It’s finally here—the moment that Neighbours fans all over the world have been waiting for. After 37 years on our televisions, Neighbours is coming to an end, despite the petitions and the public outcry on social media when the news first emerged.
The final Neighbours episode will air at 9 p.m. on Channel 5 on Friday, July 29, marking the show’s end after nearly 40 years on our screens.
But why do viewers react so strongly when a TV show ends? Is it the alteration to our daily routine? Is it letting go of characters that have grown to be so known to you that they seem like family? Or is it the idea of parting with that familiar comforter we’ve owned for so long? All of those things apply to it.
For many of fans Routine, a sunny, joyful stroll to Ramsay Street, and the opportunity to catch up with old friends are what we associate with the term “neighbours.” Like most fans, I am more familiar with the homes and residents of Ramsay Street than I am with some of my own neighbours, and whether it is fictional or not, if you catch up with someone every day, you are likely to miss that when it is gone.
Fans of Neighbours can recollect these crucial historical occasions that also bleed into real life at the drop of a hat, in addition to the massive plot twists and major turmoil in Erinsborough.
While for many of us Neighbours was just a TV show we all watched after school, for others it has meant so much more. When Toadie and Dee’s car crashed off a cliff on their wedding day, who they were with, or what they were doing when Susan found out about Karl’s romance with Izzy, die-hard Neighbours fans can recall exactly where they were. The only person who truly comprehends this blending of fantasy and reality is a fan who has followed a TV show for decades.
Many people’s lives have been made more bearable by their neighbours, who have stuck by them through thick and thin and have offered some familiarity when times are harsh in our own lives or when we are undergoing change.
Even in the midst of a pandemic, Neighbours was the first soap opera to rise up, dust itself off, and resume production when every other form of entertainment shut down, doing what Neighbours did best: providing fans with the escape they needed at just the right time.
Fans of Neighbours may rest assured that they are not alone as the soap opera comes to an end and the inevitable takes place. When Channel 5 announced the termination of the soap opera, there was such a huge public outcry that it seemed certain that another network would pick it up.
However, while we wait to see if that day will ever arrive, we may take comfort in the fact that executive producer Jason Herbison has wrapped up the show’s plot with the possibility of it coming back to our screens in the future. But until then, Neighbours, on behalf of all of your fans, thank you for everything. You are the top.
Watch the final episodes of Neighbours
The penultimate Neighbours episode will show at the customary times of 1:45 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Friday, July 29. This will be followed by the historic conclusion, which airs as a double episode special at 9 p.m. that same night.
