Home and Away: Discussion Thread

[Drew]

Boo!

[SnCCorinthos4ever]

They had an earthquake (I think it was) some time back and the Diner was destoryed.

Roman and (for the life of me I can't remember her name right now) opened a Diner/Drop in centre in an old boat shed. I know that it has Dan's name in it in memory of Dan

Edited August 5, 2008 by SnCCorinthos4ever

[Drew]

still Boo!

[SnCCorinthos4ever]

If anyone is downloading current show please note that tonights (thursday) show goes for an hour instead it's usual 30 minutes due to an earlier start for the football and the opening ceremony on Friday.

[Ben]

Since I last posted, my opinion has changed. Not really that into the show atm. In fact I'm back to missing episodes again. Way to newbie-centric for my liking - 80% of the cast are new, and all within the space of several months. I haven't been keeping up with Oz spoilers, so this is mostly UK pace.

After Sam's murderer was revealed to have been herself, Jack and Martha got back together. After a rough period persuading everyone that they were meant-to-be, Martha discovered she's pregnant - cue, who's the daddy? Roman knows he's a candidate, but Jack doesn't.

Tony proposes to Rachel, and she excepted. She wants to start a family, but it turns out that Tony, had the snip, sometime after Beth's death (when the hell did he fit that in?), and he can't have it reversed, due to complications of some sort. Another childless relationship for Rachel, then.

After her plot to break-up Rachel/Tony was revealed, as well as a frank talk with Rachel, Jazz decided to take stock of her life, and leave town to reconnect with Drew.

Gavin, the jerk newspaper editor, tried to have, The Den, shut down, as part of some revenge attempt against Belle, for quitting her photo journalism job, by insulting him. He failed. Leah and Miles tried to fight their attraction to one another.

Miles tracked down a kid, he'd befriended in Phuket, who he'd promised to look after. Jai was reluctant at first, but decided to come and stay with Miles, in Summer Bay House. He struck up a friendship with Maddie, due to her perfume reminding him of his Mum.

Noel blackmailed Ric, into partaking in under-ground bare-knuckle-fighting. Viv's unborn bayb, which was Ric's, was at stake. Ric came up against an old member of Johnny's gang. Viv's baby was diagnosed with a disability, she tried to flee, but Noel, caught her. Ric managed to scrape with his life, but Viv lost the baby, while Noel faked his death to escape his debts, as well as the cops. Maddie organized a sweet memorial for the baby. Ric got a job as a security guard, working with Aden's dad, Larry. During an armed robbery (Kane), Larry was shot, and Ric was injured. He's now suffering from post-traumatic stress.

Geoff and Melody became the new, Romeo & Juliet. After Nicole's bet to snag him for herself failed, Christine (Melody's Mum) plotted to keep them apart (uber catholic, everything's a sin, etc), first by taking on Miles, and his chosen reading material, which basically put the kids to sleep, than corrupt; then by issuing a restraining order against, Geoff. It was at Nicole's (Roman's teenage daughter) party, which was gate crashed by Axel's mates, that saw Axel try to seduce Melody, even though she said no.

Belle and Aden started to draw closer. Their flirtation nearly boiled over into something more. He's still dealing with his grandfather's abuse, and is feeling betrayed by his father. Larry swore his was off the grog, but during the night of the armed robbery, in which he got shot, he'd been drinking, which has caused complications. Nicole showed that she cared for him, by opening up her heart, but he broke it by rebuffing her, and subsequently forgetting their tête-a-tête. And Nicole's reasons for being in town - her mother's boyfriend tried it on with her.

During Sam's murder case, Morag hooked up with old lover, Ross. Colleen's over protectiveness of newly discovered sister, nearly cost Morag her relationship. Alf persuaded Morag to give into her feelings, and let love take hold. Ross' daughter Charlie, arrived, non to pleased about the budding romance. She saw it as a crime against her dead mother's memory.

Kane and Kirsty returned, with their son, Oliver in tow. Irene ended up hiding the fugitives, while Oliver received treatment for a bone condition. After a car chase, Kane was caught, and arrested for several robberies. Kirsty was devastated.

I've probably left heaps out. But this is the gist of where we are. It's all a bit boring, really.

I loved Jazz, and Rachel Gordon, who played her. Simply stunning. I thought it was her Neighbours, role as faux-Dr. Charlotte Stone, which was completely different to her Blue Heelers Character? Maybe I'm mistaken, but it come before Jazz...

I can't get into Martha's story, at all. It's all been there, done that, bought the rehashed t-shirt. I know that it's "new" for H&A, but it's not even been 2 years, since the exact same story was done on Neighbours. And even if they leave out the sectioning part, it'll still feel too much the same, IMO.

[SnCCorinthos4ever]

I haven't watched neighbours in years.

Rachel Gordon played a Detective in the last couple of seasons of Blue Heelers and was sexually abused by her uncle. She was tough and could mix it up with the best of them.

[SnCCorinthos4ever]

WOW what ending that was for the next couple of weeks.

Thing look like they are going to really fast paced when Home and Away returns.

[Evan]

I haven't watched H&A in a while!

Is the show missing Kate Ritchie?

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I haven't kept up with Home And Away since early 2007 with the aftermath of Sally's stabbing. However, I did download Kate Ritchie's last month worth of episodes or so. I still can't believe she's gone, she was the heart of that show for so many years IMO.

Has her absence left a bit of a hole in the show? I know Home And Away like many other soaps has increasingly become more and more youth oriented over the years, but Sally was always a vital part of everything right through it all.

Anyway, was it ever explained if Cassie's kid had the HIV virus as well? I know Cassie left with Sally and was still pregnant at the time, but was it addressed before/after they left?

[SnCCorinthos4ever]

Sally rang Miles (I think it was) off camera to let them know that Cassie had a girl and that the baby was free of the HIV virus.

I think that Sally is missed every now and then.

Viewers got to see a lot with Sally seeing her grow up on the show (don't see that all that much with any soap) and all her firsts.

[y&r_fan]

I recently started watching again because of Kirsty and I don't miss Sally at all. She was the Christine Blair of H&A, IMO - highly overrated.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

For some reason, I knew you wouldn't like Sally.

Everyone has the right to his/her own opinion. However, since viewers watched Sally/Kate Ritchie grow up on the show over the course of 20 years, the character and actress has a special bond with the audience that no one else on the show has (and Alf doesn't count, since he was an adult when the show started). It's like an emotional attachment, kind of like how some were pissed when Cassie was killed off on Y&R because they watched her grow up and she represented a state of stability and familiarity with viewers.

[Drew]

I downloaded the last two weeks of episodes, having not watched regularly also since early 2007.

Um, wow. 80% newbies is an understatement. In the span of a year: Beth, Sally, Lucas, Cassie, Drew, Dan, Amanda, Brad, Kim, Kit, Peter, Macca and prolly others i'm forgetting are all gone. And i dont know if Ric or Matilda are still on this show, they havent been on any of the show's i've downloaded, while being in the cast list at the official site. Holy cast purging! It's pretty bad when a cast member from 2000 is 4th in tenure on the show.

Jai is probably the most annoying thing on the show, along with that stupid Annie. Though that Miles/Kirsty underwear flurtation was embarassingly bad. And I see Irene has continued her tradition of somehow fostering every young person in the Bay.

The cliffhanger was a .... average. Especially with all the hype they tried building with their end of episode previews. They gave it away two weeks ahead of it airing! And then the next episode preview at the end spoiled it all. They didnt even come close to the awesomness that was the Sarah Lewis cliffhanger.

Edited August 10, 2008 by Drew

[Drew]

and I wouldnt say Sally's really missed either. At best, she was a supporting character the last few years to the teen characters, the way Alf and Irene and even Leah have been. I dont think she really had her own story, where she was the focus, since the Leah/Sally/Flynn baby story. Even Flynn's death seemed to focus more on Belle, Ric and Cassie than it did his wife.

[y&r_fan]

ITA. The constantly changing cast was a big part of the reason I stopped watching in the first place. It might not be as bad if the new additions COULD ACT. Most of the younger cast members on the show now are dreadful. Lincoln Lewis (Geoff), Charlotte Best (Annie) and Jordan Rodrigues (Jai) are PAINFUL to watch. It's such a shame, considering they used to have talented actors like Chris Egan, Bec Hewitt, Beau Brady, Tammin Sursok, Ben Unwin...

Although, Todd Lasance (Aden) is pretty good. He'll probably make it big overseas some day.

The writers have totally rewritten Kirsty. Her marriage has been over for all of four weeks, and already she's cracking onto that toad Miles! A few years ago she NEVER would have given up on Kane so easily.

ITA. And I don't think they ever will again.