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> Revivals, Cancellations & Anniversaries
by Michael
Alas in Neighbours land nothing is ever straightforward. After the tumultuous events of 2022 when
Neighbours was 'rested' and then revived months later, 2025
was seemingly going to be a year of celebration where we could indulge and reflect on a classic and sometimes bonkers 40 years of our favourite soap, whilst
looking forward to a more hopeful future. I suppose, on reflection, the radio silence in recent months from Amazon regarding another 400 episode order was the
first sign that things behind-the-scenes have not been quite as glorious as hoped, and unfortunately 2025 will now be tarnished by yet another cancellation as
they have put a pin in Neighbours' celebration balloon. This news is not completely unexpected as the television market is a fickle beast, but I, and I suspect
many others, were hoping that nostalgia and longevity would carry Neighbours through at least another couple of years.
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But how did we get to this point? It's worth rewinding a few years to remind ourselves of the previous time Neighbours' tenure was coming to an end. 'Thank
you for loving us - We love you!'. Those were the words plastered on the screen at the end of what I, and most other watchers, presumed to be the
last ever episode, as the soap opera which had endured for so long was suddenly and inexplicably booted off our screens, 37 years and 8903 episodes into its
run, in mid-2022. And for all intents and purposes, this had the feel of a last swan song; a roll call of celebrity comebacks, some of whom had not been seen
since the eighties, a storyline which neatly wrapped up the trials and tribulations of our regulars, and even the appearance of the ghosts of the dearly
departed. I was hoodwinked into believing this was it, that there would be no sudden reprieve from an online streamer or mainstream channel, and
Neighbours
would end its run on a strange number of years and a strange number of episodes.
After the excitement of the finale died down, it all went quiet for a few months as the dust settled, but as summer turned into autumn and we reached
November 2022, there were odd rumblings that something was afoot. The exterior Lassiters set had remained relatively untouched since the spring, the
interior sets were still sitting in storage, and rumours were circulating that the positive effect of the finale hadn't gone unnoticed by certain broadcasters.
But even so the shock I felt when I saw the Twitter message that
Neighbours was coming back in 2023, the news being brought to us by four stalwarts of the
show, with an initial order of 400 episodes, immediately made me realise something. Not only would
Neighbours now be passing through the 9000 episode mark,
but it would also be reaching a very special anniversary in March 2025. Although the show has now been cancelled again, there is still a feeling of disbelief
that this show, initially axed by Channel Seven in its first year, in trouble in the mid-90s, shunted over to Channel 11 in 2011 and then cancelled once
again by Channel 5 in 2022 is somehow, like a truly great soap comeback, still on our screens - for now.
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So where do you start with a show that will have been on our screen for nearly 41 years when, unless another broadcast picks it up, it comes to an end in
December 2025? I guess, for me, what has made
Neighbours enduring and special over the years is its unique mixture of familial issues, dramatic moments and
truly spectacular calamities, sometimes all in the same episode (Dee's ridiculous car crash for example). We cling to those moments of the show where
everything came together beautifully, such as in the 1997 finale when three killer storylines collided; not only did Karl and Billy succumb to their own
temptations but Ben's stock car race ended in disaster. Or 2004 when Lassiters went up in a blaze of glory, Steph was implicated in her grandfather's death
and Paul Robinson made a return for the ages. Let us also not forget the 20th anniversary celebrations in which Annalise returned to film a special
documentary and in the same year a plane crashed into the Bass Strait thanks to the machinations of Paul's wayward son, wiping out Harold's family and
forcing Dylan and Connor to go on the run.
The show has tried to replicate those unique instances in later years with Toadie's explosive wedding in 2013 and Finn's murderous rampage, and although
they haven't quite lived up to the billing of previous catastrophes, they have certainly made their own mark on
Neighbours' history. And of course, despite
all the times that the show gets everything so right and it all works wonderfully, there are also those incredible times when everything is just so
deliciously wrong, when farce is the name of the game, and you must rub your eyes in mock horror at the events that are unfolding. One of my first memories
of the show was when I witnessed a most ridiculous plotline, in which Julie Robinson was certain that the short-lived Lim family had eaten her beloved pooch
Holly, and she had to swallow her pride when she realised this wasn't the case. But of course, there have been other even more incredible and divisive
storylines which, rightly or wrongly, somehow saw the light of day, and have weirdly enough enhanced what makes
Neighbours the show it is.
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Let us reflect on
some of those magically absurd moments from yesteryear. Poor Susan suffering amnesia after slipping on a bottle of milk and regressing
back into the mind and body of a teenager is one of Neighbours' biggest talking points, but there are so many others. The balloon crash, the tornado, Libby
swapping heads after Kym Valentine went on sick leave, Fake Dee, Bouncer's dream, Harold throttling Paul, exploding fruit vans, Harold again as he returns
from the dead as a Salvation Army volunteer, Mark finding religion and realising he can't marry Annalise, Marlene's never-ending cruise, Cheryl having an
affair with one of her Ecuadorean kidnappers and Lou breaking off their relationship, Carmella becoming a nun, Toadie's tiresome wrestling antics and some
weird stuff involving a deadly snake stalking the neighbourhood. Even writing these events still makes me smile as it just wouldn't be the same without them,
and although it is nice to see
Neighbours back on our screens once again, I do miss these oddball moments of crazy which somehow found their way from script
meetings to the episodes themselves.
But my favourite, most cherished memory of the dramatic and the ridiculous mixed into an incredible concoction of nutty must be Dee and Toadie's wedding day,
as I alluded to earlier. With Madeleine West leaving, the writers and producers came up with the astonishing idea of having her go missing at sea, using the
proviso that Toadie crashes the wedding car barely moments after getting hitched. I loved this episode so much because of the outrageousness of it; Toadie
driving at barely 20 miles per hour, inexplicably accelerating after he barrels into a crash barrier, and then the car flying off a ramp over a magically
appearing cliff like the S.S. Nimrod as Dee's blond wig flutters outside the window of the car. An incredible moment which I discussed in length with college
friends at the time and a moment which encapsulates everything that on paper is so very wrong but in
Neighbours land is so deliciously right. A shame they
spoilt it years later with the Fake Dee abomination, an event which should probably be struck from the Ramsay Street History Book.
These numerous examples emphasise the ways in which
Neighbours has made its mark in history; a show which can blend together a potent mixture of comedy,
tragedy and drama into any given 22-minute episode with unparalleled success. We have laughed at the classic 'House of Trouser' days and comedy stylings of
Afro Harold, despaired at Lou and his disastrous money-making schemes after getting himself into one financial hole too many, watched open-mouthed as Taj and
Libby crossed teacher/pupil boundaries and Josh had an affair with Naomi, and cried at the tragic deaths and devastating moments of sadness our residents have
had to endure. From Cody Willis's tragic demise by a stray bullet, to Drew's fall from his horse. to the passing of the late and great Madge and Helen
(with real-life mirroring the show as Anne Haddy passed away shortly after leaving her role). One more recent two-hander again sums up the heartbreak and
hope beating away at the crux of what Neighbours does best, as Toadie and Sonya went on a road trip to the beach and Sonya gave Toadie some reflections and
honesty as she succumbed to her terrible illness. Sonya's death still echoes within the Ramsay Street walls, a reminder of the power and influence she had on
people, not least Toadie, as he recently started questioning past events and life choices before making his semi-permanent exit.
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But it's not just
these standout moments that we can conjure instantly in our minds, such as the defining moments of Scott and Charlene's wedding or Daphne's
heartbreaking death, it is also the characters themselves that make the show so special. The current legends of the show, Karl, Susan, Paul and Toadie were
presumably pivotal in persuading Amazon to invest money in resurrecting the show, as without them on board it would have been a non-starter. They give
Neighbours the firm base in which to build from, in a similar way that Helen, Jim and Madge provided structure during the early days. And what characters
we have been privileged to see come and go during their time in Erinsborough, from the obvious ones such as Des, Daphne, Mike, Jane and Paul, to revelations
such as Charlene, Donna Freedman and Beth Brennan whose respective post-Neighbours careers skyrocketed thanks to the show's enduring popularity. There have
of course been dud characters over the years who we have had to endure rather than enjoy (sorry Haz I did try to like you), but on balance we have been left
with a legacy of strong and defined personalities who have added something of value to the show.
Of course, another thing that
Neighbours has done so well is creating the likeable villain, one who goes to the ends of the earths to destroy people's lives
for material gain and yet has that flash of goodness that allows their caddish behaviour to be tolerated. Paul Robinson is the obvious example, a man who has
wrecked many lives, those of his ex-wives and various residents, but will often redeem himself with an inexplicable moment of generosity which will forgive
all past wrongs. I also look at past villainous characters such as Darcy Tyler and Cassius Grady, and even Rhys Lawson, characters who have committed various
misdeeds but have shown a certain amount of charm in other moments, and on occasion become a hero to many for rare selfless acts.
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When the show
started in 1985 we were thrown head first into these residents lives; cantankerous Max Ramsay who always had an opinion and continually butted
heads with his sons, wife and neighbours, Jim Robinson who was much more mellow and was always trying to do the best for his family, the interfering Julie,
and of course the wonderful Helen who would always try and make her family see reason.
And with these roots in place, we have been privileged over the years to witness some
truly wonderful Neighbours moments that have woven themselves into folklore. I look back to 2004 and I always remember how well the execution of Karl's
torrid affair with Izzy was handled, and the unimaginable heartbreak this inflicted on Susan and the other Kennedys. Karl has strayed in the past, but this
well-worked plotline was creative genius and perfectly timed as Karl fell into the clutches of Izzy's machinations, seemingly flattered with the attention.
But it was the episode 'Publish and Be Damned' which will hold a place as classic
Neighbours, as Karl broke Susan's heart after revealing to her that he and
Izzy were expecting a child. In fact, that whole year was spectacular as we had torrid affairs, truly evil enemies such as Gus Cleary and the aptly titled
'The End of an Era' as events came to a fiery head.
If 2004 was the creative high point in my
Neighbours viewing it was slightly unfortunate that things could never reach such a level in subsequent years.
They tried with the plane crash, which I enjoyed thoroughly, but things did start to get a bit off the wall crazy and I welcomed the 2007 reset which helped
to bring the show back down to some resemblance of normality. Which is why, after fifteen years of being nestled in the Channel 5 schedule as one of its
top-rated shows, it seemed a baffling decision to drop a programme that was having a mini renaissance with some interesting and entertaining plotlines,
added to the fact that new characters such as Freya and Byron were adding a bit more zing to proceedings. I suppose the cost outlay of a half an hour daily
programme in the age of numerous streaming services was not financially savvy, but for what
Neighbours has given us and continues to give us, it was a
crying shame to drop it when it was still coming up with fresh ideas.
Although streaming services, social media and the plethora of distractions available in our viewing lives have cut
Neighbours' exposure to a much smaller
scale, compared say to those ratings heyday of the late eighties, I do feel that there is something comforting in the fact that after forty years
Neighbours
is still in our lives and still bringing us the stories and the characters that we can find comfort with. The uproar and upset the initial news of the
latest cancellation brought is proof itself that the legacy and history of the show continues to endure. Of course, it's sad to think that 2025 could quite
possibly be the final year of
Neighbours, but the fact remains that through all these axings, threats of cancellations, schedule and channel changes, it
still maintains an enduring popularity and repeated press coverage.
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Incredible as it is that we are even seeing Neighbours enter a fifth decade, it would be interesting to reflect on what Amazon have brought to the show.
Neighbours 2023 'The Next Chapter' reset has been, considering the tight timelines involved to get the show back on our screens, an unmerited success. We
started off with a jaws-to-the-floor first episode twist as Toadie and Terese got married against all fan predictions, and since then have been treated to
some memorable moments, including David's heroic and heartbreaking death, the paternity dramas involving new family the Varga-Murphys and of course the
glossy 'Death in the Outback' episodes which showcased the high quality location filming
Neighbours can produce, when it has the budget. But things haven't
been perfect in every respect. The production team managed to do an incredible job resurrecting the show in such a short timeframe, but it does sometimes
feel as if the Amazon corporate badge has robbed a little bit of that tongue in cheek personality
Neighbours utilises so well. Some of the storylines have
felt a little bit flat and uninspiring and the execution slightly laboured. But then I still reminisce for a return of the incidental music which used to
frame an episode so well, Janine Maunder's iconic
Neighbours theme tune rendition, and a set of closing credits that have a little bit of personality.
Although it is gratifying that we have been gifted another two years of
Neighbours, allowing the show to reach some important milestones, it is still
concerning to consider what exactly Amazon were looking for when they decided to invest in the show. It would be better for me to think that Amazon saw
Neighbours as a long-term fit on their streaming platform, but the cynic in me also wonders whether
Neighbours was merely brought back as a plaything to
help boost its newly-launched and now defunct 'Freevee' platform. The fact that the confusing and unloved Amazon Freevee was unceremoniously dumped only
months before our beloved show received its own cancellation news seems too much of a coincidence, but again maybe it's not good to look too closely at
these things and be grateful that somebody did indeed decide to bankroll the show, regardless of what their motivations may have been.
So, in this 40th year of Neighbours, as sadness overrides the occasion, let's try and remember that we still have the magic and nostalgia to reflect upon,
the 9000 plus episodes locked in the vault sitting there to enjoy. And although the bubbly has gone a little bit flat and we are reflecting once again on
what the future holds after December 2025, it will still be interesting to see what plans are in place to bring the New Chapter to a close. Although I
wouldn't bank on seeing Kylie and Jason this time around.
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