Running neck and neck with Neighbors as Australia's most popular TV soap opera, Home and Away debuted January 17, 1988. Set in the resort town of Summer Bay, New South Wales, the series originally concentrated on the lives of the Fletcher family, who had set up a tourist trailer park in the community. Like most other continuing dramas, however, the longer Home and Away remained on the air, the more it focused on younger, more attractive characters than the comparatively middle-aged Fletchers. Created by Alan Bateman, Home and Away was telecast weeknights at 7:00 p.m., attaining the 3,000-episode mark in March 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi