h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Neighbours - The TV Show (A Work in Progress) - A1172459
Author: Cyzaki - Join the (un)official F1 supporters' club A1918244 - U223973

This was in the Collaborative Writing Workshop but wasn't getting much attention. I know it's short, but it's hard to write much without dating it.

Hi there
This looks like a brief, but very informative entry on what seems to be an important show. Nice I’ve never seen it, and I don’t know about it, so my feedback will just have to be nitpicks-

The title should be along the format lines of ‘Neighbours’ - The TV Show. With single quotes around the word Neighbours.

“only 171 episodes”
I’d say 171 episodes is quite a lot. Many shows lasting several years don’t make it to 171. So the only there is a bit confusing to me

“early 80’s” I believe the house format for speaking about decades would be 1980s in this case.

27th October, 1986 --> 27 October, 1986
January 1988 --> January, 1988

“However, there have been feuds between families, the most notable in recent times” it’s always better to give a date than to say ‘recent’ I think. What year(s) did this plot line run?

Also, when you say use the title of the show in the entry, please put it in italics

Good luck with this.

I'll have a look at all those points - funny how it's easy to sub someone else's entry, but when you write your own you do so many things that you'd edit out in any other entry...

I said 'only 171 episodes' because if you think it's been running since the early 1980s, with one episode every week day (more or less) 171 episodes is hardly any in the history of the show. It might be a lot for other shows, but it's nothing to a long-running soap.

The Kennedy/Scully feud has been running since the Scully family joined, in... urm... 2000 and it's still going on now - I don't know how to describe it other than recent, unless I should take the reference out altogether?

I've sorted the other points I think

Perhaps the point with the 171 episodes thing is that Neighbours - in contrast to most British soaps - went out every day. So if had lasted 171 episodes, it would only have been around for 34 weeks and a day - not long for a soap!

Maybe the episode every day factor is worth mentioning?

Also maybe that it's usually based around two main families in Ramsay Street - the original ones being the Mitchells and the Robinsons?

Another idea you might like to try is describing the characters that people who have gone on to be more famous played. Charlene and Kylie Minogue being quite an interesting example.

Also, there's one exception that I know of that went on to be a talented and successful actor rather than a dodgy pop star - Guy Pearce. Who went from being Scott Robinson's boring mate Mike to appearing in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and LA Confidential and the like.

Just some ideas... oh, and I'm pretty sure there no 'h' in Natalie Imbruglia

Don't take out the Kennedy/Scully reference on my account!

Recent is a dangerous word though. If I had my way, the EG would never use the word 'recent' and would write around it.

But of course, if I had my way the whole of the EG would be about Ohio and the Wright Brothers

I added a footnote about the 171 episodes thing.

I've already said it's based around families in Ramsay street and who the original families were...

How do you mean describing the characters that the famous people played?

I'll add Guy Pearce.

How can I word that bit without using the dreaded 'recent' then?

It might be nice to say whch city Erinsborough is a suburb of. It also might read smoother if you reverse the order of the sentence concerning location ie. In the cul-de-sac of ramsay street, in the suburb of Erinsborough. Is it worth mentioning the relatively lighthearted nature of the show compared with british soaps eg eastender etal. Also direct readers who enjoy neighbours towards equivalent antipodean shows like nome and away. nice entry though and especially of interest to the students among us.

Finally - I flagged this up in Challengeh2g2 a few months back, so it's good to see someone take up the challenge.

[Cue groans as I start with my usual intro]

Just a *few* comments


* Erinsborough - I think you'll find that's an anagram.

* It's made by Reg Grundy productions - that's the company that was responsible for other 'classics' such as Prisoner Cell Block H.

* Like all major soaps, Neighbours has a habit of recycling stories - what worked once with the teen characters can always work again. One of the biggest episodes ever was the marriage of Scott and Charlene (to the strains of Angry Anderson singing 'Suddenly'). Recently they did another big teen wedding with a twist - the bride and groom were in a car accident just hours after getting married, and the bride's body was nevr found. Hmm...

* Another BIG name who apeared in Neighbours was Russell Crowe, at around the same time as Kylie and Craig McLachlan.

You'll have to help with old plotlines - I'm only 20 and can *just about* remember that Paul guy's breakdown (you know, the one who was married to one of the twins...) so if any reference to things like that is needed, you'll need to tell me everything!

Erinsborough is an anagram? Oh, Our Neighbours! Tee hee hee! Is that intentional - should I mention it?

I'll add Russel Crow, and I'll put something in about Reg Grundy when I'm more awake

Our Neighbors even - surely that's not right, that's the American spelling...

No, the American spelling can't be right

But the show is Australian, not American... so no, the American spelling wouldn't be right...

I don't think going deep into storylines is essential, otherwise you'll be here forever. But you can hint at the way storylines are recycled as I did in the Coronation Street entry - look at a character and see how their archetype - their equivalent - is in the show even if they themselves are not.

You didn't see early episodes and I have to admit I haven't seen it since Kerry Mangel was in it (and I understand her 'baby' daughter is now an adult character in the show!!). But you could show how originally the show was about two families, the Ramsays and the Robinsons, which meant that stories tended to be set in the domestic environment and ran through all the possible stories that a family could go through. Both families might have left a long time ago, but other families - such as the Scullys, Carpenters and Willises - have come to take their place, and continue similar stories that focus on teen angst, financial worries and falling in and out of love.

I have no idea, but if you can find a match or almost match for any of these, then that could be a way of covering that angle. Although I noticed you mention feuds between families and give a modern example, so you could add to the end of that sentence 'echoing the kind of feuds that Max Ramsay used to be involved in right at the start.

The really funny thing about Neighbours was that when it was axed, it swapped channels, and when the next episode aired, every single house in the street had been redecorated (they'd had to rebuild the sets) and everyone had different haircuts. This caused much confusion when it was shown overseas - letters to the Radio Times expressed viewers' disbelief that a complete makeover could happen between episodes.

Like *that*'s the strangest thing: Lucy Robinson changed face three times and her father Jim never even noticed!

Two final points and then I'll get back to work

* The theme tune was written by Tony Hatch, also famous to British viewers as the composer of one other famous soap theme, Crossroads.

* "It was created by Channel Seven in the early 1980s". Just found a bit more info that could go here: "It was created by Reg Watson for 'Reg Grundy' Productions'Reg Grundy was a big name in serial dramas, having also been the company behind shows such as Prisoner Cell Block H. and first shown on Channel Seven in 1985'.

Others have talked about its more lighthearted approach compared to UK soaps - this has been considered as one of the reasons for its success - a certain escapism factor.

other manifestations of this include the fact that it hardly ever rains, and there are more 'beautiful people' then there are either in real life or in say Eastenders...

sprout

Greebo and I watch this every day

shazz

OK, I think that's everything covered that people have mentioned so far...

I'm not sure what the exact chronology is, but as you say, it started in Australia in 1985, and was shown by the beeb from 1986... but the beeb showed it from the first episode, so there's a definite time lag, and I'm pretty sure we aren't exactly a year behind. I have vague memories of Christmas episodes turning up at odd times, for instance. I think this may be *why* Neighbours doesn't really do real-life events, because the makers know how big it is over here and how odd it will look.

This is also responsible for the phenomenon of Neighbours stars working in Britain (whether singing, doing panto, or even some proper acting) while still appearing in 'current' episodes of the show. Perhaps in the past this has helped them to launch themselves over here, because of their profile still being high with UK 'Neighbours' viewers - although of course it didn't work with Stefan Dennis.

Thought: I don't watch it normally, but is Stefan Dennis currently appearing in Sky's football soap 'Dream Team'?

Second thought: Cyzaki, are you old enough to remember who Stefan Dennis was?