Last year, the long-running Australian soap opera Neighbours <\/em>finally came to an end after a whopping 37 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first episode of the original show was broadcast in March 1985, and the finale, which saw many story threads brought to their conclusions, was aired in July 2022 (or August and September in some territories).<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, despite the fact that many of those narrative threads were tied up pretty conclusively, it seems that Neighbours <\/em>was not to end as originally thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In November last year, Amazon announced that it would revive Neighbours <\/em>via its Freevee label, which is a free streaming service that you can watch without paying a subscription fee (but for which you will need to watch ads).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Neighbours <\/em>was, therefore, brought back via Freevee earlier in 2023, with production starting up again in April and the first episode of the new Neighbours <\/em>show – referred to as Neighbours: A New Chapter <\/em>– airing in September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, is the new Neighbours <\/em>revival worth a watch? Should you invest more of your time into this soap and its various criss-crossing storylines, or should you let sleeping dogs lie?<\/p>\n\n\n\n We haven\u2019t actually gotten around to watching the new Neighbours <\/em>ourselves yet, but we\u2019d like to offer a critical round-up of the show and analyse what reviewers and fans have been saying about it. Let\u2019s take a look!<\/p>\n\n\n\n It seems that one of the prevailing tones when it comes to reviews of the new Neighbours <\/em>revival is shock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Critics simply can\u2019t seem to believe not only that Neighbours <\/em>is back, but that the new version has actually made some fairly controversial choices with regards to storylines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Writing for The West Australian\u2019s Perth Now section<\/a>, reviewer Clare Rigden calls the revival \u201ctriumphant\u201d and points to the first episode\u2019s \u201cextraordinary\u201d plot twist as being \u201cone of the greatest cliffhangers in Neighbours <\/em>history\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ll have to watch the episode yourself if you want to know what that cliffhanger is, of course, but it sounds like Rigden is impressed by Neighbours: A New Chapter<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of Neighbours<\/em>\u2019 key qualities was its cosy vibe; even though the show could get dark and pretty dramatic when it wanted to, it was also often a more low-key affair than many of its contemporaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to a review in The Irish Times<\/a> written by Ed Power, however, the new reboot is \u201cglitzier, starrier and more sexed-up\u201d than the original.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Power says that the show, despite being a continuation of Neighbours<\/em>, actually feels like a \u201cpartial reboot\u201d; it focuses on more globe-trotting and starry storylines and takes the action outside the confines of Neighbours<\/em>\u2019 traditional drama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As such, it sounds like the reboot will be well worth your time if you hoped that Neighbours <\/em>could, at some stage, transcend its origins and become a more mainstream, more sleek show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of the reviews that have been submitted for the Neighbours <\/em>revival so far, not everyone is as impressed as Rigden or as open-minded as Power, it seems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Writing for The Guardian<\/a>, reviewer Scott Bryan delivered an excoriating attack on the first episode of Neighbours: A New Chapter<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bryan says that the new show \u201cdestroys everything good\u201d about the final episode of the original Neighbours<\/em>, and that it replaces it with a storyline that is \u201cas alienating as it is baffling\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Certain decisions made about relationships that came to a head in the previous series feel \u201ctoo random\u201d, Bryan says, and the show as a whole \u201cmakes absolutely no sense\u201d. Ouch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Echoing that sentiment is The Irish Independent\u2019s Chris Wasser<\/a>, who says that the revival is \u201cclunky\u201d and \u201cconvoluted\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wasser also says that the soap \u201cshould never have been given a second life\u201d. He says that the show seems like it was \u201cdesigned by people who don\u2019t watch television\u201d and that the two-year time jump since the original Neighbours <\/em>\u201ccreates all sorts of problems\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although some of the sentiment surrounding A New Chapter <\/em>is negative, some reviewers are allowing themselves to feel the love and are immersing themselves in the return of Ramsay Street.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Guardian writer Frances Ryan delivered a three-star verdict<\/a> for the first episode of Neighbours: A New Chapter<\/em>, saying that it would \u201ctake a harsher cynic than [her]\u201d not to feel happy about the return of Neighbours<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She says that there is \u201csomething comforting\u201d about Neighbours<\/em>\u2019 return, even if the revival will have fans \u201cshouting at their screens\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ryan also makes an interesting point about how soap operas are supposed to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She says that the move to Amazon Freevee could remove the \u201ccontinuity and routine\u201d of Neighbours<\/em>, replacing it instead with \u201cstreaming and big plot twists offscreen\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Au contraire, however, says Stephen Patterson, writing in The Metro<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Describing the revival of Neighbours <\/em>as \u201cone worth fighting for\u201d, Patterson says that the format \u201chasn\u2019t been tampered with in the slightest\u201d and describes the storytelling as consisting of \u201cintriguing twists, dynamics and developments\u201d born from the same time-jump criticised by Chris Wasser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, amid all this discourse, should you watch Neighbours: A New Chapter<\/em>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Honestly, given that Amazon Freevee is, by its nature, free, we\u2019d say that if you\u2019ve ever had any affection for Neighbours<\/em>, watching A New Chapter <\/em>is something of a no-brainer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the very least, you\u2019ll get a sense of whether its direction is going to work for you; you may agree with critics who say it\u2019s a bridge too far, or you may agree with Patterson, who says things are much as they ever were.<\/p>\n\n\n\n More episodes are on the way, at any rate, so you\u2019ll have plenty of chances to make up your mind! Last year, the long-running Australian soap opera Neighbours finally came to an end after a whopping 37 years. The first episode of the original show was broadcast in March 1985, and the finale, which saw many story threads brought to their conclusions, was aired in July 2022 (or August and September in some territories). However, … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10037,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"close","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[222,172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nerdleaks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10035"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nerdleaks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nerdleaks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nerdleaks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nerdleaks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10035"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nerdleaks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10035\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10036,"href":"https:\/\/nerdleaks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10035\/revisions\/10036"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nerdleaks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nerdleaks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nerdleaks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nerdleaks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Reviewers are shocked by <\/strong>Neighbours: A New Chapter<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The revival seems \u201cglitzier\u201d and more \u201csexed-up\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Not everyone likes it<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Some reviewers are feeling the love<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"