Latest UK Episode Discussion (2006-2017 Seasons)

[Miranda]

I shall wait eagerly in breathless anticipation

[idris]

I feel sorry for what Miles has gone through, but I just wonder if he needs to consider if he is temperamentally suited to be a teacher ? Admittedly he's pretty strung out, but for someone who has learned how to live and survive on the streets, he showed a distinct lack of control by going to Riley's and then losing it when he saw Riley's trainers. With what happened with the police, it makes you wonder if he should have been a bit less honest in order to protect himself - he must have known he'd be right in it by admitting what he did in full. Sometimes the truth isn't honest.

There are a few characters I don't like, but that's part of the basis for soap, so no problems. However, I have to admit that I agree with other recent posts that Ruby has some really annoying traits. She has a look in her eyes that's just too knowing for a teen and she seems to lean towards people she's speaking to as if to dominate them. At times the look in her eyes reminds me of characters in Sci Fi shows when they've been possessed by 'others'. Or is that going a bit too far ?

[H&Alover]

I'm with Red, I think Ian knocked Riley about when he found out what he had done. Miles didn't want to believe that any parent could knock his own child about, but it does happen, and especially if Ian had been drinking. He does seem to have a short fuse. Charlie was in the wrong talking to Riley without an adult being present, even though it wasn't a formal interview. Going by Riley's behaviour he is scared of something or someone. Gina obviously didn't have a choice about suspending Miles, you can just imagine the reaction of other parents if he had been kept on. I'm guessing Miles' overreaction was a release from Kirsty leaving - no excuse though.

I was also surprised to hear Nicole admit that apart from that one time she and Liam hadn't slept together. I'm glad she spoke to him about it and he seems willing to wait until she is ready. I suppose it helps he is older than her and not a hormonely charged youngster. At least they got the forgotten dinner behind them and she made breakfast to make up for it.

It was pretty much on the cards that as soon as Geoff and Ruby got ready to go all the way someone (Irene) would arrive home. Liked the cool way Irene mentioned that Geoff's T shirt was inside out and back to front. :cool: Thought it had been a while since we had Geoff shirtless.

It was decent of Angelo to let know Irene know about Donna being released, I think it is tonighr she pays Irene a visit. BTW who is chaperoning Annie now Irene is back home?

[Red Ranger 1]

I really liked that episode, which is a bit of a surprise since it's more mystery stuff but it seems to be the "right" mystery stuff.I wasn't too happy with the way Irene's storyline earlier in the year was handled, it left her separated from the rest of the cast and acting out of character, but this was a lot better, showing her being proactive, showing the proper compassion and generally being the Irene we know and love and don't see enough of.I liked all her scenes with Donna and the way that even before Donna claimed she wasn't the killer, it was obvious Irene wasn't going to waste her time hating her.I am a bit disappointed we never got to see Donna locked away and forced to wear a green PE kit (frankly, she deserved a bit of jail time for what she did to Irene)but she does seem to have been genuinely changed by the experience.Pretty much got dialogue confirmation she was the one that sank the trawler since she didn't deny it.Nice to actually get a reaction from Irene to losing the trawler berth, I was expecting it to be dealt with offscreen.Angelo seemed a bit more likeable than he sometimes is and nice to see a bit of interaction between him and Charlie.I don't for one second think Hugo killed Lou but I'm open to the possibility he was there when it happened for whatever reason. (The double jeopardy technicality doesn't count anymore, does it?I started off thinking Donna was now immune from prosecution but I don't think she is.)

I did have a sneaky feeling it was Angelo's boys watching Hugo and Martha.Not particularly good at their job since Hugo(a)saw them and(b)managed to get the jump on them.I guess we missed the thing that Martha really wanted Hugo to see as well.Hugo did seem to have an odd reaction to Bambang's [mock?] scream of fright when they were play fighting, did it remind him of something?Either way, Bambang seems a lot more relaxed around him now so I think we can probably rule out him being scared of him because he's seen him before.

Didn't mind Ruby in that episode, it was one of the ones where I found her and Geoff to be harmless. Quite liked her trying to play peacemaker when Geoff was having a go at Donna.I'm guessing that Annie doesn't have a chaperone anymore, that she and Jai are being looked after by the exchange school and/or a host family(ies).

[Miranda]

Yes, I was surprised Hugo managed to sneak up on police officers! Something tells me he's used to sneaking around- you wouldn't catch me going out in the dark if I thought I was being watched!

Don't know what to make of Donna... seems genuine but

[H&Alover]

Are the police there to protect Hugo and Martha or to keep a watch on Hugo as implied by Angelo? My thought as to Hugo's odd reaction was maybe he is beginning to really care for Bambang. I know he did it in a rush, but it was pretty daft of him to put that ticket in the drawer where Martha was bound to find it. He is going to have to do some fast talking to get out of that. From that flashback we saw of Hugo's wife (forgotten her name already) it did seem from what she said 'Martha means nothing to me' that she was threatening to harm Martha if he didn't go back.

As for Donna, she does genuinely seems to have changed, perhaps it's as she said to Irene, she didn't know what it was like for Irene inside until she had been through it herself. She certainly wasn't the glam Donna of old. Suppose it's not surprising she's turned to drink. As for her being the murderer, she may be or have been a lot of things - a snob, self centered and just concerned about money - but she wasn't stupid. If she had killed Lou would she really have taken the gun back home with her? Having said that it does raise the fact it must have been someone who had access to her home. Now that Charlie and Angelo are going over Lou's murder again, maybe they will spot something they missed last time as long as they don't fixated on it being Hugo.

[Slade]

No worries Miranda!

That episode seemed to be fairly Xavier centric but I thought it was the best one I’d seen in a while. I had mixed feelings about Xavier. I hated his attitude towards John for the most part but really enjoyed everything else. Firstly it annoyed me when John offered Romeo his job back and he butted it and brought his mother into it. Then when he ignored him at first when John tried to talk to him at Martha’s, John got up and Xavier wouldn’t move his legs and John had to step over him. And then there was Xavier’s constant snide remarks.

It still looks funny when Xavier and Romeo are walking side by side. As I mentioned before Xavier just seems like a mini version of Romeo. Really enjoyed the stuff with Ali and Rosie. TBH I don’t know one from the other. Is Rosie the smaller one and Ali the taller one or is it the other way round? It’s funny because the situation Xavier’s currently in is reminiscent of past events in two counts. Firstly when Ruby didn’t want to be with Xavier anymore and she couldn’t tell him. It felt like that when Ali tried to get a date with him on the way to school. Secondly it is almost a year ago when two girls were after him and he had to decide i.e. Ruby and Freya. I’m not even sure if it’s a case of whether he can’t decide it seems as though he doesn’t want either of them but maybe doesn’t want to tell them because turning down one attractive girl is bad enough but two is bordering on stupidity – Well maybe he thinks that’s how his peers will view him.

I really enjoyed Gina and John’s reactions after the second girl turned up for dinner. Gina seemed bemused and I thought John found it quite funny. I would like to call it double-booking but I think one of the girls turned up unannounced. It still seems a bit odd that they would both want to go out with him considering that he copped off with both of them knowing they were best mates. I think John can be a smooth operator when he wants to be and I still smile at his smugness and self-confidence. Still don’t mind the stuff with him and Gina either. To reiterate a comment made a while back he really doesn’t give a damn what people think about him and I quite like that.

Even though I don’t trust Donna one bit I did feel a bit sorry for her when Irene came home and found her drunk and in a mess on her couch. I would like to believe that Donna’s changed but I don’t buy it right now. Irene must have “Saint” tattooed across her forehead to give Donna the trawler like that - Although she made a valid point about Donna and Lou building up the business for years. I’m still not sure though because I recall one time when Donna humiliated Irene at the club she made a comment about having to stayed married to him for years and got the impression that she didn’t pull her weight in that sense.

Although I hope he isn’t I still think Hugo’s lying to Martha. He was pretty convincing though so I can see how she could believe him or maybe want to believe him.

[alreetlike]

I'm rather starting to like John Palmer... the look on his face when the 2 girls were bickering at dinner had me in stitches!

I still don't trust Donna, or Hugo..

[Miranda]

Oh that episode was so funny! First the two girls fighting over Xavier, then one of them rubbing John's leg, then Gina's announcement at the end! It was a bit like Xav was the parent and Gina the teenager bringing her boyfriend home.

I'm glad Xavier has those two fighting over him, it is really time for him to have some fun after being with crazy boring Ruby for so long. Now Ruby and Geoff can bore each other to death instead and Xavier can go back to being funny.

I think he and Romeo are like a double act: gormless and gormless-er

[Red Ranger 1]

You know, not a lot's happening but I am really enjoying the show of late.I thought the Martha and Hugo stuff was the weakest part of the episode, mainly because I'm really not sure where they're going with it or how I'm supposed to feel about it.I do think Hugo genuinely loves Martha and I don't think he was planning to go back to Suzy but it does feel like there's a lot he isn't telling her.

I'm less inclined to trust Donna and think she was sincere after that episode.It did feel like she was being a tad manipulative in order to get the trawler.It's certainly true that it's brought Irene more trouble than it's worth and isn't really worth anything to her now.I did think when they first gave Irene the trawler that she was going to end up losing it pretty quickly but in the end they did more with it than I expected.Donna does frankly seem to care more about Lou than she did when he was alive which is the main reason I doubt her sincerity, then again maybe prison brought out her sentimental side.I'm a bit confused by the suggestion she's got nothing though, didn't Lou leave her the house and all his money?

Xavier's got two girls fighting over him and he doesn't want either of them.(Slade, Ali's the shorter, softer featured one who was wearing the red dress at the end:the one who was at the surf club and turned up with the apple pie.Rosie's the taller and frankly bitchier one who was wearing the red dress: who came up to him in her school uniform and was after a "study session".)I do think that maybe he wouldn't mind dating one of them on a casual basis but he really is digging himself in deeper.I'm not sure about Xavier's reaction to John:I can understand him not liking him but at first I thought he was out of line when he had a go at him on the beach(and it really does feel like Romeo's cutting his nose off to spite his face, by the way).But then John went and told Gina what he'd said and I was left feeling that maybe he was playing her after all.Either way, Xavier needs to pull his head in:Whether he's right or not, all he's doing by being stroppy with John while he rises above it is making himself look bad and John look good.I'm not sure whether I like John or not sometimes but he's definitely great entertainment value.I loved the way he just sat back during the dinner, clearly revelling in the chaos going on around him.I think Gina was just trying to get a rise from Xavier at the end and she, and maybe John, was left thinking "What did I just do?"I suspect John won't end up spending the night, at least not in the biblical sense.