With a Little Understanding - 'Neighbours' and Social Values

After eighteen years and 4500 edisodes, 'Neighbours', still rates solidly in Australia, and is exported all over the world (it screens at least twice a day in England). In this article, Peter Mattissi looks at Neighbours' approach to the themes of family, health, multiculturalism and homosexuality. He defends the much-maligned genre of soaps and explores the efforts of Neighbours' writers in ensuring that causes, issues or art are never prioritorized over the basic purpose of entertainment.