Everybody Needs Good Neighbours

Okay, so I watched the 2005 Neighbours finale last night. And who woulda thought; NostraBEVIS predicted the ending a couple of weeks back. But I'm not here to boast about guessing soapie plotlines.*

I wanted to discuss the show itself for 2005, as it appears to have received a rather poor review (and one I think is unfair) in The Australian.

I believe that in the past two years, Neighbours has really found its feet and grown as a show. We're now seeing storylines that - while plausibility might be questionable - drama is not. A soapie, after all, is only ever trying to be a soapie. As Peter said in a comment to one of my earlier tirades about TV a few weeks ago, you must judge a soapie based on its merits as a soapie; otherwise your criteria are out of place and your whole argument is null and void.

That being established, the exciting storylines on Neighbours over the past two years (those that have had Wifey and I tuning in - initially something we were embarrassed to admit, but then gradually we came to have a fondeness for the show ... and better yet, discover that others in our friendship circles were also watching) include Karl's heart attack (he technically died for a few minutes until an Ambulance reached him), Izzy's perpetual deception to Karl about her baby's father, Susan and Karl almost getting back together a few times (kind of), Dylan and Stingray being set up for a crime they were coerced to commit, the fire at Lassiter's which was started by Paul, the affair between Paul and Liljana that broke up the Bishop family for a while, the eventual mending of this broken family, the plane crash that took that family's lives, the documentary being filmed on life in Ramsey Street (the plot device brought about to enable many previous stars of the show to return and help celebrate the show's 20th year), the mobsters chasing after Paul (and the subsequent loss of his leg), and so on.

Those are the ones that spring to mind immediately when I think back over which storylines have held my interest the most. (I've felt that a few others have been 'crap', with the rest all sitting somewhere in the 'enjoyable' category.)

Much of the acting is surprisingly good. I think the show has an unfair stigma of being a cesspool of talentless hacks, but the audition process is actually pretty taxing. True, some of the smaller, more 'passing' roles are played by talentless hacks, but the majority of the main roles are played out with style. Often subtle, which is why I think many people miss the brilliance of it. It's not like theatre, where all action must be exaggerated to reach those in the back rows - the cameras are right up there in the actors' faces, allowing for more 'slight' acting and a better level of skill. (I think this is why one or two actors who seem to be born theatre actors grate with me at times - it's due to what I perceive as their 'pantomime performance'.)

The cliffhanger last night was indeed the attempt on Paul's life by resident 'saint' Harold Bishop. Personally, I hope (and mostly expect) Paul will recover from this attack in the new year, and then Harold's going to have to face the demons of his trip to the dark side, but the journey we as an audience have gone on, watching Harold's family be killed and his grief be held at bay as long as possible (until Harold eventually felt that Connor deciding it was time for him to 'move on' was another personal insult and loss for himself), culminated in the closing moments of the show for the year (purportedly happening on Boxing Day afternoon).

While some might view this, and (knowing Harold as the Salvation Army, harmless, flappable, tuba-playing softy that he usually is) scoff at the very idea, others of us were able to see it coming. *Ahem* Not because the writing was flawed, necessarily, but because we were able to see the steps being played out in what it would take for a caring, happy man to be led down the path to murderous intent.

Bear in mind; this is, after all, a soapie drama. And it was the last episode of the year, in what was a particularly tumultuous year on Ramsey Street.

I have a confession to make. On Thursday, while out driving on work business, I had cause to be in the Nunawading area. This is where Channel 10 has their Melbourne studios, for those who don't know. Well, I happen to know the location of the street where Neighbours is filmed (it's semi-common knowledge I think, but I'm not going to provide the actual street name here), and it's not far from the Channel 10 studios (as you'd expect). So I took a five-minute detour.

They weren't filming, and there was actually nobody about, but I felt 'better' for having had my 'fix' of just driving in, looking at each of the houses in turn, and then driving straight on out again.

Why did I feel the need to visit the street? Crazy, I guess. Plus, it's a credit to the writers of the show that the day before the final episode for the year, I was thinking about it enough to feel compelled to head there myself. Just for fun.

(I know; I'm sad.)

The point is, it was so inside my head that I wanted to have a look. And true, I thought they might have been filming at the time (it turns out they were filming in the street the day before, as a colleague of mine apparently knows the grip [lighting guy] on the show and she told him that I'd visited the street).

And the interesting thing to note (which certainly wasn't lost on me), was the equal and opposite path Paul Robinson, resident baddie, has been on in the past few weeks. I think the same event sparked it (the plane crash). While Paul (and Izzy) survived the crash and have started to become significantly better people (although still with their own brand of living to excess), Harold's life has been turned upside-down by the loss of David, Liljana and Serena. So by the end of the year, we see an almost-completely reformed Paul offering Lyn a job, helping her with her resume and finances even if she doesn't take the job offer, trying to buy Izzy a thoughtful gift (I hope he didn't drown the kitten she didn't want!), throwing a Christmas luncheon for the whole street (true, they'd massively over-catered for what they thought would just be the two of them ... and they did cut the whole street's power with their over-abundance of Christmas lights, but the Paul of old wouldn't have cared about everyone else), and trying to be a normal, happy family with Izzy and Elle. He gives a boxful of gifts to Harold 'for the needy', and we begin to see how Harold is becoming the nasty one while Paul starts to improve his character.

If Paul doesn't survive Harold's attack, it will be sweet irony for him (in true soapie style) that just when he starts to make a decent go of his life, it is ended for a prior wrongdoing (even if only he's only at secondary fault). But if (and I expect when) he recovers, I rather think we might see some of the old evil Paul back again.

In other news, I'm glad the Timmins boys were released from gaol (the plausibility of their release on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, just hours after their names were cleared via a hidden microphone [paperwork and red tape weren't a problem on a public holiday?] and without their family being informed of the news is fairly slim, but we shouldn't be raining on a Christmas Day miracle, Ramsey Street style), and Steph's nightmares about Drew finally brought her around to the realisation that they meant her cancer is back. Will she give birth next year only to die shortly afterwards? Is Max going to be widowed again? Will the identity of the real bomber / poisoned letter sender finally be revealed? (I'm guessing this story will be re-opened if-and-when Paul recovers from Harold's attack, giving us a new piece of suspenceful drama for the new year.) And will Stu's efforts to free Dylan and Stingray earn him the hero status he probably deserves (especially after having to 'help' the police convict them in the first place)?

Those are my rambling thoughts on the show. I'd welcome yours.




* That's your job - in the comments section - to point out how clever I am.