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Oh, I remember now. It was the day before Colby was arrested. To be honest I'm not surprised that they didn't say anything. Tane stole a van full of drugs. I would keep quiet as well.

There's still quite a bit they can do with the older cast. Ryder and Theo were great additions for Alf, Roo and Leah. It's a shame Ryder was let go. I thought he was a character that could hang around for ages as he still had a lot the could do with him. They could have still brought him back as a guest now and again. Same with VJ. Andrew was also another good albeit brief addition for the family unit with Leah and Justin..and they could always bring Ava in more too. Roo does seem unfertilised...I'm glad she's doing more with the Surf Club but she should have done more with the school or working in this Youth centre with Harper and Tane, yet we didn't see that at all. It was just to introduce Perri, unfortunately. It'll also give Harper more of a purpose if they brought this aspect back. It's a good way to introduce younger characters too without the school of the show really wants to distance itself from that, while maintaining the fostering or mentoring aspect of the show. I'd prefer if Marilyn and John didn't get back together, as long as they give them something else to do. One of them could try a single parent fostering thing. It'll be nice to see Marilyn join another family unit. She's often been in long term relationships with older guys so it'll be nice to see her be with a guy her age or younger. Maybe a singular dad that moves to the bay and Marilyn has to navigate taking on another parental role with his kids. Heather wasn't the worse idea for a long list daughter for Marilyn - it was excited very, very poorly for a short term villian - similar with Mick for Irene. John could try single parent fostering or even have Shandi come back with children...or even he just has one or two grandchildren that he looks after. Irene could leave the diner and start a new business, start a new relationship (it's been forever) or have one of her many grandchildren come to stay. Not sure her grandchildren but her ex foster children kids.

I'll narrow it down: it isn't Channel 5! I might be tempted to tweak the details here and there, but broadly speaking I think this is exactly what needs to happen - what has been crying out to happen. It seems so obvious that it would improve the show enormously to have a wider diversity of character ages again and to put the 'legacy' cast at the centre of families. Then it essentially doesn't matter how many weeks a year the likes of Irene and Alf do on the show in the years to come - but when they are rostered on, they can be guaranteed involvement in something meaningful. To add to the above, we surely need to kill off Martha offscreen at this point, don't we? I've never heard of a married couple of that age living in different towns and commuting to see each other (or rather, Alf commuting to see Martha, because she sure never returns the gesture ). I know currently it provides an excuse for Ray to have a break every now and then, but as far as Alf the character is concerned it feels deeply unsatisfactory. I guess you can argue it works for them, but... apart from anything I'm bored of hearing about the constant to and fro. He has plenty other relatives he could go and see as an excuse for a write-out, or Sally, or Don Fisher.

Since Roo be back she be having more to do and her character personality brings lot energy to show. I be happy to keep all 7 mainstays for as long as possible!. I don’t count Mackenzie as mainstay yet even though she be around longer then most but I count people as mainstay once they hit ten years and Justin almost ten years so include him as 7 mainstays.

I think if Pippa had stayed I think we wouldn’t have had Joel and Natalie and Tom and Gypsy would just have been brought in as new foster children for Pippa. I think Pippa would not tolerate the Colleen and Gypsy feud or Colleen's interference so I think it could have been interesting seeing how Pippa would deal with Colleen had Pippa been around when Colleen returned and move into Lance mobile home. I could definitely see Pippa taking on Shelley Sutherland's storyline’s such as running the drop-in centre. With Christopher Fletcher being at high school age by 2000 and I say Christopher could be played by Christopher Egan and would had Nick Smith storyline’s instead . I say Irene would remain working at Diner if Pippa still stayed working at school and become part owner with Alf after Ailsa dies or maybe when Diner revamped Ailsa decides to become business partners with Irene then as after all by then Ailsa should know Irene would be reliable business partner . I understand Ailsa not wanting to become business partners with Irene at first since she was only started to recover from her alcoholism problem but after being sober for years by then it show you should be trust worthy enough to be business partner with.

I would like to see H&A return to the "family" aspect too. I feel like the current producers think families and teenagers as a backward step (i.e. how it was in the eighties or the Sutherland era), but it doesn't have to be, especially with a PG rating. The show can do darker/more adult teen storylines with the current ratings rather than just the usual "X has a crush on Y" or the latest school yard drama. The show seems to shy away from LGBT storylines (I'm not sure whether this is down to the current producers or Channel 7/Channel 5 though!), but the show could cover a teenager exploring their sexuality and coming out, plus other teen stories that Hollyoaks and some British soaps cover really well like a drug storyline, eating disorders, the online world, historic sexual abuse, self-harm, teen pregnancy etc. Some have been covered in the past and done well within the timeslot restriction, but I think it could be done better now with a PG rating. Here would be my solution: The twenty-somethings: I would keep a core group of 5-6 twentysomethings. The show has generally had some, but they've been one age group of many (often the most under-represented!). I would keep Mac, Remi, Mali , Kirby, Dana and maybe Theo for the Leah and Justin connection. So I would axe Rose, Bree, Eden, Theo, Tane, Harper, Levi, Abigail and Cash, and replace them with families and younger characters. It might make sense to keep characters with a purpose (i.e. a doctor or a police officer), but I struggle to see those exisiting characters fitting into a show with a bigger family focus. If the school is reintroduced, we would need a teacher, so maybe Remi, Kirby, Mali or Mac can reveal they completed a teaching degree prior to arriving in Summer Bay. It honestly wouldn't be the worst retcon in recent years and would at least have a long-term gain for the show. It would also make more sense logistically to use an existing characters in the high school rather than to axe so many characters in an age group to introduce new ones for the role a teacher. If the show needed to round out a teen gang, maybe Mali could take on responsibility for a younger cousin or mentor a young River Boy onto the straight and narrow. Summer Bay House: I'd then introduce a recast Duncan as a single dad, having just lost his wife, and three children: his son Bryce, and two-step children from his late wife. Alf would have a large family to play granddad to, giving him a greater purpose as the show's patriarch, and make Summer Bay House the central family home again. With Emily Weir seemingly in it for the long haul, I'd also introduce a slow burn romance between Duncan and Mackenzie, with them eventually getting married and maybe even having a child of their own. I would then either axe Roo or move her into her own place (see below). John and Marilyn: I'd reunite them and introduce a foster child for them too. It is still one of the most baffling decisions as to why they even split up in the first place, since neither have developed as individual characters since. Aside from the odd storyline (Stunning Organics, the Heather stuff), she's pretty much just floated around the Diner and Summer Bay House. John has done even less in the last 5 years! If the producers deem them too old to be foster parents, maybe John's grandchild via Shandi could lob on his doorstep in the same way Seb did to Fisher or Ryder did for Alf, but I'd save the grandchildren aspect for Alf and Irene (see above and below!). Roo Stewart - As much as I like Georgie Parker as an actress, she's wasted and underused in the role of Roo, so she could easily be written out to be honest. I imagine losing her would also increase the cast budget and with Duncan and family around, she wouldn't be needed as family for Alf. If they were to keep her, she would need to be made principal of the high school and move into her own place. It would be hard for Roo to become a main parent/guardian given how much time Georgie Parker has off though. Irene: There are two options for Irene - make her a supporting older character with no family (similar to how Colleen was for many years) or you bring in her grandchildren. Irene has been around for so long now that the former could work - she would just be on the peripheral of the Palmers or Justin and Leah's family, in the same way Colleen was for the Sutherlands and Sally and Flynn. Alternately, you've got her grandchildren. We've got Paul and Mark who haven't been seen yet, who could become lodgers at Irene's. If Paul, Mark or Finn's subsequent children were introduced, I'd make them a teacher, police officer or a doctor. It might seem too much to have Alf, John and Irene all suddenly have grandchildren around, but that's what happens when you have an aging stalwart cast who might be past becoming serious foster parents. Nathan's family would likely be teenagers or younger at the moment, so I'd probably keep them in reserve for when a full nuclear family is needed. Justin and Leah - two characters I wouldn't be sad to axe, but as the younger stalwarts, it makes sense to keep them on, perhaps even more so than John and Marilyn. They could look into official fostering or maybe expand their family with maybe Leah's nieces and nephews (we still have Alex and Chris' families who haven't been explored!) in the first instance. Theo could stick around for a transitional period and perhaps even act as a big brother while the newcomers settle in. With Danny Raco working behind the scenes, it might make sense to start with Alex's family if Danny is willing to make the odd appearance on the other side of the camera.

I don’t know is it just because Tim is handsome because what the heck Eden called him a bad influence and he said he would take that People have said that to me but they haven’t become instantly attracted to me I have said this before but the women in this show are very easy to impress unbelievable doesn’t even cover it

Jack and Shane had a short feud in 1994 after jack arrives

The Tug, Damo, Sarah, Shane and Angel teen group was brilliant. I guess they would be a hard act to follow with their successors such as Tiegen, Liam, Aaron and Joey. Curtis, Jack, Shannon and Selina were the nearest we had to Tug, Damo, Shane, Angel and Sarah. Jack Wilson was kind of like the rebel, the outsider as I remember he fought with Tug and Shane numerous times. I did like Jade, Kirsty Nick and Seb in the early Noughties.

OK wrong way round, but still how could Eden and Tim know Levi, Abby were there, could have been at the Diner. It does seem to be a soap thing where people air their dirty linen in public so Mac made the right choice to throw them all out. Even Tim seemed shocked Eden had read Abby's journal. Tim as I said before is a brave soul holding the family counselling session. Nearly worked when Eden and Levi were spelling out Abby's strong points, think it surprised her. Abby has never felt able or given the chance to say what she had been bottling up all these years. They were wise words from Levi about Abby maybe forgiving Eden a little bit. But Eden didn't help herself by storming off. Awkward chat with Eden and Cash about his leaving. I may be getting ahead of myself but wouldn't Eden getting together with Tim be a proverbial case of a rebound relationship? I'm taking it Eden isn't an actual patient of his so he wouldn't be breaking any ethical codes. The Leah and Justin scenes were actually light hearted after the Fowler scenes. John seemed a tad disappointed he wasn't officiating but just being there as a witness. Is it only six months - sorry but it did get mentioned quite a few times. I know I'm going back a bit but Justin hasn't always been up front with Leah about what he has been doing, such as buying the van for Lyrik, sponsoring them using his and Leah's money before he'd even asked her, but he had never cheated. The 'vow' that Leah asked John and Maz promise to keep to tell them if they seemed to be slipping in their renewed vows. A real sign John and Maz are comfortable with the way they are when they could joke about their ship sailing and sinking. John has been a busy boy, helping in the only way John does, offering advice which isn't always welcomed. OK Kirby was being Kirby pushing Mali to be the poster boy for his board shop, he's good looking, though that shouldn't be the main reason, but he can surf and it is his board shop he's promoting so makes total sense. Theo could be roped in, he maybe not be an unbaised customer as he knows them both but he knows the good work Mali does on his boards.

That would have been a terrible twist and can't see it being executed well. It was predictable how it ended but probably better than way than a terrible twist.

That teen group was very hit and miss. We had characters like Joey, Justine and to a lesser extent Tiegan that are still fondly remembered, and others like Liam, Aaron and Casey who were not. That group found their groove a little more once some of them left and others like Will, Gypsy, Tom and Hayley were brought in. If you compare them to other teen groups like Shannon/Curtis/Selina/Jack and and to a lesser extent the Jade/Kirsty/Nick/Seb who just seemed to immediately click with each other and resonated with the audience. We also had Rebecca and Travis pick up Pippa's leftovers, and after they left, Justine stuck around with Joel and Natalie, and they also fostered Peta. I've said it before, but in hindsight 1998-2000 is very much like a transitional period between the Pippa and the Sutherlands. They are some of my favourite years of the show, but looking at it now, the show is was in limbo. The fostering was left to the previously-secondary foster parents, and whilst Travis and Rebecca inherited Justine, Tiegan and possibly Sam (I can't remember at what point he moved in with Don and Marilyn?), it seems like they were just there to see out the existing foster kids rather than to see them foster new characters from scratch. I think part of the in limbo status also came down to Pippa's exit being written as "temporary". Pippa just went off on a road trip leaving the kids and Caravan Park with Travis and Rebecca while she was away, with Ian returning later to say they'd settled in the Carrington Ranges. I never understood why they didn't just "rip the band-aid off" from the beginning and have her sell up, since Debra was done by this point. Did the producers think it might soften the blow of losing such a popular character or did the producers think they could persuade Debra to come back after she'd had some time off The Nash family were meant to be the big new family of the show, but by the time they were given free reign of Summer Bay House (when Travis and Rebecca left in August 1999), they'd been around for nearly 2 years. Maybe had Pippa's exit been "permanent" from the start, they could have moved in there much earlier and been given a better chance. Joel is a character who should have kept going for years, especially with his role as the local town cop. Side note: Justine must be one of the few characters to 3 sets of fosters parents, not a bad achievement for a character around less than 3 years: Pippa, Travis and Rebecca, Joel and Natalie. I guess Sam had just as many, if not more, but stayed for much longer.

1996 was a year of change that is for sure 1997 will be remembered as the year we lost some of the most popular teens ever Shannon selina Curtis. Although Liam Casey and Steph wouldn’t be as missed by many fans I liked joey and Vinnie of the 1996 1997 intake and we still had the mainstays Alf AIlsa Don Sally pippa etc I think 1998 was better a year than 1997 personally as vinnie and gypsy and Hayley stood out especially it was sad to see pippa leave but she didn’t really fit in with the newer direction the show was taking at that time we still had the fostering theme with Irene and the stewert family taking in kids

Agree! I'm just thinking the current producers loves them and Darcy would now be the right age to fit in with the show's demographic, so it's surprising they haven't thought to go there yet.

I found 1993/1994 to be very boring years for the show in general with every little going on. There were a few major events like Bobby's accident and Dale's death, but on the whole, I believe those years are probably considered to be the dullest of the Early Years. Alf and Ailsa were certainly pushed to the front again in the mid/late 1990s - there was his secret daughter (who was never mentioned again until Ryder's arrival!), Ailsa's mental health challenges, her car accident, Ailsa's secret daughter and SORASing Duncan gave them more to do as well.

I think I must have started watching not long after Michael died - I have some vauge memories of 1996 like the earthquake, Don and Mariyln's wedding and the 1996 finale (which terrified me at the time!). The first major death I remember is Stephanie Mboto. An insignificant character in the grand scheme on H&A, but as a 9 year old, it was quite confronting because it was unexpected and had never seen a main character killed off on H&A before and she had been around for my entire viewing period.

Paul and Leon fought Ari and Tane in there front yard when they were arrested and Colby bought them back to police and Colby try meeting Ari half way but he refused to tell truth about fight . Also Irene was very reluctant in giving Gemma job in diner and only said yes to make Marilyn happy after Marilyn was on her back .

When The Paratas came to the Bay, nobody was after them. They didn't want people to know that Mikaere was killed while robbing the store and that Ari was in jail so that people wouldn't turn against them as they did in the last town they lived in. They were also wrongly accused of the Diner robbery by Colby who only went after them because he was jealous of Ari and Mac. Colby was already in jail by the time Leon and Paul were after Tane. To answer the initial question, every new River Boys storyline is pointless. They had a good run with the Braxtons and should've left it with that. For me dragging them back every time they need criminals and drama is ridiculous, however, there are many fans on social media getting excited for the River Boys return - so TPTB cater to that audience. The only thing they've achieved with this storyline was that they went full circle with Felicity's character making her basically what she was when she came to the Bay. I had a blast reading people's comments and theories. People were desperate for Rory to be an undercover cop and for Devlin to be in the gang when it was obvious from the start that Rory was a villain.

Nick and Roxy did in fact start dating (of sorts) not long after she arrived and several characters commented on the aesthetic and personality-based similarities between Roxy and the Loo . But, they quickly realised that it wasn't going to work and both quickly moved on. From that latter moment on, Nick's only contributions to the show were to play mini Dad to Shane, help Don plant geraniums in the opening credits and to just sit at the Diner counter laughing his head off at nothingness. So many characters had become pointless by about mid-93: Adam (until Bobby's accident), Nick and Fin. Did Roxy and Luke ever bring much value (as fine an actor as John Adam was)? For that matter, was Ailsa bringing in much purpose at that point?

I know they had no connection to Braxtons or River boys but Ari/Tane and Nikau as new generation of river boys and lot town started out against them expressing Colby and John. But to be fair they certainly were no saints at first and John I guest felt Ari was partly responsible on what caused his marriage breakdown to Marilyn and they refused to tell Colby why they had people after them and Colby did give them opportunity to tell him truth on those guys who after them but they refused to come clean .