Wish we'd had teachers that looked like that! (Neighbours)

Member Name:

Product:	Neighbours
Date:	04/12/01 (256 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good Mix Of Comedy and Drama, Don't You Just wish You Lived There?

Disadvantages: None

"Neighbours", the hugely popular Australian soap made its first ever appearance on BBC 1 over 15 years ago.

Since then, the ratings and storylines have just got better and better.
Although, when you first watch it, it may seem ridiculous and terribly unrealistic, it soon grows on you and the "bad" points make it a "good" show.

That's the problem with most of today's british soaps, they're much too serious and down right boring! "Neighbours" and rival soap "Home And Away" moved further aside from this, to provide a mixture of comedy and drama rolled into one.

Since "Neighbours began" we've seen all kinds of wierd and wacky goings on. Here is the lowdown on how the show is standing today:

CHARACTERS
For a start, it is packed full of beautiful young women! Teresa Bell (played by Krista Vendy), Dione Bliss (Madeline West) and Flick Scully (Holly Valance) really do make this once plagued with old biddies show into a lively, saucy action series!

Other characters are:
The popular, humourous Lou Carpentar, who can never be taken too seriously.
And then there's that pest who had to return: Harold Bishop. He must be the most annoying fellow I've seen on TV!
Slightly less aged characters such as Karl, Susan, Maggie, Evan, Joe and Lyn also steal all main plots.

I could almost guarantee that within a few years time, all the couples that are together now will be seperated and living with their old "best friends".

Some really young faces also shine through the drizzle of old, Tad and Paul, Michelle and Leo, Lolly and Emily.
Lets just say one thing, if real teenagers were like Leo and Michelle, know one would ever have any problems!

Emily and "Lolly" (Louise) are the tiny little girls, just 5 & 6. They are acted out farily poor, there's just no expression in the way they talk!



STORYLINES
Recent storylines that caught my eye:
Steph (another hyperactive lass) and Woody's big car crash. For once, a disaster which looked real!
Louise and Lou storyline. Lou discovers that "Lolly" isn't really his child. There's always likely to be a long, tangled web of twists and turns in these sort of storylines.
And babe Dione was shocked to find out she was pregant! And even worse, the father is her enemy Darcy Tyler (it'd take ages to tell you about this shenanigan!)

Other storylines that leave me bored out of my skin are:
Anything to do with Matt Hancock and Flick Scully. For months now, Matt's been dressing up as Elvis and performing live gigs, Flick by his side as the King Of Rock'n Roll's wife. What Flick doesn't know is that Matt fancies her!

Storylines that often touch me are when people die. The producers of the show manage to provide the right slow music and words that just leaves you sobbing. The biggest culprit of this was in May 2001, when Harold's beloved wife Madged died of cancer. Oh, how I cried!

SETTINGS:
Just like other soaps, characters rarely go beyond the safe walls of their cosy little village. In this case, Erinsborough.

The main "meeting place" is Lou's Pub. Everyone who's old enough goes there regulary for a "pint".
Antoher favourite is The Coffee Shop. Not a very exciting place, but there's something magical that draws all the residents of Ramsay Street to it!

The dreaded hospital! It's a well known fact that whenever someone enters the hospital, they don't ever see day again.
And, there's the tiny surgery which is run by Karl Kennedy. Appropriatly, he seems to be the Doctor for every main cast member of Neighbours.

FINAL

If you thought Neighbours was another one of those sour tasteless shows in the beginning, you might of be righ
t. But, in time, the show has steadily evolved into one of the best programmes on Terrestrial TV.

Summary: