Latest UK Episode Discussion (2006-2017 Seasons)

[harrietjames]

15 hours ago, Red Ranger 1 said:

The very fact that he stole the safe should have made him a suspect! They were wrong about Charlotte stealing it, would it not occur to them they might have been wrong about that too? And even if they didn't think he struck the actual blow, wouldn't they suspect he knew something about it? (Which he did, since he worked out Charlotte did it and kept quiet, and Josh got sent straight to remand for something similar, but somehow Hunter never gets incarcerated even when he tries to kill a man in cold blood right in front of the police.) It seems unlikely that everyone would remember the exact timing of his going back and forth between Charlotte and Peggy.They didn't even know at the time: Denny went to the flat looking for Hunter because Zac thought he was still in town.Maybe (and I suspect we're thinking more about this than the people who write the show) Peggy gave him an alibi when she made her statement, which would explain the police not pursuing it, but why is no-one mentioning it at all? (Because the whole thing's a lazy plot device to get Hunter off the hook and the show doesn't care about realistic reactions...)

 

Forensics linked Charlotte to the body though... Unless they did it together, he didn't do it.

(I'm not a huge Hunter fan - but I can dismiss the "Hunter does bad stuff to establish him as a bad boy so we can have the standard redemption story line" . I realise that other folks on this board think that those actions make him unredeemable. I just think he's a bit of a tool)

 

[Red Ranger 1]

Forensics linked Charlotte to the safe as well: If she was just hiding the safe, couldn't she have just been hiding the body? (Yes, we know that's not what happened, but why is no-one else asking the question?) I'm of the opinion that Hunter's actions were too bad and the consequences too serious for the show brushing it all under the carpet and trying to turn him into someone we should sympathise with and root for, with no real attempt to seriously redeem him, to work and keeping him around after everything he did when he first came in was a huge mistake.And the way that his role in Denny's death has been explicitly ignored really isn't helping.

[Angelica]

I think the problem with Hunter is two-fold. A) We were never given much insight into why Hunter took such a drastic step as burning down Leah's house. Though Charlotte had lied to Hunter re Zac not wanting to be involved, I never really got a sense that Hunter was unhappy or leading a bad life before he got to the Bay. It always felt like Charlotte's craziness escalated in the Bay rather than getting the sense that Hunter had been living on the edge for over a decade. So it always felt too drastic to go straight for burning a house rather than an angry confrontation. B) Hunter was let off so easily. He has never had to work hard to be forgiven. I would say Kane was one of H&A's best redemption, and the reason it worked well is that Kane had to work hard for the Bay to be forgiven, and the crime was only trivialised because the writers refused to ever use the term "rape" (rather than anyone trying to pretend that what he done. But I am so sick of people congratulating Hunter for stepping up when he only ever confesses and apologises after being found out. The only reason he is admitting to the robbery is because he was arrested by the police - he had, otherwise, been happy to keep quiet for the last 2 years. It is frustrating to see him get off so easily, when other characters, such as Ruby, have a lot more justification for their actions, and get severely punished. In the same way, I think it would be minimising Charlotte's responsibility by blaming Hunter for her choices and actions. At any point, she could have gotten Hunter to take responsibility for his actions. Her choices were her choices. However, without Hunter's actions, there would no crimes that Charlotte would be trying to cover up. 

[H&Alover]

I believe the reason Hunter burnt down Leah's house was, as he saw it, thanks to Charlotte, Zac was happily living with his 'new' family, having rejected him and Charlotte and forgotten all about them.

Not wanting to out a dampener on the Astoni's family who have ups and downs like a normal family, but what dark secret do they have? They have to have one, it is a soap after all!

For  a small town it does seem to take a while for everyone to meet everyone, Friday was the first time Ben had met Brody and that was when, as far as he knew, a stranger was driving his daughter into the city. Good job Brody was hanging around when Ziggy caught Jared out, he was a real tool, blaming her for disappearing for two weeks so what else was he supposed to do but sleep with another girl.   Was that a call from Teflon Zannis he took?  Brody does seem to be the only one she listens to even if she only wants to be friends and he covered for her when Ben turned up at Salt.  I like how Mason is concerned for him getting in too deep but when she doesn't feel the same, if she and he do get together she needs to 'recover' from Jared first.  He did seem to take it OK. Didn't take her long to go off on another strop but glad to see she finally told Maggie the truth after she had stormed off to her room.

I'm having a wild guess Coco is maybe 14/15?  Nice to see Alf back in his disapproving role by shouting at Raffy and taking her back to John  and Marilyn!  They may not be her parents/family but they are responsible for her welfare while she's under their roof so she should respect their rules, like John said kids need love and boundaries.  Would she have got away with staying out without letting the Morgan's know where she was, I don't think so! When Raffy is ready to go home she know they will be there for her if needed. It was Gina who with John first took Jett in, but I think Marilyn had her fair share of problems with him when she and John become a couple.

I like the idea of Zannis maybe having a ladder to climb onto Salt's balcony to avoid being seen.  I do hope Brody ditches that packet Zannis gave him. Going to get pretty dramatic by the looks of it with him threatening the Morgan's again!  It does seem, to me at least, Brody does something about it this time.

 

[Slade]

I've decided that don't like Maggie.  I know there's an argument Leah deserved how she was when they first met but she just seems smug and full of herself.  When Leah served her in the Diner and Maggie said "remember me" it was almost as if she was gloating that she had the "hot" husband and Leah didn't.

 

Tori annoyed me again when she asked Kat to give them more time with regards to Brody missing his signing in although he appears to have been very fortunate again.  There still appears to be very little likeable about Ziggy.  She's a very selfish and self-centered individual.  I found it hard to buy her suddenly wanting to stay last week given that she was prepared to steal a car to get away then she has a conversation with Brody and changes her mind.  Similarly although at first glance Coco said Summer Bay was cute she clearly couldn't stand the place with the possums and snakes and she spends an hour with Raffy and suddenly changes her mind.

 

Laughed when Tori told Ash she was sorry he and Kat split up.  Like hell she was.  I do think it's the best thing for Kat.  She doesn't want to be a parent and hopes to further her career as a detective.

 

Was pleasantly surprised when Leah went to see Ash after finding out about the breakup.  She was calm, kind and sympathetic although we have Alf to thank for that.

 

Justin annoyed me yet again with his attitude towards Scarlett and generally acting like a dog with a bone.  Was it really that difficult to take the hint that she didn't want to talk about whether she had a kid or not?  In spite of that he has been a lot better with her and he realised his mistake and when he helped her out after her husband's goons found her she felt she could trust him enough to tell him the truth.  Really sad and I felt quite sorry for her.

The stuff with Hunter/Olivia and his gran has been hilarious.  Firstly I loved their bemused expressions at her reaction to Hunter calling Charlotte a liar then when Peggy branded Hunter a disgrace.  Then I loved the way Olivia was panicking at the prospect of going to jail because she knew about the robbery (Is it actually a crime to simply remain quiet if someone knows a criminal offense has been committed?).  And then when Olivia tried to talk to Hunter's Nan about it and she found out Olivia was only trying to get herself off the hook and that just made things worse.  Ironic given that she was the one who pressurised Hunter into contacting her in the first place. Their argument was really amusing too (I'd imagine it would have been a lot of fun for the actors to do that scene) but the best part was when it was revealed that Hunter robbed the Diner and Marilyn said it was easier for her to forgive him than it was for him to fess up.  And also when Leah and VJ stuck up for him when Alf was annoyed.  Both Marilyn and Leah seemed to ignore the fact that the ONLY reason why he fessed up was because he was forced too.  It wasn't out of choice.  Even with his Nan who blamed him for Charlotte's death ended up wanting to spend time with him.  I don't know how he does it but it's hilarious how he always comes up smelling of roses.  As VJ said "From zero to hero".  Some of the comments in this thread have been particularly funny and there was no doubt in my mind what some of the responses were going to be whilst I was watching the scenes.  One thing I also really enjoyed was when Irene had a go at Olivia and Olivia tried to sweet talk her by calling her 'Reenie' but Irene was having none of it.

 

On 13/08/2017 at 5:34 PM, CaptainHulk said:

Made up my mind, not too fond of Peggy. Caroline does do a good job of being a miserable old cow though (Enjoyed her on Neighbours a Cheryl during that difficult mid-90s period)

OMG - I honestly didn't recognise her.

Maggie continued to annoy me on Wednesday and I find myself in full agreement with Leah.  In fact I would even go as far as saying that I can't stand her.  She's totally in love with herself and thinks the Sun shines out of her backside.  She's also quite self centered (guess we know where Ziggy gets it from) and her mannerisms most of the time bug the hell out of me.  Absolutely annoying.  It really annoyed me when she let herself into the farmhouse and when Roo discovered her not only did she go easy on her but she allowed Maggie to charm her into thinking she's a wonderful person.

I was laughing when she said Ziggy couldn't call the shots with regards to her objection to moving to Summer Bay even though Maggie was the one calling the shots.  She's actually quite selfish as she was always going to move to the bay regardless of what her daughters said or how it would affect them.  Because she wants her perfect life.  So I was firmly on Ziggy''s side when she objected.  I still find it hard to believe that Coco changed her mind given how much she was against the move.  Even though Ziggy didn't actually mean it I was practically cheering when she told Maggie that she hated her.

It's funny because someone else in this thread made a comparison to the new family in Neighbours and I see similarities i.e both the mothers I really don't like.  Don't particularly like the elder siblings.  Only like the dad and the youngest daughter.

I felt sorry for Tori.  Ash is really taking the **** getting her, his 'mate' to babysit whilst went on a date with Kat.

I laughed when Alf found Raffy after she left John and Marilyn's without telling them.  The look of fear in her and Coco's faces was funny.

[TessyBear]

On 8/15/2017 at 3:27 PM, H&Alover said:

besides we all know how fickle Tori is.

Do we? How fickle is Tori? The first issue she ever had with Nate and why she chose Duncan over him was because Kat misinformed her about Coop being a cheater. Tori had been cheated on really badly by Riley and so she didn't want to be with another man who she thought to also be a cheater. Tori's AMAZING!!!! She's the BEST one out of this whole sniveling lot!!! Don't confuse AWESOME with being fickle. I mean Tessy was the one who wanted to change it all up to move to Sydney in the future so she could stay with Nate!!! That's the exact opposite of being fickle!!!  Tori is so beautiful, loving, devoted and funny to name just a few of her outstanding qualities!!!!! Tori is literally the only reason I'm still watching selected (Tori's) episodes of H&A anymore and Penny McNamee always does such an OUTSTANDING job!!!!!!!!!

 

On 8/16/2017 at 7:50 PM, c120701 said:

Why wasn't the plaster that Leah put on Tori in the diner, blue?

YES!!! I noticed that!!! Should've been blue!!! Because the writers SUCK and they're rubbish at their jobs - that's why my fellow viewer.    

 

I thought I might find some more Ash/Tori haters here - complaining about the total lack of chemistry and compatibility and how Tori's become such a tryhard and she's losing herself to this eurgh "crush" somewhat. I do like seeing Tori with Luc... I think that's all Penny!!! That's all. One thing that's not awful in that whole developing relationship. Just one... I mean did Tori seriously say on two separate occasions that she thinks she's not funny and she's not beautiful??? INCORRECT!!!!!! Why are the RUBBISH PTBs screwing over their biggest asset???? They accomplished that pretty good with Nate's exit. Well that screwed both of those characters over at the same time but my point is the love of Tori's life rode right out of it so can she have some time to build herself back up again now?? Not developing a messed up crush/dependence on her brother's business partner and apparent best friend whom she barely knows and had like two seconds of being single but now is back with the police officer. Eurgh just this whole sl is completely wrong.           

 

On a slightly better note I do think the Astoni's are good! I do quite like Maggie!! Loved the way she bonded instantly with Roo!! I like Ben! He reminds me a little of Brad Willis only Ben has oodles more personality!! Coco and Ziggy have potential!  

[Dan F]

11 minutes ago, Changelo shipper <3 said:

YES!!! I noticed that!!! Should've been blue!!! Because the writers SUCK and they're rubbish at their jobs - that's why my fellow viewer.    

The writers aren't responsible for the colour of a plaster the props department pick out.

[Red Ranger 1]

I do think that if we're saying that Charlotte's lies somehow make her responsible for Saint Hunter's crimes, even the ones he committed after finding out the truth, then we need to allow for the reverse and him being responsible for the choices she made as a result of what he'd done.As for the Astonis...I did make the comparison with the new Neighbours family and I am finding I like Maggie a lot more than Dipi, but then I'm remembering that I liked Dipi to start with only for her to go rapidly downhill...Hopefully the same won't happen to Maggie!(But the promo did set alarm bells ringing...)

Anyway, today! I think Kat overreacted massively to Tori who really didn't deserve the serve she got, on the whole she tried to be a friend to them both despite her own feelings.I did find the beginning of the episode a bit confusing because I initially thought it carried on from the last episode, but it seems it was at least a day later possibly more.Loved Mason acting as Tori's confidante and proving as good at it as Justin.His reaction to her utterly transparent attempt at "make excuses and avoid" was brilliant.On a more serious level, Brody does the right thing (eventually) in opening up to them.So, we finally find out that the substance that increased Tori's potassium levels was...potassium.(Or potassium chloride, according to Brody.)Still though, the Morgans being threatened by a drug dealer? Must be Tuesday...

Great role for John too, who is back to being dragged along by Marilyn's crazy schemes, from impromptu power walking sessions to helping Raffy with a project on Ancient Egypt when he probably knows less than her...

[c120701]

The new door from the kitchen to the main hallway at the Farmhouse has helped make the set a bit less boxy.

[TessyBear]

4 hours ago, Dan F said:

The writers aren't responsible for the colour of a plaster the props department pick out.

Alright. So the writers and the props dept. SUUUUUUUCK. Who has the overall say on the final look of the ep? The editors? Well let's lump them in there too. This isn't the first time the props dept. have failed I gotta say. That really doesn't fill me with hope. Lucky they have such a GREAT cast of actors!! Just a shame the actors always gotta read the scripts from the LOUSY AS writers.

 

Well the cast make the scripts work as best they can and I'll keep watching until such a time as I feel the cast can't carry off TPTB's RUBBISH anymore... 

 

Oh P.S.

On 8/20/2017 at 7:12 PM, Slade said:

I felt sorry for Tori.  Ash is really taking the **** getting her, his 'mate' to babysit whilst went on a date with Kat.

Really?! I was just like "Do you see what this "relationship" is now Tori?" Tessy's really good with Luc!! She's Ash's friend... Win-win! Proves Ash completely doesn't see Tori the way she thinks she sees him. Maaaaaaaaan this whole thing is so PATHETIC and WROOOONG and THE HEEEEECK OUT OF ORDER!!!!!!!!!