Neighbours

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Neighbours
Current Neighbours logo
Format	Soap opera
Created by	Reg Watson
Starring	See Cast section below
Theme music composer	Tony Hatch Theme music Jackie Trent Lyrics
Opening theme	See Theme song section below
Country of origin	Australia
No. of seasons	25
No. of episodes	5730 (as of 10th July 2009)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Reg Watson Peter Pinne Don Battye Ian Bradley Bill Searle Stanley Walsh Riccardo Pellizzeri Susan Bower
Producer(s)	John Holmes Philip East Marie Trevor Tony McDonald Margaret Slarke Mark Callan Alan Coleman Dave Worthington Sally-Anne Kerr Peter Dodds Neal Kingston
Running time	Approx 22 minutes per episode
Broadcast
Original channel	Seven Network (1985) Network Ten (1986 - Present)
Picture format	PAL (18 March 1985 - present) 1080i (HDTV) (14 January 2008 - present)
Audio format	Stereo
Original run	18 March 1985 – present
External links
Official website

Neighbours is a Logie Award-winning Australian soap opera, which began airing in March 1985. The series follows the lives of families who live in the six houses at the end of Ramsay Street, a short cul-de-sac in the fictional middle-class suburb of Erinsborough. Storylines explore the romances, family problems, domestic squabbles and other events affecting the residents. More than most serials, Neighbours features a large proportion of young actors among its ever-changing cast. Neighbours celebrated its twentieth anniversary in 2005 with some special episodes which featured appearances from several former members of the cast.

The series is produced by FremantleMedia Australia, which was formed in January 2007^[1] by the merger of Grundy Television with Crackerjack Productions.

Contents 1 History and popularity 2 Broadcast schedule 2.1 Australian broadcasts 2.2 United Kingdom broadcasts 2.3 Other international broadcasts 2.4 Former broadcasts 3 Storylines 4 Cast 4.1 Current regular cast members 4.2 Recurring and guest cast members 4.3 Upcoming/Returning Cast members 4.4 Departing Cast Members 4.5 Notable[who?] former cast members 4.6 Celebrity guest appearances 5 Locations 5.1 Filming in the United Kingdom 6 Theme song 6.1 Version 1 6.2 Version 2 6.3 Version 3 6.4 Version 4 6.5 Version 5 6.6 Version 6 6.7 Sombre version 6.8 Political and cultural impact 7 Video game 8 DVD releases 9 Awards 10 References 11 External links

[edit] History and popularity

Through its entire run, Neighbours has screened five 22-minute (excluding advertisement breaks) episodes a week, shown each week night in an early-evening slot. The 1985 season was broadcast on the Seven Network, at 5.30 p.m. in Sydney and at 6.30 p.m. in Melbourne and other regions. The Melbourne-produced programme had underperformed in the crucial Sydney market^[2] leading to the Seven Network cancelling the series at the end of that year. Neighbours was immediately picked up by the rival Network Ten.^[3][4] On Ten, it initially attracted low ratings.^[5] The Network worked hard to publicise the series;^[6] they revamped the show, adding several new, younger cast members including Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan as Scott and Charlene, while a concerted publicity drive largely focused on these new actors^[7] in a star-focused campaign recalling that of the Hollywood star system where stars were packaged to feed into a fan culture.^[8] This paid off for the series and by the end of 1987 it was attracting high ratings.^[9] Australian audiences waned considerably by the early 1990s,^[10] although viewing figures had recovered slightly by the end of the decade.^[11]

In the 2000s rival soap opera Home and Away emerged as more popular than Neighbours in Australia. Home and Away is broadcast in Australia on the Seven Network at 7.00 p.m. Monday to Friday. As of 2004 Neighbours was regularly attracting just under a million viewers per episode,^[9] low for Australian prime time television. In 2007 Home and Away was averaging 1.4 million viewers in Australia to Neighbours' 700,000.^[12]

Neighbours is more popular in the UK, where it used to screen on BBC One usually attracting an average of 3 million viewers for its lunchtime showing and 2.6 million viewers for its evening repeat.^[13] It is frequently the highest-rating daytime programme in the UK, outside of news bulletins.^[14] In 2008 the UK broadcaster changed to rival channel Five from the 5331st episode. The episode received 2.2m (14.2% share) which was a drop of 300,000 on the BBC's average. However it boosted Five's usual share for the 5.30pm slot by 3 and a half times. Home and Away, broadcast directly afterwards on the same channel, received 1.4 m on the same evening. On 4 February 2009, Neighbours' 5:30 showing was seen by 1.94 million viewers and the teatime showing is now averaging 1.84 million. Combined showings are currently rating around 3 million per day.

A major revamp of Neighbours came in 2007. In Australia the show's viewing figures had in early 2007 dropped to fewer than 700,000 a night and the attitudes among long term fans of the show to storylines were negative.^[15]

The revamp included a switch to recording the show in HDTV video, introducing a new family of characters, the departure of several existing characters, a new version of the show's familiar theme song and a new style of opening titles.^[14] In addition the use of titles for individual episodes was abandoned after being in use for the previous three years. Daniel Bennett, the new head of drama at Network Ten, announced that the crux of the Ramsay Street story would go "back to basics" and follow a less sensational path than of late with the emphasis on family relations and suburban reality. These changes came into effect over several months in 2007; 23 July 2007 saw the introduction of the new theme music and graphics. Ratings for that episode averaged 1.05 million viewers in the 6:30 p.m. slot. It was the first time the programme's viewing figures topped 1 million in 2007.^[16] Neighbours was also made available for viewers to watch online via Network Ten's website.^[17]

By the end of 2007 it was reported that producers had hoped the Neighbours revamp would push the ratings up to between 900,000 to 1 million an episode. It had, however, resulted in a more modest boost, with ratings hovering at about 800,000 a night. The same viewing period had shown an increase in ratings for Home and Away, which was now averaging 1.4 million viewers every night.^[18]

In February 2008, new executive producer, Susan Bower, announced that she would be implementing further changes to the programme in a bid to keep it competitive and make it a social talking point once again. She opined that the highly publicised 2007 revisions promised much, but ultimately did not present themselves as a significant enough change. Bower promised to retain the return to traditional Neighbours values but with an injection of drama that remains recognisable and relevant. Ratings rose to almost 900,000 in mid-2008, but generally ratings begin to fall towards the end of each year, usually averaging around 700,000, and the end of 2008 ratings reflected that.^[19]

Neighbours was viewed by over 1 million viewers on 27 April 2009 in Australia, the highest figure in two years.

[edit] Broadcast schedule

[edit] Australian broadcasts

Through its entire run in Australia it has screened as five 22-minute episodes a week, shown each weeknight in an early-evening slot. The show currently airs at 6.30pm, going up against rival current affairs shows Today Tonight on the Seven Network, and the Nine Network's A Current Affair. The last five aired episodes are available to watch on the Neighbours official Australian website^[20], as a part of Network Ten's Catch Up TV service^[21].

Previously, the 1985 season was broadcast on the Seven Network, at 5.30pm in Sydney and at 6.30pm in Melbourne and other regions. From its second year the series switched to Network Ten. Between 1986 and 1991 the series was screened by Network Ten at 7.00pm, and from 1992 they have broadcast the show at 6.30pm. Ten HD previously broadcasted the previous week's episodes back to back every Sunday during the 2008 season. The Catch Up marathon did not return in 2009, due to Ten HD being demised in favour of Ten's new 24-hour sports channel One HD that went on air late March that year.

Neighbours is on air for approximately 44 weeks per year. It is broadcast from early January to late November, and goes off air for five weeks during the Christmas/New Year break. Repeat episodes of the series were broadcast between 2000 and 2003. The 1988-1991 episodes were shown in this run in the 3.30pm timeslot, and later screened at 11:30am instead. The repeat run ceased in June 2003.

[edit] United Kingdom broadcasts

As of 2009, Neighbours is shown on two UK channels: Five and its digital sister channel Fiver. UK screenings are currently 45 episodes (9 weeks) behind Australia.

The show began broadcasting in the UK on Monday 27 October 1986 on BBC One.

The BBC screened the programme from 1.25pm to 1.50pm, before moving it to 1.50pm and later to 1.40pm, with a repeat the next morning at 10.05am. The repeat episode was moved to 5.35pm on 4 January 1988 by controller Michael Grade on the advice of his daughter. In the late 1980s it had a UK audience of over 18 million (from a total population of around 58 million), which was, at the time, a figure greater than the population of Australia.^[23]

On 2 November 1992 Neighbours began showing on the satellite channel UK Gold from episode 1.^{[24][citation needed]}

The length of time between the Australian and terrestrial UK broadcasts decreased significantly from the original 18 months of 1986 due to Neighbours being taken off air at Christmas in Australia, whilst the series was originally broadcast every weekday year round on the BBC. As a result, from October 2000, the BBC frequently removed the show from its schedule during major events such as Wimbledon, Bank Holidays and Christmas.

Taking into account the duplication of viewers across its two UK showings a day, the show rated on average over five million viewers a day, making it the highest rated Commonwealth import on British television and one of the most popular international acquisitions.^{[citation needed]}

In July 2006, it was reported that the BBC planned to give 'first-look' Neighbours on the broadcaster's digital channel BBC Three in order to boost that channel's ratings^[25] however this never happened.

In April 2007, it was reported that ITV had made a bid of £80,000 per episode; an offer that valued Neighbours at over £20million a year. A contract between ITV and FremantleMedia was days away from completion, but could not be finalised due to issues regarding video on demand and broadband rights.^[26] On 26 April 2007, it was reported that the BBC had told Broadcast magazine that an agreement would need to be reached in the "very, very near future" otherwise their offer would be withdrawn.^[27].^[28] News of the possible change in broadcaster was poorly received by viewers of the programme, and an online petition against the show's move away from the BBC garnered very strong support.^[29] On 5 May, it was reported that the BBC was set to drop out of bidding for the show, after FremantleMedia raised the price to £100,000 per episode following a bidding competition between ITV and Five.^[30]

On 18 May, then BBC One controller Peter Fincham announced on the One O'Clock News that the BBC had pulled out of negotiations for Neighbours due to the asking price of £300 million over eight years (three times the price previously paid by the BBC) and that it would end on BBC One during early 2008. The same day it was announced that RTL Media company Five had won the UK rights to broadcast the show.^[31]. Five then commissioned Talkback Thames to produce a documentary called Neighbours on Five which included interviews with cast members about their experiences on and off set and sneak previews of upcoming storylines.

On 1 December, the BBC confirmed that it would replace Neighbours with a new Sydney-based soap from Southern Star Entertainment called Out of the Blue, of which it had ordered 130 episodes.^[32] On 26 November 2007 in anticipation of the loss of Neighbours, the afternoon showing was moved to 2.10pm and the internally produced soap Doctors was rescheduled in its place.

Neighbours ended on BBC One on 8 February 2008 with episode 5330 and began broadcasting on Five on 11 February 2008 with episode 5331, with an unprecedented number of screenings each day. Five began screening each episode at 1.45pm, then again at 5.30pm, and then again the following morning at 5.35am. Five also began a weekly omnibus edition on Saturday afternoons. In addition to this, Five's digital sister channel Five Life also showed each episode each day at 7.00pm and then again the following morning at 9.00am, as well as a full weekly omnibus each weekend. From 28 April 2008, with the rebranding of Five Life to Fiver, Neighbours' 9.00am showing was rescheduled to 10.00am. Currently, taking into consideration all Fiver's shows are repeated again an hour later on Fiver+1, each episode of Neighbours is screened a total of ten times by the company. In addition to these showings, Five's internet on-demand service Demand Five has episodes available to view for free at any time after the episode has aired for up to 2 months. Weight Watchers no longer sponsor the programme, and have been replaced by Ladbroke's Bingo.

On 6 November 2008 G.O.L.D.(formerly UKTV Gold) ended its 16-year re-run of Neighbours after reaching 5330 episodes.

[edit] Other international broadcasts

•  New Zealand: Neighbours has long been broadcast by Television New Zealand and screens twice daily at 14:30 and 18:00 on TV2. It was initially broadcast by TVNZ when Neighbours started showing in New Zealand in 1988, but by 1996 it had been removed from the schedule. TV4 (now C4) picked it up and broadcast it from 1997 to 2000. They dropped it in 2000 and it returned to TV2 in 2002. New Zealand are currently 4weeks behind Australia.
•  Ireland: Neighbours is broadcast on the RTÉ TV Network in Ireland at 13:55 on RTÉ One and repeated on RTÉ Two at 17:35 weekdays. RTÉ are 35 episodes behind the Network Ten transmission.
•  Belgium: Neighbours is broadcast in Belgium on the VRT at 17:30 from Monday to Saturday. The show has been broadcast in Belgium since 1988; they are 321 episodes^[33] (almost 17 months) behind Australian broadcasts. After more than 20 years on Belgian screens it is the longest running show on Belgian TV after the news and the weather forecast.
•  France: In France, Neighbours was titled Les Voisins and aired on Antenne 2 in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
•  Kenya: In Kenya, Neighbours is broadcast on the KTN network at 12:30, Monday to Friday with an omnibus on Sunday mornings. They are approximately three years behind Australia.
•  Barbados: Neighbours is broadcast in Barbados on CBC8, Monday to Friday. They are approximately four years behind Australia.
•  Catalonia: In Catalonia, the first 1518 episodes were dubbed into Catalan and broadcast in the regional TV channel TV3 as Veïns from 1989 to the mid-1990s.
•  Galicia: The show was also broadcast in Galicia, dubbed in the Galician language and broadcast on the regional TV channel TVG from 1989 to 1993.
•  Iceland: The show is broadcast in Iceland on Stöð 2 at 12:35 and 17:33 from Monday to Friday, with an omnibus at 12:35 on Sundays. These broadcasts are approximately 9 months behind Australia.
•  Denmark: The show was also broadcast in Denmark in the late 1980s and early 1990s on pan-Scandinavian network TV3.
•  Norway: In March 2008, Neighbours began a temporary run on the Norwegian TV channel NRK3, which is the first time Neighbours has been broadcast in Norway since it was cancelled by TV3. Episode 5261 was the first to screen on NRK3, which is airing episodes eight months behind.
•  Israel: Neighbours has been screened in Israel on Channel 23 since April 2008.

[edit] Former broadcasts

The show has also been sold to television networks in many other countries. In the summer of 1991 WWOR-TV in New York City aired late 1980s episodes of Neighbours in the late afternoons. Episodes from 1999 were broadcast for a six-week trial basis on the American channel Oxygen in March 2004. At first, it was shown in the afternoon opposite higher-rated American soaps such as The Young and the Restless and All My Children, which gave the show anemic ratings from the first broadcast; the people who would be most interested in the show were watching other, more established serials. After a couple of weeks, the show moved to a late-night time slot and eventually left the air entirely. It was not the first Australian soap opera to be broadcast in the United States: The Sullivans, Prisoner, Home and Away, The Young Doctors, Paradise Beach, and Pacific Drive had also been previously shown.^{[citation needed]}

The show was broadcast in Canada on regional television channel 47, Toronto-based CFMT (now part of the Omni network owned by Rogers Communications Inc.), for a period of about five years in the early to mid-1990s, starting in September 1990. The channel started the series right from the beginning and broadcast two episodes back to back for the first several months. It never achieved the audience that youth-oriented cable network YTV saw at the same time with Home and Away and was dropped.^{[citation needed]}

In Germany, episodes from the years 1985 through 1989 ran on the SAT.1 daytime schedule from October 1989 to August 1993.^{[citation needed]}

Neighbours was also broadcast in Cyprus, on the PIK network.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Storylines

[edit] Cast

See also: List of Neighbours characters

[edit] Current regular cast members

See also: Current characters of Neighbours

Actor/Actress	Character	Duration
Stefan Dennis	Paul Robinson	1985-1992, 1993 (guest), 2004-
Tom Oliver	Lou Carpenter	1988 (guest), 1992-
Alan Fletcher	Karl Kennedy	1994-
Jackie Woodburne	Susan Kennedy	1994-
Kym Valentine	Libby Kennedy-Fitzgerald	1994-2004, 2005 (cameo), 2007-
Ryan Moloney	Toadfish Rebecchi	1995 (guest), 1996-
Carla Bonner	Stephanie Scully	1999-
Matthew Werkmeister	Zeke Kinski	2005-
Pippa Black	Elle Robinson	2005-2009
Sam Clark	Ringo Brown	2007-2009
Fletcher O'Leary	Mickey Gannon	2007-2009
Jane Hall	Rebecca Napier	2007-
Steve Bastoni	Steve Parker	2007-2009
Nikki Coghill	Miranda Parker	2007-2009
Eloise Mignon	Bridget Napier	2007-2009
James Sorensen	Declan Napier	2007-
Brett Tucker	Daniel Fitzgerald	1999-2000 (guest), 2007-2009
Blake O'Leary	Ben Kirk #3	2007-
Margot Robbie	Donna Freedman	2008-
Morgan Baker	Callum Jones	2008-
Scott Major	Lucas Fitzgerald	2008-
Jacob Brito	Charlie Hoyland #2	2008-
Hany Lee	Sunny Lee	2009-
Ashleigh Brewer	Kate Ramsay	2009-
Will Moore	Harry Ramsay	2009-
Kaiya Jones	Sophie Ramsay	2009-
Alia & Gab Devercelli	India Napier	2009-

[edit] Recurring and guest cast members

See also: Recurring characters of Neighbours

Actor/Actress	Character	Duration
Carolyn Bock	Dr. Peggy Newton	2007-
Mary Annegeline	Nurse Jodie Smith	2008-
Christopher Milligan	Kyle Canning	2008-2009
Bella Heathcote	Amanda Fowler	2009-

[edit] Upcoming/Returning Cast members

Actor	Role	Debut/Return Date - AUS	Role Type
Janet Andrewartha	Lyn Scully	August 2009[34]	3 month guest return
Kaela Hilton	Melissa Evans	2009	Guest return

[edit] Departing Cast Members

Actor	Role	Departure Date - AUS	Departure Date - UK
Fletcher O'Leary	Mickey Gannon	Tuesday July 14 2009[35]	Tuesday September 15
Eloise Mignon	Bridget Napier	Tuesday July 21[36]	Tuesday September 22
Steve Bastoni	Steve Parker	Friday July 24[37]	Friday September 25
Nikki Coghill	Miranda Parker	Friday July 24[38]	Friday September 25
Pippa Black	Elle Robinson	September 2009[39]	January 2010
Brett Tucker	Daniel Fitzgerald	September 2009[40]	January/February 2010

[edit] Notable^[who?] former cast members

Actor	Role	Duration
Natalie Bassingthwaighte	Isabelle Hoyland	2003-2006, 2007
Anne Charleston	Madge Bishop	1986-1992, 1996-2001
Martin Copping	Andy Sisson	1999
Russell Crowe	Kenny Larkin	1987
Alan Dale	Jim Robinson	1985-1993
Kimberley Davies	Annalise Hartman	1993-1996, 2005
Jason Donovan	Scott Robinson	1986-1989
Dean Geyer	Ty Harper	2008-2009
Delta Goodrem	Nina Tucker	2002-2003, 2004, 2005
Anne Haddy	Helen Daniels	1985-1997
Natalie Imbruglia	Beth Willis	1992-1993, 1994
Dichen Lachman	Katya Kinski	2005-2007
Stephanie McIntosh	Sky Mangel	2003-2007
Craig McLachlan	Henry Ramsay	1987-1989
Kylie Minogue	Charlene Robinson	1986-1988
Radha Mitchell	Catherine Kennedy	1996-1997
Guy Pearce	Mike Young	1986-1989
Brooke Satchwell	Anne Wilkinson	1996-2000
Kristian Schmid	Todd Landers	1988-1992
Ian Smith	Harold Bishop	1987-1991, 1996-2009
Jesse Spencer	Billy Kennedy	1994-2000, 2005
Eliza Taylor-Cotter	Janae Timmins	2005-2008
Holly Valance	Felicity Scully	1999-2002, 2005
Leigh Whannell	Stuart Maughan	1996

[edit] Celebrity guest appearances

Red Symons as Gordon Miller (1985) Warwick Capper (1986) Molly Meldrum (1986) Grant Kenny (1986) Derek Nimmo as Lord Ledgerwood (1990) Jennifer Batten (1992) Darryl Cotton (1993) Mike Whitney (1994) Elliot Goblet (1994) Chris Lowe of The Pet Shop Boys (1995) John Hinde (1995) Iain Hewitson (1995) Clive James as a postman (1996) Barry Sheene (1997) Dave Graney (1998) Peter Chapman (1999) Robert DiPierdomenico (1999) Human Nature (2000) The Wiggles (2001) Glenn Wheatley (2002)

Jude Bolton (2002) Brett Kirk (2002) Renton Millar (2002) Steve McCann (2002) Karl Kruszelnicki (2004) Rove McManus (2006) Brodie Holland (2006) Shane Warne (2006) Andrew G (2007) Emma Bunton (2007) Michael Parkinson (2007) Julian Clary (2007) Neil Morrissey as a priest (2007) Jo Whiley (2007) Jonathan Coleman (2007) Sinitta (2007) Matt Lucas as Andy Pipkin (2007) David Walliams as Lou Todd (2007) Daryl Braithwaite (2007) Robyn Loau (2007)

Marcia Hines (2007) Damien Leith (2007) Magic Dirt (2007) Hamish & Andy as Fred and Big Tommo (2008) The Veronicas (2008) Tom Hafey (2008) Tom Lonergan (2008) Shannon Byrnes (2008) Bryce Gibbs (2008) Nick Stevens (2008) The Wombats (2009) Ian Dickson (2009) Clint Bizzell as Adam Clarke (2009) André Rieu (2009) Paris Wells (2009) Batista (2009) Tim Vine (2009) Jason Coleman (2009) Lily Allen (2009)

[edit] Locations

Neighbours is recorded in Melbourne. Interior scenes are taped at the Global Television studios in Forest Hill, Victoria in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. These studios were previously the Network Ten Nunawading studios, used frequently by Fremantle (then Reg Grundy). External scenes of the building and its grounds have been used in several TV series, including Neighbours, but perhaps most notably as the fictional setting for Grundy's Prisoner. Ten moved to South Yarra selling their previous studios but continued to tape some of their programmes there, leasing the facilities from the new owners.

Pin Oak Court in nearby Vermont South is used for outdoor taping to represent the fictional Ramsay Street. This location has been used since Neighbours began and is a popular tourist haunt. In the story Ramsay Street is situated in the fictional suburb of Erinsborough. Throughout most of the series' run it was not emphatically stated which city of Australia the suburb was set in. Occasionally evidence appears on screen and in dialogue that suggests that Erinsborough is a suburb of Melbourne.

In 1996 much was made of a group of residents leaving for a day trip to attend the Melbourne Cup, and several of the characters show their support for AFL teams (a sport endemic to Melbourne), there have been several guest appearances by AFL players, and Melbourne landmarks and features can be identified in some scenes outside of Ramsay Street. In 2004, Libby Kennedy was seen travelling from Adelaide back to Melbourne, and she made reference to this fact when she bumped into Rocco Cammeniti in a country hospital. In a July 2007 episode where Janelle Timmins evaluates visits to her children now residing in Queensland she explicitly names her current residence as being in "Melbourne". Since the revamp episodes began airing in July 2007, several references have been made to the Parker family moving to Melbourne from Queensland. These episodes have also been presented with a new titles sequence which clearly makes use of the Melbourne city skyline and the Yarra River.

In the story, Erinsborough is often contrasted with the neighbouring, and equally fictitious, suburb of Eden Hills. Other locations often mentioned (and sometimes seen) in the show include West Waratah, Waratah Heights, Elliot Park and Anson's Corner, as well as real towns in the state of Victoria such as Colac and Shepparton, and other real Australian locations such as Oakey in Queensland. Knox City Shopping Centre has recently been utilised in filming scenes as well.

[edit] Filming in the United Kingdom

Neighbours' second UK-shot storyline was broadcast in Australia during the weeks commencing 19 and 26 March 2007 and was broadcast in the UK in late May/early June 2007. In the story Susan and Karl visit the UK on holiday and accidentally meet Izzy, who had moved there after leaving Ramsay Street. Karl also proposes to Susan in the London Eye, and they were married for a third time by a priest played by Neil Morrissey. This story also featured cameo appearances by celebrities such as Emma Bunton, Jo Whiley, Michael Parkinson, Jonathan Coleman, Julian Clary and Sinitta.

[edit] Theme song

Please help improve this section by pruning it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (July 2009)

The Neighbours theme music was written by Tony Hatch with lyrics by his then wife, Jackie Trent. Since 1985 there have been six different renditions of the theme broadcast on television. They were sung by the following artists:

Version	Artist	Duration
1	Barry Crocker	March 1985 - June 1989
2	Barry Crocker	June 1989 - May 1992
3	Greg Hind	May 1992 - December 1998
4	Paul Norton & Wendy Stapleton	January 1999 - December 2001
5	Janine Maunder	January 2002 - July 2007
6	Sandra de Jong	July 2007 - present

Depending on the broadcaster, each theme has received edits for timing purposes, the most edited versions being broadcast by the BBC in the UK. To begin with this was due to the fact the BBC could not broadcast the advertising featured at the end of Neighbours credit roles but more recently it was also due to a 30 second timing restriction imposed on all programming.^[41]. Other broadcasters have usually shown the credits uncut leaving the theme song at its original length.

[edit] Version 1

The full closing theme of version one that was attached to Seven Network-commissioned episodes received a few edits following the # day #, # away #, # blend # and # friends # climaxes when it was shown on the BBC, but was left untouched in the rest of the world. When Network Ten episodes aired on the BBC the full uncut version was used.

"Neighbours"
Single by Barry Crocker
A-side	Neighbous
B-side	Neighbours (Instrumental)
Released	1988
Format	7" vinyl,
Recorded	1984
Genre	Pop
Length	2:55
Label	BBC Records
Writer(s)	Tony Hatch Jackie Trent

Version one was released in 1988 as a single, charting at #84 and remaining on the chart for 5 weeks.^[42] This version contained the full closing theme and the last verse being repeated twice. The opening also featured a guitar section, as well as additional piano chords (which was also heard in 1990 often during the pre-titles episode recap)

For episode 1001, Another version with different lyrics by Mark Little and Cathy Farr was produced and released as a single, sung by Lisa Armytage, Anne Charleston, Fiona Corke, Alan Dale, Annie Jones, Paul Keane, Craig McLachlan and Ian Smith. The B-Side included merged lyrics of the original and the Little/Farr rewrite. [8]/

[edit] Version 2

The opening theme of version two changed frequently. From the introduction of the revised song in June 1989, following episode 1000 until mid-way through 1990 there was a full length opening song which was essentially a sped-up version of the original with a few new chords; however, mid-way through 1990 this changed to a 10-second instrumental piece with two primary instruments, a Harmonica and an Electric Piano, used in the first episode shown on Channel 7, and in several commercials for the show during the 1980s. This was used for a few weeks before being replaced by a 7-second vocal version of the same short piece. This lasted until version three of the theme debuted in May 1992.

[edit] Version 3

Version three used a jazzy, funky 23 second opening song. This was arranged by Peter Sullivan, debuted in 1992 essentially as a re-record of the 1989 Barry Crocker theme with Melbourne-based singer Greg Hind. Its closing theme differed significantly from the previous two arrangements in that it concentrated solely on repeating the second verse of the song to make up the song's length, thus discarding lyrics such as # Just a friendly wave each morning... # and # Next door is only a footstep away #. This song was heavily edited and used as a revised opening theme from part-way through the 1995 season onwards, and was adopted as the BBC's closing theme from 1995.

[edit] Version 4

Version four, arranged by music director / screen composer Chris Pettifer, debuted in 1999 essentially as a re-record of the 1992 theme with two Melbourne-based singers Wendy Stapleton and Paul Norton. Pettifer changed it to a more rock & roll key to suit the vocalists and introduced overdriven electric guitar, giving it a rockier feel. The opening theme reverted to 23 seconds and replaced # Everybody needs good neighbours # with # Should be there for one another #. Once again there was a shortened closing theme for UK transmission (The full version was only heard during documentary series Neighbours Revealed). One of the major changes made to the theme heard in Australia during this era was the removal of the repeated backing vocal # That's when good... # from mid-2000 onwards, although this remained on episodes broadcast outside of Australia and the UK.

[edit] Version 5

Version five was launched in 2002 and once again a shorter piece of closing music was edited for the UK market, with the rest of the world using the same 76 second variant. This was sung by Janine Maunder and arranged by Steve Wade. The opening and closing songs followed the same lyrical and verse arrangement introduced in 1992. In the show's 20th anniversary episode broadcast, The song was reduced to an instrumental in the end credits so past characters who made cameos would be audible when they made parting messages.

In 2006 a very slightly remixed version of the same closing theme debuted. The intention was for all territories to begin transmitting the same 45 second version at the end of their episodes, however UK broadcasts retained the previous 35 second arrangement for a few weeks until they received a newer batch of episodes with the revised theme attached. Despite a brief period of uniformity, by mid-2006 the BBC had requested further edits to be made to their version of the song to bring it back down to 35 seconds. Australia then reverted to an almost full length track, albeit with minor edits at various sections to keep running time to 55 seconds, whilst other markets, including New Zealand and the Republic of Ireland, continued to receive the original 45 second arrangement launched at the start of 2006. This meant that for over a year between 2006-2007 there were three different edits of the closing theme tune being broadcast around the world as well as three different closing credits designs to accompany them.

Despite the many edits made to the 2002-2007 closing song, the opening theme remained unchanged for the duration at 23 seconds. This version is also featured on the soundtrack album Neighbours:The Music

[edit] Version 6

A new version of the theme tune sung by Sandra de Jong debuted in Australia on 23 June 2007 as part of a revamp of the show. This was arranged by Neighbours Music Director, Chris Pettifer and song writer - producer Adrian Hannan. The opening song is longer than in recent years at 29 seconds and is also notable for re-introducing # Everybody needs good neighbours # to the opening song after an eight year absence. The full edition of the closing theme continues to solely use the second verse of the Neighbours song, as has been the case since 1992. The new version does not repeat the verse however, using instead a repetitive technique applied to the # That's when good neighbours become good friends # line and an additional instrumental piece to make up the theme's length which remains unchanged at 55 seconds. For the 2008 season onwards, Australian TEN episodes were followed by a shorter 18 second instrumental arrangement of the new theme tune, accompanying shortened closing credits on Monday-Thursday episodes. Friday episodes transmit with the full closing sequence. In the UK the 18 second closing credits were adopted as of episode of 5331 for all episodes broadcast, including Fridays and omnibuses, whilst New Zealand and Ireland currently follows the playout arrangement used by Australia.

[edit] Sombre version

A sombre piano version of the theme is reserved to close episodes surrounding the death of long-standing or original characters. In the early years, it was often used for tender moments. This version has accompanied a relevant photo montage during the closing credits, starting in 1992 with Todd Landers, in the episode after his death, and was used again for the deaths of Jim Robinson and Helen Daniels. Madge Bishop also received the sad theme tune over the regular 2001 season closing sequence. A montage of clips featuring Madge during her final year (since the show had started filming in 16:9 widescreen) were shown in the recap of the next episode.

[edit] Political and cultural impact

The lyric of the song were famously quoted by John Smith, the then United Kingdom Shadow Chancellor, in a House of Commons Debate on Government Economic Policy.^[43] Smith was bringing to attention the divergence in the economic policies of, and the tensions in the relationship between the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, and her Chancellor of the Exchequer, (and Downing Street "neighbour") Nigel Lawson. This speech was considered one of the most effective and memorable of modern times, and Lawson was soon replaced in Number 11 by John Major. Within 18 months of the speech, Thatcher herself was replaced in Number 10, also by John Major.

The 80's version of the theme song was also featured in the Lily Allen song "Fuck You", where the song contained the piano tune from the theme music at the beginning of Allen's song.^[44]

[edit] Video game

In 1991, an officially licensed video game of Neighbours was developed by Impulze for the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64; it was re-released by Zeppelin Games in 1992. The player took the role of Scott Robinson and had to skateboard around four courses.

[edit] DVD releases

Please help improve this section by pruning it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (July 2009)

[edit] Awards

The programme is the second most successful series in the history of the Logie Awards, having won 30 Logies (including the Logie Hall Of Fame award). It sits behind only Home and Away (34 Logies). Winners of the Logies are listed below:

Year	Category	Nominee	Result
1986	Most Popular New Talent	Peter O'Brien	Won
	Most Popular Program On Victorian (state) Television	Neighbours	Won
1987	Most Popular Actor	Peter O'Brien	Won
	Most Popular Actress	Kylie Minogue	Won
	Most Popular Drama Series	Neighbours	Won
	Most Popular New Talent	Jason Donovan	Won
	Most Popular New Talent	Kylie Minogue	Nominated
	Most Popular Program On Victorian (state) Television	Neighbours	Won
1988	Most Popular Personality (Gold)	Kylie Minogue	Won
	Most Popular Personality (Gold)	Jason Donovan	Nominated
	Most Popular Personality On Victorian (state) Television	Kylie Minogue	Won
	Most Popular Actor	Jason Donovan	Won
	Most Popular Actress	Kylie Minogue	Won
	Most Popular Drama Series	Neighbours	Won
	Most Popular Program On Victorian (state) Television	Neighbours	Won
1989	Most Popular Personality (Gold)	Jason Donovan	Nominated
	Most Popular Personality (Gold)	Craig McLachlan	Nominated
	Most Popular Personality (Gold)	Kylie Minogue	Nominated
	Most Popular Actor	Craig McLachlan	Won
	Most Popular Actress	Annie Jones	Won
	Most Popular Series	Neighbours	Won
	Most Popular Program On Victorian (state) Television	Neighbours	Won
1990	Most Popular Personality (Gold)	Craig McLachlan	Won
	Most Popular Actor	Craig McLachlan	Won
	Most Popular Actress	Rachel Friend	Won
	Most Popular Series	Neighbours	Won
	Most Popular Program On Victorian (state) Television	Neighbours	Won
1991	Most Popular Program On Victorian (state) Television	Neighbours	Won
1992	Most Popular Program On Victorian (state) Television	Neighbours	Won
1993	Most Outstanding Actor	Scott Michaelson	Nominated
1994	Most Popular New Talent	Kimberley Davies	Nominated
1996	Most Popular New Talent	Emma Harrison	Nominated
1998	Most Popular New Talent	Brooke Satchwell	Won
	Most Popular Actor	Jesse Spencer	Nominated
	Most Popular Series	Neighbours	Nominated
1999	Most Popular New Talent - Male	Daniel MacPherson	Won
	Most Popular Actor	Jesse Spencer	Nominated
2000	Most Popular New Female Talent	Holly Valance	Nominated
2001	Most Popular Actor	Daniel MacPherson	Nominated
	Most Popular New Female Talent	Madeleine West	Nominated
2002	Most Popular New Male Talent	Blair McDonough	Nominated
2003	Most Popular New Male Talent	Patrick Harvey	Won
	Most Popular New Male Talent	Jay Bunyan	Nominated
	Most Popular New Female Talent	Delta Goodrem	Won
	Most Popular New Female Talent	Michelle Ang	Nominated
2004	Most Popular Personality (Gold)	Delta Goodrem	Nominated
	Most Popular Actress	Delta Goodrem	Nominated
	Most Popular Australian Program	Neighbours	Nominated
2005	Most Popular New Talent - Female	Natalie Blair	Won
	Logie Hall of Fame	Neighbours	Won
	Most Popular Drama Series	Neighbours	Nominated
2006	Most Popular Personality (Gold)	Natalie Bassingthwaighte	Nominated
	Most Popular Actress	Natalie Bassingthwaighte	Nominated
	Most Popular New Male Talent	Daniel O'Connor	Nominated
	Most Popular New Female Talent	Pippa Black	Nominated
	Most Popular Drama Series	Neighbours	Nominated
2007	Most Popular Personality (Gold)	Natalie Blair	Nominated
	Most Popular Actress	Natalie Blair	Nominated
	Most Popular Actress	Natalie Bassingthwaighte	Nominated
	Most Popular New Male Talent	Ben Lawson	Nominated
	Most Popular Drama Series	Neighbours	Nominated
2008	Most Popular Personality (Gold)	Natalie Blair	Nominated
	Most Popular Actress	Natalie Blair	Nominated
	Most Popular New Male Talent	Sam Clark	Nominated
	Most Popular New Female Talent	Adelaide Kane	Nominated
	Most Popular Drama Series	Neighbours	Nominated
2009	Most Popular Personality (Gold)	Ian Smith	Nominated
	Most Popular Actor	Ian Smith	Nominated
	Most Popular New Male Talent	Dean Geyer	Nominated
	Most Popular New Female Talent	Margot Robbie	Nominated
	Most Popular Drama Series	Neighbours	Nominated

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website
• [9] Dedicated Fansite
• Neighbours at Network Ten
• Neighbours at the Internet Movie Database
• Neighbours at TV.com
• The Official Neighbours Night
• The Official Tour Site
• Weekly episode and picture guide (UK screenings) and cast interviews

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