Latest UK Episode Discussion (2006-2017 Seasons)

[Red Ranger 1]

I'm not willing to accept that Miss King isn't a bad guy just because she's not an arsonist.She has, after all, slept with a student just for the heck of it, threatened Maddy, lied to Hunter (and Zac) for years for what seem to be selfish reasons, and not hesitated to cover up her son's crimes even when it means one of his victims being blamed for her own injuries. Not the most stable of persons.

Anyway...Phoebe had sex with Ash the same day she broke up with Kyle(in the back of a car), so she may well have had sex with them both less than 24 hours apart.That was three weeks ago, which ties in with her being a week or two late.I can just about accept that, despite her no children stance, Phoebe might have difficulty actually going through with an abortion: She might be self-centred but she's not completely cold.I was glad the fact that it could be Denny in her shoes if things had gone differently was acknowledged, even if it did promptly get handwaved away.Phoebe's reasons for not getting the potential fathers in the loop just felt like excuses.As it turns out, Ash reacted in just about the worst way possible, although I still can't bring myself to feel sorry for Phoebe.Meanwhile, other potential father Kyle is getting into a scrape of his own with some gangster types.(Frustratingly, like a lot of recent guests, he isn't credited so no idea who he is.)Shame that "Bambi" seemed rather miscast: The idea seemed to be that the name was ironic and he was a big hulking brute, but instead we get a guy of average build, who Kyle would probably have an even chance against.

So...are we to assume Roo and James' relationship has, ahem, progressed, given the way she stayed out all night?That's pretty fast, if so.I'm glad to see Alf and John calling Irene and Marilyn out on their recent behaviour, hopefully they'll rein it in now.At least James seems willing to brave the lion's den once more.

[Psychic Wombat]

Ha,ha maybe Irene's bathroom doe have a lock :-)

So Charlotte has a psycho son, my brother sussed it in the previous episode - took me longer. I'm sure Zak is going to be happy to have him in his life! But it's going to be difficult to avoid now he's in debt to Charlotte. Zak and Charlotte must have been pretty young when they were an item, late teens? Maybe she forgot to take her pill too. Hopefully Hunter will be banged up eventually and out the equation as he's a total nutter.

Looks like the Phoebe/Kyle/Ash story-line is going to be similar to the Neighbours one with Summer, Phoebe has made her bed so she's just going to have to deal with it, hopefully we'll get a better story-line soon I find the pregnancy ones getting a bit old hat.

 

 

[H&Alover]

Not sure what all the above is about so to get back to the subject in hand - this weeks H&A.

To be fair to Charlotte Matt made the first move on her, and yes no way should she have followed it up, but she did finsh it I think for the reason I put in my last post.  Maybe her original intention was to bring Zac down, but has now changed her mind, but I could be wrong, it has been known.  Going on the assumption she hadn't a clue where Zac had been/was in the last 16 years not the everyday thing you do when you first meet up again, 'Hi Zac good to see you after all these years by the way you have a 16 year old son.' Once you have told an actual lie as in telling Hunter his dad didn't want to know him, not easy to retract it and the longer you leave, it the harder it gets.

I'd forgotten all about that bunk up in the back of the car, that completely explains Phoebe's confusion. A bit of a quandry re telling the dad whoever he may be if she decides to have an abortion, she needn't tell either of them, though the argument being is he deserves to know whatever she decides. Good to see her automatic repsonse wasn't  to plump for an abortion. I think Phoebe may have convinced herself she'd be a rubbish mother, didn't have a role model she can refer to, but does she want to take the chance and therefore risk putting a innocent baby through unneccessary upset if she has to have him/her adopted at a later date. Ash's reaction I thought was understandable, he and Phoebe have only just got together and although he helped bring Billie up and he's great with Casey doesn't follow he'd want his own so quick.  Give him time to get his head around it, plus of course it could be Kyle's which is another rmatter entirely.

Talking of whom doesn't seem to have gone far, if that is Sydney a.k.a. the city.  I don't remember him being into gambling unless I missed something along the line. He really was a numpty accepting that head gangsters offer of a loan, pretty obvious he was being set up to lose it. So does Kyle ring Ricky or does the hospital find her details in Kyle's belongings?

Finally Irene and Marilyn listened to John and have taken his good advice and backed off from James and Roo. Alf you can forgive for interferring, because whatever her age she is still his daughter.  Yes I think it's safe to say she and James have 'moved on a pace'.  Liked the idea of her hiding a pillow under her bed covers, which of course didn't fool Alf at all no more than it probably did the second time she tried it when she was younger.  James has mentioned a couple of times he is out of practice date wise like Roo is, so has he been married/had a long term relationship that broke up recently? Alf is still wary of him, but nothing he can put his finger on, must say I feel the same.  Btb is Roo still legally married to Harvey?

[Psychic Wombat]

I reported the post but no action has been taken yet. Looks like a glitch in the machine.

[Red Ranger 1]

Trying to ignore the discussion and ridiculous multi-quote that seems to have wandered in from the Spoiler section.Just try and avert your eyes, everyone, hopefully it'll be sorted out soon...

Alf's episode count this week:Four. Roo was also in four.VJ was only in one, although he was credited on Monday for no appearance.Kyle was in two but was comatose in one of them.

I'm not quite sure which of Neighbours' Summer's storylines you're referring to, Psychic, only one that sprung to mind was Tasha lying that she was pregnant so Andrew wouldn't leave her for Summer and there's not much similarity there.There is a vague similarity to Maddy's "who's the daddy" plotline last year ("No-one" as it turned out).Anyway, I found much of the dialogue here fairly laughable from Ricky's referring to Phoebe as "the woman you love" (yeah...for a couple of weeks anyway) through to Ash's "I've got everything I've ever wanted"...Excuse me? Not so long ago all he wanted was Billie back in his life and now she's in the burns unit facing criminal charges.What, suddenly Phoebe's all that matters? I could kind of see both sides of Ricky and Phoebe's debate.If it was a case of Phoebe definitely proceeding with the pregnancy, then holding off Kyle until she takes a paternity test might have merit.But if she might still be getting rid of the baby anyway...I think he does deserve a chance to plead his case.Anyway, as it turns out Kyle's got other rings to worry about right now.That scenario is a bit weird...the guy sets Kyle up to lose a load of money he can't pay and then has him beaten up? There's got to be more to the story than that surely, what does he get out of it? Just for kicks?

I've actually liked James up until now but...hmm.His slip up did seem significant and I actually don't think Alf crossed the line in his "getting to know you" questioning, I think Roo overreacted.But fair enough, it's Roo's choice who she dates and Alf needs to take a step back and let her make her own mistakes.He's clearly hiding something, how innocuous or otherwise it is remains to be seen.So apparently he now stayed at Summer Bay until he finished school so...he was a classmate of Steven, Emma, Viv and possibly Lynn?(And, more significantly, Marilyn, who went back to school in 1990 to finish Year 12!)I actually thought it was a bit rude the way everyone shut John down when he spoke, even if his first story wasn't really up to much.

[Angelica]

We've already had Ricky's recent pregnancy. I don't see the point of this new pregnancy storyline. I am sick of the way that the L word keeps getting bandying around so loosely in relation to Ash/Phoebe. After all, on the day that Kyle/Phoebe broke up, the same day Phoebe slept with Ash in a car, Phoebe was telling Kyle that the Ash thing meant nothing and that she loved Kyle. Ironic that Kyle and Phoebe broke up initially because Phoebe didn't want children but now that she's been with Ash 2 seconds, she has changed her mind. Also, wish someone would tell Phoebe to tone down the baby voice speaking.

It annoys me that Denny seems to have lost any form of characterisation and seems to be only there to react in the way that suits the story of the day. Her complete non-reaction to Ash/Phoebe is jarring. Hannah may annoy me, but her reaction to Andy seeing someone else, at least seems like a human reaction. But Denny becomes confrontational one episode, only for her to be begging Phoebe to move in with her the next. It's a shame because when Denny was first introduced I thought she had potential to be a great character but now she seems only there to prop up other characters.

Given that James has only ever been developped as Roo's love interest rather than a character in his own right, I am not surprised to see the cracks appearing. Though on the surface, James seem very nice.

This Hunter guy makes the new VJ seems like the world's greatest character in comparison. And you just know that H&A will ram some redemption story down our throats. But I don't think that burning down a house for the flimsiest of reasons is something I can get past. Especially because he never tried to make contact with or confront Zac beforehand to find out why Zac wasn't interested in getting to know him.

 

[atrus]

Great - Ash and Phoebe have said the 'L' word, and Phoebe's pregnant and doesn't know who the dad is. As if Kyle needed any more reasons to flare his nostrils and stare angrily at everybody. That's if he makes it out of the hospital following his latest run-in with heavies.

Also good to see Phoebe scrupuously observing Soapie Statute #349: If secretly taking a pregnancy test, never be inventive when disposing of the wrapper. But at least the timing of Phoebe and Ash getting together versus Kyle and Phoebe splitting up is beginning to make sense in writers'-room logistical terms if in no others. I was totally behind Ricky when she paid a visit to Ash and tore strips off him; his reaction to Phoebe's news was inadequate to say the least.

My first thoughts on Hunter were 'obnoxious, whining brat', I'm afraid. Then again, he does have Charlotte for a mother so perhaps it's not such a surprise. The dialogue triumph of: "I didn't mean to burn the whole thing down..." really didn't help matters. Oh, so you didn't mean for the flames to travel? Well, that's OK then. I worry he's going to become the next Kyle or Andy - introduced in a violent blaze of testosterone and then swiftly recast as a pillar of the community six weeks down the line.  

Anyone else now really want to know James' views on global warming and boatpeople? Alf's hunches are rarely misplaced, so I too am beginning to feel that James is a little too good to be true (you'd have to be to endure conversation with Roo's friends and family all evening), if not an outright flamin' crim. Last time I heard, Roo isn't particularly rich, so presumably he's not there to scam her financially. My feeling (and this is pure speculation) is that he's somehow not who he says he is, but I'm not sure how that would work given Roo knew him at school.

[Red Ranger 1]

One thing I forgot to mention: Irene refusing a glass of James' wine was a nice subtle reference to her alcoholism.

ETA: The other thing I forgot to mention: Where were Josh and Andy when Ash and Phoebe were randomly sat in their home having a conversation?

[Slade]

Firstly my initial thoughts on Hunter are that I thoroughly dislike him.  He breaks into Alf's, pushes Josh down the stairs and just leaves him there oh and he burns Zac's house down just because he thought Zac knowingly missed out on the first 16 years of his life and he was jealous of Zac's family.  He doesn't even seem to be the least bit sorry about what he's done and he could have killed several people.  So confirmation that Billie didn't start the fire.  I can't help thinking though that there is a certain level of poetic justice here and take a certain sense of satisfaction out of it.  She knowingly framed Nate and tried to ruin his life even though he saved hers.  The only reason why she didn't was because she got caught out.  She apologised but I'm not sure if she was genuinely sorry about what she did.  As I said before if not for Chris Nate would have wound up inside a prison cell for sure.  So Hunter framing her is karma as far as I'm concerned.  I still stand by what I said previously in that she's not completely beyond redemption and I hope she gets the help she needs.

Still really liking Charlotte.  I kind of like the way she keeps Andy at arms length, only telling him what he needs to know.  And I still quite enjoy her interactions particularly with Zac but also with Leah.  Once again I generally like the calm/pleasant nature about her even though she's quite scheming underneath.  I suppose I shouldn't be surprised she's helping to cover up Hunter's role in the fire as she's trying to protect him.

I liked the chat with Maddy and Evelyn and thought Maddy gave good advice.  Good to get acknowledgement from her of the role she played which caused issues with Evie and Josh's relationship a while back.  Sometimes I find Evie funny when she gets on her high horse but other times I find her quite annoying and didn't like the way she was about Josh taking drugs although Oscar really annoyed me opening his big mouth like that.

I don't blame Roo for trying to keep James away from Alf, Irene and Marilyn.  If I'd been on a couple of dates with someone, not sure I would want to introduce them to my family and friends.  And those three in particular are coming way too full on.  Why the need to pressurise Roo to spend time with him like that?  Couldn't they just let her do it when she was ready?  Still didn't like Alf's attitude during most of that diner towards James even though he did decide to give him a chance afterwards.  It felt like the Spanish inquisition.  I mean I respect that if Alf has problem with someone he will be upfront about it but I didn't agree with trying to humiliate him like that.  However I suspect whatever it is that concerned him initially, Alf will probably end up being right which would be a shame as I actually quite like James.

Thinking about Ash's history, not surprised that his is madly in love with Phoebe despite being into Denny not too long ago.  He's spent a long time in prison so has probably had very little female contact so I guess this type of behaviour is probably consistent with that.  I guess (as the writers intended) I initially thought Hannah was the pregnant one when Denny found the kit in the bin.  Not sure I'm too happy about the pregnancy.  Part of me his hoping that it's Ash's as I think it would be an interesting aspect to have a cruel irony against Kyle i.e. Phoebe was adamant she didn't want to have any children with him which was the beginning of the end for them but she ends up falling in love with Ash and having his child instead.  I suspect that it will probably end up being Kyle's as it would reignite the love triangle and cause the most drama.  Oh the other hand this pregnancy could false alarm which I guess would be a precursor for the big C.

[H&Alover]

I thought Ricky totally overreacted!  Ash and Phoebe had only just got together he was entitled to be shocked and walk off rather than say something  he may later have regretted. As Slade said above he hasn't had many (two) serious relationships and now he may be going to be a dad. He and Phoebe did have a good long talk about the whole situation and nice to hear he'll stand by her whatever she decides. I guess she is like a lot of women so sure she doesn't want kids, then when they find they are, start to think differetnly. Kyle should be told as it's likely he may be the dad, though I guess that is on hold for now until he comes round, time for Phoebe to get a proper test done at the docs or hospital to get a firmer idea of when the conception date is. Talking of Kyle at least it's a different ward in a different hopspital he's in - Melbourne who where the ones to ring Ricky.

Could Josh been at school or Maddy's and Andy at the gym when Phoebe were having their ddep and meaningful conversation?  Women in soaps never get rid of their secret pregnancy testing kits properly, always just chuck them in the bin.

That is one big gap from James leaving school in 1993 and him being in Sydney for the Rugby World Cup in 2003, one/two year(s) yes but 10? no wonder Alf picked up on it, though being Alf he wasn't subtle about it, more like a bull at a gate, he still hasn't revealed much about himself, just a thought could he have had a breakdown and been in hospital? Roo did reveal her age, kind of, mid forties so 45/46, and she said before James  was two years below her so that may make him 43/44 allowing for the number of students who re-take their year. I felt really sorry for John every time he tried to get a word in Marilyn shut him down, put a sock in it woman! Yes Roo is a grown woman, but doesn't mean Alf can't still worry about her, hopefully he will back off a tad.

How would Hunter even know where to start looking for Zac, I know, know, he could have googled him. Charlotte must have been putting on the blocks on him looking, she even lied to him when she first tipped up in the bay, At least he now knows he wasn't abandoned by him.  Well the cat is out of the bag anyway next week going by the trailers which does raise another question I hadn't thought of before.