Amazon Freevee soap opera Neighbours is celebrating a milestone 9,000 episodes – less than two years since it was given the axe by former broadcaster Channel 5.
The soap, which follows the lives and loves of the residents of Ramsay Street and their work at the nearby Lassiter’s hotel complex has been on air for thirty nine years, but during that time has been taken off the air twice.
Originally broadcast on the Seven Network, the show didn’t rate well outside of Melbourne where it is produced, and after eight months the final episode aired.
However, rival Channel 10 saw potential in the programme and picked it up for a new run two months later.
The hugely successful revival saw additional sets added, new families and some now very familiar faces – Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan and Guy Pearce – joining the cast.
It also became Australia’s biggest media export, first arriving on BBC One in the UK in a shakeup to their daytime lineup in autumn 1986, before moving to Channel 5 in 2008.
As viewing figures declined down under, 5 became the principal source of funding and when they decided to cut their investment in 2022, the axe fell once again.
In a soap twist nobody saw coming, streaming giants Amazon picked Neighbours up and new episodes have aired daily on their ad-supported service Freevee since last September.
Today (4th March), the serial reached a huge landmark of 9,000 episodes, and was celebrated with a number of nods to the past.
Character Aaron Brennan (Matt Wilson) spilled details of his father-in-law Paul Robinson’s (Stefan Dennis) criminal past in Erinsborough, including the time he blew up The Waterhole pub and neighbouring businesses and paid Nicolette Stone (then Charlotte Chimes) $1million in exchange for his granddaughter Isla.
As well as mentioning several of his six(!) wives, the namedropping continued in a conversation between pregnant Krista Sinclair (Majella Davis) and boyfriend Leo Tanaka (Tim Kano), as the two discussed baby names.
‘Finn if it’s a boy, and Izzy if it’s a girl’ said Krista, unknowingly referencing Finn Kelly (Rob Mills) and Izzy Hoyland (Natalie Bassingthwaighte), two of the show’s greatest sinners.
When Leo turned his nose, she then pondered on the name Darcy, another throwback to character Darcy Tyler (Mark Raffety).
‘You might as well go with Robert [Robinson, played by Adam Hunter] or Andrea [Somers, played by Madeleine West], while you’re at it – those names might remind people around here of some pretty unsavoury characters’ Leo explained.
The episode was penned by legendary script producer Shane Isheev, a self-confessed superfan of the show who loves a cheeky nod to the past in his work.
Taking to X/Twitter, he told his followers: ‘I really wanted to find a way to celebrate an aspect of the show that hasn’t been highlighted during other milestones,’
‘It’s something Neighbours couldn’t live without… villains! And who better to put front and centre? Everyone’s favourite villain, Paul Robinson’ he continued.
The special number was also referenced by residents within the show’s dialogue, with youngster Isla telling her grandad Paul that her doll was ‘9,000 years old’.
In the past, episode 8,000 saw Piper Willis (Mavournee Hazel) celebrate getting the same number of subscribers on her YouTube channel and deciding to make a mini-documentary focussing on Erinsborough’s finest, whilst episode 7,000 focussed on Karl Kennedy (Alan Fletcher) hunting down a winning scratch card amongst a nudists dinner party – with the value of $7,000.
The 2,000th episode in 1993 saw Paul return home for his grandmother Helen Daniels’ (Anne Haddy) birthday party, and featured special opening titles.
Next year Neighbours celebrates forty years on air – we wonder what they’ll do to mark the occasion?
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