Latest UK Episode Discussion (2006-2017 Seasons)

[Red Ranger 1]

Alf's episode count this week:Four, and he was credited on Thursday for no appearance.Leah, VJ and Hunter were only in one, although they were also credited on Thursday for no appearance.

Well, I think the question we have to ask here is...what went wrong? Scarlett leaves only 113 episodes after her first appearance, slightly less than Skye's previous record low 115 episode tenure, and becomes the first regular since Lynn Davenport back in the first season to have all her appearances in one calendar year.Maybe this was the plan, maybe they put her under main cast to fool us into thinking she'd be around for a while so her departure was a surprise.But if so, you'd think it would be better planned.Did Tania get another job and ask to be let out of her contract?Did someone decide the character wasn't working (the official explanation for Skye's short tenure)?Was there some behind-the-scenes problem?Because I find it hard to believe they spent all that time building up her and Justin only to kill it less than two weeks after those scenes at the cabin and have her sail off into the sunset with some guy that's been in less than a dozen episodes.They might have history, but when we haven't seen it, it feels like a manufactured happy ending that even Alf and Brody don't seem entirely convinced by.Josh McConville did his best to inject some warmth and quirkiness into Caleb but he still comes across as a bit of an arrogant jerk and it's still hard to see what Scarlett sees in him, no matter what the script insists.To be honest, the character was never one of my favourites and I'll barely notice she's gone, which may be the point, but it does feel very strange.

So, after being rather hard done by yesterday, Brody now goes over the top and refuses to cook the things that the Diner actually serves and the customers actually want.Irene was right to pull him in and it was kind of nice to see John sort-of vindicated even if he did then back down in a rather odd manner.But at least they've got a compromise.

Ryder was less objectionable here than in his first two episodes, more cheeky than obnoxious, although Roo still does seem a bit too keen to welcome him into the family...but then she's long been a sucker for lame ducks and it's probably her lost maternal instinct coming out again.Alf was slightly hypocritical since he's never made any attempt to track Quinn down after her departure and only made a half-hearted attempt to stop her leaving at the time (as I commented when the storyline was shown on 7Two earlier in the year).And I did kind of enjoy Ben giving Ryder a scare with Coco's full permission.

Oh, and Kat might be pregnant.And her only friend just left town, so judging from the promo she's left talking to Roo about it.

So, that's 2017 for us in the UK.Oz audiences will still have new episodes for over three weeks, so they could have carried on for a bit longer, but again I can't complain too much as we've had 10 months of uninterrupted viewing again (five episodes a week, five days a week as well, which makes us the envy of Channel 7 viewers!).Nine more weeks of this season will be waiting for us in January, although as it stands we'll be starting back three weeks before 2018 begins for Australian viewers.See you then!

[atrus]

Hi, everyone!

Sorry I've been AWOL for months. For a time I kept my promise to stop watching when Matt was written out: after Billie was cruelly culled, he was one of the few characters I was really interested in (apart from the oldies, who barely get a look-in anyway). But since then, I've sort of realised that some bonds are too old and strong to break. Plus, there have been high points - Nate has left, and Kat and Ash have split up, for example. So it's been very much swings and roundabouts for me this year. I look forward to scrolling back through this thread over the next few weeks and seeing how everything's been going down.

I've been bingeing the show in sustained bursts about once a month, but have avoided coming on here and boring you with my reflections on weeks-old events. So I'm going to try to get back into the fold now (not great timing I know, with UK finale day upon us, but anyway...) I won't rake over every crisis that has befallen the Bay since I checked out 150 episodes ago. But since I was last here, the Astonis have descended - and my feelings are fairly lukewarm at this stage.

I reckon Maggie is my favourite of the foursome - she's slightly flawed in the sense that she lets her headmistress vibes seep out into the way she treats adults as well as schoolkids, but other than that she's by far the most likeable of the family. Ziggy I have a grudging affection for - she's spoiled but spirited, and makes up in charm for what she lacks in common sense. Coco is just spoiled and... erm... spoiled. Not that I don't feel for her at all over the bulimia plot, and I think I could come to like her one day. But at the moment I feel like she's been introduced to the show with way too big a chip on her shoulder, and needs to be lightened up somewhat.

Ben is, as far as I'm concerned, the worst of the lot. He's an arrogant, thuggish, good-for-nothing yahoo with barely any redeeming features at all - think Neighbours' recently-departed Brad Willis, but on testosterone pills. I look forward to him having a personality transplant, or being written out - whichever comes soonest.

Also since I was last here, Brody has fallen into a world of drugs and out again, in a storyline that I think has generally been pretty well-handled - and has increased my liking for all the Morgans (including Raffy, despite her having been on somewhat of a different trajectory) to something approaching strong affection. And through that, we've met Scarlett. I've found her very likeable and sympathetic too, although today's episode suggests she's the second recent regular to be on her bike within a matter of months. I'm not entirely surprised; my concern was always that she'd been introduced as a lone character mainly to service a romance with Justin, which rarely spells anything positive in terms of longevity. Maybe it was planned that way, but honestly, it didn't feel like it. We'd been asked to invest a hell of a lot, which ultimately came to nothing fairly quickly.

Other news in brief: I'm sad that VJ didn't get Luc in the end, and even now I hold out hope that that could change. Mick's latest return felt like a barrel-scraping excuse to send Ash into another macho frenzy. But on the plus side for him, Ash and Tori is by far the best thing that could have happened to Tori and Ash. I love their dynamic, and it's such an improvement on the characters' previous borefest relationships with Nate and Kat respectively. The Robbo storyline is intriguing, but feels like it's escaped from a Tom Cruise action flick and seems OTT, even for what H&A is now. I thought the conclusion to the Pyro John saga which fleshed out his backstory was, while unlikely, no less moving for it, and I'm glad the Palmers are back together now. Hunter and Wally felt mundane in a curiously true-to-life kind of way. Yawn at Olivia and her incessant textile/trust fund dramas.

Onto today, and a bit of an underwhelming UK finale, all things considered. Still, Ryder has so far proven quirky enough to get me intrigued, not least because of the connection with Quinn - a name I never really thought we'd hear again. Not so fond of his Lothario routine with Coco, but I get the feeling that it's probably mostly bluster, given how inept he clearly is at the courting game. Roo seems excessively eager to welcome him into the family fold immediately, without even checking with Quinn first as to whether that's OK. But then, I suppose that's Summer Bay for you. I intend to be back posting regularly in January - until then, have a good break, everyone!

[CaptainHulk]

Boy with no TEY coming back anytime soon and  current H&A UK pace taking its break, I may have to file for redundancy or ATVL haunt the forums like a ghoooooost! 

Yeah, today's was a bit of a nothing episode. 

I guess Ryder doesn't have that Yankee Doodle charm lol "I mean fair go, he's a true blue Aussie and his ma's a seppo!" 

[Slade]

Some of the reactions to Mick resurfacing in the bay were hilarious.  Ash and Olivia in particular.  Mick was actually very lucky Ben is on an assault charge as anything could have happened when he came home and heard the commotion.  I actually didn't have a problem with what Ben did.  Well Maggie was a little bit shaken so that's good although I would have preferred it if she suffered a little more.  I admit I did like the scene with her and Ziggy reconciling.

Felt a bit sorry for Irene though.  She felt partially responsible for how Mick turned out and was stuck between wanting to help him get back on his feet and not wanting to betray the people close to Luc..

One positive thing about Mason not going to Beth's funeral was at least we didn't 't have to endure him crying his eyes out again but then we had that scene where Justin interrupted his conversation with Beth - "NOOOOOOOO. You made her leave.  Just go away. GO!".  Although the scenes with Beth weren't too bad mainly because of Beth.  Like H&Alover I liked that Raffy didn't think there was anything wrong with Mason seeing her.

Again struggle to find much to like about Ryder and I didn't like the way Alf's conversation with Quinn went.  She obviously cares very little for him.  I do continue to enjoy seeing Ryder trying to hit on Coco though.  I think there are some circumstances where the girl clearly isn't interested it's best to cut your losses and move on although I think in this case Coco's undecided so if Ryder plays his cards right she's a possibility.  When I saw the preview with Ben I thought he was going to lose it again but I did like when Coco gave the green light for him to let rip and tell Ryder to back off.  Very rarely, say this but Ben was actually OK in Friday's episode.  He did seem sincere when he apologised to Justin it seemed genuine about believing Brody wasn't happy about him being charged.

Even though I'm not a fan of Justin it has felt like Scarlett has given him the runaround.  I am sorry to see her go as I really liked her, would have liked to see how her friendship with Kat developed, will miss those nice legs of hers and sadly will never get to see my wish of her and Brody getting together at some point.  I mentioned when I first saw Caleb return that given how amicable he and Scarlett were considering the effort she went to avoid him that it felt as though they changed that particular storyline.  But I had no idea she was leaving.  Oh well.

Found Brody annoying when he started amending the menu at the Diner although I guess it's all good now.  I was actually on Marilyn's side about the bet with John.  It's reached the point now where John annoys me pretty much every time he opens his mouth.  And the less I see of him the better, which is a shame as I used to quite like him and felt really sorry for him when Skye left.

Shame we are finishing for the year the preview looked very interesting.

[CaptainHulk]

Maybe the show's history is repeating itself with Hotheaded Italians named Ben who'll sock anyone at a Moment's notice! 

[H&Alover]

Scarlett didn't really have a role as it were, helping Alf at the bait shop which was wasting her true ability as a lawyer, drifting about, on-off relationship with Justin. I don't think she intended to muck him about, he himself had just got out of a relationship so maybe neither of them were really ready for a proper relationship. I think he knew she had more baggage than he did. Had to giggle when Kat walked in and Scarlett with her back to the door thought it was Caleb coming back for another kiss so she had to fill Kat in on everything that had happened. She admitted to  Kat Caleb could be an arrogant so and so, not to mention him hiring two guys to track her down and 'take' her home which no-one has, but there was still something about him that drew her to him. All Kat could do was advise, final decision had to be Scarlett's, though from the look on her face when she spoke about Caleb it had been made. I liked the final scenes between them all, very civilised and adult, although I liked Scarlett, she listened to people's problems without judging, her and Caleb need to give their marriage the best possible shot of working. Alf's going to miss her and he's going to need a new hand at the shop - Ryder?

Talking of whom via Quinn, Alf doesn't have much luck with his grandchildren does he, Duncan never told him about Bryce because they had fallen out. Now it's Quinn who's kept quieter longer.  Though she must have mentioned to him that Alf was his granddad otherwise why would he turn up in the bay? Quinn must be back in Australia still not forgiven Alf but what's the betting we'll be seeing her in the new year? I think you're right Red Roo is sucker for lame ducks especially as Ryder is now confirmed as her previously unknown half nephew. Alf didn't need that much persuading  to let him stay.

At first I thought Ben was being his usual over protective self going by the trailer, but it turned out he had Coco's full approval of warning Ryder off. Thing is that is when she and he thought he was leaving, but now he's staying so that'll be interesting to see how that pans out.

Didn't take long, as I thought, that Brody would want to change the  Diner menu, nice mention btw by John of Chris and how he wanted to jazz things up.  Good that they have decided on a compromise, it'll mean Brody won't feel so frustrated about just cooking safe menus.

Wonder how Kat will cone to terms of her possibly being pregnant as we know how  she feels about motherhood and how it's going to affect her career and how will Robbo take the news? All that time she was with Ash and no 'accidents' but after such a short time with Robbo and bam.

I did warn about the fact there was no-one keeping an eye on Mick while he was staying at the motel waiting for Alf to get him moved, from what we saw, he attacks Irene and does a runner with Luc. Ash, understandably goes on the warpath.

So plenty to look forward to in the New Year - see you then guys and gals.

 

[H&Alover]

Btw, I forgot we saw that Maggie's mum turns up and she's called Diana and seems a clone of the other Diana!  Cue fireworks!

[CaptainHulk]

^ They should do some promos with "Dirty Diana" by Michael Jackson playing.

[H&Alover]

May I be the first to wish everyone a Merry Christmas & A Happy & Healthy New Year.

[Trudy Heine]

Who was the other Diana? May have forgotten