"Neighbours" is quite frankly it institution of Australian Television. Any TV show that can go for 37 years and 8903 episodes needs to be celebrated. For me "Neighbours" came into my life as more than just a viewer, after it was axed by Channel 7 and was picked up again by Network Ten. You see I was a very awkward teenager, I wasn’t big into sport and I love TV & movies and fascinated on how they were made. It came to my attention that "Neighbours" was filmed very close to where I lived. The first time I went over and saw the show in production I was blown away and constantly came back to chat to the cast and the crew. They were so accommodating with my questions as to how a TV show was made. So it came to be that every day off, curriculum day, correction day and school holidays I would spend so much time in Pinoak Court, I’m pretty sure my welcome was helped by the fact that I would almost always turn up with my Best Friend who happened to be the cutest puppy called "Shandy". Helen Daniels ( Anne Haddy) Vivienne Grey (Mrs Mangel ) Jason Donovan and Daphne Clarke, Played by Elaine Smith were always happy to see me but especially Shandy. There was one particular day when Elaine Smith was telling me that they were filming her upcoming wedding on a Tuesday and that I should try to come along. This was one of the very few days in my existence that I ever Wagged school. It was a cold and wet May day, coming out between rain breaks to film the open top horse carriage scenes that made its way around Weeden Drive on the way to the church.
These were different times, The Director would ask us kids to ride our bikes past houses to pretend we were residents, or for me, throw a newspaper to Mrs Mangel, It was as if no child labour laws really existed in 1985 and was more of a way of the crew to make us feel important to the show. Some people know of my involvement in starting the first "Neighbours Fanclub", something that to my parents dismay affected my grade so badly that I was banned from watching "Neighbours" for about six months. You have to remember we weren’t in a time where I could just catch up on a device, I had friends sometimes tape the show on VHS tapes and I’d smuggle them in to watch particular episodes. I have very fond memories of going to the retirement home across the road from Channel TEN studios where the cast would actually do rehearsals. There I would chat to Kylie, Jason, Guy Pearce and other cast members, We would talk about everything from the book I was reading to their tutoring on the set. This just became normal and even though I moved on and didn’t watch as often as what I probably should have, "Neighbours" was always a constant in my life. In the late 90s I went to live overseas and I know for a fact that the reason I got a job at the Disney Corporation was that I had embellished my role in "Neighbours". Riding my bike past the Mangel house and muttering those famous words " Here's your paper Mrs Mangel" gave me one of best jobs i had ever had. It was always comforting to know that if I was not doing anything on a Sunday I could turn on the TV and watch the omnibus edition of five episodes, It would feel as though whatever crap I had in my life, whatever stresses I was going through " Neighbours" would take me back to a time when my life was a little more innocent.
Of course the television landscape has changed, streaming services and binge watching have really change the way the viewing audience watch TV. A serial TV show that would be going for 4 or 5 days a week would struggles to survive in the current landscape without Overseas financial contributions. Will we ever see another show like "Neighbours" again? I doubt it, "Home & Away" is probably the last of the bastions of the soap. I’ve been privileged in the last few months, since the announcement of Neighbours's demise to go to the studio to record segments for our show as well as to be invited to the final last supper with the "Neighbours" cast and media. I don’t know how I’ll feel on Thursday watching the final episode it’ll be weird waking up the next day knowing that something that has been with me all my adult life is no more. We always talk about the training ground for actors and crew but remember this is been a stable for millions of people around the world and there has to be a sense of mourning when something leaves and have nothing to replace it .
"Neighbours" has entertained millions of people throughout the years, to some people the characters are their friends. They have invested so much of their time in watching, to be dismissive of it as just being a silly television show is like telling a sportsman " It's just a game" when they lose the Grand Final.
I, for one will miss it and will be forever grateful for what it given me, There is no doubt in my mind that it is the reason I now work in television and I have such a love for the Australian television Industry.
