Neighbours: The Explosion
Neighbours: The Explosion
Filming for the storyline commenced during late November 2012 at
Both
Plot
After learning their best man and bridesmaid cannot make it to their wedding, Sonya Mitchell and Toadfish Rebecchi are relieved when their friends Lucas Fitzgerald (Scott Major) and Vanessa Villante (Alin Sumarwata) step in. Sonya wonders if it will be weird using stand-ins on such an important day, but Toadie assures her that it will be fine. He also mentions that he is starting to feel relieved that nothing serious has gone wrong. Just as they discuss their honeymoon, Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis) calls round to tell the couple that the ballroom at Lassister's Hotel has raw sewage running through it and the kitchen is out of order. Toadie asks Paul how they can have the reception there and Paul tells them that he has arranged a marquee for them in the hotel's grounds. He will also give them the use of a suite for the day, as a gesture of good will. After Paul leaves, Sonya tries to calm Toadie down.
On the day of the wedding,
Sonya speaks to the police and then goes to the reception. Toadie and Sonya give speeches, perform a special wedding dance and cut the cake. Outside, Callum compliment Rani's dress, but Rani believes he is making fun of her and after telling Priya that she hates her, Rani leaves. Mason turns up to work as a waiter. As Sonya puts her drink down on his tray, she spots Mason's belt buckle and remembers it from the robbery earlier. With most of the party outside, Rhys Lawson (Ben Barber) comes inside to get a drink, while Priya tells her husband, Ajay (Sachin Joab), that she is going to text Rani. Outside the marquee, a shocked Sonya prepares to throw her bouquet, while one of the waiters changes the gas bottle. As Sonya throws the bouquet, a fire breaks out and the marquee explodes. Rhys comes to and tries to stand up, while Toadie discovers Sonya is bleeding from the back of her head. Ajay runs into the collapsed marquee to find Priya. Karl Kennedy (Alan Fletcher) advises Toadie not to move Sonya, before going to help out with the other injured guests.
Kyle Canning (Chris Milligan) helps Rhys out of the marquee. Rhys insists that he has just hurt his ribs and since he is a doctor, he knows that he will be fine. Ajay finds Priya is unconscious; having been crushed by a heavy pot plant that has fallen on her abdomen. Karl has to resuscitate Priya, while Sonya and Rhys are taken to hospital. At the hospital, Rhys is checked over and Priya is brought in. Karl discreetly tells Rhys that she had to be resuscitated again in the ambulance. Rhys's mother comes to see him and he maintains that he is fine. Sonya has a bleed on the brain, but Toadie insists she will be okay. Ajay tries to get hold of Rani, but she ignores the calls. Kyle finds her and brings her to the hospital, where Ajay explains what happened. Rhys checks himself out of the hospital, against Karl's wishes. Rhys tells Kyle that he has decided to meet with his estranged father. As Kyle struggles with his ute's lock, he notices Rhys has collapsed. He calls out for help and Karl tries to revive Rhys, who has died from an undetected blood clot.
At Number 32, Mason attempts to hide his clothes from the robbery and informs his sister, Amber (Jenna Rosenow), that Robbo has skipped town. Back at the hospital, Karl informs Ajay and Rani that Priya has suffered a cerebral hypoxia and she will not wake up. Ajay is shocked and comforts Rani when she breaks down. They say their final goodbyes to Priya and Rani apologises for how she treated her. Priya's life support is then switched off. Five days later, Sonya wakes from her coma, but suffers some memory loss. Ajay launches a class action suit against Paul and the hotel. However, when it emerges the gas bottle had been faulty, Ajay launches a case against the manufactures instead. Weeks later, Sonya regains her memories during a vow renewal ceremony. She also remembers Mason and Robbo were involved in the robbery at Lassiter's and reports them to the police.
Production
Conception and development
"It's no secret Toadie is jinxed when it comes to getting hitched, and it's fair to say it seems like his worst nightmares may be about to come true. Ramsay Street will never be the same again. Two characters will die. The question is who…?"[3]
—
During a
Jasek explained that when the team were given the chance to shoot a big event, like a wedding, that involved all of the cast, it was "the perfect opportunity" to heighten the drama and have the event effect the whole community.
Of the buildup to Sonya and Toadie's wedding, Moloney stated "Toadie is just convinced that things don't go well for him on weddings. He's pretty right, really! Lots of things go wrong like venue changes, best men getting ill, Jade not being able to make it from New York, and all this kind of stuff."[6] Moloney believed that the explosion storyline would rival that of his wedding to Dee.[5] Morey said that she was "pretty upset" when she learned that there would be an explosion on Sonya and Toadie's wedding day. She called the storyline sad, dramatic and big.[10] She later told Vicki Power from the Daily Express, "I've just watched these episodes and I have been bawling my eyes out. It's really heavy, heavy stuff. I've never seen anything like this on Neighbours."[11] As Toadie was worried that something bad would happen at the wedding, he is relieved when everything goes well and he and Sonya are married.[8] However, at their reception, which is being held in a marquee in the grounds of Lassiter's Hotel, a gas canister explodes as Sonya throws her bouquet.[8]
It was also confirmed by the producers that two characters would be killed off during the storyline.[6][12] Rhys Lawson (played by Ben Barber) was confirmed to be the first fatality of the explosion. Barber's departure was previously announced in November 2012, but details of his character's exit were initially kept secret.[13] While Rhys survived the explosion and the resulting collapse of the marquee, he later died of his injuries after discharging himself from the hospital.[14] Barber commented "Rhys is a headstrong guy and he thinks he is absolutely fine. But, his overconfidence is ultimately his undoing and, as he leaves the hospital, he collapses, leaving Kyle (Chris Milligan) kneeling over his lifeless body."[14]
The second victim of the explosion was local principal Priya Kapoor (Menik Gooneratne).[14] Although, Gooneratne's exit had been reported seven days before the storyline began,[15] viewers were initially left guessing as to whether Priya or Sonya would die.[14] Sonya sustained a serious head injury when she was thrown off her feet during the explosion. She was rushed to the hospital unconscious and with a swelling in the brain.[14] Meanwhile, Priya was trapped inside the marquee when the explosion took place and was crushed by a heavy pot plant that fell on her abdomen. Like Sonya, she was also unconscious and had internal bleeding.[14] However, Priya's condition deteriorated and eventually her life support was switched off.[14]
Filming
On 22 November 2012, a reporter for
Planning for the explosion scene began six weeks before it was shot, while filming took a total of four hours.[14] The cast and crew underwent a safety drill first, while trained Occupational Health and Safety officers from FremantleMedia were on the set.[14] Thomas Mitchell from TV Week revealed that a filming permit was not required for the explosion scene as it was not shot on public land, rather private land owned by FremantleMedia.[14] To create the explosion, the production team used low-impact explosives and special effects. Two explosions were filmed from different angles, with the scenes then merged during post-production.[14] Jasek said it was "certainly one of the biggest scenes" they had filmed since the car crash storyline. He added that everything went to plan, including the weather.[14]
Promotion
In late February 2013, Neighbours released a promotional trailer for the storyline in Australia.
Channel 5 released the promo on 19 March.
Two behind-the-scenes videos were released on the serial's YouTube account. The first video focuses on the filming of Toadie and Sonya's wedding, as well as the cast's take on the day.[17] The second deals with the aftermath of the explosion.[22] Channel 5 also released some behind-the-scenes photos of the scenes from the storyline on their website.[23] On 26 March, more pictures previewing the scenes were released by the channel.[24]
Broadcast
The storyline began airing from 19 March 2013 in Australia and from 16 April in the UK.
Reception
Ratings
The episode featuring the explosion was viewed by 280,000 Australians upon its first airing, making Neighbours the third most watched show on digital multi-channels that night.[27] In the UK, the episode achieved strong viewing figures. 1.04 million watched the episode during its lunchtime showing, while 1.25 million tuned in during the early evening.[28] The hour-long screening of Neighbours at 10pm saw another increase, achieving an audience of 1.44 million and making Neighbours the fifth most watched show of the week.[28] The episode featuring the aftermath of the explosion saw an increase in viewers in Australia, with 309,000 tuning in.[29] The same episode garnered 1 million viewers in the UK.[28] The third episode, featuring Priya's death, achieved 260,000 viewers in Australia and 1.09 million in the UK.[28][30]
Critical response
The storyline received positive attention from critics. Dianne Butler, writing for the
Jane Rackham from the Radio Times wrote "It seems Toadie's fears that his wedding to Sonya is jinxed are justified as his big day ends in tragedy in this dramatic episode."[34] A Daily Post reporter quipped "No wedding goes without a hitch in soapland, and Toadie and Sonya's is no exception."[35] On the day the episode was broadcast in the UK, All About Soap's Claire Crick wrote "There's just one thing you need to have at the top of your to-do list today… and that's watch Neighbours! The day of the explosion has finally arrived and the episode will be epic from start to finish – we promise!"[36] Digital Spy ran a poll asking readers whether Channel 5 should put Neighbours in the prime time slot again and 89.12% believed that it would be a good idea.[26]
In 2014, Jessica Boulton from
References
- ^ Channel 5. March 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
- ^ a b c Ward, Rachel (16 April 2013). "Boston Marathon bombings: Film4 pulls Four Lions but Channel 5 goes ahead with Neighbours: the Explosion". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
- ^ Channel 5. 26 February 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
- ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (7 February 2013). "'Neighbours': Executive producer Richard Jasek talks 2013 storylines". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
- ^ a b Kilkelly, Daniel; Fletcher, Alex (7 February 2013). "'Neighbours' Ryan Moloney on Toadie wedding plot: 'There's a big bang'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f Kilkelly, Daniel (26 February 2013). "'Neighbours' confirms wedding day explosion – first look". Digital Spy. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
- ^ Eleven. 18 March 2013. Archived from the originalon 17 August 2013. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
- ^ a b c d e Kyte, Jennifer (16 April 2013). "Toadie and Sonya's Neighbours wedding goes up in flames...and we are there". Daily Star. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
- ^ Eillis, Sarah (13–19 April 2013). "Toadie big day explodes!". Inside Soap (15): 10–11.
- ^ a b c Kilkelly, Daniel (5 April 2013). "'Neighbours': Eve Morey talks Sonya, Toadie wedding explosion and more". Digital Spy. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
- ^ Power, Vicki (13 April 2013). "Neighbours' explosive wedding". Daily Express. Retrieved 2 November 2013.
- ^ a b Kilkelly, Daniel (12 March 2013). "'Neighbours' wedding day explosion – behind the scenes pictures". Digital Spy. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
- ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (26 November 2012). "'Neighbours': Rhys, Andrew and Sophie to leave show". Digital Spy. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Mitchell, Thomas (16–22 March 2013). "Death do us part?". TV Week (11): 18–21.
- ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (12 March 2013). "'Neighbours': Sachin Joab leaving Ajay Kapoor role". Digital Spy. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
- Channel 5. 22 November 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
- ^ a b Kilkelly, Daniel (15 March 2013). "'Neighbours' Toadie, Sonya wedding – behind-the-scenes video". Digital Spy. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ^ Knox, David (31 March 2013). "'Neighbours explosion' goes primetime in UK". TV Tonight. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
- Channel 5 creative. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
- ^ a b Kilkelly, Daniel (19 March 2013). "'Neighbours' Toadie, Sonya wedding disaster – watch new promo". Digital Spy. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ^ Press Association. 20 March 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (19 March 2013). "'Neighbours' explosion aftermath – behind-the-scenes video". Digital Spy. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- Channel 5. 12 March 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (26 March 2013). "'Neighbours' explosive Toadie, Sonya wedding – spoiler pictures". Digital Spy. Retrieved 28 March 2013.
- ^ a b Kilkelly, Daniel (28 March 2013). "'Neighbours' explosion to get 10pm screening on Channel 5". Digital Spy. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
- ^ a b Kilkelly, Daniel (17 April 2013). "'Neighbours': Should the show go primetime again? – poll". Digital Spy. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
- ^ Knox, David (20 March 2013). "Tuesday 19 March 2013". TV Tonight. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
- ^ Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
- ^ Knox, David (21 March 2013). "The Block finale tops 2.1 million". TV Tonight. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
- ^ Knox, David (22 March 2013). "Thursday 21 March 2103". TV Tonight. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
- ^ Butler, Dianne (20 March 2013). "Out of the box: the week's best TV". Herald Sun. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- Sugar. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
- ^ "Neighbours spoiler alert". New!. 19 March 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
- ^ Rackham, Jane. "Neighbours: Episode 6602". Radio Times. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
- ^ "Week beginning April 16 soapbox ... what's happening this week". Daily Post. 13 April 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
- ^ Crick, Claire (16 April 2013). "Neighbours: It's explosion day!". All About Soap. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
- ^ Harrison, Phil (9 April 2013). "Neighbours: the Explosion". Time Out. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
- ^ Sarah (16 April 2013). "Toadie's Wedding Explodes!". Inside Soap. Archived from the original on 3 September 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
- ^ NOW. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
- JPIMedia). 3 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.