The structure of the original cast and the format of the first episodes were modelled on A Country Practice, a highly successful serial on Seven Network Redlich had worked on as a writer, script editor, and a producer for several years until 1988.

[5] Another stand-out member of the original cast was Tony Martin[11] as the hip and trendy Reverend Bob Brown[5] and his blossoming relationship with Dr Elly spanned much of the entire run of the series.

The serialized soap-drama hybrid which made A Country Practice so successful was underpinned by the strong support cast involved in their own ongoing dramas and this was evidently missing in the very early episodes of E Street.

Now with a targeted demographic, Forrest Redlich admitted E Street was revamped to intentionally target Generation X, which he described as the "Coca Cola Generation": "We made a conscious decision to go for the younger audience, to go for that Coca Cola audience, which were a lot more savvy and a lot more hip than a lot of people gave them credit for"[28]There remained a dark undercurrent to the series, however, and while the writers ramped up the colour and comedy factor, they also set about revamping the cast, and E Street became notorious for regularly killing off established characters in unique and creative ways: the violent demise of two original characters – Rhonda Berry was shot dead in an armed siege and Sarah McKillop was raped and suffocated to death – reinforced the original intention by the producers to shock viewers and push boundaries.

There was a redesigned title sequence accompanied by a punchier, remixed theme tune – plus, the expanded cast of trendy, likeable and younger characters brought the desired balance of soap, comedy and drama to the new-look E Street.

[8] From mid-to-late 1989 and into early 1990, many new cast members were added to the established original lineup, and these characters included a new solicitor for the legal centre, Jennifer St. James (Virginia Hey); Elly's recurring rogue ex-husband, David Fielding (Noel Hodda), was promoted to series regular during his short-lived romance with Mikki Fallon (Peta Toppano); dashing airline pilot, Daniel Windsor (Chris Orchard), moved his family of four young children to E Street when he began a whirlwind romance with Elly.

Toni Windsor joined the other young new characters, including Stanley "Wheels" Kovac (Marcus Graham),[27] who began a steamy affair with Lisa Bennett which including a boundary-breaking bathtub seduction scene which caused a small ripple of controversy; next, George Sullivan's estranged daughter, Alice (Marianne Howard), came into the series rather spectacularly by surviving a crash in a light aircraft piloted by Daniel Windsor;[27] And then, perhaps raising more than a few eyebrows in his congregation, Reverend Bob Brown's long-lost illegitimate son, Harley Kendrick (Malcolm Kennard),[27] showed up in Westside, revealing long hidden secrets about the hip clergyman.

As Chris dealt with having to get Megan sectioned following a major manic episode, Ernie, meanwhile, had a boost in the romance stakes: he returned from a short holiday head-over-heels in love with American lounge singer, Abbey Rossiter (Chelsea Brown).

The viewing figures for E Street had, by now, significantly improved: the revamp, new characters, and the serialised format had been a success and it was heading into the 1990s on its way to becoming a huge hit for Network Ten, which itself had been through a turbulent time, having been saved from closure in the previous few months.

Sonny's dark and dramatic time on E Street climaxed with three members of the Patchett family, Chris, Megan, and Abbey, all perishing in perhaps the most memorable moment of the entire series when they were all killed off in a highly shocking car bomb explosion.

To brighten up a sombre time, several new young faces were introduced to give E Street even more colour and credibility, and they included the series' next breakout star: Melissa Tkautz who came in as Nikki Spencer along with her brother, Zach (Daniel Knight).

They arrived to stay with their Aunt Martha and George, and, after the cancellation of Family and Friends – a doomed rival soap opera on Nine Network – its most popular young actor, Adrian Lee, joined E Street as Craig "C.J" Jones.

Forrest Redlich created the role of Cathy and he worked extensively with Raison on A Country Practice, admitting his admiration for the actress on the Mr Bad's Revenge Part 2 DVD audio commentary.

Executive Producer Forrest Redlich commented to TV Week when the storyline began:[39] "Where A Country Practice and GP do things on alcoholism, venereal diseases and such social subjects, we chose the serial killer.

"[39]During the early part of the 1991 season, there was an exodus of several high-profile original characters;[40] First to go was police constable Paul Berry (Warren Jones) who was sectioned after having a nervous breakdown live on Sheridan's TV show, The 5.30 Report.

[37] Two episodes later, Ernie Patchett (Vic Rooney) disappeared and left the confused locals in charge of the pub – and then, perhaps most jarring, was the departure of the entire Fielding family when Elly (Penny Cook), David (Noel Hodda) and Claire all departed E Street for a new life in Bangladesh.

Virginia's demise was a dark and surprising development for viewers, and in the days before spoilers, it was an unexpected twist which was described as a brutal end to a popular but relatively short-lived character (portrayer Julieanne Newbould left to have a baby).

[44] Nevertheless, another bombshell was dropped on viewers when Michael Sturgess suddenly rose out of his shallow grave (next to Virginia's rotting corpse), and then tried to make it back to Westside to reveal the truth about Stephen Richardson and Mr Bad.

But, after a dramatic stand-off with crooked country sergeant, Roy Harrison (John Clayton), at Westside police station, a plan to shoot Stephen dead went wrong and Mr Bad escaped again and went undercover for a while.

With the mysterious anonymous Radio DJ, "Doctor Rock", mercilessly goading the insane serial killer live on-air, Mr Bad came back to Westside to wreak his revenge, more bitter and vengeful than ever before.

James (Scott McRae)[45] had earlier been introduced as police constable Max Simmonds's cousin, and when Stephen moved into his beach house, Mr Bad re-emerged, and the reign of terror started all over again.

Penny Cook left the series in March 1991 after announcing her decision to leave at the end of 1990[47] – not wanting to lose the pivotal character for good, writers brought Elly back and she returned from her six months in Bangladesh now being played by Diane Craig.

[53] This time, Stephen Richardson remained dead, Amy was sent off to a psychiatric ward, leaving Sam heartbroken, and it was at this point the writers struggled to keep up the momentum, and with pressure from Network Ten to go for an older audience,[54] E Street started to flounder.

Another blow quickly followed when viewer favourite and a pivotal character from the very start, Reverend Bob Brown, was dramatically killed off after Tony Martin quit the show due to a row over money.

Creator and executive producer Forrest Redlich explained on the 2007 DVD release, Mr Bad's Revenge Part 2, that the cancellation was more due to creative differences and the direction the network wanted to take the show, than falling viewing figures.

Redlich revealed Network Ten wanted to relocate the studio production of E Street from Sydney to Melbourne, which would have caused many on-screen continuity issues, as well as creating unsustainable logistical problems for the entire cast and crew.

Storylines were hastily wrapped up and in the final episodes (403 and 404), the remaining characters were placed in life-threatening and cliffhanger situations:[60] Jo-Jo (Kelley Abbey) battled the attentions of a sleazy loan shark; Ernie (Vic Rooney) was electrocuted in the cellar of Patchett's Pacific knocking him out, sparking a huge fire which then trapped Elly (Diane Craig), Laura (Antoinette Byron) and Sally (Joanna Lockwood) as they tried to rescue him; as the burning pub is evacuated, Jack (Andrew Williams) and Sam (Simon Baker) tried in vain to rescue everyone trapped in the cellar; meanwhile, Max (Bruce Samazan), Nikki (Melissa Tkautz), Alice (Marianne Howard) and Bonnie (Melissa Bell) were all lost in the outback when recently hospitalized Bonnie suddenly had a relapse and slipped back into a coma.

When E Street started, there was a unique soundtrack created by Twilight Productions, and during 1989 as the series was establishing its own identity, Forrest Redlich made a deal with Australian record company CBS so that popular contemporary hits could be played in every episode.

[66]E Street actors Tony Martin (Bob), Alyssa-Jane Cook (Lisa), Marcus Graham (Wheels), Leslie Dayman (George), Cecily Polson (Martha) and Vic Rooney (Ernie) all flew to Britain to appear in advertisements promoting the launch of the soap.

In the bestselling teen magazine, Smash Hits, Sky ran a full-page advertising campaign with the catchline: "It's Time You Moved In" which featured (yet to appear) Sonny Bennett with the headline, "Mad, Bad and Dangerous to know",[69] and another one with Wheels and Lisa which claimed, "Tough but gentle, strong but sweet".