Episode 423

Extended Summary

At the store, Celia can’t believe it’s almost church fete time again. Sylvia Wilson says time flies; she blames it on the ozone layer! Lance and Martin come in to call the police about the hot dog van being stolen… and to buy some beer. Martin finds out that the van has been impounded and complains about council red tape.

Donald’s class is distracted as he drones on about Latin prefixes and suffixes. Emma tells Viv that he’s going to crack any minute. Steven answers a question and Keith Williams says it’s boring. Donald asks him if there’s another topic he would like to discuss, and he suggests PUNKtuation, referring to Emma and Viv’s appearance.

Martin comes off the phone at the store and tells Lance they need about $500 worth of licences and inspections. Celia tells Martin she’s still prepared to invest as a silent partner. Lance tries to put her off but Martin tells him it’s their only chance. Celia says Sylvia Wilson is married to Matt’s councillor Uncle Rex; they can ask her to expedite things.

The bell rings and the students leave the classroom. Emma is convinced that Donald will crack this afternoon. Keith makes fun of Steven’s crawling and Steven asks Viv if she got her fancy dress from the tip. Donald walks past and Emma tries to bait him by offering Viv her purple eye shadow.

Keith, Viv and Emma come into the Diner laughing and Steven complains about them to Bobby, likening Viv and Emma to him and Dodge. Keith says it would really wind Flathead up if the whole class showed up tomorrow dressed like Emma. Bobby overhears and goes to the school to tell Donald. She has an idea for how he could handle it, but doesn’t think he’ll like it…

Lance and Martin are positioning the Café de Waves head in the hole sign as Sylvia has sorted things out with the council. Celia isn’t sure about the name and Lance complains about her nagging. Stacey appears and is impressed with the new look. Martin tells her about his ideas for new products and franchising but Celia says they need to discuss this. They go to the Diner for a meeting.

Back at school, Steven tells Viv she’s not being fair on Donald, especially after he helped her get away from her dad. He tells her she’s in a similar situation as he was with Dodge. Viv says Emma is nothing like Dodge, and Steven is starting to sound like Fisher. Emma comes along and says Steven is worse. Steven tells the girls it’s getting harder and harder to tell them apart.

Martin is talking about having a beach party for the grand opening. Celia wants to know what he means by fun in the sand. Martin suggests he and Lance dress up as hot dogs but Celia thinks straw boaters and jackets would be more appropriate. Celia leaves and Lance isn’t happy about Celia interfering. He tells Martin he’s got himself a silent partner since what he thinks clearly doesn’t matter.

At home in the evening, Donald tells Bobby he will handle the punks his way tomorrow. He wouldn’t even dream of doing it Bobby’s way. Bobby tells him to let her know if he changes his mind and Donald looks torn.

Summer Bay High is full of punk students the following morning, except for Steven who is in school uniform. Donald comes into the classroom and turns off their music. He is wearing a bandana, studded leather jacket and sunglasses! He makes his point that he looks ridiculous but he’s dressed just like them. He asks why they have to dress like this to exert their freedom. They all look exactly the same and so it’s as much a uniform as the school uniform is. He tells Emma he thinks she dresses like this to put some worth into an otherwise brainless existence! Emma yells at him to get off her back. Donald says he doesn’t get any satisfaction out of putting her down… which is more than he can say for her. He cancels the rest of the morning’s lessons so they can all go home and change.

At the Diner, Emma persuades Viv not to go back to school this afternoon. Lance and Martin come in, and Lance is still upset with Martin for pandering to Celia. Stacey tells Celia at the store she was surprised to hear about her going into business with Lance and Martin. Celia admits she is a little worried about some of Martin’s ideas. Stacey says she thinks dressing up as hot dogs is a great sales gimmick. Celia takes a call from Martin at the Diner who tries to lay down some ground rules but Celia has come around to his way of thinking. Martin hangs up and tells Lance that he told her!

Steven tells Viv and Emma they’re going the wrong way. Viv says they’re not going to school; they’re going to have some fun. A car pulls up and two guys try to pick the girls up. Steven tells Viv not to be stupid but Viv tells him to shut up and she and Emma get into the car.