Latest UK Episode Discussion (2006-2017 Seasons)

[Dan F]

1 hour ago, H&Alover said:

Sad news that Jessica Folkholt who played Hope (Raffy's 'sister'/cousin) has died following a horrific car crash that killed her parents and sister. The tough decision was made to switch off her life support.

Whilst the life support was switched off, she hasn't died and remains in critical condition. See the latest discussion in the News forum.

[Red Ranger 1]

9 hours ago, Slade said:

Haven't watched the new Star Wars film yet but from what I've heard it's not great and if it's anything like the one from a couple of years ago then I'm not sure it's worth it.  The prequels didn't have the magic of the originals either although as films they were OK and Revenge of the Sith was pretty good.

I watched it and enjoyed it, although it's got problems and I'm not sure hiring a new writer and letting him do whatever he wanted was a good idea.They've got a heck of a lot to tie up in the third film.If you didn't like the last one, you might not be a fan of this one either, although it actually does have a touch of Revenge of the Sith about it.(But then Revenge of the Sith was made knowing there was already another three films resolving it!)

5 hours ago, H&Alover said:

Sad news that Jessica Folkholt who played Hope (Raffy's 'sister'/cousin) has died following a horrific car crash that killed her parents and sister. The tough decision was made to switch off her life support.

As Dan said, the report of her death was an exaggeration.

Alf's episode count this week:Five! Not a bad first week back for him...

Tori continued to annoy me with her rather naïve and simplistic view of events.Is she seriously expecting Ash to just forget everything Mick's done, be friends with him and let him see Luc whenever he wants, just because a few doctors have absolved him of responsibility and given him some pills?That said, her having a break from Ash is probably smart.This thing between them seems to be entirely physical, with her going all gooey over the muscley man with a baby thing that those making the show seem frustratingly keen to push.

Roo annoyed me as well with her acting as an enabler to Ryder's laziness and undermining Alf.Even her pushing them into going fishing together seemed to force Alf to do it on Ryder's terms and let him carry on watching TV all night and sleeping on the sofa all morning.Coco and Raffy gave him a bit of stick (loved Raffy's "What does the loser get, two nights out with you?" even after it being trailed incessantly), but unfortunately their backward looks as they left suggest they've somehow let themselves be charmed by him.Also loved John getting his phone out when Ryder said Alf would vouch for him.

Olivia's fashion stuff continues to be not the most enthralling thing on the show, but this was actually better than most with there at least being some new elements introduced with the arrival of Axel. (Incidentally, that's the same actor as Oscar's community service bully from 2014!)

[atrus]

Happy New Year everybody!

I found the conflict of perspectives between Tori and Ash this week quite believable, and found myself liking Tori even more than I did already as a result. Much as I understand why Ash will never forgive or trust Mick, I also think Tori was right to challenge Ash's behaviour, and it's refreshing to hear a character make a principled argument against violence and vigilantism in a show that has far too often revelled in it. Then again, in a world where the authorities seem worryingly unconcerned about keeping tabs on Mick, I wasn't entirely unsympathetic to Ash either. And to be fair to him, I was expecting him to do far worse; the fact that he didn't possibly suggests he's maturing a bit. I do hope they sort it out anyhow; they've still got a lot of getting to know one another to do, but I do like their chemistry.

Regardless of what Ash did, I do hope it isn't going to give Mick any kind of in-road into further involvement with Luc - the sooner he takes up the job in Western Australia, the better. While I don't think Mick has any intention of hurting the baby, I'm equally convinced that he has no right at all to be in her life, and in any case that allowing him access of any sort simply isn't worth the risk. Even when on his meds I don't think Mick is a nice or trustworthy person by any stretch, and he's far too self-absorbed and immature to play any kind of a parental role. Sad nonetheless that he seemingly sustained a lot of abuse as a child, the psychological impact of which may well have contributed to his later mental health issues.

There's a thin line between charmingly naughty and full-on brat, and I do feel at the moment that Ryder is erring just about on the right side of it. It's practically obligatory for every teen character to have an attitude problem when they first rock up but I don't feel it's been taken to ridiculous extremes this time - he's certainly no early-days Hunter, for example. Still, he obviously needs some discipline in his life. I think the right approach is somewhere between Alf's and Roo's, so between them they'll probably make some progress, provided they're not constantly undermining each other with their respective bad and good cop routines. Ryder seems as taken with Raffy as he is with Coco, although I was wondering about the age thing too and whether that's appropriate. I'm guessing the writers have probably forgotten by now that Raffy is meant to be younger anyway.

Diana is difficult to tolerate but since she's royally getting up Ben's nose, I'm happy for her to stick around a little longer. What would probably help the rest of the family to deal with her is to simply tell her to her face when she's being a pain in the bum, rather than smiling along inanely and then whining about her the moment she leaves the room.

Yawn at more fashion crises for Olivia. I quite enjoyed the conclusion to the Mason/bucket list story, though.

[H&Alover]

The Ash/Tori take on Mick is interesting - you can see it from both sides.  Ash quite rightly doesn't want Mick anywhere near any of them let alone Luc, even though I think Mick would never intentionally hurt her, the further the away he is the better for all, everyone can relax and not worry about him suddenly popping up. I don't think Tori is expecting Ash  to be friends with Mick, that would be a too big an ask, I think all she wants is Ash to let him go off to WA and forget about him. What got up my nose was she kept accusing Ash of leaving Mick to die - no he didn't - it was Mick's idea to go wandering off in the bush at night trying to get a signal on his phone instead of staying where he was!  Like Red said maybe them breaking up for a while is  a good idea.  Also Red's comment about the mental abuse he must have suffered growing up contributes a lot to his behaviour now.

Roo, I think, is trying to be the voice of reason between Alf and Ryder, Alf is desperate to make some sort of connection with Ryder having been deprived of the chance for 16 years, but going OTT about it. There must be a reason why he tends to spend most of the night watching TV so is whacked out during the morning, was mum working at nights so left him to his own devices? Roo tried asking about her, but he just shut down. He soon ducked out of stacking the wood when Raffy and Coco happened along and was surprised Roo had done the job for him and didn't dob him into Alf, her payment for it being going fishing with Alf.

We needed the lighter moments of  Ryder chatting up Raffy and Coco - good to see they are friends again. Not actual flirting on Ryder's part more like normal teenage bantering which we haven't seen for a while. I laughed at Raffy's remark too.  Who knew Coco was such a good pool/billiards player. I noticed both girls looked back at him.

Olivia wasn't too bad this time, she kept Hunter and VJ uninvolved in her designs problem for as long as she could, letting them get on with their studies. How lucky was that Marilyn mentioning she'd seen Olivia's

 designs on a different website when Olivia said in passing her sales had dropped. Word of warning don't trust Axel, he's far too slick, anyone who wears a jacket with the sleeves turned up like his is definitely a bad 'un.  He's done well for himself then from community service bully to boss of a design firm.

[Slade]

I quite liked the fact that Justin stuck up for Ash and could see things from his perspective.  Although I accept there's no way Tori (being Tori) could have remained quiet about it and it's disappointing she wants a break from Ash now.

Roo annoyed me as well when she undermined Alf with re Ryder twice.  I still see him pretty much as a waste of space but with regards to girls he clearly has game.  I loved all the banter with him Raffy and Coco and I also believe they have been charmed by him.  If I didn't know any better Roo seemed slightly impressed by his confidence.

I'm a naturally suspicious person so don't trust that guy's story about one of his employees stealing Olivia's designs and really think she should seek legal advice anyway before deciding on anything.

 

[H&Alover]

5 hours ago, Slade said:

 

I'm a naturally suspicious person so don't trust that guy's story about one of his employees stealing Olivia's designs and really think she should seek legal advice anyway before deciding on anything.

 

I'm not usually suspicious of people, but Axel, that name's enough to make you think twice about him, was so obvious!  Let's hope Olivia doesn't get blinded by him, though going by the trailer she cuts Hunter out of the conversation she's having with Axel Grease.  If she is in the mood to listen to anyone, hopefully Irene will advise to take legal advice before committing herself. Agree if there was an employee who stole Olivia's designs, he would have been behind it.  As far as I understood the copyright of design law, others can use your designs but can get away with it if they make small changes so its/they aren't exactly the same. On that subject has Olivia copyrighted her designs? 

[Red Ranger 1]

Well, the police demonstrate their usual competence in crowding around the front door of Novak's hideout like a flock of sheep while leaving every other escape route free.While Kat shouldn't have disobeyed orders and gone down there, she didn't really affect the outcome since Novak would have escaped anyway and she came closest to catching him.Meanwhile, it definitely seemed like Robbo was starting to remember things at the house, with the way he went straight to the concealed compartment.(Hang on, let me just check...Oh, hang on, was that meant to be the car keys he found?I thought it was a knife at first and wondered if Channel 5 had snipped the shots of the blade again.)

Diana continued to sabotage Ben's plans in a way that was so calculated you have to wonder if it was deliberate.You'd think after twenty years she'd have given up on trying to cause trouble between them.Ironic that she caught Ben in a less aggressive mood than normal, at least until she pushed him too far.He probably should have worked out a way to stand up to her that didn't leave him looking like the bad guy, especially since Maggie seemed to be mostly on his side.

So, seems the deal Axel has offered Olivia isn't as advantageous as she'd hoped.Axel seemed rather dismissive of her concerns, as if he's used to these young designers snapping his hand off.Hopefully he doesn't convince her to sign anything while she's away.

[Slade]

Continuing to really enjoy Diana's attempts to undermine and belittle Ben.  I love the way she bought the ring as an anniversary present before Ben had a chance and also cooked dinner for the Astoni's to prevent Ben from taking Maggie out later on.  I'm really not sure what she is hoping to achieve but who's arguing.  I took exception to Ziggy claiming that Maggie wasn't a snob.  She is IMO as I mentioned before looking at Diana you can see where she gets it from.

Olivia's not being smart here.  It doesn't matter how good the deal looks she should still seek legal advice.  I'm sure Irene would be OK with her using some of her trust fund to cover the fees.

So if Kat wants to keep the baby presumably she's given up on being a detective for now.  TBH she shouldn't even be on the front line and probably doing desk duties.  I still think this is unwise given that she doesn't know the full extent of Robbo's past.

[H&Alover]

Subtle isn't in Yabbi Creeks police vocabulary is it?  Novak is a trained professional, just one glance out of the window would have given the game away, though he did take his time escaping by waiting until they broke the door down and crowded in. Quite a boob not covering the back, wouldn't that be one of the first things you'd do?  What part of 'That's an order' does Kat not understand?  Took a punch to her stomach for her to realise she does what to keep the baby and although she didn't get checked out I think it was the jacket that cushioned the blow. Don't forget Slade for the moment only her, Robbo and Roo know she's pregnant, she knows once McCarthy knows she will be on desk duties. Robbo had flashbacks when he saw that bungalow so maybe that was going to be his and Novak's hideout, especially as Robbo knew where to find those keys and sat nav. It was obviously set up to be from that address, including the 'you may have to do a u-turn' instruction.  Was that another quick day in the day of the bay, only when Roobo set off it was light, by the time he got to wherever is was Novak was hiding it was dark.  Not such a quick job for Alf as he told Kat then? Gong by the trailer looks like Novak fills in Robbo/Beckett more about their history.  Wonder how Ash will feel when he hears, as he definitely will, about Kat not only being pregnant but that she going to keep it when she was so adamant she wasn't the maternal type when looking after Luc?

I thought it was a miracle Ben hadn't lost his temper with Diana before now, she's tried his patience enough. Ziggy was up for him telling her where to go, but he was thinking of Maggie and not rocking the boat any more than he needed to. She really did go too far, by trying to take over their Anniversary night.  She may have been snobby over a meal at Salt but Maggie wasn't, so not like her mum, Ziggy knew her mum better knowing she's not into all that flash stuff.  May have just been coincidence Diana got the earrings Ben was planning to buy, unless she saw him looking at them on-line.  She was eavesdropping when Ben and Ziggy were talking though so of course nips out and buys food for them all to have an Anniversary dinner. Then it comes out she bought Maggie's engagement ring, because to quote her 'what girl doesn't want a diamond?' Must have been years of frustration building up for him to explode like that, loved Ziggy's suppressed giggles.  It is his (and Maggie's) house, she can't come in and dictate what goes.  I wouldn't think he'd allow even his parents to do that.  Heaven's she was  telling Ziggy what to wear - or what not to and even trying to set her up with her mate's sons.  Newsflash Diana it's not the 19th or even early 20th century, girls and boys make their own decisions about who they date.

Luckily Olivia was in a listening mood and it was Hunter who spotted the flaws in Axel's proposed contract.  I glad she tackled him about them, but I don't think she should have met him alone, he's obviously  a past master at this and knows what buttons to push and how to flatter a young designer to get his way.  He's whisking her off now away from her friends who won't be able to look out for her.  Hunter may have picked up on the percentage she'd be making - or rather not - but neither he, Leah or Irene are legal experts so yes they need some proper advice. Too good to be true - she got that right.

[Red Ranger 1]

Robbo's trying to keep a foot in both camps, keeping Kat safe while doing his best to cover up his past.It is unfortunately looking increasingly unlikely that he was a good guy and/or not Beckett Reid, unless Novak's somehow been fooled? I admit I did feel a bit sorry for Novak.He might not be a good person but Beckett was his friend and he's lost him.Kat continues to be woefully naïve in thinking she'll be left alone just because she isn't testifying, when they're most likely to kill her anyway just to be sure.Robbo putting up security cameras around the flat: I guess it's to keep an eye on Kat?

I find it difficult to bring myself to like the Astonis, because past experience has taught me that every time I think that maybe they're not so bad, they do something that makes me hate them again.But realistically chances are they're not going anywhere any time soon, so if we are stuck with them I'd rather we have more scenes like today and less of them ganging up on some poor local.I was rather disappointed with the way Maggie put all the onus on Ben.She could easily have talked to Diana but instead she expected him to do all the running while she continues to use the "bite your tongue" option.

I liked the pairing of Mason and Ziggy, two characters who are pretty close in age but have had hardly any interaction so far.It was interesting that they ended up doing each other's jobs: Maybe they'd be better off making Ziggy an apprentice rather than having her moving bits of paper around?It's not like she's doing anything else.Of course, there had to be more to it than that...