Yes it's simplistic, yes it's whitebread, yes it's toned down for its 6.30 slot and yes, like all dramas (soap operas if you will), storylines move sometimes at a pace approaching continental drift.
Recognising all these things (which aren't unique to this programme and should be considered the price of admission to soap land), Neighbours is still a good show.
It's lightweight escapism for the modern age. In Ramsey St (incidentally - why is it called a street when it's clearly a court? - Pinoak Crt in Vermont Sth, Victoria - and I must say I like the fact that it's right near Billabong park).
Sorry, got sidetracked there. In Ramsey St, everyone knows each other and for the most part cares about each other as well. There is no terrorism, water is plentiful, the disadvantaged are taken care of and everyone with a job is treated well and paid fairly. If you don't have a job, you probably have some other kind of problem (eg alcoholism) which your family and friends will help you through.
There certainly aren't idiot politicians jumping up and down about the sanctity of the flag or the Maoists ruining education by teaching biased history. (And if they did, Susan would no doubt set them straight).
It was last night though that I really got my full appreciation of Neighbours - my housemate Tim had his girlfriend Steph over and in the course of bringing her up to speed on happenings and characters (most people have watched a bit of Neighbours at some point or another), I realised how funny and jam packed of soapy action the show actually is.
In the last six months or so we've had an evil twin (the other was in a coma), the hot girl with a dark past involving drugs, car stealing and what we hoped was hardcore porn (but was only FHM level) - who was also in a coma briefly, a Russian mail order bride (I love hearing the word "bogan" in a bad Russian accent), two brothers arguing which is the father of their girlfriends baby - and threatening to sue the doctor (Dr. Karl - old skool Neighbour) for malpractice, not to mention the evil twins' sister playing pranks (to drive him mad) on the guy who ran over the good twin (thinking it was the evil twin) while trying to save the hot girl.
Add to this mix a teenage goth girl who never listens to goth music, self mutilates, hangs out with other goths, watches vampire movies, writes bad poetry or does anything remotely gothlike beyond dress like one and the this-would-be-so-much-funnier-if-they-were-gay odd couple comic moments between Harold and Lou (old skool Neighbours) as well as Paul Robinson (Neighbours very old skool) returning and dumping his wife on their wedding night and you have dramatic gold.
Other things I like about Neighbours are the writing - it's usually tucked away, almost subversively, but every once in a while, there is a line that beautifully takes the piss out of the whole suburban dream or the construct of soapies or some other aspect of Neighbourilia and makes me think that there are some very cool people writing for this show. Yes, they have a tight formula that they work within but this is where the creative types really get to shine. (I noticed that a one off character late last year was named Bob Mould - the lead singer of alternaRock band Husker Du)
I must confess that I also like the Melbourne feel of the show - I've been in Canberra for 5 years now and have no plans to return to Melbourne in the immediate future but I guess it will always be "home" in some way. When compared to the very Sydney styled Home and Away (which I should admit I really never watch beyond what I might catch for a minute or so while flicking around during ad breaks), even the look of the programme is quite different.
I can't tell exactly but Home and Away looks like it's been shot on some glossier higher definition digital system while Neighbours still has that slightly older, warmer Betacam feel. (I'm sure Neighbours uses digital as well now, it just seems a little softer - but in the right way).
Home and Away has always seemed to use more dramatic lighting as well - for years Neighbours sets were illuminated by what is known in the industry as wank-banks - massive ceilings full of fluoro-like lights that washed the whole set in soft light, killing all shadows - but of late, there seems to have been a shift in this approach, introducing a little more contrast.
(Ever seen a ceiling in a soap opera?)
Anyway, there you have it, my love of Neighbours in a nutshell. Putting aside the fact that Erinsborough is one of the whitest neighbourhoods I have ever seen (token ethnic families have lived in Ramsay St but they never stay long), Ramsay St is just a nice place to visit for half an hour on weekdays.
If you want to get up to speed on happenings in the neighbourhood, you might like to check out The Spin Starts Here - they do a weekly Neighbours wrapup (with a healthy dose of humour). Enjoy.
(Some of the other stuff on that site is a bit patchy and web-cliquish but the wrapup is a highlight)
Actually, before I go, I should mention that I also really like the Howard Arkley inspired opening titles of the show - this is what the NGV has to say about him.
Simultaneously serene and edgy, Arkley’s work creates an intriguing tension between the inherent beauty of suburbia and its darker more menacing side.
Neighbours on the other hand, has taken the style and removed the menace - but you can't help feel that behind the selection of this style there was again just a little subversion.
So there you go.
Alright, one more thing - here's an interview with the supervising story editor from a Neighbours fan site.
