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Spoilers ahead.... I think Matty may have been asking about the next update of characters being taken out or added. I know that Damian and Shane are added at some point in 1992 when we still have the black background. Maybe they will replace Marilyn. Actually, Simon leaves pretty soon I think, so the next update should involve him being removed. I thought they waited until both Oh of course they share a credit don't they. Silly me.

Spoilers ahead.... I think Matty may have been asking about the next update of characters being taken out or added. I know that Damian and Shane are added at some point in 1992 when we still have the black background. Maybe they will replace Marilyn. Actually, Simon leaves pretty soon I think, so the next update should involve him being removed.

The close-up of Irene's face as she opened the kitchen window was actually terrifying! Was it just me or did she smile and then glare into the camera? And the scene of her crying over photos of Damian (and Finlay) was important because it showed the audience that she does love her kids deep down, something that we had been wondering about. She is just completely inept at looking after them because of her alcoholism and alcohol induced violence, and even without the alcohol, she's a pretty nasty person. I have to say I am LOVING Jacqy Philips in the role of Irene. She really is a vile piece of work with no redeeming features yet there is something about the character, which I can only assume is down to the acting that makes her really enjoyable to watch. Like the scene where she laughed out the window at Sophie and Finlay when she raced off. She's just a fun villain. It's a shame we won't see Jacqy in the role once Irene comes off "the grog" but Lynne McGranger does a great job of providing the show with a comedy character (which is essentially what Irene is in 1993/4) in the absense of Marilyn. It's pretty much the only good storyline going on right now. Other than that, Lucinda/Ryan/Nick(and now Mary) getting more boring by the day, Sophie being an unsympathetic idiot, and Blake and Slime-on's bet is rubbish. Thank goodness for Maz being back and she and Adam getting into various scrapes together and seperately. I like their friendship and it's nice to see her helping him out again. Felt sorry for Ailsa when she thought Bobby had given her cake away but it was funny.

In later years it is stated that Irene couldn't cope when her husband (Murdoch/Mud) ran out on the family and she turned to drink.

And ignored! At least original Irene could never be ignored lol. I don't remember seeing Julia leaving. Was her final scene releasing the ballon with Blake? (I may have fell asleep and missed a bit). I like Fisher's new house, it's very light and modern (for the 90s) and feels like a real house. I liked his original house too but it very much felt and looked like a set. It's a shame to lose it though. We are now 4 years on from the pilot and already we are down to only 2 remaining original sets (The Stewart House and the Fletcher House - although Fisher's house wasn't seen until late 1988 I still count it as an original set. In the same vain I should probably count the surf club as an original set but I don't, as I believe it wasn't shown until 1989?) Speaking of the surf club, I am guessing with this story of it facing closure, we are approaching the first of many surf club rennovations.

Yeah I would like to know the name of it too, I heard it in the episode and thought it sounded good.

Jacqy Phillips' Irene is scary stuff!!!! Even though Lynne McGranger did a fantastic job of portraying Irene almost exactly the same as Jacqy when she took over the role, right down to the mannerisms (when I was a child I don't think I even realised she had been recast). But having said that I think Lynne's Irene wasn't just quite as hard as nails as Jacqy's, and not because she was off the booze by that point. For anyone interested Jacqy has a successful stage and film career and this is a recent pic of her. http://theatrevibe.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/jacqy-phillips-foreground-peter-green-background.jpg I doubt we will ever know why she never came back to play Irene, I hope she doesn't regret that choice but if she had who knows what would have happened, we may have only had Irene for a couple of years rather than 20+.

Do you think we (the audience) were supposed to know she had died at the end of that episode? Or do we only know it because we have seen the clip 1000 times.

It's been so long since Morag had a decent stint, there's hardly anyone in the cast (apart from the usual old timers) who would even know her today. The writers could really use this opportunity to re-establish her character, much like in 2001 when she returned to virtually an entirely different cast, and the result was she became a huge part of the 00's decade in Home and Away. Sadly the pessimist in me thinks they are resting the character now. We'll still see her for special occasions and the like, but I don't think she'll be heavily involved in the ongoing drama anymore which is a real shame.

Yes. I think one person mentioned in passing it would be nice for them to spend their final night together, but other than that we were talking about their trip to the city. It's a bit annoying about the wrong people being at Meg's farewell due to who was in the episode. And then Greg mentioning that Sam and Meg got along like a house on fire when breaking the news of Meg's death. Yes, they got along like a house on fire for the whole 45 seconds they hung out. Where was Meg's grandfather when all this was going on?!

That's because, until someone suddenly remembers in the late 90s, the writers have completely forgotten about Barbara!

A lot of people have moral bull****, as you so elegantly put it. I personally believe that it's wrong for two people to live together or sleep in the same bed before marriage, if they are dating. If that's your belief, fine, no-one's forcing you to do it. But for other people (fictional or otherwise), if they are happy to do it, no-one else should use their beliefs to stop them. Even when it's NOT a dying person's last wish!

It was good that Blake apologised to Julia in the hospital for getting so worked up and making a scene, but am I the only one who thought an apology was necessary from Julia too? Telling Blake to "get out of my house" when Meg collapsed was uncalled for, as was refusing to let him ride in the ambulance. I know her concern was Meg and she understandably wouldn't have been considering Blake's feelings at the time, but she could still have apologised later. It is no wonder that he got worked up into the state that he was in after seeing his girlfriend stop breathing and then being shut out as they went to hospital and rudely told to go away. Quite why he was made to feel he was the only one in the wrong is beyond me.

I wasn't talking about who got her pregnant. I was talking about the way he handled the situation. And he's making the same mistakes again with Finlay and Randy. Doesn't he know that the more he tries to keep them apart the more determined Finlay will be to see him?

Lessons Michael has learned from the Sophie/David fiasco: 0

Because the writers have completely forgotten it. Good point. Unless we are to assume that Colleen is living there offscreen and isn't featured in the show.

I'm actually finding it difficult to feel the desire to watch the latest episodes. I just feel we are going round in circles with Julia, one minute she's being over protective and you just want her to shut up and leave Meg and Blake alone, then the next we feel sorry for her and realise she is just trying to do what's best, and round and round and round we go again. I do feel immensly sorry for her character, but the plot needs to progress.

I sense a budding romance.

I know the studios moved, maybe it's something to do with that?

If you go to youtube and type in Home and Away Jack Wilson's Last Episode it should come up.

This goes back to Jack's original leaving episode in 1996 during an almost identical scene where Jack tells Pippa that he did try to save Michael. Pippa starts crying and changes the subject, unable to give Jack the absolution he needs. Although she does hug Jack, he clearly notices her avoidance and it hurts him. Pippa admitted in Michael's funeral episode that while she doesn't blame Jack, she also can't help wondering why Jack didn't hold on to Michael a bit longer. So in the non-wedding episodes it makes sense for her to have that look on her face when Jack brings it up, but the important thing is that on this occasion she does finally absolve him of Michael's death and Jack finally gets the closure he's needed. I like this little scene because it ties up a bit of unfinished business between Jack and Pippa that was left open-ended 4 years previously.

Yeah The usual weekly episodes haven't appeared, and the higher quality episodes on another site haven't been posted for ages

Yeah I remember that, he's still a big part of the show for a while after he "leaves".

I disagree about Michael. I was very happy with the way he firmly put Lucinda in her place. It wasn't pleasant viewing, I did feel sorry for her, but she had been told nicely before Sophie ran away and clearly wasn't getting the message.

Bobby is being a cow right now but I'm glad, because her hasty judgements and moodiness are part of her character, and while she has grown and matured, it has been too long since we've seen this side of her. I do want to slap her but at the same time I'm glad the writers haven't forgotten this side to her. Also, while she is in the wrong, it is her strong friendship with and protectiveness of Ailsa that has brought all this out in her, which is good to see in a way. Their strong bond is something that I like to see focussed on. It reminds me of 1988 where their friendship is a big part of the show. It is a shame to see them treat Julia this way however I don't think she's really noticed it. I did laugh when Marilyn was fumbling and making excuses why she couldn't serve Julia and Donald cut her off in a very headmaster-like fashion. "Nonsense. Two coffees," followed by Marilyn's reaction. I did notice that Simon abruptly disappeared from the storyline after he returned Sophie home, and that a few episodes later Alf was still badmouthing him. Disappointing.