Skylover

Interesting. And so true. Both 1991-1994 characters and both under-used. I wonder why that was. Fin made my day with some of her colourful outfits.

Finlay was around for 3 years between 1991-1994 and I thought she was great. However I'm struggling to think what 'big' storylines she had during that time. She always seemed to be sidelined by the writers in favour of Sophie, who was the weaker link in my opinion. Fin didn't even have a defining relationship which is something H&A is known for, its relationships. I wasn't really a fan of her pairing with Blake, and felt she was never particularly suited to Haydn during their short courtship. I'd love to see her return to see her mother with one (or some) of her kids.

Bianca is a grown woman who is well aware of what a nonce Heath is so I think it's difficult for Irene to be against their relationship, whereas Olivia is still young and she's just trying to stear her down the right path. Besides which I haven't seen Irene be particularly horrible to Hunter. Irene's still one of my favourites, but the sooner they bring back Fin or Damian the better. It'll just never happen though.

I watched the siege episode on YouTube yesterday and it was absolutely brilliant. The plot was tired by the time Zoe turned up, the explosion and plane crash which followed immediately afterwards was totally ridiculous, and the show never stopped that kind of plotting ever since. Even 2010's love-fest year had that terrible villain Penn.

But the thing is did Zoe have any decent motivation? As Red Ranger said in the Most Popular Character poll, she wanted revenge on the town for what happened to Sarah (but was she even in a relationship with Sarah at any point? Sarah supposedly loved Felix). Nearly all of the characters who knew Sarah had left when Zoe turned up.

I don't understand why you think she has been harsh this year. What has she done to make you think so?

Would you like to see Ryan return to stay with Leah? It could also lead to an Amanda return down the line.

Thanks Dan and Beau t. How did people react to the Zoe 2006 plot which was trying to cash in on the success of the Sarah Lewis storyline? From reading info on BTTB it sounds like it wasn't as good as the original Sarah plot.

I would like to see Ryan Baker return to visit his former step mum.

Why was Sarah so obsessed with the Summer Bay residents? I wasn't watching at the time but she sounds like a good villain. Dani hated her boyfriend Felix but other than that was there really any reason for her to wreak havoc on everyone? Or did they just say she was basically a psycho?

Really? When I started watching again in 2006 it was already the same as 2011-2016 except there were no Braxtons and all the guests were villains. To me 2006 is when the show changed for the worse. 2008 saw it go back to its roots for a very brief period. Remember the explosion at Jack and Martha's wedding, then the plane crash straight afterwards??? SO melodramatic.

Having watched more seasons of the early years now, I would divide the show up into the following. Later on some of the years have much shorter eras IMO: 1988-1990 - The Early Years 1990-1993 - The Early Years 2 1994-1997(?) - The 2nd Golden Era (after the Early Years) 1998-1999 - The Tail End of the mid 90s Era 2000-2004 - The Sutherland Era 2005-2007 - The OTT Years 2008 - The Third Golden Era 2009 - The Year Long Mystery OTT Era 2010 - The Mundane Love Era 2011-2016 - The Braxton Era 2016 onwards - The Morgan Era

Interesting point. For me being there a longer amount of time doesn't automatically make a character/actor better. Look at Coronation St for example, Sean has been in that show for over 10 years but he is one of the most hated characters. On the other hand, when a character ends up in a show for a long time you would expect that the audience would automatically develop a strong bond to them due to the familiarity they end up bringing to the role. Only in rare circumstances (I would describe Sean as a rare circumstance) would a character who has been in a show a long time be disliked, mainly when an actor is not particularly good or the character is written poorly. I think they were lucky with Debra to an extent. However, I would certainly say it took me a long time to adjust to the new Pippa on watching the repeats - certainly I felt her relationship and marriage to Michael were extremely rushed, she'd been widowed less than a year and already got married again. I also feel that it took quite a while for Debra to settle into the role. My personal opinion is that Pippa 2 didn't really come into her own until the 1993 season, and even then I would say she wasn't a classic character until 1994. Such is the nature of re-casts, I think if an actor sticks around long-term they can eventually win over the audience but it can take a considerable amount of time. Jai Jossa's version of Lauren in EastEnders was extremely hated to begin with, but has become a popular character in more recent years. It would be interesting to know what the show would have been like with Vanessa still in the role of Pippa, say until 1998 or beyond. Someone has mentioned before that they couldn't envisage Pippa 1 with Michael and I tend to agree with this, I can't see Vannesa and Dennis looking right together so I imagine Dennis wouldn't have been cast in the role of Michael. Incidentally I also think Michael took a long time to become a good character. This is definitely a weakness of the 1990-1993 period. It all paid off though as I really do think by 1994 I was beginning to enjoy Michael and Pippa 2 as much as Tom and Pippa 1. Someone has also said they could see Tom and Pippa 2 together which I also agree with, but I suppose we would never have seen that dynamic unless Roger had decided to stay on, Vanessa quit and they chose to re-cast her. What do people think the show would have been like had Vanessa stayed in the role of Pippa? Or in fact both Tom and Pippa 1 had stayed? I still think the show would have seen a number of foster kids; Fin, Damian, Jack, Shannon etc. Although my personal preference is Tom and Pippa 1 over Michael and Pippa 2, I'm not sure the dynamic in Summer Bay House could have sustained itself with Tom and Pippa there for years longer. They had excellent chemistry with the original foster kids, but to me Vanessa's portrayal of Pippa wasn't that of a natural foster mother. She was more laid-back and carefree than Debra's portrayal and as such I don't see Vanessa's Pippa is the kind to take in as many foster kids as Debra's would end up doing over the years. IMO Debra's portrayal was far more in line with how a foster mother would be in real life and I think she did well at portraying a person who had a strong need to care for people. Maybe that's why I prefer Vanessa's portrayal in some ways, as she seemed more nuanced, and less of a stereotype. In fact I do feel quite unfair saying that I prefer Vanessa over Debra because in fact, I love both versions of the character and I think they equally brought a huge amount to the show during different time periods. Essentially I just love the character of Pippa. For me she is the heart and soul of Home and Away, and that's why I think she should have been re-cast again in 1998 as I think the character had so much longevity and potential. I do wonder what the show would have done had the roles reversed and Vanessa had quit before Roger. Would they have killed Pippa off instead? Or would Debra have Pippa, still married to Tom? I think it's a good job Pippa wasn't killed off in 1990 rather than Tom. It always seemed like Pippa was the one in that relationship who pushed for fostering and had Tom stayed over Pippa I couldn't see him continuing to foster on the same scale that Pippa ended up doing. Bringing in Debra would have been most likely. When you watch Tom's 2008 return in Sally's dreams, it doesn't feel odd to think of him as Pippa's dead husband when they cut to scenes with Pippa and Sally in hospital. As for people not comparing the 2 Roos or VJs - I think in Roo's case, such a large amount of time had passed when Roo returned in 2010, that there was just no point in comparing them - Roo had aged so much and she was bound to have changed. For me Georgie Parker's version is easily the far superior version, I found Justine's portrayal quite irritating a lot of the time. However, I would like it if Roo still had that naughty side to her that she had in the 80s, she's far too nice for my liking. It would be good to see more conflict between her and Alf. VJ - the previous actor played him during his childhood years and Matt Little is not VJ IMO and never will be - he looks far too old and is not realistic as VJ at all. The actor tries his hardest, but the writers/producers stuffed up on this one.

Pippa's return obviously wasn't going to work IMO - 2009 is probably the worst season in the show's history with that year long mystery storyline involving Hugo. Surprising given it came after 2008, one of the best years in the show's history. Funny how Pippa appeared in every season of the show for at least a few episodes until 2009 (bar a few seasons) and has never been back since 2009. They obviously just don't see a place for her anymore. Her and Fisher are dying for returns though; and Martha, a re-cast would be good.

Oh I thought her accent was good! Thanks for the link

Irene has been great this year IMO - in fact I think Leah is far worse - she comes across as selfish and self-obsessed. Leah has been in the show for 16 years but hasn't managed to become an iconic character.

I find this character compelling. I'd like her to be a long term antagonist.

I think a permanent Pippa return would do the character more justice than a guest return. Perhaps it's time to let go of some of the SBH characters to allow Pippa to return?

http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/home-and-away/news/a813839/home-and-away-legend-debra-lawrance-id-probably-go-back-as-pippa/ So Debra is open to a return. I still think they should bring her back if they can. Why not? Pippa is one of the most iconic characters. I miss her

Matt and Roo have an excellent dynamic.

Phoebe lights up every scene she's in.

Good job you have such a good memory Red, as I have no recollection of it at all. It's such a shame Neighbours snapped up Jodi, cause I'd love to see Roo and Martha interact. But there's always the possibility they could re-cast.

It's a shame that they've just

I really like Jai Waetford in Neighbours too. I guess both of them will end up focusing on their music careers though. Someone else suggested Samantha could have played Madison Robinson in Neighbours and I agree, apart from Samantha is older than Madison.

Considering she's primarily a musician I've been really impressed with this character. I hope to see more of her.