown at 5pm from Day 1 it would be really popular right now - Central are the only region that have shown it constantly for 10 years - main reason why they are so far ahead. Border and HTV both showed it constantly but cut it down to 2, 3 and 4 days so it fell behind. And the GMG regions made a right mess of it!
But at least Carlton are trying to improve it a bit now with promotions and networking it across the Carlton regions including ITV1 London.
I started off watching SS on HTV during my lunchbreak when I came home from school back in 1995 so it was only about 1 year into the series. I then recorded it when I stayed in school for lunch and then went to college and now I work most days so I tape it and watch it in the evening. Lukily tommorow I get my 1/2 day so I will be able to watch the recap programme live. And although HTV are skipping just over 2 years I have lots of eps on video from this period recorded off Central and Border and I have read some of the ep sypnosis on the website so I know basically what Carlton are making us miss out on.
Neighbours relies a lot on Youth but SS has a nice balance between Youth and more mature characters than school kids. A lot of the characters in Neighbours are in their teens and 20s but SS has a wider variety as its set in a hospital.
Rumour has it from 2001 the show becomes more medical and it feels like you are watching a drama like ER rather than a soap.
When I have watched SS, it hasn't been that bad to be honest, but you're right -- it hasn't got any consistent treatment from most of the regions, and if you're not really fussed either way whether you watch the programme or not, it's kinda hard to build up a strong viewer base, such as in the case of Neighbours. SS is to become more medical? Well I'll expect you to be helping us with any health problems we have in the near future then -- so pay attention!
Even H&A was very popular, but the 13 months the soap had off from British tv lost an incredible number of viewers, regardless of what channel it changed to. People can have very short memories or attention spans when it comes to high-commitment shows like soaps, especially in the knowledge that you're getting so far behind the parent country. H&A's ratings are steadily increasing though, often reaching 3 million, Top 5 for Five's viewing figures. But not really what it used to get on ITV.
Oh, and the word is "formerly" not "formally" Jez for your signature there -- just thought I'd add that.
When I have watched SS, it hasn't been that bad to be honest, but you're right -- it hasn't got any consistent treatment from most of the regions, and if you're not really fussed either way whether you watch the programme or not, it's kinda hard to build up a strong viewer base, such as in the case of Neighbours. SS is to become more medical? Well I'll expect you to be helping us with any health problems we have in the near future then -- so pay attention!
:
TV Dragon why have you never watched SS on a long-term basis? Is it to do with daytime committments preventing you?
Apart from Central who showed it at 5.10pm 5 days a week until the teatime slot was networked in 2000, all of the other regions have treated it badly.
e.g Carlton-London dropped it after about 18 months back in 1997 and are now bringing it back years later with 2001 storylines, HTV skipping 600 eps, Carlton-Westcountry never showing it until now and as for GMG they axed it and then brought it back as a cheap filler over the summer. Border are quite loyal to the soap though but even they have cut it down to 3 days a week!
