Introduction
Back in July 2022, fans saw the end of a 37-year run of the popular Australian soap opera, Neighbours. The final episode saw the return of a number of big stars, who began their careers on the show, such as Kylie Minogue, Margot Robbie, Delta Goodrem, Guy Pierce and Natalie Imbruglia.
As the final episode reached a record-breaking rating of 3 million viewers, it didn’t take long for the series to be picked up and revived by Amazon Freevee.
Jump forward to September the 18th 2023, and the first episode of the new revived series has aired, but how does it compare to the show’s original run?
Synopsis
Neighbours is set in Melbourne, Australia on ‘Ramsey Street’. The show follows the different characters who live on the street by showing their personal and professional lives and all the drama occurring in their lives. The show focuses on a wide range of characters from teenagers to the elderly, from café workers and bar staff to rich, powerful businessmen. There is never a dull moment on Ramsey Street.
Analysis
Characters
The revival of neighbours saw the return of many fan-favourite characters including Paul Robinson, Terese Willis, Toadie Rebecchi, Karl and Susan Kennedy, Jane Harris, Leo Tanaka, and Mackenzie Hargreaves. Seeing these returning main cast members felt refreshing in a way as there is a feeling of familiarity.
As well as this, Harold Bishop, Lucy Robbinson and Mike Young have all retuned in a guest capacity with their own storylines. All three of these characters were popular characters from the show in the 80s and the 90s, so its clear that Amazon Freevee is trying to appeal to recent fans of the show, but also people who might not have watched the show since the 90s.
The show has also introduced a range of new characters, including the new Varga-Murphy family- a new family consisting of two mothers and their two sons. I actually found it quite funny to see the show from their perspective as I’ve watched the show for years and just taken everyone to be normal, but seeing this new family adjust to how friendly and nosey the neighbours on Ramsey Street actually are has been hilarious as characters have been letting themselves into their house, joining them for dinner at the pub and telling them the history of the street.
The show has also introduced a new character called Haz Devkar, who is the new owner of Harold’s Café. After seeing him in the first few episodes, it seems that his only purpose in the show is to be a love interest for Mackenzie, after the death of Hendrix last year. Hopefully they will add more storylines for his character at the show goes on.
The most anticipated new character in the revival has been the new guest character Reece Sinclair, played by Hollywood actress Mischa Barton. In the first few episodes her identity was hidden, and she was seen having a secret affair with Jane’s son, Byron- but as soon as her identity is revealed, there are some very interesting scenes as she comes head-to-head with Paul Robinson.
Also in the first few episodes, there were a few surprise cameos from some other characters, which were kept a secret until the episodes aired- these cameos included appearances by Imogen Willis, Daniel Robinson, Angie Rebecchi and Callum Rebecchi.
Storylines
There have been a number of storylines occurring over the first few episodes. The good thing about the revival is that there has been a two year time jump since the last time we were on Ramsey Street, so a lot has happened in that time.
The main storyline of the first few episodes must be the big wedding. In all the promotional material for the show’s revival, there was a big wedding teased as fans were told to “save the date”, and in the first episode we discover it was between Terese and Toadie. I have to admit, I never thought I’d see these two characters together, and if I’m honest, I still don’t see them being together. They’ve lived on the same street for ten years and never looked twice at each other as both characters have been married twice in that time. I felt that this storyline was quite forced as the writers just wanted something shocking, to make the audience keep watching- which it has done, just by sacrificing what we already know about the characters.
Another big storyline is the arrival of Reece Sinclair. Little is known about this character when she arrives at Lassiter’s hotel. We know she holds a secret and is having an affair with Byron Stone. Once her identity is revealed, I did find it slightly anti-climactic, but it does bring for some interesting scenes between her, Paul and Lucy Robbinson.
Yet again, Karl and Susan are having marital problems. They’ve been together since before they moved on the street almost 30 years ago, but they’ve always had issues, mainly being Karl’s multiple affairs- but this time its down to money. After a terrible investment by Karl, Susan was forced to take early retirement so she would get a pay out to save them from their financial problems, but now she resents Karl. Will they ever move past this, or will they separate for the hundredth time?
Summary
Overall, the revival of Neighbours is interesting, with new characters and storylines, however, it does feel like there is a big gap in show, as many characters such as Aaron and David, Chloe, Nicolette, Levi, Amy, Ned, Zara, Freya and Clive are no where to be seen, and realistically it seems a bit excessive for this many people to move away from one street in the space of two years.
However, the show does well with the cast it has got and introduces some new, fresh storylines, which I can’t wait to see unravel over the next few months.
Overall Rating: 7/10 – Respectable
Recommendation: Yes
