beau_t

When Marilyn returned (I think it was in her 2nd or 3rd episode) Alf mentions the money he and Morag lent Donald to take to Marilyn. She says that she got the money but she couldn't bring herself to see him. Alf says he feels that she and Donald have a lot of unfinished business and she agrees but says she isn't going to think about that right now (or words to that effect). Basically the writers were copping out of going back there.

I had the weirdest dream recently that Duncan returned and when he saw Roo he was like "Who's this?" and Alf said don't you recognise your sister and Duncan said "This isn't Roo, I just flew over with Roo" and then Justine Clarke walked in. Then Alf turned to fake Roo and said something along the lines of "Who the flamin hell are you?" and she took off her wig and it was Quinn. Then an ominous shadow appeared on the wall behind her and Marilyn screamed. It was really sinister!

Emily Symons is now on Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/EmilySymons_

Alexx the only other way to send your thoughts to the cast is on twitter, but Emily Symons doesn't use it. Lynne McGranger, Lisa Gormley (Bianca) and one of the River boys uses it (no idea which one - still can't tell them apart to be honest ). And Cameron Welsh. Let us know how you get on writing to Emily and what she replies.

I can't watch what's on Aus tv. Only on Youtube. I live in Sweden. The episodes posted on Youtube are way ahead of that though. Unless yours are subtitled/Swedish dubbed?

No she's not psychic in the early years. She is not even really psychic now. She has just become very spiritual and started reading tarot cards (which you do not need to be psychic to do). The whole spiritual/psychic thing is something they came up with when they brought her back into the show, probably because they felt with Marilyn being a bit of a wacky character, it would work. It worked with the Rabbit storyline and the dream sequences because Marilyn always has wacky dream sequences, but other than that it's not a welcome addition to her character from my opinion. As for your other question. Bunyips exsist in Australian mythology as wild animals/beasts that live in the bush. Edit to add http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunyip

Some of the clips bring back fond memories of "old Marilyn". Especially her close friendship with Irene. The writers have really missed a trick by not firmly establishing their friendship again. Irene's dry wit and eye-rolling really complimented Marilyn's innocence and ditziness. I love her telling "Mrs Stewart" to set the worm free.

Yeah I've noticed most of the classic H&A (pre-2000) episodes on YouTube are uploaded by Brits. There must be some Aussies out there somewhere with classic eps tucked away.

My reference to his appearance being a cameo wasn't so much about length of time on the show, more about how much of an overall point he served. His appearance was quite self-contained in my opinion. Maybe "cameo" is the wrong word but whatever. I definately agree he'd changed from loveable rogue to smug git, he seemed to have a bit of a chip on his shoulder really. But I still found him very likeable. I always found Adam an agreeable character who you can't help but love, even when he was being nasty to Sally.

I don't remember him looking much older. I am sure there was one scene he was walking about in a towel trying to impress Shauna, he looked in quite good shape.

Yeah it was really just a cameo reappearance. He annoyed Sally to the point that she quit her job at Bonza Burgers, then she and Vinnie set up a rival burger stall outside. He thought Shauna was a lesbian and then challenged her to triathlon. He was a bit of comic relief during the pretty dark Ailsa coma storyline. I'm not sure if there was anything in there about him seeking forgiveness from Donald or looking for redemption. I'm pretty sure there wasn't.

I think that would be a good idea. Any comments?

I think that would be a good idea.

This is an excellent point. I like characters who are written as flawed characters (like Irene when she started fostering Selina and made a lot of mistakes) and their fallibility is focussed on as part of the character/storyline. With Gina, it doesn't feel like that at all. It's more that the writers don't really have a grand plan for the character or even a particulary strong idea of what the character is about. So one day she can be a perfect mother and that fits her, and the next she can be awful and that fits her too. But it's never mentioned or focussed on, so you end up feeling she's just an inconsistent character. Having said that, I do like her. Helped in no small part by the actress who plays her. But I think her character needs a lot of work, focus, and attention. For example, her job as headteacher. It's like she was just given that so she would have a reason to stay in the Bay. What difference does it actually make to day-to-day Home and Away whether she's headteacher, or works in the Diner? Compare this to Fisher - being headteacher was an enormous part of his character (and a very important role in the show). It wasn't all there was to him, but it was a very big part. As for Gina - as far as I remember we've never even seen her in the principal's office.

We briefly saw Barbara again at the start of the 1989 season (when Bobby thought she was her mum). Do we see her again before her late 90s recast appearance?

Me neither. I like Sid as a character and I like his chemistry with Roo. But he was totally wrong for Marilyn.

I like the way Georgie plays Roo - very relaxed and easy going. She has quirky dialogue too and a good sense of humour. I wonder how much is in the writing and how much is in the portrayal. Although she delivers her lines differently than I think Justine Clarke would, I could picture those lines coming from the character Justine created all those years ago. I can imagine Justine's Roo developping into Georgie's Roo during all those years off screen.

He's just a plot device - a way for the writers to show how "bad" the Riverboys can be without actually having to portray the Braxtons themselves in a particularly bad light.

Absolutely no idea! Care to remind us beau_t...?! I'll wait and see if anyone else remembers, I'm sure some people on this forum will but whether they come into this thread or not...

Oh I forgot about Fitzy, she never did return from that maternity leave did she? I do love the fiesty relationship between Charlie and Watson though, so I'd say I probably prefer Watson. She has made the character stand out so much more than she could have. I read an interview with the actress who plays her and she said she has invented a whole backstory for Watson and reason why she became a cop. She obviously puts a lot into the role - more than is asked of her. I think the writers should recognise this and - not necessarily make her a regular character but - keep her around as much as they can. Here's a blast from the past, anyone remember Terri Garner?

Yeah Irene used to smoke in her early days it kind of suited her character.

Thank you

I have been told that

What does everybody think of Morag's latest stint in the Bay so far? I think she has been on relatively good form, and it's been great to see her with Marilyn and especially Roo again. It has also been interesting to see her as the matriarch of Summer Bay House, a new role for her. But I think she has really lacked a good strong story of her own.

^ which is precicely why I hated this storyline from the second Nicole told Marilyn "I'm pregnant." Because it was obvious what was coming - and there's only one way a storyline like this can play out, and I knew what it meant for Marilyn. It occurred to me immediately. Wanting a baby is a huge part of Marilyn's character, and she had literally just finished talking about how her life was at a standstill, and it was clear Nicole wasn't especially happy about being pregnant. I just thought it was obvious. I was feeling that hatred also, although it's more a hatred of the writers for taking such an obvious story down and even more obvious route. It would have been much more original to do a surrogacy/adoption storyline where the adoptive mum to be doesn't come across as a needy control freak. We could have seen a continuation of that bond between Nicole and Marilyn that you mentioned from 2010. It certainly would have been more in keeping with Marilyn's nice nature and on the whole would have been a much more uplifting and interesting storyline.