Neighbours

From wedding day jitters to snatched kisses to Lassiters somehow staying in business, everything that made Neighbours so watchable for 37 years appears to be clear and present. And it’s fair to say it returns with a traditionally soapy bang, the very first episode delivering a delicious twist so audacious I laughed out loud in delight and was tempted to rewind and watch it all over again.

If you’re interested in jumping into Neighbours, you may want to read some online wikis and other articles first. But even if you don’t, you’ll still feel like you’re somewhere warm and familiar, just by virtue of actors and characters that have been around for decades.

This is Melbourne via way of California. Not groundbreaking nor any match for its Kylie ’n’ Jason heyday, but as easy-on-the-eye guilty pleasures go, these new Neighbours make for fair dinkum viewing.

Any abrupt changes largely settle down after the initial week’s episodes and there is a sense of slotting back into something comforting – like a pair of cosy slippers.