alexx

I totally disagree with you about icons, especially about Marilyn. A solid part of the overall premise of Marilyn as a character is her flamboyant dress sense, makeup/hair and bubbly personality - that is the character no matter the age. Are you saying it would be realistic for Marilyn to have morphed into something she is/was not? Imo people like Maz dont change, they definitely evolve, but the core of them doesn't change and I think the writers and Emily have done a fantastic job at keeping the true essence of the character alive, whilst at the same time moving the character along. Like you said though, you were never a fan. She did have recurring themes, traits and storylines that gave the character the amount of depth and history shes come back with and its early days still, there's obviously something shes hiding from those around her which is in keeping with her past and she's now having dreams about death which isn't exactly the nicest of things to have on your mind whilst trying to sleep. I get the feeling they are introducing her back into the show at a steady rate since we haven't even had any Irene/Maz scenes yet and she hasn't really made it out of the caravan park much or been introduced to anyone else on screen which Im sure/hope they will...

Ahh sorry I get you now! Bobby's theme in its infancy was heard today - I dont think I remember it being composed like that at the beginning but it sounds very recognizable as her theme regardless and really suited that scene in the hospital! The last few episodes have been awesome viewing!

Oh I thought that was Monday's episode... The episode that was shown on Friday was 103 (26th March) with Morag and Roo in the store as the recap, unless my timer is all wrong and I'm actually an episode behind!

The recap was Morag and Roo in the store wasn't it?

Exactly, and this is perfectly in keeping with the character. She's run away and left a number of times, but always returned because she felt she belonged in Summer Bay, I think that's a good enough reason as any. Many people who leave a town they loved or lived for a long period of their life, return or feel connected to that town because it feels safe and they know it. I dont live with my parents anymore so live 1 hour away from the town I grew up in, but I miss it and would like to live there again if only I wasn't kept away due to work commitments. In terms of writing, H&A came up with Marilyn, they and Emily produced her and she was one of the most popular characters the show ever produced, I think its only logical they would want to hold on to their most popular cast whether they are part of the past or not...it just makes writing sense. I dont think they brought her back to recapture the past, they just acknowledged what a terrific and one off character she is and what she does for the show.

My timer has been playing up again for the past two days so I am reallly looking forward to catching up and Morag's return! And will be great to watch the scene Bobby's theme was used for the first time!

^I fear that too - but I'm trying to ignore it because it may not be the case - I dont see the point in bringing back such a well loved character to kill her off, it would be absolutely pointless and annoying. But like I said, theres no point thinking about it if it isn't happening...

I thought 2008 was great, but I dont see it as a golden era or anything like that, I dont think it compares (to the 95-96 era) to be honest. I thought 2000 was a brilliant year and is one of my favorites. Back to Maz - I dont actually want Miles and Marilyn together either I think it would be just too much and I'd like to see them become good chums. In the way of work, I'd forgotten about that - maybe she could open a beauty and health spa and sell organic creams and anti aging ointments as wel as do hair and makeup. I do hope they dont start writing her as someone that is too out of touch with everything, yes she is out there but she wasn't ever a joke like Colleen can sometimes be portrayed.

I'd say the golden era was 1994-1997 peaking at 95 & 96 and then once Pippa and Selina departed in early 98 the 'golden era' had definitely come to an end... Those were also the years the show reached its heights and rated brilliantly overseas.

I'd say Marylin definitely is more of a iconic H&A character and one of the most memorable to come from the show, more iconic than say Shannon..however Angel, Shannon etc were probably higher in the popularity stakes, particularly with the younger demographics (in Aus anyway) due to the whole golden era and they were only on the show for a short period of time, whereas Marylin has that sentimental aspect to the character, she has a stronger link to the show in all its eras, where we saw her grow up on screen and was a prominent aspect to the show in not only the early years but the 'golden era' and the later 90's when the show was at its peak in the UK too...so everyone could latch onto and love her for that because she was apart of the show for a good long period, you feel like you know her... Imo having Marylin back can do far more for the show than Angel and Shannon - simply due to the type of character she is. (not that I wouldn't be ecstatic to have Angel back!!)

I dont get that at all - she is an actor, that is her career. She has had continued acting work since she was 18 in two different countries and has now been asked to work on a prime time drama again, H&A is a job for actors, therefore she is a successful working actor...

I had no idea who it was going to be as this storyline was hazy for me, so I enjoyed speculating and was even fooled by the other nights cliff hanger as my last post indicated, but when we eventually did find out it was Walter I wasn't surprised - I had an inclining it was going to be him when he started loosing his memory and then nothing was said about it, so I presumed it may have been a tumor which would cause his death or something creating a way for Fisher to become principle, but then in the bushes his eyes were freaky but had a a recognizable look and his hands were 'old', the only other older male cast member with that type of voice was Walter... I'm glad my memory of storylines are a bit muddled with these early years episodes, it makes them so much more enjoyable not really knowing whats coming up within the next episode..

It's the one where Fisher is reading something and realizes Celia is looking over his shoulder being nosy, with her bike.

Oh, that isn't how I saw it at all, as soon as I saw Pippa enter the gym I immediately thought of Samuels, up until that point and especially when she was on the phone, I was actually suspecting it may have been Walter!

What do you mean? It wasn't Fisher they were trying to imply was the Nutter. I thought the episode ending where Pippa had her conversation out in the caravan park with the Nutter was really freaky, it was a great scene!

I'm still not really sure how it fits in with the location, but I'm looking forward to seeing it on screen, especially all four walls being up with filming from 'outside' - that is something completely different for the show I'm sure!

It's quite a way away isn't it Palm Beach to the studios in the CBD, Summer Bay House was in a totally different direction all together also - I hope it doesn't become more urbanized! I wonder if the actors have to make their own way to locations or if they are picked up.

That's correct, Mike Perjanik created all of the underscore music from scratch for each episode (apart from the obvious songs from the jukebox etc.). The job has now been passed on to his son Nick. And he composed all of the original music right up until the end of 2003 - I think his music really helped shape the whole 'feel' of Summer Bay all of those years. I have grown to adjust and do really like how Nick composes now, it is different in style but he seems to have captured that essence Mike Perjanik brought to the show when you hear the more traditional piano pieces they use these days, but I do miss Mike's very melodic scores. A similar or updated/altered version of that piece of music you're referring to was used in 2001 during Ailsa's funeral episode and was used a few times over 2001-2002, another time it was used was in the scene Fisher had a flashback to Alan collapsing on the beach (during the Seb storyline in 2001)! WOW - I thought Friday's episode was one of the best episodes the show has produced, such a dark subject matter AND it was a G rated show back then!!! I love the relationship between Pip and Danny, it is very realistic under the circumstances and has allowed us to see a side to Pippa we hadn't, up until that point, seen. Interestingly I think this aspect of the character did become a bit more prominent as the years went on and when Debra Lawrence took over the role, she could be quite blunt when it was needed. But yeah I was very impressed with the standard of the last couple of episodes and in particular Friday's; I haven't seen the Danny storyline since it first aired, I have no memory of catching these episodes during the repeats so I was hoping they would go there at the end of the episode and was impressed that they did, also how frank the scripts were in talking about killing oneself there wasn't any dancing around the matter it was straight to the point. I also had a laugh out loud at the Carly, Lyn, Sally and Martin scene, it didn't move any storyline along at all, it was just pure character based fun!! Hopefully we will start seeing more of these sort of mini sub plots in the current show. 10/10 for Friday's ep!

Thanks for the pointer - I somehow missed that link on the site, I had a look for one as well! Wow comparing the two images, it was so lush, I remember a very wide stock shot of SBH from the mid 90's and remembered there being loads of thick bush out in front of the house. Its such a shame the location was gutted by fires, looking at the aerial shot of the whole area I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner.

I noticed today that they have changed the outdoor location of Leah's again and I dont like the look of it. I wish they'd keep to one house, that goes for all of the other outdoor locations - its not like they actually go out there and film at them often so why do they have to change them all of the time. The new current one is nothing like the previous one and at first I thought it was a small unit I had to go back and pause to realize it was a house with its own garden.

I tried looking up 'Summer Bay House' on Google Earth at 138 McClymonts Road Kenthurst last night at first to no avail, although obviously it could have changed or been demolished all together now, I was looking for a red roof and some land in amongst the bush. So I had another look today and I think this is it, although it still looks burnt out. The landscape around the house appears to match where the two drive ways were and that steep path leading up to the front of the house! The area looks completely isolated from up above, I wonder how they found the location back in the 1980's it would be interesting. Back looking from where Colleen's mobile home was: Front where the old 'Summer Bay House' sign was:

I wonder why they dont just use the 1988-2006 church, I think its the perfect location what with that beautiful landscape as the backdrop, not to mention the nostalgia!

We actually hear a lot of that song on TV most years, its one of those 'iconic' Aussie anthems. I forgot about what Danny was all about so I'm looking forward to how the character unravels.

Justine Clark doesn't only do Play School though, she was recently in a theatre production in New York with Cate Blanchet, she's also a very prominent actor on different ABC drama's and Australian released feature films, I see her more in other TV shows/dramas than I do other ex-cast members so that's probably why she wont return, she has moved on and probably gets paid 3 times the amount she would get from H&A. Yeah Stevo and Sandra were only ever friends, that kiss in Thursday's episode was on the cheek too - maybe had she stuck around it would have progressed into something more.

For a while I was thinking the nutter could be Kerry, as I have very little memory of this storyline even though Im sure I watched it when they repeated 12 years ago! The past few episodes have been very powerful and gritty, yet emotional and poignant - this is why H&A, to me, was better than Neighbours - at this stage the show was really taking on its own distinct premise.