beau_t

double post

I have really vague memories of what happened to Alf's jeep. I think Curtis accidentally drove it off a cliff or possibly Aaron. He'd left the handrbake off while having a picnic with... Casey? All Alf could salvage of his precious jeep was a hubcap which he mourned over for days until Ailsa told him to snap out of it Back to 1993 and there was some sinister foreshadowing with Shane's picnic ending in disaster. Angel gets him to promise that he'll do it again some day...

I loved when she said to Ailsa "It's not your decision. You seem to have great difficulty understanding that". And the way she smiled at Ailsa at the end of the episode after delivering the "good" news to her, was so full of malice. Everyone seems to forget that Bobby would never in a million years want Morag to have Sam and I'm surprised she didn't have words to that effect in her will, much like Chloe did with Diana. In fact, comparing these storylines, they are very similar. Do you think the storyline with Diana/Olivia/Irene was based on this one with Morag/Sam/Ailsa? It was written by Daniel Bennett who was a big fan of the early years, and it may have been his primary reason for killing off Choe.

Even though they could probably lift right out of the show and I wouldn't really notice, I do enjoy Luke and Roxy's onscreen badinage. They are very likeable characters, even if not very significant in the overall history of the show. Loved Ailsa pretending the bikini was hers and telling Alf she paid $130 for it. Very funny and good to see Ailsa having a laugh for a change. I know it's done for the sake of contrast, but really, couldn't Sarah find a happy medium between shirts buttoned up to the neck and skimpy tops that make her uncomfortable? I'm sure there's plenty of stylish clothes she could wear that don't show so much skin, but then I guess the story wouldn't work if the characters realised this! I always wondered why Damian and Sarah didn't get together in the old days and I'm wondering the same again now. They are both smart, kinda dorky but in a nice way, and they get along well. I guess they are in the "friends zone" but the writers could have made them a couple if they wanted to. I agreed with Michael - Kevin didn't do anything wrong. There is a demand for that kind of cheap tat and Kevin supplied it for a fair price so he shouldn't feel bad. But I like that he's decided to go down the more meaningful route and study indigenous art. However, I did not agree with him ruining Shane's paintings. Shane can do what he wants, whether Kevin feels it's moral or immoral is up to him, but he shouldn't push those morals onto others. Shame to see the back of him though, he was fairly likeable.

The little window beside the door is now missing too. It's not too much of a discrepancy when you see how badly some of the other locations match-up to the interior sets.

Irene's character development over the next few years is one of my favourite things about the show in this period. There's so much focus on her trying to be a better person and improve her confidence, finally resulting in her taking on a foster kid with Selina and all the resulting storylines about Irene making a mixture of mistakes and successes as a foster mum. It wasn't until the late 90s or even early 2000s that I finally started thinking of Irene as a proper adult character like Pippa or Ailsa. Up until then she'd always seemed more like one of the teen characters in the sense that she got plenty of storylines and got into a lot of silly/fun/dramatic situations.

I know this is completely unrelated but I started thinking about how the right hand side of the house doesn't exist in the interior set, and then how the same can be said for the Bayside Diner, until Maz's salon came along. And it reminded me of something I have wondered for a while - was the Salon set and the Diner set actually joined together the way it was made out to be (in other words, was the Salon set actually reached through that door in the Diner)? Or were they completely seperate sets?

I second that!

Ah... that's acceptable Not that I even watch the current show anymore. It doesn't quite work, as the door isn't really behind the trellis, but hey what's a few centimeters when it's Summer Bay House back on screen. It's not like the other exterior locations match up with their interior sets anyway! Good on them for going to so much effort to make it work. Did we ever see round the other side of the house in the old days? To the right of the front door?

Is that the scene where Bobby hugs Ailsa and then watches as she drives away? I always thought the street looked similar to the one used in the pilot for the Fletchers' house.

When Tug burned his school tie I thought "finally and end to Tug leaving and returning to school", only I've just remembered he must go back because so it looks like the merry-go-round isn't finished yet. Sarah feeling plain next to Angel is reminiscent of Karen's jealousy of Sophie, and the upcoming storyline with Sarah and is of course like Karen and Revhead. I wonder if the writers will recognise this pattern and have someone, probably Alf, comment about it. I can hear him now ranting now that he's not going to see Sarah make the same mistakes as Karen.

No they were definitely back to being enemies before Morag left in 1989. I seem to be the only one who remembers this I agree with Red Ranger - Ailsa isn't all that likeable during this storyline, even though we know she turns out to be right about Morag. I suppose we have to remember that as viewers at this point, we're not supposed to know Morag as she becomes in 2001+. Viewers in 1993 would have only ever known her to be evil so were probably cheering Ailsa on. But even if she doesn't trust Morag, does she have to be so vocal about it all the time? Morag's sly smiles to camera are enjoyable, but all too fleeting. I miss the loud boisterous Morag who slung insults around. I was hoping to see some of that during this stint. Her nice as pie persona may be devious, but it's not nearly as fun. Gotta give credit to Cornelia Frances though. Who else could say "cinnamon" and make it sound bitchy?

It was nice to see the lighthouse featured in a storyline. I think this is the one and only time.

Yeah I do think that was the case. It also gave Bobby's character a new lease of life after a year of not doing much.

Brilliant - is she on Twitter? I think it was on instagram, she commented on one of Lynne McGranger's photos of the house.

I notice Tina Thomsen (Finlay) has also commented on the return of Summer Bay House calling it her old home. Sweet.

You're right they were friends for a while in 1989, but after Morag humiliated Danny and Bobby during a dinner party, she finally lost the respect of everyone in the Bay once and for all. Even Celia told her she was out of chances, as did Donald. Morag went to Ailsa for help saying that Ailsa was the only friend she had left, but Ailsa told her to get out and they were no longer friends. They parted on very bad terms. It's also important to note that even though they were "friends" for a short time, Ailsa was never blind to Morag's evil ways. She just put up with them because Morag helped Ailsa through her post-natal depression, and so Ailsa gave her friendship for a while in return. I loved Shane laughing at "Morag Bellingham - what kind of name is that?" And also wrongly assuming she was Donald's wife, this ties in with a few weeks ago when he mentioned to Angel that he doesn't know the name of the woman Donald married. Good continuity.

Hey Dan, I've been watching some old eps and I was just wondering: do you know how many times Morag actually cries? I know of 1993, 2003, 2007(? - Martha put her well into place) and 2011 (After Ross' funeral). Are there any other? I might be wrong but did Morag breakdown in 1989 just before she left Summer Bay to go back to the city and Danny's reign of terror and vendetta against her was over. There was also a great scene where she broke down and confessed to Nigel the real reason why her husband left her, and why she couldn't stand Bobby. This was in early-mid 1989.

Great to see Ailsa finally getting a storyline. It's been way too long.

I like both the red roof and the grey one. They grey one is nice and modern, and works well, while the red one is eye catching and looks more traditional. I'd love to know what the actual interior of the house is like (both before and after fire).

It's actually sneaked into the background of a few shots in the early years recently. I always look out for that kind of thing.

To be fair, the old way, it never matched the interior set anyway. They have definitely increased the size of the lattice side porch on the interior set now and it does go back a lot further than it used to too. I suspect they will have a replica one that they will put up when filming at the exterior house, to disguise the fact that the veranda now goes all the way round. But we will see. I wonder if it still has that hazardous looking steep climb directly in front of the house down to where the gate used to be (never liked the look of that personally!)

Have they just filmed new stock shots? Or will they actually be using the exterior location again for scenes?

Yes that would have been a great flashback to use!! But the one they went for was good too.

I agree with Dan that it's the rarity of Morag's breakdowns that makes them special, but no I do not think she was 100% genuine in that scene. Well, her tears were genuine, but they were only 10% for Bobby. 90% of them she was crying for herself, for how lonely she is. "She won in the end you know". Even now, she saw it as a competition. So yes, her crying was real but she was crying for the wrong reasons. Did Morag know about Sam before now? She may have came back with good intentions but quickly got a scheme in her mind once meeting him.