Neighbours D̶E̶A̶D̶ ALIVE!

Watching the Hollywood episode after is a great reminder of Neighbours wonderful incidental music. I wish I could find it all!
 
There were a few names in the credits I recognised (Sky Mangel) but no idea who they were in that episode.
 
When she was played by Melissa Bell and not Sasha Close or Kylie Flinker.
 
I was surprised to see Kym Valentine. Didn’t she sue the show?

For me Lou was very much the missing component
 
lolly said:
Who is the guy with the grey beard?
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I think that was Lucas Fitzgerald (was in it for late 00s / early 10s). The actor since became a director for the show - the finale episodes were credited to him.

Rita said:
Was that DOUG WILLIS sitting with MADGE? Was it just those 2 or did we have other dead cast members that I blinked and missed?
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Three others;
- Hendrix (boy dancing behind Doug)
- Sonya (woman shown immediately afterwards standing with kids; Toadie's previous wife)
- Finn (in front of the heart; he blew up Denise Van Outen in a car bomb and killed her fiancée by bow & arrow)




With all of the Kylie hype, I was surprised that not only did she not talk, but the finale actually wound up being all about Jane and Mike.

I did enjoy half of the returnees not being allowed to speak (Angie, Ned, Lucas), and at the end just giving up entirely on justifying anyone's presence (Phil Martin was a MOMENT).

Also enjoyed that not all loose ends were tied up (are we supposed to guess that either Joel or Lance may have impregnated Amy?)

They did a pretty good job of getting most of the big hitters from all eras - the only surprising omissions perhaps being Lou, Lyn and Mark Brennan.

Also amazing;
- the idea that Flick recognised Karl merely by a low quality sound clip on a passer-by's phone
- HOT DOROTHY BURKE PICS
- Amy going back to being fun, getting trolleyed and giggling about threesomes
- Holly Valance choosing to film with Nat Imbruglia in a pub beer garden, rather than with her own sister on the actual street

Less amazing;
- Paul getting his happy ending was very much a dreadful ending for Terese
- Time's toll on Stu Parker
- Tad's moustache
 
Kratz said:
I was surprised to see Kym Valentine. Didn’t she sue the show?

For me Lou was very much the missing piece
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Yes! I said I was surprised Lou wasn't in it!


And some offspring of Bouncer.
 
lolly said:
Still wondering who the guy with the long grey beard at the street party was. And the middle aged blonde woman walking with Terese.
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Blonde woman = Lauren Carpenter (recast of Lou's daughter)
 
lolly said:
Still wondering who the guy with the long grey beard at the street party was. And the middle aged blonde woman walking with Terese.
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So apparently this was a RECAST Lauren Carpenter (from the 90s):

200px-Lauren_Carpenter.jpg
 
To give her credit, both Kylie and Jason stated, emphatically apparently, that they didn't want to take the spotlight away from the current cast.
 
Eddie said:
To give her credit, both Kylie and Jason stated, emphatically apparently, that they didn't want to take the spotlight away from the current cast.
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And I approved wholeheartedly of her gracious decision.
 
Eddie said:
To give her credit, both Kylie and Jason stated, emphatically apparently, that they didn't want to take the spotlight away from the current cast.
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Which is fair enough

Although Guy Pearce basically did that anyway!
 
In the Kylie & Jason backstage video Kylie talks about her excitement for the Mike & Jane storyline so clearly, given that they shot their scene months ago, this was always planned and not something that was written in after Guy accepted.
 
The final scene is up on YouTube and apparently Stephanie McIntosh was in it but I can’t place her in the episode
 
Genuinely still affected by that. Such a HUGE part of my childhood and teenage years, and a presence throughout my life whether I watched it or not.

Thank you Neighbours, for the memories. And for giving us Kylie. You were loved.
 
Eddie said:
Genuinely still affected by that. Such a HUGE part of my childhood and teenage years, and a presence throughout my life whether I watched it or not.

Thank you Neighbours, for the memories. And for giving us Kylie. You were loved.
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Seconded. The flashbacks this week have really got to me. A sense of looking back into my own childhood. Neighbours was the television show that I grew up with from, quite literally, a very small child watching at home with my mum to well into my twenties.

And it was just beautifully done.
 
Kratz said:
Seconded. The flashbacks this week have really got to me. A sense of looking back into my own childhood. Neighbours was the television show that I grew up with from, quite literally, a very small child watching at home with my mum to well into my twenties.

And it was just beautifully done.
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I was maybe nine or ten when I started watching - up until the end of my student days in the late 90s and I still caught the occasional episode (or ten) here and there after that. Though I hadn't really seen it properly for over a decade, I continued to hold a lot of affection for it, primarily because of the association with my adolescence.

My strongest bonds with the show however were during the late 80s heyday. My love for Charlene was why I became a Kylie fan.

Nostalgia aside, the returnees and the storylines associated with them have resonated because it has made me more acutely aware of the passage of time - I don't know where it has gone really. I've never felt more old!
 
That monologue by Susan was gorgeous

I loved the part where she said something like "And then you think about the people who can't come back, and you wonder how they would have looked today" and then it showed Madge how she would be now. Something about that got me a little teary :( It was spot on and beautifully done
 
Kratz said:
The final scene is up on YouTube and apparently Stephanie McIntosh was in it but I can’t place her in the episode
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Seen on Twitter she’d recorded a video message for the montage but it was cut from the C5 broadcast for some reason
 
I loved the episode in general, but it seemed weird Charlene not talking - especially when she was always so bubbly when she was in it before.

Highlight for me was seeing Sharon Davies on the video montage. She's one of those characters from the shows golden age who is largely forgotten now.
 
I caught up with the last few episodes last night and went straight into the finale. I did wonder how it was all going to come together given how close to the end they still seemed to be focusing on mundane stories but that's just ignorance on my part I expect because I didn't know or care about the current newer cast.

It was so beautifully done. Guy played it to perfection, such respect for the show to give it all the way he did and the scenes with Jane were wonderful. The acting between the pair of them was superb, a cut above the usual soap standard. It was such a lovely way of doing things, I guess it helped that Jane had been a regular again for a few years too.

It did make me realise that I was never really around for the show's early classic years - I think I was a regular from the early 90s - but it didn't make me appreciate it any less.

And I loved loved loved Susan's final speech :( It felt so important to have the Kennedys getting a crucial part, in fact it would have been utterly disrespectful otherwise. They're the longest serving cast members, closely followed by Toadie, and have anchored the show for years. Even if you add together Paul Robinson's total years they still come out top. It made me properly emotional and you can tell it came from a genuine place. When she ended on "a perfect blend" I could have cried. So happy she got the key moments at the beginning and end of the episode.

Toadie's wedding was so much fun as well, I loved the manic energy from Melanie although I still don't know how that story came to pass :D

I'm really happy they leaned in on the feel good vibe of Neighbours. No major drama just a celebration. I fully expect when Home & Away ends for a mile high tsunami to instantaneously crush the cast, but Neighbours was never that (which actually made the dramatic moments more powerful in a way).
 
Apparantly Channel 5 did a little extra editing to presumably squeeze an extra ad in (HAVE THEY NOT DONE ENOUGH) - so whilst Australia got the full show, in the UK Sky Mangel's video contribution was cut, and the theme tune medleys were mixed together more quickly and awkwardly than intended.

Looking forward now to whatever mundane reality doc about bloody Yorkshire they commission in Neighbours' place.

I loved Toadie deciding he couldn't possibly sell, all because a lot of people shouted "BUT THINK ABOUT RAMSAY STREET" on video, when all of those people had themselves said "fuck Ramsay Street, I'm off".
 
Other highlights:

Loved Natalie and Holly's ridiculous cameo. They both seemed to enjoy that and they looked stunning.

Joel :horny:

Madge :(

Phillip Martin! I don't know why his age should shock me - he must have been in his 40s thirty years ago but it's always weird to see, maybe because his 90s self is in those Channel 5 adverts
 
I haven't watched this since the 80s (and even then, BARELY) but had to tune in last night. I was surprised how much I got out of it, but Mike and Jane were on around the time I used to watch it, so those scenes were FABULOUS. Silent Kylie was strangely funny (the HAIR) and I did enjoy Nat & Hol.

It really did bring back all sorts of memories over and above the show itself, but really, what a perfect way to wrap it up.
 
I love how Izzy had such a prominent role towards the end too. There aren't many villainous females in the show's history it feels like, Julie Martin is the only other I immediately think of, although I didn't watch for years so there must be others.

Not sure what sort of arc they were going for with Izzy, sort of redemption but she's still being exactly the same?! It kind of worked I think. I didn't watch all of the Izzy years but she left a major mark on the show, very Kim Tate like in terms of that legendary bitch status, even if different character wise
 
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I do think there was a missed opportunity about Hannah Martin being too busy reading the news. Apart from Lou I'm trying to think of other omissions.

I would say Annalise - she was iconic at the time and being jilted by the beautiful Mark because he was a priest or whatever was up there in terms of moments.

Dorothy Burke would have been a lovely addition too and a bit of a curveball.

I was about to say Cheryl Stark but she's DEAD. Did Pam Willis die too? Edit - Apparently not and she was in it recently-ish too
 
I thought the ending (or is it?) of Susan and Izzy’s relationship was perfect, and much in the vein of when Natalie left the first time. Susan ultimately pities Izzy but she’s never going to give her the acceptance she craves but doesn’t deserve.

But also :D :D :D at the ‘did you slip on some milk again and lose your memory?’
 
Retired music legend Steph Mac was only in it for a split second, I didn't even realise it was her until my bf told me she had just been on the screen
 
It really was brilliant. I could watch it again and again.

Lou was the omission - he is 84 so maybe just didn’t fancy it in the same way Ian Carpenter did (also over 80).
 
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