Spinach

Flynn didn't die until 2006, though. If you're going for "long-term" departures, Kirsty had been around for longer than Flynn's two incarnations. I did really enjoy 2005 at the time (especially the first half). The stalker was super exciting (though I did think Zoe was pretty obvious), and the family set-up with Sally/Flynn/Ric/Cassie was great (I didn't even care that the age differences were so unbelievable). Still, in many ways, this was the beginning of the end for me. There was just so much excitement and drama - and the success of the stalker seemed to make the producers feel they needed to replicate it over and over again, leading to the years of life-threatening disasters every week (they lose their impact when they're that frequent). It started to flag in the second half of the year with the ongoing Scott/Hayley/Kim paternity drama. I was definitely addicted for most of the year, though.

Nice photo. Thanks! I'm not sure on some of the men... Is it (character names): Adam, Martin, Narelle, Steven, Carly, Blake, Bobby, Matt? Nicolle looks fantastic, by the way!

A character I could see filling that role would be Fin. She was Irene's daughter, so it would be believable that Irene might ask her to look after the Beach House for her. Also, didn't some of Pippa's scenes involve visiting Belle in rehab after her pill addiction? Fin had a pill addiction too (albeit not as serious as Belle's) - so she could've shared her own experience... Also, didn't Fin and Belle have a prior relationship (offscreen - was it just a phone call or did they meet) in 2008 when Fin helped Belle with some new story... Of course, I don't think Tina Thomsen was interested in returning at that stage - but still... To be honest, I don't mind the idea of Pippa returning just to visit and help out Alf/Irene. My main gripe with it was that didn't Pippa only appear in one scene per episode (except for one where she had a slightly meatier role)? If they'd used her a bit more, got her to naturally show an interest in the Belle, Geoff and Annie... It would've needed more time, though, and it did feel like she was just there to fill scenes written for Irene because Lynne was unavailable.

^Wasn't the Quinn Jackson story in late 1995 (so after the drama started ramping up for them)? In terms of storylines between 1990 and 1995 for Alf and Ailsa, um... Ailsa dealing with Emma's mother? Ailsa thinking Alf was having an affair with Meg's mother (can't remember her name)? Can't think of much more. Ailsa had to manage both businesses (and Karen in 1993) when Alf was away in 1993 and 1994, which was sort of a storyline... But yeah, not much else.

I always saw it as Dan Bennett's homage to (or desperate recreation of) Bobby's death. A more extreme version in some ways, but still... Chloe was Bobby; Jesse was Adam; Troy was Greg; Olivia was Sam; Diana was Morag; Irene was Ailsa. But yes, hype for the 4000th episode was also a factor. To be honest, who knows if Chloe would ever have returned after 2005 even if she hadn't died. I suspect she probably wouldn't have. The great shame was for Jesse's character and, in the lead up to episode 4000, it almost looked like they were setting things up for Chloe to return permanently (at least that's what I was hoping at the time).

^I second that. A very easy mistake to make - and nothing to feel bad about. Thanks for fixing it. ?

I remember in 2003 there was a message across the screen at the start of episodes for a bit saying they could be watched in HD. I thought it was May, though, but your date of 28th July could well be right - it was a while ago, haha!

I'm sure I voted for Karen Dean, but I doubt she'll make the top 10. Maybe she was counted as Karen Thompson. It doesn't really matter, though. It's a shame Sally's lost her crown. Quite a drop for her... Interesting to see who takes it.

That video's amazing. Very well put together! Hahaha

Cheers. Thanks, Dan F. I'm not a car person. They look the same to me. Haha. Probably for the best Joel got rid of it. It never seemed to work (generally), but especially when Selina owned it after Shannon left...

What happened to the Bambino after Selina left? Was it the same car Hayley and Brodie ended up in the car crash in in 2004?

^I didn't realise they'd married. Thanks for letting me know.

I thought Don was only married twice: Barbara and Marilyn, right? Did Pippa marry Ian? If so, she'd be at 3. Bianca had 4 weddings - but she only got married in two of them...

In regards to Carly getting over Andrew Foley, I think it was believable she was over him - because she started getting over him before they even broke up. Basically, he fell off the pedestal she put him on: he had his own problems, he wasn't perfect - which implies Carly's feelings for him were never based on anything real anyway. It was realistic though and true for Carly's character. As for Carly's "happy ending" with Ben, I don't know why the writers felt they needed to give her one. We can't really know for sure if Sharyn wanted to stay - I personally feel she would've been happy to keep going - but having her leave happily with Ben felt quite rushed and forced. Just the fact that they "fell in love" and got engaged within five minutes is completely ridiculous. Sure, it's true to Carly's character - but that's why she needed to NOT have a happy ending. Things needed to unravel with Ben so she could begin to learn about herself and relationships and the unrealistic expectations she has for them. On the other hand, the storyline of a young couple learning about compromise and how to live with one another was interesting - but perhaps not for Carly and certainly not with Ben! In some ways, I get the feeling the writers were setting them up to be the new main couple of Summer Bay House. It felt like in killing off Tom they were setting Pippa up to be the single mother and eventual grandmother figure, paving the way for Ben and Carly to take centre stage as the heads of a new family. But then Vanessa Downing and Julian MacMahon quit and I guess they decided to ditch this plan, remarry Pippa and sacrifice Carly... I think the writers could very have easily written Ben out and kept Carly on - perhaps not while keeping him likeable but why should Ben's likeability be more important than Carly (the longer serving of the two characters)? Ideally, when Ben realised he was AWOL from the army, I would've had him do the "noble" thing (a la Romeo or Josh) and leave Carly without explanation or goodbye, leaving Carly to pick up the pieces, revert to being Carly Morris - and perhaps then (after Ben's departure) realise she's pregnant with his child and see how she feels about this. Of course this would mean she'd be pregnant at the same time as Sophie... Or just have Carly eventually enter another relationship but take it slowly with less unrealistic expectations... I don't know, I just feel like Carly had at least a couple more years mileage as a character.

I don't hate Frank. At best he was bland, at worst he was hopeless at relationships... He wasn't a character I missed once he was gone, I don't think he left a huge impact. I also don't understand what Roo and Bobby saw in him...

^Thanks Dan F. Early 2006 was one of the periods I wasn't watching very often so I missed that.

In that video there's a clip that looks like it's a funeral with Amanda saying "Morag, you're more than welcome to join us." When was this? The only funeral I can think of would be Beth's father but why did Morag attend that? Also, I love little Sally asking for a glass of water and Morag telling her there's a tap outside! So abrupt!

^What about Ben Unwin (Jesse)?

I thought Lisa Lackey left by choice. I remember reading she was pretty uncomplimentary of "Home and Away" in the late 90s, she looked down on it, correct me if I'm wrong. I ended up quite liking Roxy in the end of 1994 and beginning of 1995. I thought the cancer storyline showed a vulnerability to her which made her a lot more endearing than she had been previously. I wouldn't say she was the most memorable character to ever appear on the show but I think that final storyline of her's made her more memorable than she would otherwise have been - at least for me.

I always found Debra's Pippa to be colder. I'm not sure why... Debra's Pippa is the first Pippa I remember - so she should be the one I'm fondest of - but after seeing Vanessa's Pippa I feel like she nailed the part: she was warm and loving but could be tough when she needed to be. Especially in 1989 and 1990 I feel she got more material with which to develop.

I have a question. In the "Engagements / Aborted Weddings" section it lists Steven and Selina and then Travis and Kelly. Shouldn't Travis and Kelly be before Steven and Selina - since Kelly was long gone by the time Steven and Selina's wedding came around?

Oh yes, I remember the Sam one! Thanks for the information.

Were there any drug addiction storylines in 2000/2001?

I have a question regarding Irene's hair. Last year (2015) during Marilyn's memory loss, Irene mentioned that it had been Marilyn's idea for her to change her hair colour. I thought it was Kelly's. Which was it? Also, was there a reason out-of-show for the change? Did Lynne decide she wanted to change her hair colour or did the producers tell her she needed to for the storyline? Did Lynne have the blonde hair before getting the part of Irene, or did she start dying it to look more like the original Irene?

I'm not really a fan of Pippa - and I don't know why. I used to when I first tuned in (in the last year or so of her stint). I think watching the repeats on 7two has really highlighted how she's not perfect - her behaviour to Jack last week being a great example - and while it's great the writers are acknowledging she has flaws (like we all do) I just find her increasingly frustrating to watch. I think the problem is that she's either the perfect mother - or she's not - and the only time she feels 'real' to me is when she's demonstrating her flaws. The rest of the time she just seems too good to be true, always warm and loving - but lacking any tangible positive character traits. I'm not sure I'm explaining myself properly but I just find something about Pippa difficult to like - and I wish I could like her like everyone else does, like I used to 20 years ago... Aside from her harsh treatment of Jack, I didn't feel as if she listened to Michael in the lead-up to their marriage breakdown; she was awful to Sophie when she considered giving Tamara up for adoption etc. I also remember how she basically told Shannon that Sally was the only one of her kids who meant anything (after Sally disappeared after the rafting accident) - then she's shocked when Sally has this sense of entitlement about inheriting the house a couple of years later as if she hadn't fostered (no pun intended) that thinking in her in the first place. Finally (and I know this is unreasonable) I always got annoyed at Pippa's 'comforting' of Sally after the failed wedding to Kieran: "you should be thanking Gypsy". OK. Fair enough - but not really the right thing to tell Sally only a few hours after the event. I'm sure I'm probably being really unfair, maybe it's because she's not living up to the expectations I had of her. I always enjoyed her returns throughout the 2000s (especially 2008 where she stuck around for a while).