adam436

To be fair, I guess you could argue that's natural character development - widowed twice, umpteen failed relationships and all the other tragedy she's experienced would change anyone. But I agree. She's not the fun and bubbly character she was 25 years ago.

I found her quite a sad character. Her life could have been so different - she'd have likely had a large family and dedicated her life to being a mother. Instead, she's mocked everyone in the town and considered an annoyance at times. I liked both Tom and Alf. Tom was more fatherly and a stronger patriarch figure, but Alf definitely worked for the supporting role he fulfilled - authoritarian father to contrast Tom, long-term resident, friend of the Fletchers etc. I'd actually say the roles switched when Michael came along. Alf was the warmer father figure and Michael seemed quite cold and authoritarian.

Wasn't it stated at one point that the car belonged to Alf and Celia's parents? I have a vague recollection of it anyway.

It was a big year, but there wasn't much to like about it. This was actually the year I stopped watching H&A for a good few years. My interest had been waning for a few years, but Chloe's pointless death and Jesse's exit was the final straw for me. Jesse had run his course, but he didn't need or deserve that exit. I hated the character of Josie and as already been said, a pointless character for the reasons mentioned. She was essentially early a softee version of Angie, introduced because the producers realised it was a mistake killing off Angie. I enjoyed Sally and Flynn as foster parents, but there should have been a spread of ages to mix it up. Having two teenagers who were the same age and were dating each other didn't work. I thought they might have ended up with Olivia after Chloe's death, but she was gone and forgotten about pretty quickly. Another big controversy that year was the Hayley recast. I actually preferred Ella Scott-Lynch in the role, having found Bec's Hayley to be OTT bubbly, but suddenly going from blonde to redhead was quite jarring. I wasn't a fan of the Scott/Hayley/Kim triangle either. Scott and Hayley were obviously just paired up because they were both at a loose end following Noah's and Dani's exits.

Also the Morgan siblings and Dean/Mackenzie too. With all these sibling relationships, we've never seen a younger siblings for Theo, who would actually give Leah an additional family member.

Still doesn't excuse murder or covering it up. If his actions were truly justified, he shouldn't have covered it up for years.

Colby murdered someone, so Willow did the right thing by testifying against him.

But the likes of Donald, Ailsa, Alf and to a lesser extent Pippa became the backbone of the show because they stuck around for so long, so it makes sense the producers wanted to keep them for continuity. The twenty-somethings were very hit-and-miss in that era. I started a separate thread about that a few months ago actually. I actually found Curtis the least memorable from that group, perhaps because he felt the less likable than Jack. Jack seemed like the loveable cheeky rogue, whereas Curtis just felt like a whinger. Shannon and Selina had some massive storylines. Shannon had anorexia, her historical abuse and the Mandy stuff whereas Selina had her relationship with teacher Steven, a teenage pregnancy/miscarriage and the cult story. I imagine there's more I've forgotten too, but the writers certainly favoured them over Jack and Curtis. They didn't really have any massive/hard-hitting storylines at all other than Curtis watching his girlfriend die and the subsequent spiral.

I can't say I was that invested in Noah and Hayley much, mostly because I didn't like Hayley. I liked Noah as an individual though. I was probably more invested in Jude and Shauna to be honest. They were a really cute couple and back when Leah was more a fun character. Ada and Ryan had amazing chemistry too! I remember she had a HIV scare after a needle stick injury, and didn't want to marry Vinnie until she was in the clear.

Even the current retcons could have been done without too much effort, but the current producers just don't care. The Martha one would have been better had it been written that Alf told Ailsa about it at the time and she agreed to keep it a secret. She more than anyone knows the need to run away and start afresh. The Marilyn/Heather one would have worked had it happened after Byron and Donald, rather than before and make a mockery of their journey.

Edward has always been one of my favourites too. His diagnosis meant he couldn't stay forever, but it would have been nice to see him for another couple of years. A number of good characters were wiped out as part of that cast overhaul, but Edward was definitely the one I felt shortchanged with the most.

We have recently been reminded, it's been 25 years since Leah first appeared on Home and Away. 2000 is probably one of the biggest years of change, so I thought I'd start a new thread to discuss and appreciate everything that happened in that season. For me, many of the events that occurred marked the end of the era: The revamped theme music and opening credits. The first version not to feature the "action" shots, and instead the floating boxes across the ocean background. The demise of the Bayside Diner and the original Stewart home, and the introducing of the replacement Beachside Diner. Ailsa's death. Sam's exit, after watching him grow up on screen for 9 years. The arrival of the Sutherland family into Summer Bay House, well and truly heralding a new era of H&A. One of, if not the, biggest year for cast turnover. The new arrivals were Nick, Leah, the Sutherland family, Noah, Jude and Brodie. The departures were Jesse, Justine, James, Sam, Joel, Natalie, Tom, Ken, Edward, Peta, Judith and then Ailsa in the finale. Admittedly many of those characters were relatively short-lived, but it was still a rollercoaster year for comings and goings, especially when you consider the show lost hugely popular characters like Marilyn, Travis, Rebecca and Chloe in late 1999 as well. Iconic storylines/moments: Sally's non-wedding and all the returnees it brought. Jesse's exit Shauna being revealed as Ailsa's daughter. Great storyline, but it's a shame we only got a few months of their relationship before Ailsa died. The landside, which used as the cliffhanger when the show went on hiatus for the Sydney Olympics. At the time, it was reportedly the biggest stunt H&A had ever done, but it pales in comparison to some of the ones that occurred in later years, but at the time it was pretty epic and high stakes drama. Edward's Huntington's journey Ken Smith's death Forgettable storylines/low points: The Diner fire - Considering it was one of the most iconic sets from the early years, it's actual demise felt rather underwhelming. Maybe it was too close to the landside or they didn't have the budget for a second big stunt? Natalie's affair and pregnancy. What was the point, when they were just going to reunite and get back together a few months later? Even if they wrote the affair as her exit storyline to later reunite with Joel, the pregnancy wasn't needed at all Fisher's dream sequence - Fisher had a weird dream that he was marrying Judith Joel and Judith's romance - clearly just a fill-in story to give both characters something to do after their families left and while they sat around waiting around for their exits.

That era had a higher turnover of cast with the likes of Emma, Viv, Grant, Ben, Karen, Simon, Haydn and others lasting less than 18 months. They definitely wanted more from Craig and Dannii, so the producers must have been disappointed they had relatively short stints. Craig had already done 3 years on a soap, so he'd have been unlikely to do another 3 when his career was just taking off. As for Richard Norton, he didn't exactly set the world on fire on Neighbours so I don't know what they were expecting from him on H&A.

I imagine the 3 of them would have been laughing all the way to the bank given how little they all had in terms of storylines in the first half of the 90s. It wasn't until 1995 when Alf and Ailsa got their own storylines and Donald got involved with Marilyn that they were actually at the forefront again.

I never knew about that! I knew Ray was one of the highest paid stars, but I didn't realise the negotiations started that early. I always assumed Ray's high salary only started after Judy and Norman left because he became more "valuable" as he became 1 of 2, and eventually the sole survivor. Interesting it says "among others" - aside from a young Kate Ritchie, they were the only original cast members still standing by the time Nicolle Dickson left. Given the discrepancy in exits (4 years between Justine and Nicolle), it's difficult to know whether this happened in early 1990s or the mid 1990s. If it's the former, I wonder if Roger and Vanessa were part of that and led to the exits of Roger and Vanessa if they weren't happy with the deal. If it's the latter, you would assume the "others" would be Debra and Dennis. They weren't original cast members, but certainly valuable as the central parent figures on the show.

I'd agree with that. Pippa and Michael never felt like they had equal value as characters in the same way Tom and Pippa did. It could just be a case of Pippa being there first, therefore the producers valued her more, but it did feel like the writers often treated him as "Pippa's husband" rather than a character in his right (if that makes sense). Pippa would have remarried eventually, but I don't think it would have been as quick. And I imagine Pippa1's new husband would have been a very different character to Michael, but I could be wrong. I just can't picture marrying Pippa1 marrying Michael, she'd have wanted a more lighter and fun character, whereas Michael always felt so serious. Pippa2 always seemed more joyless and serious, so her and Michael worked well together.

Rob seemed to be one of those characters that worked with anyone. Irene in home scenes, Donald and the teens in school scenes, and Donna and Travis as his friendship group. It was a shame he and Donna left so soon, as they were both two of the better twentysomethings from the early years. It's a shame they never got their happy ending either.

I never liked Michael, but I can see why some view it as a mistake. When Tom was killed off, the producers opted to marry Pippa off within a year. I don't know if that was always the plan or whether the producers realised that the foster family worked better with two parents. If it was the latter, then the producers clearly learnt nothing. If Pippa had stayed longer than she did, then it would have been mistake, but when you consider she left less than 2 years later, it didn't bother me either way. I do wonder if the producers ever considered leaving Michael's death "open-ended". Neighbours did this with Harold after Ian Smith was axed - apparently one writer believed it was a mistake to kill off Harold, so they left the door open for him to return.

Do you know when that was? We had Tom and OG Pippa exit in 1990, so I assume it must have been after that.

I suspect the producers wanted Dannii/Emma to stay longer than she did. They might have got a couple of extra months out of her, but I think she would have suffered post-high school like so many teenage characters tended to, that perhaps it's best she left on a high. With Viv gone, Steven on his way out and the next generation (Blake, Karen, Sophie) having arrived, it felt like the right time for her to go. Her exit did feel rushed though.

Me too. Gordon could have worked long-term as a JR Ewing/Mr Burns/Paul Robinson type villain, with Stacey perhaps as his voice of reason/moral compass. But with the lack of creativity of the writers when it came to the Macklin Corporation, it may have been best to rest it when they did. I also quite liked Brett too - he was better eye candy (for me anyway!) than most of the regular males in the 80s

I was reading it on IMDB recently. I can certainly see the similarities between Ross' Ted Bullpitt and early years Alf. They were both prejudice, chauvinistic, hot-headed and authoritarian father figures. Both characters also their own unique catch phrases too. Perhaps too similar to be played by the same actor. We also don't know if Ray would not have stayed as long by choice had he been playing Tom either. Tom was more of a cookie-cutter father figure compared to Alf so Ray may not have enjoyed playing Tom as much, or maybe he preferred playing a supporting character over the main one. I recall somewhere (possibly the This is Your Life special?) that Ray initially only intended to stay short-term, so maybe playing Tom would have cemented that intention.

Funnily enough, Ross Higgins auditioned for the role of Alf, so I do wonder if Alf was initially meant to have a similar Ted Bullpitt vibe abiut him on paper in terms of Alf's views, mannerisms and temper. Ray Meagher initially auditioned for or was offered Tom Fletcher, so Ray would have brought a very different performance to that character than what Roger did had had it gone ahead. Alf was a relatively pleasant/mild character in the pilot and he ultimately went on to be the central patriarch figure 20 years later, so I could definitely see it working, but ultimately Ray and Roger were perfect in the roles they eventually played.

That all sounds very 1994 - probably the least dramatic season of H&A to date I think another reason we never see "fiery" Alf anymore is because he has little reason to fired up. Whenever he did in the past, it's because people he was sticking up for those he cared about - punching Don for reporting Curtis, Sally's non-wedding to Kieran, defending Ailsa and Roo in 1988 etc. Given the only characters that would get him that fired up now (Roo, Marilyn and to a lesser extent, Leah) don't really get themselves in situations that warrant it, that side of Alf has little reason to come out.

Well there's no youth for him to complain about anymore