jodlebirger

Heh, when did they say he was 10 years older? It was mentioned early that he was much older than Spencer, and had travelled around the world... which was a bit stupid, because he is not like someone who has experienced a lot of the world, the opposite actually. And then I read on the official page on Chris character profile a long while ago that he was meant to be 10 years older than Spencer....

As I have said before, I really like Chris.. He is one of the best characters in 2014 season (we are 5 months behind). I still think they aren't used to their potential.. and that really irritates me. I also think that he should be allowed to grow up a little and I want to see him more like a big brother to Spencer. We have seen some hints, and I really like that. I also think that it was a mistake to make Chris 10 years older from the beginning... I think that destroyed his introduction a bit. He isn't mature enough to be 10 years older than his brother, and having all this world around experience. I think he is like 2-3 years older than Spencer.. that is more realistic. But both his and Spencer's intro should have been done more properly. But I still love Chris. I really fear that he will just have some funny lines here and there, and then he will be gone in a few months time in Australian pace without exploring him and Spencer further. It is so refreshing to have a relationship between two brothers on the show, which is not based on violence, manipulation and crime.

He is absolutely not an Aden. Not all bad boys portrayed in this show are alike. Even if they both were bad boys and fell in love with a dark haired girl, their storylines and development are completely different. Aden was about hundred times better written and played than Matt Page. Of course parts of his storylines could have been written better, but this is a soap so there will always be something to pick on. But Matt Page has been all over the places, and the guy who plays him is far too old looking, and is not capable to seem so young and vulnerable as Todd Lasance did. I haven't been a fan of what i have seen of mr. Lasance after home and away, but in the role as Aden he was excellent. To be honest I think that Alec Snow should have played someone like his actual age. And I think that counts for more of the cast, actually. And on the other side, Aden had a good build up. He was put with a girl before his character even was build up, which is typical for the show nowadays. And Aden had a fairly good development throughout his stay (except from his last 6 weeks), and his (and Belle's) storylines with a lot of development came fast and hard. Maybe they experienced too much in a short time, and that destroyed them a bit. But with Matt it is the opposite. His backstory is messy, and came far too late. And he seems to be moping around with Sasha and none of them have developed at all. They have really been a disappointment in the 2014 season so far for me (we are currently watching early September 2014 eps here), even if I didn't quite like Matt from the beginning either. But even if I think Alec Snow would have been ore suitable for a more adult role, I think Matt could have been far better with a better backstory and natural development of the character.

I have seen a lot of comments through the last 7-8 years, that some actors are just themselves. And I think that is extremely unfair. Some actors/actresses acts out different personalities and in different situations, but it it still is like the charachter is like a normal or an average person.. But it doesn't mean that the actor is playing themselves. I think it is far easier to play out these charicatured roles, than something which is close up to normal life but still is not your life and to make it look realistic.

She is 45, born on August 10th, 1969... She looks much younger in real life than as Marilyn. The styling and how Marilyn acts make her 20 years older... You have got to be kidding!! I'm 69 and if Marilyn looks 20 years older than Emily's real age of 45 that would make her comparable in age to me. Let me assure you that she looks nowhere near my age. I have never said that Emily Symons look 20 years older than she is... She is a really beautiful woman in real life. But there is a difference between how the actors and actresses look and behave in real life and how they are styled and written when they are playing the charachters. And I wish that people in here could be better at seing the difference between critisism of the charachter and critisism of the actor. And Marilyn is probably the most styled charachter in home and away. Emily Symons don't look like this on pictures from her life outside the show. I have seen discussions on Norwegian forums about the same. I wish the writers and producers could stop writing and styling Marilyn like she was much older. The styling of Roo is better, she is at the same age. But Roo is written like an immature kid sometimes. I miss the days when all the charachters, but especially the adults were written more realistic. And it feels sometimes that the writers don't know how to do with them.

She is 45, born on August 10th, 1969... She looks much younger in real life than as Marilyn. The styling and how Marilyn acts make her 20 years older...

Yep, she is. And she even feels older. Marilyn is meant to be at my age, but I think I look and behave younger, but still even more mature than her. She acts like a very old woman who is not longer so cognitive strong as she used to be...

Hm... I would rather have sent Marilyn back to Uk, and give John someone else. I loved John when he was with Gina, but seriously this relationship with Marilyn has destroyed him. I think that they have been hopelessly written, like other adult characters too. But John is not the type to be with someone like Marilyn. He has totally lost his edge. Marilyn seems now much older than she is, and is not suited to a younger character. And I feel that the writers haven't known how to write Marilyn since 1995, she was a "tiring" character also before she left in 1999.

Chris is great, and is the best arrival after 2010. But he is unfortunately still not used to his potential! He can do more than the funny stuff, and the relationship between him and Spencer should be further developed. We have seen some great scenes but not enough. He should have had a more significant role in the storyline about Spencer and his bipolar disorder, and also other storylines. And the risotto storyline was so frustrating, it did have a lot of potential to develop Chris further. But he was only "sorry" for two minutes... Should have included more scenes with him, Irene and Spencer! Maybe even his parents! Chris showed that he had potential for the more emotional stuff when he started a relationship with Indi when she had lost Romeo. I think he was great in that role. I don't think that his and Irene's relationship is used to it's potential either after showing some great potential in 2013. But I do agree with RR1 over, and think Chris has the best chemistry with Irene I have seen in many years. So it should have been used more! Spencer and Chris are the best housemates Irene has had since Geoff and Annie years ago. I think Spencer and Chris should have been the key to involve Irene in some great storylines and scenes again. A bit sad that the love between Chris and Denny wasn't developed further either, but scrapped only to give Casey more drama before he left. But I don't want her back with Chris, that will destroy him I think. He deserve a more heartfelt and good character. I liked his scenes with Sasha too, but I don't want those two together... To see Chris being wasted in only funny storylines really irritates me. He should have more drama and meaty stuff while still keep his funny sides in between. I feel Chris is the new Liam, and Johnny Ruffo is the new Axle Whitehead. But both are more than pop singers, they have also a talent in acting.

Andy isn't any worse than Brax. Or Casey... Yes I caused an accident which could have had horrible consequences. But the whole thing was so extremely over the top, we were meant to feel sorry for Casey. He was paralyzed for two weeks, and then he was back to his normal self. Tai Hara has a far softer way to play out his role, than Steve Peacoke is playing Brax. And it is quite nonsense that Brax is always almost, but only almost, doing horrible things and then others are doing it for him... or suddenly blame others for doing horrible stuff, like making Adam the guilty one. We have never seen that kind of storylines with Andy. He gets the blame for things he are doing, and even more. Andy has more potential to change, and change quickly than Brax has. He is far more quiet, and he is just a wannabe bad boy, while Brax is a bad boy. He was jealous of his brother, but has changed from that now (July 2014 eps). I wish that his and Josh' relationship was more explored. It has some potential. Andy has a lot of potential if it was used properly. I think the Barrett Brothers were introduced far too early. If they had been introduced after Casey and Heath's departure i think the vibe around them would have been different. People were afraid of loosing the Braxtons, and didn't want anyone to replace them. Bringing in the Barretts that early made people think that The Braxton's time on the show was coming to an end soon. But the Braxtons didn't leave in late 2013 or early 2014, so what was the point? And , if the writers wanted the viewers to like the Barretts they shouldn't have introduced them as the Braxtons' enemies, and then expect fans to suddenly love them. Especially when people was afraid of loosing the Braxtons to their enemies. And they should have focused more on the bothers relationship and less on Josh and his girlfriends.

I like Morag the most when she is up to something. Like when she tried to find out Josie's secret... or when she tried to find out what was wrong with Aden. But she is great when she is communicating with the others around her too, I loved her and Marthas relationship. It was good but also complex. I like her and Alf too... Maybe she is needed in the show now, because it would have given Alf more to do than looking after Roo like she was 10 years old. It is a question about writing good storylines and dialogues for her, like it is for all the characters.

Me too!! Love it!!

Morag had moved from what she was in the eighties and nineties. There would have been no reason to write her like she was back then. She developed away from being a charichatured villain in the 1990's. She became a great character in the 00's, still sharp but she was not that cartoonish and she was good at heart. But I don't trust the writers to write her in a good way either, because the current writing style isn't good for any character. But I think that the writing of Morag changed before the writing style of the show changed. I feel that Morag wasn't well written in the last half of 2008 and onwards. At least, she wasn't used to her potential when she was onscreen. I think they did a mistake when they put her with Ross Buckton and wrote her and him into a corner with his Alzheimer. But he is long dead now, so she could have been brought back. To be honest I think she should have been brought back when he died, or at least when Charlie died instead of sending Ruby to the city for only a few episodes.

I don't agree with you RR1 about Josh and Maddy. I think it is unfair to blame only Josh for the break up. She was a part of it. I think it is a bad excuse to say it was because Josh wanted to make Maddy look bad, or the writers. Then we can say that they wanted to make Josh look bad too, and making Maddy the victim. I think they both made mistakes. Maddy also acted like this when she was with Spencer. She has done a lot of rebelling, running away with Spencer and also getting with Josh in the first place were ways of rebelling. But it is interesting that we can see things differently. But I do agree with you about Roo and Alf's parenting. I don't think they have been too strict to her, but the opposite. But when they have tried to be strict it has seemed a bit out of place. And Roo isn't consequent. She gives Maddy a lesson and then later apologize for it. It isn't strange that Maddy is rebelling even more. And I also think that both Maddy and Spencer's parents were portrayed inconsistently. First they were rivals (which was more realistic), and then suddenly Maddy's parents was described as people from the lower class. Which didn't exactly fit with what we saw. They were snobs. And so were Spencer's parents. But still they loved their children, but they didn't quite listen to them. I also think that especially Maddy's parents was a bit like Roo, first without discipline and then totally out of place gives some kind of punishment for bad behaviour. But it is far from abuse to want their children to get a good education and behave well... And that was all her parents wanted. But their methods lacked understanding. But they still loved her.

I think that Chris is better than Dex, he has the potential to be a well rounded character if the writers had let him be that. He had a good serious side when Indi lost Romeo, and in the beginning with Spencer. I think it is a shame that they are just using a character for funny storylines. They are also ruining Jett/John/Marilyn that way. But I do agree that Sasha isn't good without her family members. And she have had a lot of boyfriends storylines and other storylines when the rest of the Walkers left. To put her with just an another batboy boyfriend was pointless, and she would have had a better ending and rounding if she left with her father for good last year. She was still a high school girl and then she is supposed to be with her parent(s). Or she could have stayed in the bay, but then more as an adult. Maybe working in Yabbie creek with something. Or studying at uni. They should have let her grown up a bit, we had seen enough with the high school dramas with Sasha. She has just going in circles the last 2 years or so, and the last year without the rest of the Walkers have been pointless.

Maddy is good at the bottom, she just lacks direction. And she is a character that needs a lot of understanding and also discipline. I think she is kind of confused of who she wants to be. Her parents loved her, but I think they haven't been the best guardians either. They probably could have done more to understand her, and probably use an another form for discipline than they did. Sending her away to boarding school isn't the answer. She needs someone who can put her in place and bring more of that good inside of Maddy to the surface. I don't think that character is Spencer, he has more than enough with himself and is too young. She was not better with Spencer than with Josh... I think it needs to be an adult and I still think Roo should be that person. But Roo needs to be more like an adult loving guardian and not a friend. Maybe she needs some advice from Irene? Irene used to be good with characters like Maddy, she is tougher than Roo.

Oh yes she was a bad girlfriend. No one deserves to be cheated on, but how Maddy behaved is not justified either. We are just in that storyline when Josh and Evie get together (for the first time) now here in Norway. Probably a couple of months, probably almost 3, behind the UK. Maddy hasn't grown since she came into the show, but the exactly the opposite. She was a spoilt brat who run away from home because she didn't want to go to school apart from Spencer. When he wanted to be serious about school and other things she pushed him away, and after they had broke up she behaved like she still was his girlfriend. She is just using her boyfriends to have fun and to rebel against the adults. She is not interested in education, and she is not listening to the adults, she don't care about Josh wanting to do something with his life. She is less interested in her future than an average 17 year old, but there are still 17 year olds like her in the world. But she wasn't interested in Josh and his work at all, so she pushed him away. And when he is wanting something else she is playing the victim. And that is the reason why he started to get interested in the more lovable Evie. He still should have broken up with Maddy before he got with Evie. But his behaviour doesn't excuse Maddy's. And use others to rebel and to make herself feel better. I don't hate Maddy as a character, I find her quite interesting sometimes. There are a lot of teens like her nowadays. But the adults around her, and especially Roo has to be used differently to make this storyline work better. A character/person like Maddy need discipline, but still a lot of understanding. Understanding people around her, but not tip-toing. And Roo is tip-toing around her, she is not behaving like a responsible 40 something adult. Roo isn't a better guardian than Maddy's parents, and I think she should have been to make this storyline good and not so frustrating.

What news??? No one has said that she is returning.... Only that they are missing her, and she has been gone for far too long. I have a creepy feeling that we have seen the last of Morag. I don't think the actress is interested in returning, and I think that the writers is not interested in having her back on the show either. I will be very surprised if she ever comes back, especially if she is coming back for more than a wedding or a birthday.

she was 21, born in 1987 started in H&A in 2008.

Not seeing him on screen, yet... I was positive at casting a older person as VJ as the others teens are casted by older ones. But he still should have been younger than the others, lets say 18 to 20. But the body shape is more important than the actor's actual age. I have seen pictures of him and asked myself "why on earth did they hire a huge muscle bunt as VJ"... ? Because a smaller person, still around 20 wouldn't have been this ridicoulus. Just remember Rebecca Breeds as Ruby, she was 22 playing a 15 year old when she came in. Yes, she looked older in her face, but still was quite believable. Rebecca is a small girl, and she didn't look that weird besides Annie or Nicole who were played by younger actresses. But they have probably meant VJ to be the next big thing, after the Braxtons, and that is also the reason why they casted someone related to Dan Ewing. But I think they should have waited a few years (2-3) to make VJ look like this, they could have casted someone smaller, but still older looking than Felix Dean, and then casted someone like Matt Little at a later point. And the most important, the actor need to be able to show that he is young and vulnerable when they are portraying someone that young, with face expressions and behaviour (walk, talk), like for example Todd Lasance was able to show in Aden. As I haven't seen him I don't know if Matt Little has that ability, but have my doubts reading the comments around. I think they should have concentrated on Leah's storylines instead and still have VJ as a support character, more like Jett, with a more suitable actor.Then we could have got a lot of joy with VJ for several years to come. Now he is most likely being written out when Matt Little leaves.

Completely agree with this. They have lost a potential classic character in getting rid of Felix, by replacing him with an actor that could very well decide to leave after 2 years. And why? Because Felix wasn't tall and muscular? Such a horrible, shallow show these days. I think Felix departed, because he wanted to. And I think it is ok to recast a role like this, but they need to cast someone that isn't so different from the earlier actor to make it work. I haven't seen the new VJ in action, but seen a lot of pictures of him. I really don't think he look like he is in the late 20's. He look around 20, but still he looks wrong for the role. And the rest of the teens look 20+ Even if he reminds me about Ryan Kwanten (the face) a bit, I think that he is a weird choice for VJ. The body shape and size is the biggest issue. Even if Ryan Kwanten weren't a small guy he wasn't this big. Why cast someone that big to be a teenager... around 15? Felix looked so much younger than he really was and make this casting more ridicoulus. And at the same time has the very thin and small Will to play Jett. it must looks really weird. I know Will is 16, but he looks 13... I think it would have been easier if Jett/Will wasn't around I suppose. I can already see images in my head how weird this must look. I am not totally against to cast someone older than they are meant to be, but they need to do it carefully. I do agree that this was a weird and wrong casting. But when we look at the casting of the teens and others, there are a lot of miscasts. Hannah is played by someone far too young (and young looking). And I think that Matt is a miscast to, I really can't take this character seriously. Alec Snow looks (and acts -walk, talk) far too old to play a 16/17 year old. And having someone who looks young playing an adult character, and someone who looks at the same age playing a teen make the show harder to invest in. The most horrible casting for me was t Luke Mitchell as Romeo a few years ago, when they put him with Annie and she was made to be the most mature there. That was the worst casting and mix of characters ever. If they cast older as teenagers they need to be consequent and also take the actors looks into the consideration. With VJ it probably would have been better with a smaller and not a muscular man 18-22 year old than mr. Little. Someone like Charles Cottier (who is at the same age) wouldn't have made the change in VJ's so dramatic. But all in all I think that the channel need to cast the roles more carefully. This messy casting, younger playing older - and older playing teens make the show very messy.

I don't think she'll mention it but if she does and it causes friction between her and Brax I wouldn't really care because I never understood how Brax let her back in his life after what she did to his family. And her pleading she was played by her brother was ridiculous because she was an adult and could have told Brax at any time what was going on. So even if she came around pretty well I don't really like her character (despite the fact that Bonnie plays her brilliant) and I would have preferred for Brax to kick her out after he found out what she did. But as it was mentioned in another post Brax acting out of character started with Adam's revenge stuff. Or maybe it's true that love makes you blind. b I have found it more ridicoulus that the Braxtons forgave Kyle after what he did to Casey. Even if it seems Brax has never seen him as a brother and has treated him quite differently from the two others. Still, it is very strange to take in someone who almost killed your brother in jealousy. Because that was really what we saw. Kyle tortured him for days, and wanted Casey to die. It wasn't a breakdown (like former characters had), but only an act out of jealousy. I think it was really out of character for Brax to forgive him that easily. He has always been portrayed like a revenge guy. It would have been more in character if Brax wanted to kill Kyle instead. Ricky had been killed by her own brother if she hadn't done what he told her. And it was probably difficult for her to understand that Adam wasn't right about Brax, she had to learn the truth about Brax herself. But I would have liked her better if she was with someone else, to be honest. I did like her and Brax the first time around, but after how he treated her when he got prisoned for the murder, they lost the magic they had. He treated her like dirt. And earlier on it felt like they understood each other because they were from the same background. Now after Brax got realeased from prison I think that the deeper understanding between them is gone.

There is nothing wrong with Denny's back story, they should have developed her past further, and we should have seen her more with The McGuires. They shouldn't have put her with Casey.... every character who is a Braxton-related one seem to be isolated from the others in the Bay. And we know why she has been put with Casey... And the characters need purpose and other storylines than be brought into the show just to be a part of the Braxtons. It is the backstory and development that makes the characters interesting, giving the characters a purpose and not romances with characters that have no personality and backstory. She should have been with Chris, they really started something good and then suddenly dropped it. With Chris she would have had more possibilities with developing her together with her family and at the same time develop her with Chris.

I think you are right. I've been thinking the same myself. I do agree that in her last stints she wasn't used to her potential. We should have seen more of her when Charlie died, during the Hugo business and more. I think that Morag hasn't been used fully to her potential since 2008 season. And ------ Cornelia Frances is 73 years old... she has probably retired, or only doing small jobs. i really hope that's not the case and that she doesn't return simply because she isn't asked to. Lyn Collingwood did stay in the show until she was 76 after all. And I noticed that Morag stopped making appearances since Lucy took over. The first few months of 2012 were still under Cameron Welsh and Morag would appear from time to time but since Lucy took over, she's only been back for a special occasion. Yes.. You are right about that. And that is probably the reason. But I also think the possibility about retirement or "slowing down" and focusing on other aspects of life, is still there. I have always wondered about something; when do people retire down under??? It seems to me that people are expecting these actors to work until the end of their days. In Norway the age of retirement is 67. But you have the possibility of retiring at 62 or 65 in with certain agreements between profession organizations and the welfare system. And in some professions as police and defense department the age of retirement is lower. But you do have the possibility to work longer in some professions. And especially in acting and art business it is very usual to work much longer. In our soap (we have only one long time running Norwegian produced soap on tv), an actress worked until she was about 85... So Cornelia Frances is still young when you compare her to this Norwegian actress. It is probably a matter of what you want to focus on, and how your health is.

I think you are right. I've been thinking the same myself. I do agree that in her last stints she wasn't used to her potential. We should have seen more of her when Charlie died, during the Hugo business and more. I think that Morag hasn't been used fully to her potential since 2008 season. And ------ Cornelia Frances is 73 years old... she has probably retired, or only doing small jobs.