Neighbours AXED after 37 years (now saved and returning to screens in 2023)

[Carrie Fairchild]

Given that filming wraps next week, I’m presuming she’s back as part of the finale, which looks to be an altogether more low key affair than the 2022 “farewell”.

Kimberley Davies returning to Neighbours | TV Tonight

‘Annaliese Hartman’ is heading home after two decades away.

tvtonight.com.au

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

Final episodes are released / air next week, with the finale on Thursday 11th. Based on the below article, the returns this time around are a lot less starry than the ones for the farewell in 2022.

Neighbours icon will be missing from final ever episodes, boss confirms

Toadie Rebecchi star Ryan Moloney was asked to reprise his role but was unavailable for filming.

www.radiotimes.com

 

[Monzo]

Before Neighbours bids farewell, presumably for the last time, there's a mystery about the show that I still haven't solved, and it concerns its UK broadcast history: When Neighbours premiered in October 1986, it had been airing in Australia since March 1985. However, when Neighbours ended, the finale aired on the same day in Australia and the UK. When did the UK manage to catch up on the missing year and a half? Was it still on BBC One, or only after moving to Channel 5, and, most importantly, how did it happen? Was the daily repeat temporarily suspended, with two new episodes airing each day? Or did Neighbours air on Saturdays (or even Sundays) for a while?

 

[Knots4ever]

Before Neighbours bids farewell, presumably for the last time, there's a mystery about the show that I still haven't solved, and it concerns its UK broadcast history: When Neighbours premiered in October 1986, it had been airing in Australia since March 1985. However, when Neighbours ended, the finale aired on the same day in Australia and the UK. When did the UK manage to catch up on the missing year and a half? Was it still on BBC One, or only after moving to Channel 5, and, most importantly, how did it happen? Was the daily repeat temporarily suspended, with two new episodes airing each day? Or did Neighbours air on Saturdays (or even Sundays) for a while?

A two week break around Xmas each year in Australia, no break in the UK. There were points after a few years where the UK was at risk of overtaking Australia.

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

Before Neighbours bids farewell, presumably for the last time, there's a mystery about the show that I still haven't solved, and it concerns its UK broadcast history: When Neighbours premiered in October 1986, it had been airing in Australia since March 1985. However, when Neighbours ended, the finale aired on the same day in Australia and the UK. When did the UK manage to catch up on the missing year and a half? Was it still on BBC One, or only after moving to Channel 5, and, most importantly, how did it happen? Was the daily repeat temporarily suspended, with two new episodes airing each day? Or did Neighbours air on Saturdays (or even Sundays) for a while?

A two week break around Xmas each year in Australia, no break in the UK. There were points after a few years where the UK was at risk of overtaking Australia.

If I remember correctly, when it was on BBC, there’d be a break in the summer for Wimbeldon coverage, which would help keep it from completely catching up but there were times when they’d have to do self imposed breaks to stop it from overtaking (I can’t recall if this was on BBC or Channel 5). From 2016 onwards, they were airing episodes in the UK on the same day they aired in Australia.

 

[Knots4ever]

If I remember correctly, when it was on BBC, there’d be a break in the summer for Wimbeldon coverage, which would help keep it from completely catching up but there were times when they’d have to do self imposed breaks to stop it from overtaking (I can’t recall if this was on BBC or Channel 5). From 2016 onwards, they were airing episodes in the UK on the same day they aired in Australia.

Yes, there used to be some ad-hoc days off for Wimbledon and also some bank holidays. Once it moved to Channel 5, not so much... no Wimbledon and by that point bank holiday programming pretty much was no different than normal weekdays.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

When did the UK manage to catch up on the missing year and a half? Was it still on BBC One, or only after moving to Channel 5, and, most importantly, how did it happen?

A two week break around Xmas each year in Australia, no break in the UK.

The breaks were even longer at times.

After Neighbours' initial cancellation in 1985 there was a two-and-a-half month break in Australia before it resumed on Channel Ten in February 1986. Britain aired the first 1986 episode the day after the 1985 finale.

In Australia there was a break of over a month between the Second and Third Seasons, and a similar gap occurred between the other seasons in the Eighties. It seems in the early years it typically aired less than eleven months of the year in Oz which allowed time to close the gap.

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

And so it’s come to an end (again). As mentioned previously, I’ve only ever watched the first episode of the Amazon revival, so I can’t comment on the show’s run on there over the last two years. I watched the last five minutes of this finale and without spoiling anything, it is definitely more low key than the 2022 “finale”. Again, as I didn’t watch the Amazon run, there was a lot of characters onscreen that I didn’t recognise but there was a core of about five legacy characters that I knew.

The final scene itself, was given over to three of those characters and was a mix of nostalgia and looking forward to the future. The show’s producer had said that they’d be closing the show in such a way that it would be left open for another potential revival and they’ve certainly done that, while addressing the logistical issue of no longer having the Nunawading studio and its historical sets to film on. I think it’s unlikely to be revived again but at least there’s a number of scenarios that viewers can now imagine, where the character’s lives are continuing offscreen.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

The show’s producer had said that they’d be closing the show in such a way that it would be left open for another potential revival and they’ve certainly done that, while addressing the logistical issue of no longer having the Nunawading studio and its historical sets to film on.

This is intriguing enough for me to contemplate watching the final episode.

I may end up deciding against because I felt the 2022 ending was definitive and satisfying enough for me to actively avoid Amazon's revival. But at the very least I'll probably still check out the final scene or two at some point.

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

This is intriguing enough for me to contemplate watching the final episode.

Based on the small number of scenes that I watched, I’m gathering that this potential setup for a future revival formed part of of the final storylines, but even just watching the final episode or scenes should give you a fair idea of what is being proposed. I’m not sure if the producers are out there right now, actively shopping a continuation like the last time but should there be interest in the future, the setup is there.

 

[Angela Channing]

I saw the final scene on social media which saves me from having to watch the show as I no longer know who many of the characters are and what are their current storylines. I liked that it was more low key than the previous final episode and left the door open for another revival of show. When Susan Kennedy said "other communities have beaten the odds, we could be one of them" was she referring to the fact that Home & Away is still being broadcast and that she thought Neighbours could do so again in the future?

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

When Susan Kennedy said "other communities have beaten the odds, we could be one of them" was she referring to the fact that Home & Away is still being broadcast and that she thought Neighbours could do so again in the future?

I read an interview with the producer and apparently there was a more specific reference to “a similar community just outside of Sydney that's managed to keep going” earlier in the episode, which was a nod to H&A. I’m presuming Susan’s line in the final scene was a follow up to that.

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

Neighbours got a mention when Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi were on The Graham Norton Show last night to promote Wuthering Heights.

Robbie told an anecdote about being assigned a dialect coach while she was on the show because her strong Queensland accent was “too Australian for Neighbours”.

Elordi said he’d unsuccessfully auditioned for both Neighbours and Home & Away. He said he lost out on a role in Neighbours to someone who’d been on Australian Idol. He also said he’d to fudge the number of Instagram followers that he had because it was a requirement of the Neighbours casting process that you had to have at least 20k followers.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

He said he lost out on a role in Neighbours to someone who’d been on Australian Idol. He also said he’d to fudge the number of Instagram followers that he had because it was a requirement of the Neighbours casting process that you had to have at least 20k followers.

God, that's depressing. Just think of all the genuine acting talent that would have been overlooked. I know it's business, but... what a cynical way to cast.

 

[Carrie Fairchild]

God, that's depressing. Just think of all the genuine acting talent that would have been overlooked. I know it's business, but... what a cynical way to cast.

Sadly, it’s not the first time that I’ve heard of this being a thing that young actors are measured on. Elordi did say that they’d probably deny it but he does recall it being written down somewhere as a requirement.

On a different note but somewhat related, I remember reading about writers/directors being asked to write/shoot scenes in such a way that they could easily be clipped as gifs or reels for social media. I think it came up in relation to the scene where Cristal#1 pushed Fallon into Matthew’s grave on nuDynasty.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

On a different note but somewhat related, I remember reading about writers/directors being asked to write/shoot scenes in such a way that they could easily be clipped as gifs or reels for social media. I think it came up in relation to the scene where Cristal#1 pushed Fallon into Matthew’s grave on nuDynasty.

It's still a little sad, but I can at least make some kind of sense out of this. It's kind of the 21st century version of having a scene that plays well in a preview or that makes for a water cooler moment (back when people drank generic water and not flat white with oat milk).

Still interesting to think of this affecting the creative process of making the show, though.

 

[Monzo]

I bought the first German Neighbours DVD box set with the first 20 episodes on sale a while ago and am finally watching it. I've already watched the first 10 episodes, and it's astonishing how much I've forgotten. I could only really remember that Des was dumped by Lorraine on their wedding day and the (somewhat bizarre) love story of Scott and Kim. What I haven't forgotten and probably never will: how Helen wiped Jim's face with the feather duster (in the opening credits). In episode 10, Shane and Danny had a car accident with the bank robbers who were on the run after robbing the bank where Julie and Des worked. Episode 10 also brought a surprising appearance for me with an actress that probably no one knows: Stephanie Daniel. In the episode, she played the doctor who treated Danny, but in 1975, the British actress starred in a West German series called Unsere Penny (Our Penny), in which she played Penny, an English au pair who moved in with a German host family. It was Stephanie Daniels' first TV role, then ten years later she suddenly appeared on Neighbours and took on a total of three roles: in 1986 she was Jim's love interest Ruth Wilson (not to be confused with the actress of the same name). I vaguely remember Ruth's run, but I'm not familiar with her run in 2002 as Chloe Lambert. Apparently, she was the new owner and manager of Lassiter's Hotel... Wasn't it unusual for actors to appear multiple times in different roles on Neighbours?

When rewatching the early episodes, Jim surprised me the most. When Alan Dale first appeared on US television, I recognized him, of course, but I had forgotten that his acting range in US series (mostly as a villain) was quite similar to Jim's. I actually thought that Alan Dale would have developed further as an actor after Neighbours, but even back then he already had what it took. Otherwise, I found the original Scott much more pleasant than I remembered; Paul was surprisingly nice, and Julie, while a real pain, actually had talent (as an actress). As for the characters, I've since looked up what became of some of them, because I'd forgotten about all the original Ramseys' fate.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I bought the first German Neighbours DVD box set with the first 20 episodes on sale a while ago and am finally watching it.

Oh nice. I rewatched the first couple of hundred episodes perhaps a decade or a decade and a half ago, but it's incredible how quickly the details fade away. Glad to read your thoughts.

in 1986 she was Jim's love interest Ruth Wilson (not to be confused with the actress of the same name). I vaguely remember Ruth's run

Oh yes. I rememberer Ruth. I always thought she looked like a younger, dark-haired Helen Daniels, which made a kind of sense since that's possibly how Jim's late wife (being Helen's daughter) would have looked.

I actually thought that Alan Dale would have developed further as an actor after Neighbours, but even back then he already had what it took.

At that point he had 800+ episodes of The Young Doctors under his belt, whichI'm sure would have helped hone his craft. I read that he'd taken acting lessons in his early fifties, when he moved to America some time after leaving Neighbours, so I'm guessing he did develop further in some ways.

I found the original Scott much more pleasant than I remembered;

I really like Darius Perkins as Scott. I never really took Jason Donovan's version of the character, and the insane popularity did nothing to help.

Paul was surprisingly nice

Yes indeed. You may remember there's kind of an "origin" for the more villainous Paul at the end of the Seven Network season and the beginning of the first season on Ten.