To a haunting, reverb-y song about a reluctant break-up, the trailer takes us through Neighbours past and present. It starts sweet in the early days, with Lou Carpenter larking about with a clapperboard, Harold and Madge’s post-amnesia reunion, Guy Pearce, Russell Crowe, and more weddings than a Moonie ceremony. And then it gets sexy, and then it gets dangerous. Explosions! Murder! Violence! Fires! Plane Crashes! Horse-riding accidents! Natural Disasters! Stefan Dennis! Next – accompanied by the sad piano version of the theme song – come the deaths. Oh, the deaths. Helen Daniels, Jim Robinson, Des’ Daphne, Kerry at the duck shoot… before an iconic shot of Harold Bishop’s glasses being splashed by the uncaring ocean on a rocky outcrop, and at 3:02, a poignant cameo from who else but Bouncer the dog, sadness in his eyes. The intensity, melodrama and emotional music all add up to quite the compilation. There’s plenty missing, as you’d expect from an attempt to boil 37 years and 8,903 episodes into less than the time it takes to boil an egg, but it’s a representative sample, told with all the emotional mastery of a toddler who’s dropped his ice lolly. This trailer’s an invitation to feel sad and let the feelings spill. It’s the end of an era. Time to say goodbye. The finale extravaganza will be divided into three new episodes, with the third-to-last airing in the usual lunchtime and teatime slot, and then a double-bill airing at 9pm. A host of big stars who made their name on the soap will be returning to pay their respects, including Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan and many more. And on the basis of this trailer, it won’t be a small affair. Hankies at the ready. See the Neighbours finale on Channel 5 on Monday the 1st of August.
