Home

I consider this to be one of the best Australian kids drama shows ever, and I have so many fond memories, certain scenes, characters played by such wonderful and naturally talent actors, who are so believable. Home is one of those fine special shows. It's basically set in a big kids orphanage facility . The show tackles many different kind of teen angsts, whether bulimia, child abuse, bullying, drugs, broken homes, even bad outside influences from shady employees. The acting is so raw, where the grown up actors (one a popular legendary female face), hold their own too. It too, has a rocking good soundtrack. I really can't fault this show, which does what it sets out to do. Fine youth drama entertainment.

I very clearly remember some verses but not all of the song. The theme song went something like " Home... Home is Where the heart is...Home, Home, Home on the other side..(missing lots here), and I know its gonna be alright...gotta roll with the punches - gotta give and take, thinking bout the things I been thinking about.. thinking about, Home, Home, Home on the other side" I remember an Episode where a girl was living in an abandoned Train Carriage, and when I saw it I was amazed because I had also walked around in that abandoned Train Carriage. There were about 6 abandoned Train Carriages all joined together and left by the beach in Williamstown, Victoria, which is now Point Gellibrand Coastal Heritage park, and the dilapidated Train carriages are long gone.

Back in the mid 1980s UK this children's drama was definitely different to to usual tat that came from Australia(i.e. Return to Eden, S&D and The Young Doctors). The show's subjects were kids in care that resided in a compound known as Westmere(Melbourne) where they often encountered hostility from the local community especially when attending school. The beauty of this show was that it always showed the story from a kid's perspective as their fate was often at the fault of their elders, be it the parents or the authorities. I also remember some of its stars(Vikki Blanche, Linda Hartley, Maxine Klibingaitis & Jenny Young) went on to appear in Neighbours. The theme by Lothar & the giants was particularly memorable too.

This covered so many issues and was fantastic show. Young people lived in shared accommodation like a foster care home. Some of the staff at the home tried to support them. Each episode covered a different issue. Like Child abuse, being raised by a narcissist parent, drugs, homelessness, anorexia, homophobia and was fun, funny, with great 80's music. The acting was great. This was ahead of the curve and relevant today.

A very very long running series, this was among the first of the Aussie soaps to be shown in the UK during the early 1980s, along with The Young Doctors. Set in a children's home, we followed the lives of the young tykes as they 'nicked off' (played truant) from school, committed thefts and burglaries, or even settled down with their new foster families. Unlike most of these Aussie imports, it was actually shown in England the same year that it was made, and not 15 years later when all the fashions have changed. The theme music was quite jaunty and much over-used as I recall, and went something like:

'Home, home, home on the other side. 'Yeah, you've got to get yourself sorted so you know it's gonna be alright.' I may be totally wrong though.