TV classics - Dream Team

IN OCTOBER 1997, Sky One and Hewland International came together to produce a football drama that no-one can live upto.  For ten years, viewers were gripped by ‘Dream Team,’ a series focusing on the events of a fictional club in the West Midlands, Harchester United.  For the first time ever, viewers got to see the makings of a football club and what really happens behind the cameras.  The show ended in June 2007, after 419 episodes full of murder, explosions, shootings, affairs, gambling addictions, pregnancy, battles for controls, match-fixing, bribery and murder trials.  Yep, Dream Team pretty much covered every base possible.  You wouldn’t want to be around this football club, because ten years of drama at Harchester United feels like the drama of an average family in their lifetime put together!

LOGO: HUFC emblem

     Dream Team began on Tuesday 15 October 1997, initially making two 30 minute episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.  The first series focused on the youth team, but for the following nine series, attention switched to the senior squad.  From series four (2000) onwards, the show moved into a successful one-hour Sunday evening slot.  At the height of its peak, Dream Team was Sky One’s most watched programme, with nearly two million (good figures) for a Sky show tuning into the series four finale, which culminated in the murder of unpopular chairman Prashant Dattani (Ramon Tinkram).

      The match action was used with permission from the FA Premier League and use of the Sky Sports archives, with a lot of the filming taking place at Millwall’s New Den ground.  The show proved the fronting ground for a lot of talented actors and actresses.  Jamie Lomas and Ricky Whittle became Hollyoaks icons, Rob Kazinsky likewise in EastEnders.  Duncan Pow is a hit with the Holby City fans, Stefan Dennis was the owner for a season in his break from playing evil Paul Robinson in Neighbours and Chucky Venice went into a similar show; Footballers Wives, after his Dream Team experience.  There were also a series of guest appearances from familiar football faces including Dennis Wise, Andy Gray, Harry Redknapp, Neil Warnock, Richard Keys and Alan Curbishley.

     The football might have been reality, but the off-field sagas that gripped the show were spectacular enough.  In series five, Harchester's first-team squad was travelling to the airport for the UEFA Cup final against AC Milan when it crashed off the M1.  Three first-team squad members were killed.  The following year, goalkeeper Jamie Parker (Jim Alexander) held the first-team hostage in 'The Siege,' in some of Dream Team's finest and grittiest scenes to be filmed.  After a tense stand-off with police, Parker was eventually gunned down to his death.

      The two most popular characters in the history of Dream Team were Lynda Block and Karl Fletcher.  Played by Alison King (now better known for playing Carla Connor in Coronation Street) and Terry Kiely, they were stalwarts in the show from its early beginnings.  Kiely’s character, Karl Fletcher was in the show from the first series and became instantly known for his ‘playboy’ lifestyle.  His character was a goal machine, helping Harchester to FA Cup success in 1998.  After an unhappy stint in Spain, playing for Real Mallorca, Fletch returned to Harchester and was accused of the murder of Dattani at the start of series five.  At the resulting trial, he was found guilty of his murder, before Lynda came clean at the last moment to reveal it was her who had struck the final blow.  Rather than be angry with her, Fletch and Lynda went onto have a steamy affair, but Sam Irving (Stefan Dennis) found out and called off the nuptials between him and Lynda at the altar.  With Lynda in jail, serving time for Dattani’s murder, Fletch went onto marry physiotherapist Abi O’Leary (Rachel Brady), and looked set to settle down at long last.  However, a crippling tax bill and a power struggle against manager Patrick Doyle (Shaun Scott) led to Fletch departing at the end of the sixth series for Saudi Arabia, in a bid to solve his money troubles.  He eventually divorced Abi, after she had a fling with French footballer Marcel Sabatier.  In series eight, Fletch returned to Harchester unexpectedly, but was struggling for fitness and was never deranged manager Don Barker’s favourite person.  In a showdown for supremacy, Barker murdered Fletcher in the changing room against a coat rail in the penultimate episode of series eight. 

     Lynda Block arrived in series two, as the wife of Chairman Jerry Block.  She got bored with Jerry quickly, and was soon having a sizzling affair with Latino player-manager Luis Amor Rodriguez (Martin Crunes) in one of Dream Team’s greatest ever storylines.  When Jerry’s dodgy dealings were exposed in series three, Lynda took over as chairwoman, but broke up with Luis when he went to play in Argentina for Boca Juniors.  So, Lynda continued her likings in Harchester managers, and went onto bed Ray Wyatt (Mark Moraghan), destroying his marriage.  However, series four was a power struggle for Lynda, with regular run-ins with the unpopular Dattani and a financial crisis that in the end saw her lose control of the club.  To compound matters, her affair with Ray was exposed to the press and sleazy local journalist Paul Hankin.  The resulting stress caused her to lose the baby she and Ray had been expecting.  In the final episode, Lynda’s patience finally snapped and she killed Dattani and ended up in jail at the end of the following series.  Series five was more of the same, with Lynda serving her time in prison after the breakup of her potential marriage to Sam Irving, as she was carrying on with Fletch.  She was released on a technicality three years later, on the day of Harchester’s darkest moment.

     The match-fixing scandal in the 2003-2004 campaign, caused by controversial chief executive Pilar Hernandez (Marem Hernandez) and bitter ex-player Stuart Naysmith (Terence Maynard) led to a chain of events which ultimately conspired to the death of the HUFC squad in Cardiff.  UEFA relegated Harchester United to the Coca Cola Championship and sweeping changes for the pre-season saw the feisty Don Barker (Jon Morrison) come in as the club’s new manager.  From the outset, Barker did things his own way and wouldn’t take any prisoners.  Clyde Connolly (Timothy Smith) couldn’t take it and jumped off the stadium after a Champions League match and Barker eventually lost his job over a sex scandal.  Having taken a position as West Ham’s director of football, Barker’s ultimate aim was to finish off Harchester.  He killed Fletch, revealed the secret of an affair between Ryan Naysmith (Ricky Whittle) and Chelsea Wright (Karen Ferrari) which drove nutty Viv Wright (Phillip Brodie) into a fit before the Championship playoff final.  After Harchester beat West Ham 1-0 to secure their place back in the Premiership, Barker wasn’t going to take it lying down.  So, he drove his cordoned off BMW, with petrol cans and Fletch’s body in the boot into the Harchester team coach.  The coach exploded, killing all but three of the first-team squad.

     Sadly, despite a new look and new characters, the glory days of Dream Team had come to an end.  Storylines either got boring or more sensationalised and in April 2006, it was decided that the show would be axed after a tenth and final series.  The tenth series focused on a storyline which evolved around the ‘Dragonslayer,’ a mysterious individual, exposing the secrets of the club.  The show bowed out with the offices of the Dragons Lair, Harchester’s ground going up in flames thanks to a dropped cigarette.  It was a disappointing conclusion, as no-one knew whether the ground exploded, killing thousands or Harchester won the Premier League title on the last day of the season.

     Dream Team certainly had its day and was quality football drama.  It has every right to be called a ‘TV Classic,’ especially if you liked the match action, attractive women and dramatic cliff-hangers.  Although a campaign for the ten series on DVD to be released has failed, the fictional legacy of Harchester United remains in the blood of many fans of the show.  There may be no revival, but the memories will remain forever.

More information on Harchester United can be found at http://www.harchester.net/ and http://www.harchester.tv/, where the latter continues the story where the TV drama ended for approximately another season and a half.

25 Years of Neighbours - When Neighbours Become Good Friends!

TOMORROW in the UK, the legendary Australian soap Neighbours reaches its 6,000 episode.  To mark the occasion, the bosses at Ramsay Street have come up with a ‘Who Dunnit?’ storyline, which will see the evil Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis) be pushed off the balcony at the Lassiters complex.  It also marks the 25^th year of a show, which has been on Channel Five since February 2008, and has given us some iconic and inspirational moments.  The residents of Erinsborough have had it all happen to them down the years, and here are fifteen of my memories from the Ramsay Street years.

Scott and Charlene’s Wedding                                                  1987

The real heyday for Neighbours was in its early days, the 1980’s.  Just two years into its birth came the wedding of the decade, even more popular to some than Charles and Diana.  Nearly 20million UK viewers tuned into the BBC to watch the wedding of Scott Robinson and Charlene Mitchell.    Every member of the cast featured in this romantic and groundbreaking episode, which of course set the stone for the legendary careers of Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue.  If this doesn’t bring a tear to your eyes, nothing will.

Susan and Karl get married in London                                    2007

If there is one Neighbours couple that have been through the mill, it must be Karl and Susan Kennedy.  In March 2007, they went to London, where Karl proposed to Susan on the London Eye, which she delightfully accepted.  In a week which starred cameo roles from Emma Bunton, Neil Morrissey and Michael Parkinson, Karl and Susan got married on the River Thames, the third time that they had got married.  However, the wedding was overshadowed by the reappearance of Karl’s former flame and Susan’s bitter enemy, Isabelle Hoyland.  Izzy went into labour during the wedding, with the baby delivered by the faithful Doctor Kennedy.  Susan would find out that Karl was the father of Izzy’s baby, as the pair had a one-night stand whilst Karl was on prescription drugs to help him sleep.  Now that was a dramatic wedding if there ever was one!

Jim Robinson Suffers A Heart Attack                                       1993

Alan Dale has gone onto great success in hit US shows such as Ugly Betty, The O.C and 24, yet has a habit of having characters that end up dying from a heart attack.  His most dramatic death though came in April 1993, when his character in Neighbours, Jim Robinson was written out of the show in smashing fashion.  Dale had disagreed with the producers of the show over his salary, and consequently, his contract wasn’t renewed.  In the show, Jim began a relationship with Fiona Hartman, who was after one thing, his wealth.  Cue several confrontations between the Robinsons and Hartman’s and the stress became too much for Jim, who collapsed in the kitchen floor, flying over a fruit bowl and succumbing to a heart attack.  Rather than help the other half, the deceitful Fiona transferred Jim’s money over to her account and allowed Rosemary Daniels to discover the body instead!  Pure gratitude!

The Waterhole Explosion                                                            1993

Now when you can smell gas, then you have a problem, and the last thing you want to do is ‘Don’t know, best leave it to the experts!’  Famous words from Brad Willis, who got entangled up in a massive explosion that gutted The Waterhole pub, as it was known then.  Brad and his wife, Beth ends up in the cellar when they suspect a leak, but decide to leave the issue to people who know their stuff.  The Waterhole, owned by Annalise Hartman explodes seconds later in spectacular fashion, throwing the owner to the ground.  Coffee shop assistant Stephen Gottieb was tragically paralysed in the explosion, whilst Beth and Brad luckily escaped with minor injuries.  Annalise was dismissed from her position, as she had known about the gas leakage, yet failed to report the incident and The Waterhole was no more.  Lou Carpenter would take over the damaged site, for a new watering hole that went the same way a decade later.

Madge Dies                                                                                        2001

One of the most heart-wrenching moments in the show’s history was the sad final scenes of Madge Bishop in the summer of 2001.  When Helen Daniels passed away in 1997, Madge took over as the matriarch of Ramsay Street.  Together with husband Harold (Ian Smith), they became one of the most famous couples in soap history.  Sadly in 2001, Madge contracted terminal cancer.  She spent her last days in her bed at No.24, with many of her close friends, Susan, Karl and Lou saying their emotional goodbyes.  With Paul and Tad, the two children that they had fostered and a emotional Harold, Madge quietly passed away in Harold’s arms, in an episode that was so emotional.   

Drew’s Death                                                                                    2002

Libby Kennedy and Drew Kirk were the golden couple of Neighbours at the start of the millennium.  They had to overcome several obstacles to tie the knot, and their wedding was just as tear-jerking as Scott and Charlene.  In 2002, the couple were considering a move to Oakey and are down in the vicinity, when Drew falls off a horse.  It looked like an innocuous incident, but sadly, the injuries are too great and Drew succumbs to liver damage and a brain haemorrhage.  The funeral was just as sad and Libby was never the same person again, until her departure two years later.  She returned in 2008, and is as strong as ever.  A failed marriage to Daniel Fitzgerald has followed, but Libby’s true love was always Drew.

Lassiters Goes Up In Flames                                                       2004

The 2004 season finale saw the planned wedding of Isabelle Hoyland and Karl Kennedy end up being cancelled at the last moment, as Izzy gets cold feet.  Despite not getting hitched, Karl gives Izzy a second chance, but the main incident of the night is yet to happen.  A mysterious figure in black sets fire to the storeroom in Lou’s pub.  The fire spreads very quickly, engulfing Harold’s Coffee Shop in the process.  The pub collapses, with Stu Parker and Cindi still trapped inside, although both will be found alive and well.  An explosion at the Coffee Shop knocks Max Hoyland out unconscious, to Izzy’s grave distress.  Right at the end of the episode, Paul Robinson returns to Ramsay Street, almost totally unnoticed. 

The Plane Crash                                                                               2005

To celebrate Lassiter’s anniversary, Paul takes a plane into the sky for a joy flight.  Several regulars including Isabelle Hoyland, Elle Robinson, Connor Harvey, Dylan Timmins and Sky Mangel are all aboard the flight.  One of Paul’s enemies, later to be discovered as his twisted son, Robert Robinson plants a bomb on the plane, which explodes in mid-air.  The wreckage ends up in the sea.  A dramatic rescue follows afterwards, with the residents who didn’t travel on the flight such as Max, Karl, Janelle and Harold awaiting news of their loved ones.  Sadly for Harold, his family of David, Lilijana and Serena Bishop all perished in the disaster.  Harold vowed revenge and it would be on an unsuspected Paul. 

Harold Strangles Paul                                                                    2005

Harold Bishop is struggling to cope with the loss of his family in the plane crash, and when Connor Harvey turns his back on him to reunite with his close friends, Stu Parker and Toadfish Rebecchi, Harold is left with nothing.  With Lou away and Sky not being much support either, Harold finds a letter than David had written, damming in his hatred for Paul Robinson (Paul had an affair with David’s wife Lilijana earlier that year.)  Harold heads over to No.22 and sneaks in, while Paul is on the phone to his son, Cameron.  As Paul hangs up, Harold grabs him around the neck and strangles his grip on Paul, until he collapses unconscious onto the floor.  One of the most surprising attacks in Neighbours history!

Stingray’s Death                                                                               2007

Sky Mangel’s baby, Kerry badly needs a transplant to beat leukaemia.  Kerry’s father, Dylan Timmins is unable to proceed with the transfusion, due to a sample that doesn’t match.  Dylan’s brother and Sky’s boyfriend Scott ‘Stingray’ Timmins steps forward, and after a few moments on the operation table when it looked like he might not make it, the transfusion is a success and Stingray makes a swift recover.  Sadly, fate takes a decisive blow and at a birthday party for his mum, Janelle, Stingray sits down and despite the best efforts of the Timmins family, they look on devastated as they realise that Stingray has passed away for the surgery complications. 

Bridget Passes Away                                                                      2009

Another traumatic death in Erinsborough occurred last year, when the very popular Bridget Parker passed away in hospital.  Bridget was involved in a car crash with her family, when father Steve attempts to swerve away from a loose horse.  Although she made out of the crash unscathed, Bridget collapses with baby India in her arms, and when found by Steve, is rushed to hospital for urgent surgery.  It looks like she has survived the worst, but a dream that she has seems to confirm terminal injuries.  Bridget goes into cardiac arrest and soon afterwards, Karl and Dr. Newton have to reveal the heartbreaking news.  Bridget’s husband Declan Napier, Steve and Miranda Parker struggle to cope with this horrific news.  This storyline spelt the exit for the Parkers, who left shortly afterwards.

Susan Finds Out About Karl & Sarah                                        1998

When the Kennedy family moved into Ramsay Street in 1994, we all knew the fireworks that were going to happen over the next sixteen years.  The first test of Susan and Karl’s happiness came in the season finale of 1997, when Karl had a secret moment with his secretary, Sarah Beaumont.  Temptation got the better of Karl for six months, and when Susan found out, via neighbourhood gossip at the wedding of Ruth and Philip Martin, Susan gave her guilty husband one huge slap!  After time apart, they did reunite, but the previous trust in their marriage had been well and truly shattered.

Harold Disappears                                                                           1991

In September 1991, Harold Bishop disappeared and vanished off the screens of Neighbours for five years.  Harold and Made had gone out to sea, and Harold was having a caricature of him drawn.  The last we see of him, is smiling and waving to a besotted Madge.  Then, he get washed out to sea and when his famous glasses are discovered, it is believed that he drowned, though a body was never recovered.  Harold reappeared in 1996, spotted by Helen Daniels whilst working for the Salvation Army.

Toadie and Dee’s Wedding/Dee’s Death                              2003

Toadfish Rebecchi has been one of Neighbours most well-loved characters, but he has never really been in luck when it comes to romance.  It looked like he had found his true happiness, when he met Dee Bliss.  Despite a couple of hitches in the lead-up to their wedding, including Toadie being tied up naked to a lamp-post on his stag night, the wedding day went through without any problems.  That was until they drove off for the honeymoon.  On the way to the airport to grab a flight to the Maldives, Toadie lost control of the car when he leaned over to kiss his new bride.  The car skidded and went straight over the edge of a cliff.  Toadie managed to scramble out, but Dee was never found, and although a body was never recovered, was presumed dead.  What a tragic end to an almost perfect day.

Karl and Izzy’s Break-Up                                                               2005

Karl Kennedy was an absolute fool for giving Izzy so many chances, as she was able to walk all over him.  Her lies came back to bite her for good in 2005,  when she claims that Karl was the father of her baby which she lost, when it actually wasn’t.  When her brother Max confronts her in the office of Scarlett Bar, Karl, having just bought holiday tickets for the happy couple overhears every word.  Despite a vain attempt to sort things out, Karl leaves a devastated Izzy on the ground outside the bar, humiliating her infront of Max, Steph, Paul and Susan.  This storyline marked the start of Neighbours 20^th anniversary week.

So, there you have it, 15 of the best memories from the first 6000 episodes.  Here’s to the next 6000, because this is the show when ‘Everybody needs good neighbours, because with a little understanding, you can find the perfect blend!’