Home and Away: Discussion Thread

[Ben]

Sylph, do I assume that you haven't been watching in a while?

It's doing OK; not great, just OK. Sometimes it feels like it's treading water, and other times, everything clicks. But H&A's main issue is that it lacks an identity; it doesn't know what it wants to be, or how to gel tradition with modern. They're trying to take the show back to its roots, but they don't know which roots they want to emulate. The lighting has changed, and the sets have been updated (some work and others have totally lost their identity, like Leah's house); everything has a warm sunny feel, whether they're dealing with teen romance, or murder.

I wasn't a fan of the Year Long Mystery, or 90% of the show, and that same storyline that dragged it down last year, is still playing out now. Hugo/Martha; Gina/John; Xavier, are terrible in many different ways. Whole episodes should never revolve around Xavier, while Gina & John are boring as hell - in fact, counting grains of sand would be more entertaining! Martha epitomizes everything that is wrong with the show, and along with Hugo, sucks the life out of everything. Angelo is not much different.

Tony & Rachel don't do anything, and it is clear why Amy Mathews decided to quit. They managed to give Tony and John a rivalry, which is believable, but boring. John drags everyone down, with his outdated views, and general boring nature.

Irene still does nothing. Maybe for the best, considering the last time they gave her a story, it was insulting, and unrealistic.

But, Marilyn is a God's send. Really, she's awesome. She breathes so much life and soul back into the show, and clicks with everyone. Miles' mental health story has been really good. It did drag for a bit, but overall its been creative, and a positive portrayal, IMO. Leah has had life breathed back into her, thanks to new addition Elijah, who really suits her. He's also a nice guy with a personality. But, I do wish they hadn't of killed Vinnie off screen, just to prop Elijah and Leah. That was unnecessary. Ruby is great, as are Romeo and Nicole (although, Nicole did have a fashion story that was ripped from the pages of Neighbours' attempt with Donna & Saffron).

Liam has a lot of potential, but they're wasting him on nothing much. Aden's brother Justin was an excellent new addition, but sadly he's left - hopefully he'll return. It was sad seeing Aden leave, as he had become a favourite, but it felt right after everything. I liked the story surrounding Justin, and whether he killed their father, Larry, and all the burying of the body, and digging it up, again. I would've preferred a more fitting goodbye between the family, instead of one garbled phone message apology from Larry.

But that Year Long Mystery and everything that happened during it, really had no effect on characters - no development at all. And you'd never guess that Charlie was revealed to be Ruby's mother. That story has so much scope, but nothing has been down with it.

[Ben]

Maybe Jason Daniel will help lift the show out of its funk?

[Dion]

oh he should be quite good for the show...his run on Shortland Street as producer was one of the best periods in the show's history (particularly 2007 and 2008)...although he does seem to have a bit of an obsession with murder and mayhem! lol

[Ben]

He should fit right in with H&A, then.

Seriously though, it's nice to hear that he has promise.

Courtesy of BTTB... New character's info.

Penn Graham:

April Scott:

The Walkers:

But that is not all, as we can reveal that there will soon be a startling revelation about a new regular, which will excite many long term fans of the show....and trust us, it's going to be huge...

**************

All sounds quite interesting. I do notice how they're falling back on the old psycho story. And I laughed when I realized that they'd cast Christian Clark - the guy who abruptly quit Neighbours to pursue a Hollywood career, only to return to an Oz soap. Swings and roundabouts.

Edited June 10, 2010 by Ben

[DRW50]

I don't watch this show very often but sometimes I miss seeing Emily Symons on Emmerdale so I wanted to see her on H&A, since I've heard this was the soap she was best in. I really enjoy her presence as Marilyn -- are longtime fans happy to see her back? Is she being true to her character? I didn't see the story where they said she was dying. I guess she still is, but she seems to be in good spirits and adds a lot of life to the show.

Are there any teens I should care about? I skip most of that, and the cop stuff. I did think the cop with the short hair was hot. I don't know his name.

Is anyone else distracted by the school uniforms? The girls look like tape dispensers.

How long has the woman who looks a bit like Tammy Faye Bakker (and someone else I'm blanking on...possibly Amy Sedaris) been on the show? She has a booze problem. I kind of like her, although some of her outfits are scary.

Edited June 17, 2010 by CarlD2

[Ben]

Marilyn is awesome. She really brings an old school vibe back to the show. I've not seen any negative comments about Marilyn, from old or new viewers; most are really happy to have her back. Emily and TPTB are being true to her character - its like she's never been away. Marilyn revealed that she's dying, but she's dealing with it in her own way, and dosen't want anyone to mention it (Alf, Miles). It seems they've taken her literally, and haven't brought it up since. But, apparently, there maybe more to it than meets the eye...

Angelo.

Thinking about it, there aren't that many teens on the show ATM, which is really surprising, considering H&A has always been more teen based than Neighbours - how ironic. There's Ruby, Nicole, Romeo and Xavier, and really you can by-pass Xavier. The others are good, especially the girls.

You're talking about, Jill - Romeo's mother. She's new. She killed her horrible husband to collect on his will, and allowed her daughter Mink, to take the rap, and spend several years in juvie. That's why Romeo is so dark on - that, and her alcoholism. She has a lot to make up for.

[DRW50]

Thanks. Mink? No wonder some of those scenes seem a bit John Waters-esque...

So what do you think of Angelo?

This Colleen woman with Alf and Marilyn, is she just a short term character?

[Dion]

No lol Colleen's been a regular since 1999 and before that was a recurring character back in 1988/89 as she was the mother of one of the original characters, Lance who (in a role reversal) now recurs from time to time (and speaking of Lance I believe Marilyn was initially brought on as his girlfriend, but stayed on after he left).

It's actually quite weird that they decided to bring on a recurring character from the 80s back to the show as a regular ten years later but at the time H&A was going through a bit of a nostalgia phase that actually lasted for several years (from about 1999 - 2005 you'd often see old characters return for brief stints for events such as Sally's failed 2000 wedding, Summer Bay's 150th anniversary, Sally's surrogacy storyline, Sally's wedding to Flynn, Alf's 60th birthday for the 4000th episode etc).

Anyway, a storyline from about two years ago revealed that Alf and Colleen were half-siblings (conveniently ignoring the fact that Alf once dated Colleen's long lost daughter whom she'd given up for adoption, though they never actually had sex or anything and it only lasted for about a week or two).

Edited June 18, 2010 by Dion

[Ben]

Mink's no longer with the show. She was kinda fun from what I saw.

Oh, Angelo, the one character that is sure to divide opinion. Generally, I like Angelo, I think he has lots of potential. But... See, when he first started, Angelo was a breath of fresh air - he was cheeky, funny, and very jovial; he reminded me a lot of Vinnie. Then they paired him with now-dead Belle, and turned him into a jealous freak, with a violent temper. Then they mellowed that out, but kept the seriousness; all that made him great, was gone. In the 2008 season finale, Angelo accidentally shot heartthrob Jack Holden (Martha's soul-mate - she has many!), and he was charged, only to return in 2009 under the guise of solving the year long mystery, and being reinstated as a cop. All the Jack fans hated him. Those that still liked him, were turned off him, as Angelo became more and more arrogant and obnoxious the more the year long mystery dragged. But, the 2010 revamp has seen Angelo become more relaxed, yet they still don't seem to be able to take him back to his cheeky jovial self. The less time he spends solving crimes, the better the character becomes. He probably looks a better character if you've never seen any of his past.

[DRW50]

Looks like original character Roo is back, played by Georgie Parker. Do you think it's a wise decision? I wonder why they didn't bring her back while her daughter was in town.

http://www.backtothebay.net/news/2010/08/09/roo-return.shtml

[Ben]

Wise to bring back Roo? Or wise to cast Georgie Parker?

Georgie is awesome, and a casting coop for H&A. She played Terri in All Saints, and is truly a gifted actor. She'll bring her fan base with her, as she is very popular; and the show needs all the fans it can get, what with its falling ratings.

I don't think they're bringing Roo back for the sake of it. I think that Penn is probably her son, or something, which is why he has this weird vendetta against Alf. I think they originally intended for Martha to still be with the show when Roo arrives, but some exec high up in network Seven wanted Jodi Gordon gone (due to her very public non-family friendly dramas - drugs, lap-dancing clubs...) and this has made it all seem weird - TPTB were fine with her staying, as she signed a 1 yr contract not long after the drugs scandal.

Hopefully Morag returns to help Roo's return along, and they come up with a good reason for her returning, as she hasn't bothered to come back for her daughter's past numerous tragedies, so why bother now?

[DRW50]

Either one.

Do you think they could recast Martha?

H&A seems to do a lot to try to keep their past still part of the present...unlike some other soaps.

[Ben]

Not at the moment. Martha was a loved or loathed kinda character, and I don't think fans would buy a recast this soon after Jodi's exit. Plus, her exit was very final, and really, the only way they could bring her back is if Hugo died... but then there'd still be the issue of the people behind the people smuggling and them wanting Hugo & Martha dead. Also, what is there left for Martha to do? She's been through almost every tragedy possible, some twice over!

ETA: I've always felt that H&A don't do enough to keep their past present, especially in the past, where characters would leave and never be mentioned again, or storylines would be forgotten about, even though a similar one is going on. Grated, they talk about Alf's, Leah's and Colleen's pasts a lot, but everyone else is forgotten about. When was the last time Miles talked about Sally? Or Irene remembered she has bio children, or even the ones she's fostered? They don't even have Irene share many scenes with Marilyn, even though they used to be close.

Edited August 9, 2010 by Ben

[Dion]

Yeah, Irene and Marilyn were the best of friends back during Marilyn's last stint, now it seems Marilyn is just merely some old acquaintance that she barely used to know.

[SnCCorinthos4ever]

They have also said that another past character would be returning and played by the original person. I am wondering if it will be Frank.