Nachbarn

When I was about seven years old, I switched the TV on, and there were the opening credits of Neighbours, complete with the broken window and the cricket ball. Since then, over ten years ago, I've been completely addicted to the show. I don't exactly know why. Jason Donovan may have had something to do with it, and admittedly, the show has never been quite the same since Scott & Charlene left. Although there have been awful moments, some bad acting and chipboard sets, it's still pretty good. After Helen died, it was the end of an era, and maybe the show has never recovered, but I'm still addicted.

Despite the many negative comments here, Neighbours is still an amazing programme. It always manages to get 10 million viewers a day so that must be saying something. Anyway, I admit that the show has depleted in quality since the arrival of the Scully family, but if you want a taste of when it was amazing, try UK Gold at either 12:30 in the afternoon or 4:30 in the early evening. The episodes showing currently are from late 1994, featuring classic characters such as Philip, Julie, Lou, Cheryl, Annalise etc. Neighbours is still an extremely enjoyable show, and although the storylines are corny and it seems there is lack of continuity, this is only because the BBC cut the programme so much. Storylines we have missed out on are excellent ones such as Lucy and Glenn's incest, Libby's rape, part of Cheryl being held hostage, Cheryl's death (we actually missed seeing her role over the car), Julie's attempt to seduce her husband Philip etc. These are all amazing storylines, but we missed out on them. So, you cannot possibly say Neighbours is bad when it hasn't been given a fair chance. If anything, it must be amazing for the BBC to cut inappropriate storylines. Think about it.

"Neighbours", contrary to many peoples' opinions, is a well acted and well crafted soap opera. It is its timeslot in the UK among children's programmes which has been a caused for some critics to label it "cheap teens soap" - but in many countries "Neighbours" earns a prime time slot. "Neighbours'" daily screening in more than 57 countries with a daily audience in excess of 120 million viewers is testament to its success. In a television world dominated by soap operas, "Neighbours" has always remained close to its original concept by soap-master Reg Watson.

"Neighbours" has produced a host of actors who have graduated from "Ramsay Street" to become world-wide celebrities, most notably Kylie Minogue (Charlene Mitchell); Jason Donovan (Scott Robinson); Guy Pearce (Mike Young); Natalie Imbruglia (Beth Brennan) and Holly Valance (Felicity Scully). Its mix of children, young adults, parents and grandparents has ensured fascination for all generations, and the show has succeeded far beyond its creator's expectations - especially in Britian where it was bought as a daytime 'filler' programme for the BBC in 1986.

"Neighbours" celebrated the filming of its landmark 4000th episode in December 2001, firmly making it Australia's longest running series, and one of the World's most popular and acclaimed television programmes. With the addition of actors such as Janet Andrewartha, Maggie Millar and Madeleine West, as well as old favourites Tom Oliver; Ian Smith, Jackie Woodburne and Alan Fletcher, this success can only continue.

What can you say about neighbours. I get my fix every lunch time. It is classic escapism, unlike many soaps this one is clean cut esp the youngsters who only go to the pub when they turn 18 if the usual crazy youngster trys to fight against this they are ususally or even always caught. If anyone commits a crime they are always caught. What a world. Unfortunately the cast is getting to young we need more characters like Joe Mangle. It is however the worst program on the planet for inventing it's own clichés such as "Lou i'm out of work can I have a couple of shifts at the pub" but even with it's faults and I can accept it is a poor tv program I still have to watch it

Neighbours is the only soap opera that doesn't live you depressed by the end of it. Although the plots are sometimes a little obscure (the whole psycho Sindi thing, for example), the characters are on the whole extremely well developed and realistic. There is a great sense of community and family about the show, both on and off set. The street is always sunny, and a great sense of comedy balances the more dramatic story lines. Neighbours is now branching out into even more dramatic stories than before, and each episode leaves the viewer on a tantalising cliff hanger. With the return of Paul Robinson, we can expect even more explosive story lines. Having said this, Neighbours is still a family show, and the stories are all character driven. Neighbours has a winning formula that will ensure it lasts another twenty years and more.