alexx

Does anyone know the song that was playing a few episodes ago when Ailsa first heard the news report against her before the ad break - she is in the diner kitchen listening to the radio and the song is being played on the jukebox.

I've been trying to find the song played when Mandy left with no luck, such a great song.

I think the new 'Early Years' represents the show up until the year 2000 for me. But then there's also that period between 2001-2004 where it still felt like H&A before it totally changed format in 2005.

^It looks different from the original design but still clearly recognizable and fits in with the interior sets. I think they should definitely bring it back. They could then have scenes take place in the front garden or sitting on that terrace. Also I assume that the view of the beach from the front door is still as beautiful as ever.

How were you fooled by that? It's nonsense, particularly if you follow Alan and Lynne on social media, most people would know immediately that it's fake because it's so out of character.

It survived it but Imo the show missed that familiarity, especially when it was during a period of high change (2000-2001). With Ailsa and the Stewart House both gone within the space of 6 months it altered a dynamic within the show. And I personally wish that the set was still around and Alf was still living in it now along with Roo and whoever else they may have taken in. It probably would have become as iconic as Alf and Summer Bay House. Losing the Stewart House and Ailsa coincided with a shift Alf's character too and he's seemed quite unstable since then I think.

When I started watching again this year I was confused by what was going on with Leah's house. I just assumed that there would be zero chance of them getting rid of such a well established and recognized set and that they were all at Summer Bay House temporarily. Like you, I really like the family dynamic at SBH and it feels the most 'right' than it has in years. But I definitely see the old 'Nash House' as significant to the show. Getting rid of older sets whether they be outdoor or interiors all help to chip away at the continuity and familiarity which is a negative. They need to renovate it and Leah could sell it on to another family perhaps.

Back to basics? That's when the show went off the rails and was veering even further away from the basic Home and Away format Imo

I was looking at the exterior of the Stewart Store and to me it looks like a building in the middle of a street that has been cornered off by the art department (basically erecting a partition across the pavement). Whereas on screen I always got the impression that it was a building all on its own somewhere across the road from the beach.

^I hope so! It would be great if they uploaded entire seasons on YouTube/Netflix at some point in the future but I'm happy with what we have at the moment. It's nice to watch all of the episodes in sequence without having the option to jump about into the 'future'. I'm still a couple of weeks behind but I've been having binge sessions and I'm really enjoying it all. I do agree that some of the female/male dynamics are generalised and cringe worthy sometimes though. They do that a lot though, it's like whenever a religious person is in the show they are seen as 'strange/weird' or the nerdy types are always wearing glasses or carry a bit of extra weight on them. I hate those stereotypes, it's embarrassing really. I find Shane and Angel interesting and enjoyable to watch and it's not just nostalgia I don't think. The chemestry between them just make those scenes so engaging. It's interesting to see the 1993 season draw to a close as we gear up towards the 1994 season. It's a real treat to be at this point in the show because I say it every year but I never thought that 7TWO would reach 1994, I just never thought we'd see the 90's repeated again. Long may it continue. It's really nice to watch something that instantly takes you back to that time and all the memories that go with it. It reminds me of what Australia was like in the 90's.

I'm really behind at the moment... up to 1350. Just wanted to say how much I'm enjoying having Irene in the show! Also very pleased that the storyline with Morag is over. Morag was great but I was getting so bored of Ailsa's part because I felt like it was just too repetitive. Glad to see Adam's grief and guilt has been written realistically and continued on at a fairly realistic pace.

Obviously they wanted to keep him in the show otherwise they would have got rid of him whenever they wanted. He was a popular character, people liked that he was in H&A. I've enjoyed his storylines so I'm glad that he's there, I presume the feedback they received back in 1993 proved that people liked having him around. Plus I think he's a pretty good child actor.

It looks like the shape of the house has changed? There used to be more of an 'L' shape wasn't there? It matches the interior now more though.

I feel quite sympathetic towards Sam. I don't really like how Greg just left him like that, it doesn't seem very in character (perhaps that's with hindsight though, knowing how long it takes for him to return). I guess he's gone with the intention of coming to pick him back up once he's found a place and settled in. I still feel like it's really harsh on Sam considering his history. He had some stability with Bobby finally, then his dad gets married to his new mum and he's in a happy family for a short time. Then Bobby and Greg split up and he has to deal with the idea of having a split family again, before feeling excited and happy to have them back together. Bobby dies and he feels like Greg's the only person he's got left and now he's gone. It's a lot for a kid to go through. I'm glad that we got to focus on Fisher's grief, I was beginning to think that he had got over it fairly quickly. Some very sweet scenes between Sam and Don over the past week. Also pleased to see Michael and Pippa supporting Adam. And now Pippa's passing on the lesson she learned to Sally. I agree with you Dee, that it was a shame we didn't see Sally's reaction to Bobby's death. The Gloria storyline was very badly timed, I don't understand why they didn't include Bobby's death into her storyline to snap her out of being so insecure. Great to have Morag back and very interesting to see how she is at this point. I genuinely find it difficult to read her and that may have been the point. But those facial expressions and that sharp tone of voice is creeping back and I really liked that blunt conversation when she told Ailsa that everyone believed that she was in Summer Bay for the right reasons.

I think that's the point. We saw Irene develop realistically so that by the time she went to uni in the early 00's we believed that it took a lot of hard work and she was very humble that the working class, once alcoholic Irene was now a uni student. But like I said, once 2005 came around (with the arrival of Dan Bennett) all of that character development went out of the window and she's just become someone completely different now, she's not even a shadow of her former self, she's a new character. I think the writers don't write for Irene anymore, they write with Lynne McGranger's personalty in mind. They've tried in the past few years to incorporate elements back into the character like her country and western singing, but it falls flat because it's used as a short term plot device instead of genuinely writing Irene as Irene on a consistent basis.

j.laur5, on 08 Feb 2015 - 6:23 PM, said: It's completely out of character if you look at who she was/where she came from. Irene was a working class woman with working class ideologies. I just don't think people like Irene change as dramatically as she has in H&A and lose pretty much all of the characteristics that gave the character so much life in the first place, particularly because all of those changes took place within ten years without any reason on screen. I just think it's bad writing and inconsistent writing. When Dan Bennett came on board the flow of characterisation and consistency was damaged and Irene was one of the victims of that I think. But that is just your guess, it hasn't been address on screen or as part of the character development. It's just happened without explanation or reason.

It's completely out of character if you look at who she was/where she came from. Irene was a working class woman with working class ideologies. I just don't think people like Irene change as dramatically as she has in H&A and lose pretty much all of the characteristics that gave the character so much life in the first place, particularly because all of those changes took place within ten years without any reason on screen. I just think it's bad writing and inconsistent writing. When Dan Bennett came on board the the flow of characterisation and consistency was damaged and Irene was one of the victims of that I think. Mod edit: Starting to wander

I think it looks so much nicer with a red roof over a grey one.

I definitely feel sorry for Adam throughout all of this. Yes it was reckless but it was an accident and he's killed one of his closest friends, I think the guilt is punishment enough without having everyone else hate him. There's very little understanding coming from anyone and I think it's really sad because Adam's by and large a decent guy.

On watching the early years back it's just reiterated to me that Pippa is a far more flawed character than a lot of people seem to remember her. I think the 'saint' image was established after she left due to her return visits and flashbacks, conversations Sally had with Flynn etc. I enjoy watching how she puts her foot in it every so often and comes across as hypocritical from time to time. Michael has been the same and it's frustrating at the same time as entertaining.

Well it is the original landscape and house (that was rebuilt after the bushfire). It is sad to see how all of those old trees surrounding the house were obviously burnt down, now there is a huge view of the land, whereas before it used to be covered up by the dense bush, The last time we saw Summer Bay House in the show it was still a older style, slightly run down building and that was part of the charm. But since then there have been new characters living in it and as was pointed out earlier in the thread, houses like SBH would have to have been cleaned up during 12 years. I think it's great that they've reintroduced the house again even if it doesn't quite look the same, it actually IS the same location so it's the very best that we could hope for and it's great that whoever made the decision thought that the house was important enough to bring it back (it should never have been absent for so long, but perhaps there were reasons we are unaware of). I also noticed that the porch area is a lot bigger than it used to be (when Roo was on the phone in Wed's episode) so I'm half expecting to see a large porch outside the house, whenever we next see it. I hope that the caravan park can be rebuilt where it used to be, fifty or so metres away from the house. So that we can see the house in the distance during caravan park scenes and the caravan park from the house like the old days.

Bobby's funeral episode so so bittersweet. I really like it and I agree with you Dan the final scene shared between Don and Sam is just perfect.

I hope so too, I don't like the look of the caravan park in the middle of a field. It doesn't have the same seaside charm as the original which seemed landscaped specifically for the caravans and the sand on the floor etc. It was also smaller and just had more character. If they're going to the effort of filming back at that location on a permanent basis (hope so), surely it would make sense to connect the house back to the park.

It's the real life rebuilt house, not a replica created by the props department. Wow I wasn't aware of that. Thanks for correcting me! Nevertheless it looks fantastic! I think the only reason it looks a bit different at first glance (other than the roof no longer being red) is probably because the driveway now appears outside in front of the house from the right whereas it used to be from the left. If the drive was still going off to the left it could have possibly looked something like this (more instantly recognisable):

Fantastic step in the right direction bringing back Summer Bay House! It's been looooooong overdue. Let's hope that they have started to use it as a regular location again and they have got some sort of contract organised to start filming there on a permanent basis, including the caravan park. Over the past twelve years the caravan park has looked like a huge bushland whereas the original caravan park felt like it was beach side and charming to reflect the small seaside town Summer Bay is supposed to be. I know it's just a house on the face of it, but the fact that they have started filming there again genuinely is a draw card and has already made me want to tune back in to see if there are any other changes being made for the better.