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March 28, 2024, 11:06:59 AM

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RIP Neighbours

Started by Blue Jam, March 03, 2022, 12:28:00 PM

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Blue Jam

The teatime aussie soap is officially coming to an end in Summer 2022:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-60599579

'member Neighbours?

Fave memory of Neighbours was them killing off Cody Willis just before one of their five week Christmas breaks. As the BBC didn't observe the break at the same time, she was killed in a police raid gone wrong, everyone observed a touching memorial service, and then the next day everyone - friends and family alike - were carrying on as if she'd never existed.

Sebastian Cobb

I'd kind-of managed to forget it existed for the most part until I started watching Mr InBetween.

Elderly Sumo Prophecy

I watched about 15 minutes of one recently and the main storyline seemed to be about some teenagers putting a picture of one of their classmates on social media or something. It didn't grip me.

Beagle 2

I watched it a hell of a lot when I was a kid, who didn't? Which I find quite odd now as I'd have been five when the first episode aired and I remember it very well. Why was it such a hit with small British children?

Then I went back to it a bit in the early naughties and the silliness had been ramped up. The plane crash was particularly silly. Can't say I've watched for about fifteen years but it was always comforting to know it was there. Makes me think of my mum.

Bumped into Stonefish Rebecchi on the York walls once. Great times.

Blue Jam

My favourite moment is still Chris Lowe randomly turning up:


"OH MY GOD I CAN'T BELIEVE THE PET SHOP BOYS ARE HERE IN RAMSAY STREET! I'VE GOT ALL THEIR CDS!"

Blue Jam

Quote from: Beagle 2 on March 03, 2022, 01:22:13 PMWhy was it such a hit with small British children?

British soaps always seemed to portray teenagers as constantly getting pregnant, doing drugs, shoplifting and being surly. It all felt a bit insulting to my teenage self, a bit Daily Mail Island. Whereas Australian soaps showed the teenage characters getting a Saturday job at Greasemonkey's if they had any spare time and weren't constantly doing homework. That was certainly more relatable to me.

Elderly Sumo Prophecy

Toadfish
Stonefish

Was any reason given for this? The fish themselves are notoriously ugly, but I wouldn't say the actors were. Did they share any of the traits of the toad/stonefish maybe?

Mister Six

Quote from: Beagle 2 on March 03, 2022, 01:22:13 PMI watched it a hell of a lot when I was a kid, who didn't? Which I find quite odd now as I'd have been five when the first episode aired and I remember it very well. Why was it such a hit with small British children?

It came on immediately after the CBBC block and before Star Trek: TNG/The Fresh Prince of Bel Air/whatever other sci-fi show or American sitcom was on BBC 2 that week. So probably a longform version of Stockholm syndrome.

Cuellar

"It's easier to imagine the end of the world, than to imagine the end of Neighbours"
- Mark Fisher

Blue Jam

Quote from: Elderly Sumo Prophecy on March 03, 2022, 01:29:43 PMToadfish
Stonefish

Was any reason given for this? The fish themselves are notoriously ugly, but I wouldn't say the actors were. Did they share any of the traits of the toad/stonefish maybe?

Because Stonefish was a stone-cold fox and Toadfish was a bit of a toad. Er, I think.

I remember Toadfish and his mates decorating their new pad and Toady giving a tour: "Living room, games room... and this is gonna be The Babe Room", with the implication that Toadfish wouldn't be coaxing many "babes" into there.

Toadfish's actor turned up on Channel 5 guilty pleasure Celebrity Wedding Planners a few years back. It was a Neighbours special and Mark Little was also on it.

Blue Jam

This thread would not be complete without a mention of "Scouse", the British backpacker played by an actual British backpacker who got chatting to some of the cast in a bar one night and blagged a part. And who couldn't do a Scouse accent to save his life. Sadly missing from the internet but the first two appearances of "Scouse" are indelibly burned into my memory. Somehow missed his third though!

https://neighbours-soap-opera.fandom.com/wiki/Scouse_(1995)

Garry Rens. An actual Legend Garry.

Gurke and Hare

Quote from: Blue Jam on March 03, 2022, 01:29:00 PMWhereas Australian soaps showed the teenage characters getting a Saturday job at Greasemonkey's if they had any spare time and weren't constantly doing homework.

They didn't do homework because they were always hacking into the school computer to change it so that it said they had.

checkoutgirl

Quote from: Elderly Sumo Prophecy on March 03, 2022, 01:20:40 PMI watched about 15 minutes of one recently and the main storyline seemed to be about some teenagers putting a picture of one of their classmates on social media or something. It didn't grip me.

I love when they depict the teens having a party in a house. They can't show drinking or smoking or drugs or techno music or that so they have Toadfish chucking a football around. Brilliant.

I haven't watched Neejbouwers since about 1989 because soaps are very repetitive and there's only so many stories you can have and if it's stretched over 10,000 hours of material it's going to be repeating plot points over and over. That's boring as sin.

Everyone has their favourites and where a Scott 'n' Charlene wedding wouldn't interest me in the slightest, Mrs Mangle was quite fun. Or Henry teaching his dweeb relative how to be a cool "dud". Or that lad "Skinner" and the to do about high scores on an arcade game.

Simpler times.

Glebe

Oh 'nyo'! The search for perfect blend comes to an end.


checkoutgirl

Quote from: Beagle 2 on March 03, 2022, 01:22:13 PMWhy was it such a hit with small British children?

The comedy element? Harold Bishop, what was that about? At some point in the eighties, or maybe even from the very beginning, it had a keen eye for camp and was always putting in piss take type characters. Lou was another one. And again Mrs Mangle.

the science eel

Mrs. Mangel's PORTRAIT!

Blue Jam

COFFEE AND CROISSANTS:


Not to mention BOUNCER'S DREAM:


MojoJojo

I think it was just the timeslot it was on that made it popular with kids - it followed on from CBBC didn't it? I personally found it a bit boring but would watch it because it wasn't going to go outside now was I.

Just looking at a neighbours wiki and it's like someone remembering a dream:
QuoteIn January 1995, Toadie wanted to go to the beach but Stonie did not want to. He moved into Ramsay Street with the rest of his family at the same time. Toadie was a bit of a tearaway and was getting into trouble a lot at school. In around 1997 he developed a crush on older woman Sarah Beaumont. One time she kissed him on the cheek in The Coffee Shop and he was overwhelmed, thinking she fancied him. But his happiness was short lived when she said she did not fancy him. This was after Sarah was upset by her former lover Lord Steven Harrow and Toadie saw it and menaced him. Sarah and Toadie remained friends. In 1998 Toadie won a radio competiton and also met singer Dave Graney but Toadie annoyed him and Dave took a dislike to him.

Toadie became friends with Lance Wilkinson.

checkoutgirl

Quote from: Blue Jam on March 03, 2022, 01:37:12 PMMark Little

He was a stand up comedian and I'm sure he came to England at some point in the nineties for a shot at some form of stardom there. He certainly popped up on a few shows here and there around that time.

MojoJojo

Yeah, Mark Little did a lot of university shows.

It's surprising that Paul Robinson has a fairly detailed summary on that wiki but it completely fails to mention that he was in a plane that got blown up by a bomb and lost a leg.

Blue Jam

Quote from: checkoutgirl on March 03, 2022, 02:12:40 PM[Mark Little] was a stand up comedian and I'm sure he came to England at some point in the nineties for a shot at some form of stardom there. He certainly popped up on a few shows here and there around that time.

Didn't he present The Big Breakfast for a decently long stretch? I remember him doing lots of 90s TV and being "that bloke who was in Neighbours" appeared to be a secondary thing.

Sebastian Cobb

Quote from: Cuellar on March 03, 2022, 01:32:38 PM"It's easier to imagine the end of the world, than to imagine the end of Neighbours"
- Mark Fisher

Looks like a bit of a race at the moment.

Glebe

Was it this or Home and Away were annoying young people were always saying "Gimme (a) break"?

Nowhere Man

When she was still alive my Grandma fucking loved Neighbours, and she was in her 80s. She'd probably still be watching today bless her. Besides that, I barely remember a thing from the show, weren't there characters called Toad and Ringo or some daft shit?


Edit: Ah Toadie.

Elderly Sumo Prophecy

Quote from: Glebe on March 03, 2022, 01:55:56 PMOh 'nyo'! The search for perfect blend comes to an end.



SUDDENLY YOU'RE SEEEEEING ME
JUUUUST THE WAAAY I AAAAM

Bad Ambassador

God, Lance was such a dweeb.

Johnny Yesno

Helen Daniels's special 'herbal' tea.

Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth

Like many, I watched it as a kid, because it was that or go outside/do homework. Then there was a period at university when we all watched it every day, sometimes both broadcasts - perhaps unsurprisingly, we were a bunch of potheads. I got out of the habit around final exams time and never bothered getting back into it. I didn't even realise it was still going.

My mum has seen two of the Neighbours onstage: Mark Little doing standup at the Edinburgh festival some time in the late '90s, in a set that ended with him getting nude for some reason; and Toadfish (fully clothed) doing panto a few years ago.

Quote from: Glebe on March 03, 2022, 02:31:12 PMWas it this or Home and Away were annoying young people were always saying "Gimme (a) break"?
They always said "Rack off" on Neighbours.

Home and Away always seemed like the Pepsi or Smiths Crisps of Ozzy soaps. Then there were the Happy Shopper ones, like Shortland Street.

Blue Jam

Quote from: Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth on March 03, 2022, 03:01:06 PMMy mum has seen two of the Neighbours onstage: Mark Little doing standup at the Edinburgh festival some time in the late '90s, in a set that ended with him getting nude for some reason; and Toadfish (fully clothed) doing panto a few years ago.
They always said "Rack off" on Neighbours.

I've seen Kylie Minogue in the flesh! It was in 2001 when I was an undergrad with a part-time job in events catering. I was busy setting up the tables for the Brit Awards while the rehearsals were going on and Kylie and her entourage came out to watch Ali G and Shaggy and their pole dancers. She looked very relaxed and very smiley.

I still mentally refer to Kylie as "Pukeface" simply because this was how she was always referred to in Diary of a Manic Street Preachers Fan from David Stubbs Mr. Agreeable's page in Melody Maker. I'm sure she's absolutely lovely though.

Leonardo Dicaprio is still "Sproutface" thanks to TMWRNJ.