alexx

But that is part of the character. I know that you don't mean Emily Symons looks old, but if you think Marilyn appears older than her age, fair enough - that's a major part of the character. She's always been perceived as 'older' by some of the audience (I don't personally perceive her as older, I perceive her as a bubbly 30-something, with a perhaps slightly dated/unique dress sense), I remember reading an interview with Emily Symons back in 1998 and she said that people in the street told her that she looked old and ugly in the show and asked her why she let the producers do that to her.... but Emily always seems very adamant that Marilyn should stay as she is. That really is what helps to make a character, a character, rather than an actor just being themselves with a different name (which seems to happen to almost all of the characters in H&A). As you say, Marilyn is pretty much the most stylised in the show and I think that's great attention to detail, if they started to tone it all down and make Marilyn look more like Emily, then she would start to become Emily instead of Marilyn. They used to put a lot more attention to detail when it came to defining a character, giving them a distinct personality and then dressing them according to that personality (like Irene for example. Irene would never dress in the clothes she wears these days and that's because they've changed the character so that she is more Lynne McGranger instead of Irene). They even did it with the sets and dressing the houses to suit the characters personality.... but not anymore. Now H&A concentrates on making all of the characters and the set's very glamorous and it's to the major detriment of the characters. Marilyn is just about the only character left who has a distinct personalty which also shows in the way she dresses. Even then they've completely watered her personalty down since 2010.

I think that Marilyn has continued to look like she's in her thirties since the late-90's.

I don't think they did in the long run. I can understand why they did it, for a start it could have been a little hard to imagine Bobby leaving Summer Bay - but then they could have made it happen and given her a 'temporary' exit along with Sam and Greg. And obviously she was a massively loved character so they would have had a huge ratings boost (which they did... I think to this day Bobby's death remains the most watched episode of H&A in Australia, Sally's stabbing coming second). But in the long run, no I wish they hadn't killed her off and I think it was the wrong decision. Who knows, perhaps Nicole would have liked to return again at some point after a few years break. She did start acting again in the later 90's (All Saints etc.) perhaps by then she would have been up for a return and with hindsight she could have been a perfect choice to replace Pippa in 1998 when Debra decided it was time to go.

Another enjoyable week. But I have to say that I do find Roxy and Luke's relationship quite tedious. There's just something about the way they are written that bores me. Probably because those type of storylines are and have always been the least enjoyable (one of the reasons why I don't watch the current show). However, I do enjoy watching the early days of Shane and Angel's relationship, but they're great characters in their own right so I care about them. I'm with you guys re. Laura, she had a lot of potential (these guest characters often do) but I'm glad she left on an upbeat note. I wonder whether we'll get an update via Damo at some point, or if that's the last we hear of her.

Ross? Ross Newton who played Greg. They probably kept him because he had a good connection to Donald (nice rapport between the actors too), they wanted to keep a character in that age group and he was a pretty likeable character and fit in well.

I don't think it's really with rose tinted glasses, I didn't ever think the show was perfect. But it's just as enjoyable to watch as I always thought it was. Blaxland 89 - I thought the same thing about that piece of music.

I can't really see why anyone would feel sorry for Greg in this situation. He's brought it all on himself. He was selfish when he was hooking up with Fiona and didn't think about anyone but himself and his own gratification. I agree with Bobby, she doesn't want to back down and be taken advantage of anymore, she specifically told Don that she's always the one to forgive and forget and she's over that now, but she's being pressured to take Greg back for Sam's sake. I don't think that's fair at all. She isn't even stopping Sam from seeing Greg, she only tried that once and figured out that it wasn't fair but now she's being blamed by Sam as well (I cant understand that though, he just wants his parents back together and doesn't know the full story). Its quite a frustrating storyline. Continuing to enjoy the Laura storyline. I've always liked these quiet and personal plots between a regular cast member and a guest, they're almost always very character driven and emotionally engaging. Great to see Angel and Shane finally get together. It's very clear early on that they've got a strong chemestry. I don't have any memory of this storyline involving Sally trying to get into the 'cool gang' but I can remember an interview with Kate Ritchie who said she was in tears the night before shooting some of this material at the thought of embarrassing herself in front of the cast and crew, so I'm looking forward to seeing what that was all about.

I agree, but it was also a typical (in a less good way) Home and Away storyline in that the writers were like "Ok, we've done our bit. We've had a character who is intellectually disabled. Write him out now". How convenient that just as Luke decided that Bill could stay permanently, Bill decided to leave. Lucky for the writers, eh? ;) Otherwise they might have been stuck with a character for more than a fad. Yeah, perhaps it's a cynical way of looking at it but I agree. They missed a good opportunity to keep a well written character in the show and give Luke more meaning and depth. I wonder how well he was received back in 1993. It reminds me of another character, who's name also began with 'B' - who was introduced in the recent past and he was really popular, but the writers didn't seem to think he was worth keeping on a more permanent basis.

I don't feel sorry for Greg tbh and I completely understand why Bobby is keeping Sam from him. But I don't think it's fair on Sam and she shouldn't be using him like that. Sam should be able to spend time with Greg if he wants to. I don't think Adam is pointless, I always look forward to his scenes. The writers have just given him a bit of downtime it seems. Really liked the Bill storyline too. I really liked the conclusion to the storyline and his exit was one of those classic Home and Away send offs. Poignant.

I have watched up to Thursday's episode (1269) so don't know how Bill is found yet. But I've been really enjoying the storyline so far. I thought Luke's dream was pretty horrible/sad and I'm surprised that they were so blatant with Bill lying face down in the water like that (very effective). I like all of the other storylines going on at the moment too. But I have to say I was disappointed that Bobby and Greg's breakup/the reveal wasn't focused on as much as it should have been. They probably should have waited one more week and let the Bill storyline play out this week and then bring the Bobby/Greg storyline to the forefront next week. I also think it would have made better and more emotional drama if she had caught them together. I kept wanting to go back to see Bobby's reaction but it was as if they kept on skirting around it for some reason. Sort of left me puzzled. I wanted to see her call Fiona a bitch and perhaps slap her/go mental. And then realise that she had lost her cool/control. I guess she's better than that these days though I still would have liked to see more scenes focusing on Bobby's reaction and finding out how she really feels about being betrayed. Hopefully they are still to come. Greg is such a loser, I really don't think they are suited at all.

Could it be that the sound switched from mono to stereo? I seem to remember old tv guides from the 90s that used to say if something was in stereo. All of the episodes have been in stereo since the pilot episode. I only noticed when I just played two episodes back from this year and 1991. But then I've noticed that the audio clarity in general changes from episode to episode. Sometimes it's a little muddy, then very bright etc. I presume it's just the quality of the tapes that they're on. Perhaps they did tweak the mix for some reason though.

I don't really think H&A used to deal with these sort of 'issue' based storylines very well. They do the same with christian students later in the 90's and the 'geeks' are stereotyped and isolated as well. I get what they're trying to do, but I just think the writing is a bit too over the top at times and the dialogue in the Bill storyline can be hard to believe in.

^That song was really popular during 1998, it seemed to be the summer anthem in Australia as I recall. So no wonder it was used a lot in H&A and Neighbours too I think,

Due to her grief and stress it has made Pippa quite a bit irrational and unfair at times. I really squirmed and felt sorry for Adam when she seemed to know exactly what he was referring to and wanted to see him become uncomfortable when he tried to give his condolences about Dale's death. I thought that was pretty annoying. Glad Ailsa was able to point out how irrational and selfish she is being, without being judgmental. I thought that was a good scene. Continue to enjoy watching the teen gang forming and Fisher's involvement in getting Angel to go back to school. I agree that Greg and Bobby just don't seem like a good match in the long-run. They seem to irritate each other more than the opposite these days and misunderstand each other quite often. I wasn't sure what to make of Fin's reaction when she was introduced to Luke's brother. She seemed disappointed that he wasn't what she was expecting or hoping for but concerned at the same time.

Pippa is the character. They haven't really been written differently to cater to the actors Imo, the actors just have a different way of playing her perhaps. The point is Pippa could be short tempered when Vanessa was playing her, just as she was when Debra played her.

Late 20s? You're having a laugh! I think he could pass for 26-28, absolutely. He has a mature face and the body of a man, not a teenager. I know there are exceptions, there was one kid in my school who could pass for early 30's and he was 18 - but VJ is supposed to be 15 (well, 13 really) and especially next to Jet he looks like an adult, not a boy.

Very well done to those involved in updating Marilyn's profile. It's very extensive and I'd forgotten some of those moments. I hope the writers of the show are aware of these profiles, they'd be very useful.

As far as I'm aware it was classified as G back then, but by today's overly PC standards perhaps they think it deserves the PG rating for words like 'slag' and 'bitch'. They wouldn't even use those sort of words in 2014. Didn't Angel flip two fingers up at the truck driver this week too?

She did have him quite young, 19 or 20. No, she was 22 when she gave birth to VJ. Nearly 23. This new actor make its look like she was about 16. He really does look like a 20-something year old, almost late 20's Imo Why can't they just age the characters gradually. If she's still around, in five years time they will want Leah to be a 'mother figure' to a teenager and potentially draft in some random kid when they could have just used VJ if they'd aged him realistically.

How can that be 'treated' though? No one can change and/or alter natural attraction. Girls are also placed in the 'friend-zone', the same as guys are. Just being 'nice' and getting along well with someone doesn't necessarily mean a romantic connection will or should follow. There are people we are attracted to who may not be attracted to us in the same way. Hypothetically, I would think that there would be loads of girls interested in Damien because he's a decent, rational and caring guy and they are attractive qualities. I do think that the pressure some guys feel to reach a certain physical standard isn't taken as seriously and is seen as a more of a joke, compared to the pressure woman feel - which is taken far more seriously. Both guys and girls who are not comfortable (or not made to feel comfortable) being either too skinny (guys) or too fat (girls) feel the same pressures and insecurities. I think it's a good storyline for Damien to have. Emotional episodes last week, interesting to see the storyline pan out episode by episode. Great acting by all. I think they should have milked Bobby's response to Pippa questioning her about Dale's death a little bit more than they did. She left the house in tears and then by the next episode/day she seemed to have thought about it rationally and was reasonably ok. I would have preferred to have seen that on screen during the next episode and concentrate on Bobby's guilt a little bit more. After all, she did miscarry and really Pippa's response was quite insensitive and unfair. Hopefully we'll see the two of them discuss it in later episodes. Imogen comes across as very selfish and I was expecting Roxy to be a lot more angry than she was. She seemed to feel sorry for her more than anything, despite the fact that she kissed her boyfriend and has been trying to 'steal' him from her. Talk about being patient. Enjoying Damo's storyline as he attempts to 'improve' himself. Fin is being annoying. I think she's being a bit of a typical big sister and missing the point. I like how Shane will stick up for what he believes in. This week we've seen it in his support and friendship with Damien (even if he is going about it unconventionally) and also the encyclopedia trip with Adam. I found some of their scenes pretty funny (typical Adam). The 1993 episodes are really strong Imo I enjoy pretty much everything about them. Although I did cringe at how they made the 'bad singer' overweight and greasy haired.

Well, it is a close community - it is only the Ross's circle who are in mourning, fairly naturally. Entirely reasonable for Sally to weep over the death of effectively her infant stepbrother, wouldn't you say? Mr Fisher was in mourning also. He changed his mind about the encyclopedias because he didn't care anymore. Mr Fisher isn't even part of the Ross family! Dale her infant stepbrother???? Oh my god....that is drawing a bit of a long bow isn't it?? Ultimately it really should only affect the mother because it is the mother who had the baby in the first place. So if you had a son and then he died only a few months down the track, you don't think it would have that much impact on you?

I’m finding it interesting to see how Angel was brought into the show and her backstory. I don’t remember any of this, such as hearing her talking about her mother and her ambitions of becoming a writer in Paris. I also had forgotten that Pippa and Sally had so much to do with her settling into Summer Bay. Melissa George is so cute, I really appreciate the hippy style they gave to her, she’s such a 90’s character. I agree about Greg, he can be irritating sometimes (good viewing though). Bobby's such a great role model - I wish she was still in the show.

He did return for a guestie in 1999 which was quite fun. I remember him being portrayed as a bit of a baddie or a bit ruthless with regards to opening Bonza Burger and taking business away from the Diner, albeit with comical. Was he a bit too big for his boots? I'd like to watch his return again because I'd probably appreciate it a lot more second time round. But I can hardly remember anyone actually welcoming him back though - other than perhaps Sam surprisingly (after an initial resentment?). I remember they had an interesting conversation about Bobby in the Diner. Adam would know Irene, Marilyn, Roo and Alf if he was to return. I think he's the type of character who could actually return without any real reason, simply because he lived there in the past. I wonder how he'd be written if he returned now though, considering the current format.

Really, really enjoying the 1993 episodes so far. So many decent characters and I enjoy the overall storylines, direction and pacing. Adam really is one of my favourite H&A characters. I just find him fun to watch he's such a relatable kinda character. You could go down to any Aussie pub in 2014 and meet an Adam. But the same could be said for practically all of the 1993 characters. Just that down to earth kinda vibe the show has at the moment, it's great and I just wish the current show was still like that instead of trying to be... whatever it's trying to be. Awesome that we've got up to Angel's arrival. I really didn't think we'd ever get to this point when 7TWO first started showing the early years.

I've got a feeling the account wasn't taken down due to the H&A uploads either, I think they were taken down due to the All Saints uploads because All Saints is available on DVD and the H&A and Neighbours uploads have been on the channel for years.