Pierced Musie

It was me who mentioned Jason Smith and his ability to overact and you are right but I just didn't want to admit it. I loved Dex because he was naturally geeky and Charles Cottier played that part with ease. But now they have made the character more like the rest of the male character... but the acting just isn't matching up with this change. He did (and continues to) do well with everything connected to the crash and the scenes between the siblings are spot on everytime. But whenever there is a scene between April & Dex? Or Dex talking about April? It almost feels like they are both trying to outact each other for the geekiest/kookyiest/awkwardiest award.

I'm not saying he is the greatest actor of all time but between 2011-12 he definitely managed to out-act some of the others (not the older cast) and he could manage different scenes with ease. But this year whenever Casey is supposed to be sad, hurt, angry, happy... it just comes across as pure crazy. It does come across as forced and trying too hard so I am finding myself laughing more at the serious scenes involving Casey. I can't help it !

Though my like of Casey has been very hit & miss since last year the one thing that has stopped me from completely hating the character has been the acting from Lincoln Younes. From the start he has played Casey quite well and I actually had sympathy for him, even when he made stupid choices (Pa Braxton the main one). But I have to say that some of that acting this year has been a little... off. Am I allowed to say stuff like that here? . It started around the time Jesus!Adam started his revenge on the whole family and has snowballed from that. It is the wide-eyed crazy facials that just leave me laughing when I shouldn't be because they seem to happen in all the serious scenes. Am I the only one noticing this? I've mentioned in the Kyle thread that Westaway has become quite a pro at using his eyes and facial expressions to get across emotion when there are no words. But it seems lately that whenever Younes tries doing that (and he excelled in it for the last 2 years!) Casey just looks like he is one step away from the mental hospital. To be honest it reminds me of how Robbie went downhill after 18 months because of the acting choices made. Jason Smith was a very strong actor when he first came on the show and showed up Hemsworth in most of their scenes (I feel that contributed to the nickname The Plank) but as 2005 went on he adopted this shouty thing and tried too hard in keeping Robbie a geek, even when they had obviously turned away from that. I don't think Younes comes close to that of course but this year for me the acting has felt off. But this is just my opinion of course! And chances are this is down to the writing.

I couldn't find an April discussion thread but did find this one. And I guess my ramblings actually include Dex as well so here goes... I used to be a fan of April up until halfway through last year. When she first appeared she was quite different from all the other girls because she was a little kooky but cool with it, if that makes sense? So when they first paired her up with Dex it didn't seem all that big of a stretch to me, because he was just completely kooky and brought out her geek side. And that was her best quality. For me the turning point was not her relationship with Heath but what happened after. I know it was a bit of a WTF moment when April went there with Heath but you could see the thought process behind it and Rhiannon played it perfectly. You could see the change from that awkward kooky/geeky teen to one hell of a sex kitten. She matured and grew up, which is what you want to see happen to characters. But you can't let that maturity out of the box and then stuff it back in because it is bound to annoy some fans. I am not saying that April & Heath should have stayed together (I love Bianca/Heath too much!) but they should have stuck to that character growth after that relationship. But they went back to Dex/April and that wasn't terrible at first but the more they tried to backtrack to that innocent phase in their relationship the more I felt they had lost the plot. Since posting more on this board I have mentioned multiple times that I find April has become more creepy, bunny boiler-like and generally freaky. For me that started when Dex got closer to Steph (the nurse, right?) (I am not even going to go into a rant about how they threw that character under a bus for April) and April just wouldn't listen to anyone when it came to leaving Dex to do what he wants. If she had been the guest character everyone would have been calling her a stalker with the way she treated them all. I had hoped that would stop when that arc was over and she got her own way but when she got back together with Dex it got even worse. The crazy eyes were at full force and the moment that bugged me was when she got Dex to throw out his bed for her, even though they had been spending loads of time at Irene's... where 1. she spent a great deal of time sleeping with Heath & 2. Heath was staying at the time. Surely I wasn't alone in thinking that moment was odd? And a little bunny-boilerish? And now the most recent thing that has just got me praying that April leaves soon. The way she has wedged herself into post-memorywipe Tamara's life and was having a go at Kyle for doing the same thing. I don't understand why she is more focused on pushing Casey towards Tamara, who has made it perfectly clear that she feels uncomfortable because whenever Casey looks at her he looks desperate and is expecting too much. It would be okay... if Casey was her patient and not Tamara. Even when Casey has a small breakthrough to just give Tamara space it is April who pushes him yet again. Plus the fact that she even has her own patient is something I can't wrap my head around since she has only just started her uni course. I thought they weren't allowed near patients completely until a year had gone? And if she was such a friend to Tamara before she wouldn't have been allowed near her at the hospital in a professional situation (just as a friend). It is the faint whiff of Mary-Sue behaviour as well because everyone likes/loves her. To be honest I don't know whether it is the writing, acting choice or whatever that has made me dislike this character but I went from liking to disliking and that is a shame since it is a character that is supposed to be liked. And it ruined my love for Dex in the process. Okay, I'm done .

I would not like it as Marilyn is old enough to be their mother. Pfft, then Australia is certainly not as hardcore as UK then . Many UK soaps have run with this kind of storylines and they didn't care about that.

So who would be this younger character? Spencer? Casey? Kyle? ... Why do I feel that this would be so much better than any romance we've had in recent times !

Cougar Marilyn? I like that idea.

The scenes involving Maddy and romance have been the worst for me. The scenes I love involving Maddy have been those with John helping her train, Alf helping her in general and her moments with Jett when he was being bullied. Sticking characters into triangles is a cycle that needs to be smashed to pieces on this show.

Can I quickly break the discussion to give praise to Kelly Paterniti. I genuinely think that not many actors could pull off a reset but she has played this to a T. The way she looked at all of them gave me chills because I really did think she had never seen any of them before. And she is bloody brilliant at the agitated confusion scenes. I may not be that much of a fan of Tamara but I enjoy watching Kelly play her.

I just watched episode 5768 (I skim then watch fully when I have time) and the scenes between Casey, Tam & Kyle were quite interesting because they were not what I expected (again!) after reading the episode discussion. It was obvious Tamara was uncomfortable everytime Casey got close but when Kyle tells him quite calmly that she needs time and space it is Casey who mentions Kyle's past feelings. And it is his reaction that I found very interesting because it really did look like he hadn't even considered the idea of making himself look good to Tamara. I know he argued with April about the issue but it was a passing mention to his intense feelings but when Casey mentioned it then it looked like it truly sunk in. I mentioned something a few weeks back in the UK discussion thread when the episode involving Brax & Kyle visiting Casey in jail aired and that I am going to copy and past over here... I stand by that after seeing the scene with Casey and Kyle. I love the subtle acting moments and facial expressions can get a lot across, along with using the eyes. And also the scene with Leah was great because we finally got to see him smile! Edited to Add: I would totally love to see a young group living together again so thumbs up to that idea. But then I would have loved Rosie moving in with Sasha & Indi more...

I'm going to hold on to hope that this is leading to Maddy mellowing out a little. Maybe even a big redemption arc before finally settling down in the Bay as much as Spencer has. Makes me wonder if they are doing a slow character development to shake it up, since most of the characters introduced these days get developments and stories thrown at them all the time... and then they get written into a corner.

What makes you say that? We have already seen that he can run the business like a pro, keeping the accounts all above board and everything running smoothly. I would have thought the natural step would be him taking over Angelo's completely, unless it is sold to someone else before Brax leaves. It is either that or Kyle goes to university... which is not a bad idea since we know that he is pretty intelligent. He finished school, has the brains for business and is a little bit medical savvy. When Sid was telling Kyle and Heath what was happening with Brax (and Tamara) Kyle didn't need it simplified, unlike Heath.

That is a good question. At first I assumed they had introduced Kyle because Casey was on his way out and they didn't want to lose a Braxton but that idea fell down on its face, didn't it? ! I forgot to post in here earlier but I saw the episode where April suggests Tamara leaves hospital and then Kyle returns. I have to say I still don't get what others meant when they said he was pushy. If anyone was pissing me off it was April and her attitude towards him. When he took Tamara home the first thing he did was show her some of her things and how messy she was... and yet April gave him the bitchface. What was she expecting him to do? Force Tamara to look at pictures of herself and Casey together until she had a ghost of a memory? I'm glad he had a go at her because all April did was treat Kyle like he was beneath her and that he was going to try it on with Tamara as soon as she was gone. All of those scenes were really weird and it wasn't because I am a Kyle fan and dislike April. Her reaction/attitude just didn't match up with how Kyle was treating Tamara.

I like Maddy but hate the direction she is going. All of her scenes with John and Alf have been a joy to watch because it is those moment that were lacking from last year. It almost reminds me of the bond Alf formed with Nicole before she left and I always felt they were her best scenes as well. By all means make her a normal teenager who isn't all rainbows and sunshine but I feel that they have made her a bitch (Mini!Roo 1988 style ) just to make Sasha seem like the better woman in the situation, which is quite odd storytelling. Although it felt like they did the same with Sasha when they introduced Tamara into the mix.

^In my head it would have made much more sense than what they did, shoehorning Spencer into the equation just after they established a glimmer of greatness with Maddy/Rosie/Sasha/Tamara group at the self defence classes. So many missed opportunities with all of the new characters this year (bar Zac, who is full of awesome-ness and bromance love !).

I didn't mean as a couple so I apologise for not saying that . Perhaps saying they had a lot in common was a bit much but they do have certain things which would have been good to explore. They both seemed like outcasts from the word go and were both unable to fit in. They both had been massively let down by the parents (Rosie abandoned & Kyle manipulated) and both seemed to form unhealthy attachments (Rosie with Sasha, Kyle with Tamara). It is ever so subtle but for me there were more connections between Kyle & Rosie, which is why I was happy then disappointed when the spoiler about Kyle warning Mullen's to leave came out and then scene happened because Tamara was angry. I am not alone with this, am I? In fact I will go one further and say I wish more than ever that it had been Kyle & Rosie who had been introduced as brother and sister. What have been more interesting than Casey/Tamara/Kyle in my eyes . Oh and believe me I don't see Kyle as a baddie. He is officially my favourite male character at the moment and I don't appreciated the blantant attempts manipulation in favour of Casey. There are only so many times I can put up with Casey in a dark place before I just feel like 'whatever'. So Casey basically did the same... only worse because he has had a family for years but Kyle has had then a few short months. Interesting because I don't remember that. Or perhaps I haven't seen that bit yet .

I hate the way that they have thrown away all the progress and development between Casey & Kyle... for a feckin' girl who has no connection to Summer Bay or the Braxton's . And what is worse is that yet again Kyle becomes the baddie in the situation with just that one line. It would have been better storytelling if Casey had been jealous and suspicious while it became a one-sided connection on Tamara's side. Why they had to bring back Kyle's supposed 'love' for Tamara I will never know. Shoddy writing for a character who still unknown to us the audience, which means a jackpot for potential. Bah, I wish even more that he has been more involved with Rosie now (because they did have a lot more in common).

I think the reason the change in Heath is mentioned (and praised) is because it is a change for Heath Braxton, while Casey has always been seen to help others and be the nicer of the boys. Now if Casey was changed into a complete jackass over time (turned into 2011!Heath basically) then that would be mentioned because it was a big change.

I hate that the two newer characters are the ones being alienated in this whole mess, which is something you really don't want to do because it makes it extremely hard to intergrate them back with other characters once the story arc is over. I do feel that when/if this storyline ends anytime soon then it will be Kyle who comes out of it worse off. I think the great thing about Kyle is that technically he is still a blank canvas so the potential for character development is still there. All we know is that he was a foster kid (anyone written a fanfic involving Pippa taking him in yet? Oh I wish I still had the knack for writing fanfic ) and he finished school with good results. I just want to take this opportunity to explain why I like Kyle. You know when certain characters are added to a show (any show really but particularly soaps) and you spend quite a while trying to figure out just who they are, where they are headed and just generally speculating (like we do here basically)? When the Braxton's first showed up I pegged Heath as being the one to change the most and Casey to get dragged into the criminal word and have stood by that throughout. I also stand by what I have said about Brax reminding me so much of Vic Mackey in The Shield. But when Kyle appeared? Pfft, it was like a wildcard to me. I still can't figure out this character and just where he is heading. And that is why he appeals to me. Does that make sense? Probably the first character in a long while to grab my interest and keep it. Edited to Add: You snuck a post in while I was writing up my post . But then you miss the part where it becomes obvious that Pa!Braxton didn't just screw with Casey's mind but also Kyle's. And the fact that Kyle has tried to stop hurting Casey up until this mess of a storyline.

It was mentioned by my uncle on facebook hours ago about the Rubgy League but now that you have explained it I completely understand. Although at first to sounded dirty . Yes. Yes I do... but only when it doesn't happen all the time .

That is funny because I have never heard the term biff before but today I have seen it used 3 times . Does biff mean punch up?

I am annoyed that he has moved out of Leah's place. I was looking forward to more scenes between them... and perhaps shipping them .

To me the chemistry feels more sibling like. But then when both characters appeared I mentioned that I felt they only had chemistry with same gender characters.

I don't like Tam & Kyle and I hate the way that yet again I'm supposed to find Kyle in the wrong. I find Kyle quite fascinating but I haven't seen any chemistry between him and any female characters.

I have preferred Spencer when he is away from Maddy and I love that they added him to the Rosie/Sasha friendship. This is the first OT3 that has felt nature for some time (Robbie/Tash/Kim springs to mind) and I really hope they don't take a step back and end up with Spencer/Maddy again anytime soon. I liked the fact that running away together and spending so much time with eachother put that wedge between them because it is quite realistic. They finally got their own way but when it came down to it were they really as compatible as they thought? Now if they spend the next year apart and end up gravitating back to eachother then that could be quite interesting. But for now I like Spencer without Maddy.