New Look Neighbours

At last, following a forced rebrand last year when the show went widescreen, Neighbours is eventually getting a fresh new look, set to launch onto what by then will also be the new look BBC ONE, on Thursday 14th February, give or take a few days. Of course it'll be widescreen, but what exactly will the content look like I don't know, we'll have to wait until mid-January for the Aussies to see it and tell us!!

The theme tune shouldn't be changed too much, with the principle theme being the same, all that might change is lengths and the like, with the most probable addition being use of the closing theme at the start too, with a longer opening sequence. I personally prefer the current sequence, but it's too late to protest now, over 3 moths worth of episodes have already been filmed with the new style!

Fingers crossed that it's worth waiting for, and of a decent budget and not a return to that 1999 disaster!!!

Chris.

Welcome to the Forum Chris, I notice it's your first post. However, you're not going to like what I have to say.

Far from giving it a new look why didn't they just scrap it all together. I really do object to the BBC wasting my licence fee on procurring this sack of cack in the name of entertainment. It's trashy TV of the worst kind.

This makes Crossroads look good.

And what would you feel the 5.35pm slot with each weekday? It is quite nice to watch an amusing soap instead of the dark, unrealistic (and you think Neighbours is!) and depressing UKTV soaps. Don't get me wrong, the storylines are usually more dramatic and the acting standards are far higher but there's nothing wrong with a bit of escapism...

Cheers, Asa

I think it's a perfect bit of escapism. For something so 'dull', it doesn't do badly in the ratings either!! Night and Day, or Crossroads have yet to topple it, as has even Brookside, their nearest being in 1995 when 9m watched Trevor being dug from the patio, at a time where Neighbours was achieving 12m and beyond!!

Come to think of it, only Corrie, Eastenders and Emmerdale are the only UK soaps ever to beat Neighbours, and Neighbours has at some point in history beaten all of them, except Eastenders (although debate has it that they have beaten Eastenders, just never taken the top spot from them - anyone know any more??).

Also, thanks for welcoming me to this forum. I've been here for a long time as a guest but never bothered registering, until I got frustrated with not being able to reply to posts, when I really wanted to put my pennys worth in!!

And there'll probably be a new production slide for GRUNDY.

I don't think the BBC pay all that much of our precious licence fee for Neighbours anyway. And given the number of people who watch it every day, I'd say the spend is justified.

Square Eyes, what has crawled up your arse tonight?

Prior to January 1988 when Neighbours arrived in that slot, there was a whole variety of different programmes, some adult orientated, while some were more like an extension of Children's BBC. There were programmes like Rolf Harris Cartoon Time, Wild Britain, Fax, cartoons like The Flintstones, Raccoons, Muppet Babies, and quiz shows like Masterteam, First Class.

I would again prefer to see this slot used for varied programmes like these rather than a boring old soap every night.

And of course... The Railway Carriage Game!!!!

Now surely I can't be the only person who remembers this?

Oh, and Go For It! of course, but that was terribly worthy and boring.

Well I was forced to watch Neighbours in the early 90s becos my Mum used to watch it and it would be Home and Away before that. Cos I had to watch it I got used to it and didn't find it that bad, I dunno what it's like now! They are repeating episodes from 1995 on UK Gold at the moment after Classic Eastenders, so I have seen some old episodes, I think my mum stopped watching it in 1995. And when I went to Cyprus in October they were showing Neighbours from either late eighties or real early nineties with Greek subtitles but English language on one of the Greek Channels! It is very popular in other countries!

If I remember correctly, the show isn't broadcast on Austrailia's domestic airwaves anymore. I'm sure I read somewhere that Neighbours was dropped from the prime-time schedules in around 1998 and has been produced solely for export ever since.

That's wierd seeing as it's so popular everywhere else?

Network Ten in Australia broadcasts Neighbours daily at 6.30pm with 1989 episodes every afternoon at 3.30pm. Ten is an analogue channel, like our BBC, ITV, C4 & C5.