The best theme tune on Tv?... maybe not. (Neighbours)

Member Name: JJJJ

Product:	Neighbours
Date:	02/09/09 (141 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some classic characters over the years

Disadvantages: Gone downhill recently

In my teenage years I used to be a massive fan of the popular Australian Soap 'Neighbours', watching it daily after school at 5.35 on the BBC. Nowadays, for me, Neighbours represents very infrequent viewing - in fact, I perhaps catch one episode every couple of months, meaning that I'm no longer the fan that I once was.

The show started way back in 1985, and the early years featured some of the most entertaining characters - we had the iconic 'Des and Daphne' (Paul Keane & Elaine Smith), 'Scott and 'Charlene' (Jason Donovan & Kylie Minogue), plus of course the ever present Helen Daniels (played by the late Anne Haddy), and her son 'Jim' (Alan Dale), who now plies his trade in Hollywood, having appeared in shows like '24', and the occasional movie -'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' to name one example.

Set in the fictional district of 'Erinsborough' (an anagram of the word 'Neighbours'), the show primarily focusses on the families who live in Ramsey Street. Like any other soap there is conflict, heartbreak, and a smattering of humorous sequences. Unlike the majority of our UK soaps however, there is usually an uplifting feel to proceedings, and Neighbours is worlds apart from 'Eastenders', which has to be the most depressing example of television that I have ever seen.

My favourite era of the show was the one where Karl Kennedy (Alan Fletcher) and family first came into it, and we had the bubbling rivalry between Lou Carpenter (Tom Oliver), and Harold Bishop (Ian Smith) for the affection of Madge (Ann Charlestone). What made Neighbours so entertaining back then was its frequent random nature, and I remember many episodes where pets had dreams - 'Bouncer' the dog had a few - probably the most bizarre of which can be seen at - www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH2zx9lcV44 . That said, I do remember someone's pet sheep having a dream in a later episode which was a bit of a mind-bender.

Nowadays, Neighbours is shown on Channel5 in the UK, meaning that the short episodes are annoyingly punctuated by advert breaks. The other reason why I don't really watch the programme anymore, is the fact that is focusses to much on the youngsters in the street, and it seems to take itself much more seriously than it used to.

Neighbours used to be brilliant viewing, and I have so many entertaining memories of the show - who could forget the time when Madge fell down the stairs? (and it was obviously a big male stunt double in a blond wig) -
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2slECunA4zU , or when Lou and Andy from Little Britain made an appearance in the bar - www.youtube.com/watch?v=sv7CvsEKe2g - classic stuff!

Summary: Aussie Soap