Latest UK Episode Discussion (2006-2017 Seasons)

[H&Alover]

You could be right Red, but I still think that it used to be sally and Flynn's, it's those steps down that make it stand out.

I thought Marilyn looked OK but it didn't do anything for John, smacked too much of the 80's for me. Had they reserved a place for Jett beforehand, 'cos I thought the journo took the last place? There's a surprise coming regards him.

The 'doouble date' with April, Dex, Tam and Casey seemed a bit odd, did I blink and miss that being arranged? I just loved that moment when Heath scared Dex!!!

I can understand Brax wanting to keep Heath out of whatever he is planning for Andy, Heath has got Bianca to think about and she is not from the same background as them or Ricky.

You could be right Red, but I thought it was Sally and Flynn's old room, it's those little steps that make it stand out.

I thought Marilyn looked OK, but it didn't do John any favours at all, smacked of the 80's to me. Did they reserve a seat for Jett, 'cos the journo took the last place. There is more to him than meets the eye. That bow John made was a tad OTT.

When did the 'double date' get arranged, did I blink and miss something? Rather an awkward moment between Case and Tam the following day. I love that moment when Heath scared Dex, showed his sense of humour. Brax is right to keep him out of whatever he's got planned, he's got Bianca to think of now and she is from a different background to them and Ricky. Go on Heath, hit that button!!

Didn't I hear Sasha say to Spencer she fell in love with the guy who was on meds (though she didn't know that then)? Like she said to Bianca she's had enough of unpredictable guys e.g. Stu and Casey. He's not doing either of them any favours by ditching them, she'll twig he's not taking them.

[Brian]

Good episodes this week. Loved Maddy slipping Josh up to her room and then telling him to sleep on the floor. That's got to end badly - shame, as they're doing so well as a couple. Still haven't figured out Brax's over-the-top

help for Josh - got to be something big going on.

Biggest laugh had to be Heath trying to teach himself human biology. So he can read then! Trying to cope with homeostasis as well - one of the most difficult of biology concepts, at least as GCSE level (which I teach). No doubt Dex will help him again, as they seem to have established a rappor now.

Poor Kyle. He seems so embarrassed around Tamara and Casey. Pity he didn't get the chance to go away for a few days. It's not going to be easy him working with Tamara every day. He'll still hurt.

Good storyline with Spencer and the bipolar - Sasha not knowing how to help the guy she loves and no Sid to advise her.

John and Marilyn annoy me, but it's a good chance for Jett to do some serious acting.

Roll on next week.

[Red Ranger 1]

Alf's episode count this week:Three.Roo was in all five.

So, it's goodbye to Peta.I'm going to miss her, she may have straddled the line between abrupt and rude a bit awkwardly at times but she was rather refreshing.I loved the farewell between he and April and the way she kind of wearily accepted it was something April had to do.("OK, go on then...I'm glad I stayed for this.")And hello to Nate.Not sure what happened to the real journalist's seat, maybe Jett sat in it and they forgot he hadn't paid?You knew they were yanking our chain with John and Marilyn assuming he was the journalist.Mixed feelings about him being the new doctor.I'm glad they didn't go down the route of getting rid of the one who gave April a hard time and replacing her with someone who's instantly won over, but that kind of underlines the fact that he doesn't give us anything that Peta didn't, apart from a Y chromosome.(Was it mentioned before that Peta was only a locum and I've forgotten?)Their run-in seemed a bit contrived as well, not sure why April would leap to John and Marilyn's defence so strongly.Okay, she had a fair bit to do with John back when she was dating Xavier but that's a long time ago and I'm struggling to remember any decent interaction she's ever had with Marilyn.

I was wondering after the previous episode whether Spencer's bipolar was now common knowledge or not.Apparently not but that raises the question of when did Bianca find out:Was it in his school record all along or did she not know until he missed school because of it?Surprisingly, I'm not finding Sasha as annoying as I expected, she's struggling and trying to do the right thing in a believable manner.Not sure if her telling Roo was the right thing or not but she does need to be informed even if Sasha jumped the gun a bit.Spencer didn't seem to be in hospital for long so I'll buy no-one noticing.

Dexter planning to give Heath a scare worked better than I thought it would.In normal circumstances he'd probably have shrugged it off but the fact he was hiding the textbook meant he was probably pretty tense.Loved Kyle playing the straight man with the "You want to hide in there until Heath comes home, then jump out and surprise him"/"...Yes"/"Okay, I'm in" exchange and his casually checking in on Heath throttling Dexter because he wondered what the girlie scream was.Dexter practising ways to surprise Heath and realising what surprising him in the shower would entail was great and, while I was surprised Heath took Dexter into his confidence so readily, I like how Dexter managed to explain stuff to him in a way that he'd relate to.Also loved Heath awkwardly explaining he was "asked to leave" school at 15.

[H&Alover]

Not long to wait Brian

I'm sad to see Peta go. Although I don't think she would have ever defrosted completely, she may have thawed a bit and she was a good doctor. Is that really all the notice they get, a phone call and they've gone? No hand over to their replacement? No I don't thinkit was mentioned she was a locum, as it sounds like Nate is, filling in until they get a full time replacement for Sid.

I think it was Nate's comment to April at Angelo's that got April's back up and made her defend them.

I'm guessing that the hospital had an obligation to inform Bianca about Spencer's bi-polar and likewise she'd need to inform his teachers. Sasha had to confide in someone and Roo was the most logical person. If Spencer was taking his meds he wouldn't have acted so aggressively. She wasn't saying she couldn't cope with it, just that she needed back up same as he does.

Loved Dex's plan to get Heath back, pretty brave of him, knowing Heath. They're going to be an interesting, if unlikely, team. Clever idea of Dex to use terms Heath would understand, such as surfing in cold water made you shiver and how your body compensated for it.

[Red Ranger 1]

Is Nate meant to be English?His accent seems to be leaning that way.Dexter rolling his eyes at April toadying up to Nate was a great moment and he seemed as irritated as me at her neurotic behaviour.It was obvious to anyone with a brain what Nate's phone conversation was about so how did she get "bad break-up" from it?It's a shame that, despite his rudeness, Nate seems willing to let April do whatever she likes out of sheer apathy.She's still not happy but given that he's listed as a regular and must be sticking around they'll presumably be getting on like a house on fire shortly.

Had to laugh at Ricky asking Brax if Josh is his son, given it's what a lot of fans have been speculating.Oddly, given the way he acts around Debbie, Josh's left field revelation that he and Andy don't have the same father and the references to him just disappearing one day, the rest of the episode seems to suggest that was indeed the case!So, we finally meet the Barretts' mum and...it's Tamsyn Armstrong's mum from 2007.(Incidentally, anyone recognise the actress playing Robyn?Knew I recognised the name but didn't make the connection until someone said on Australian Discussion:It's Geoff's girlfriend Claudia from 2009.)

Nice that Maddy seems to have got some of her spunk back, she seemed flirty and vaguely feisty with Josh in a way we haven't seen for a long time since she's mostly been shouting or crying lately. Still, it might not last long once Alf finds out Josh is staying there.Josh turning down Maddy's offer to share the bed(in what sense?)made me respect him a bit more.Marilyn was probably the best option to find out about Josh since she actually talked to him and Maddy about it rather than flying off the handle.(Surprised she'd be so eager to have a girlie chat about boys though, given it was her freaking out over seeing Spencer and Maddy together that put the first spanner in their relationship.)And nice to see the landing at the caravan park house again too.

[c120701]

Maddie is in what was the girls room during the Fletcher/Ross years (i.e. Carly/Lynn) and Dani & Brodie's room during the Sutherland years, which became Cassie's room later on. You can tell by the stair and window placement. Marilyn must be in the old boys/twins/Ric's room as we've seen her being on the main landing I'm sure, so Alf must be in the attic.

[Red Ranger 1]

We did see Alf's room in 2010 and it seemed to be one of the standard size ones.I'm guessing that they move around when the living arrangements change, which is what used to happen back in the Fletcher/Ross period, so he may well be in the attic now.

[H&Alover]

I wondered why Nate's accent was referred to, my hearing must be going, didn't spot it was that different. April over compensating after her disastrous start with Peta. She's got one active imagination 'deciding' his phone call was a breakup. Has he been transferred from the city as a 'punishment' because of something that happened in the hospital he was working in there? She was rather taken aback when he said she could book in the newest patient. Loved Alf's response that he wasn't looking to go on a date with Nate when April called him Dr. Sexy.

Josh's revelation that he and Andy were half-brothers certainly come out of nowhere, guessing Debbie's first husband died. She must be one tough cookie if she bested Cheryl!!! I'd love to let you in on the secret, but then I'd have to kill you!!!! The fact that Josh's dad disappeared must be hard to deal with, at least if someone has died you can mourn them, with not knowing you are in limbo. Brax would have to have been very young to be Josh's dad!

I have to admit being confused as to the position of Maddy's bedroom, I always thought that room was at the top of the stairs not to one side. Blame it on the fact we haven't seen upstairs for a while. Marilyn was very subtle about finding out the truth, was her sitting on the bed part of her ruse? Agree Red, Marilyn handled it a lot better than Roo would have, but something does need to be done, he can't stay there much longer without someone else finding out (which comes sooner than later). I was wondering about how he was going to get fed, Maddy couldn't have kept taking food up to her room on the pretext of studying. Another thing, when was he going to be able to have a wash, wait until everyone was out? Was that her toothbrush she was lending him?

I saw that about who Robyn used to be Red, I read the Aussie thread as well, though no 'previews', just 'our' last week as seen through their eyes. They can certainly see things differently sometimes.

[630si]

Well the jig is up with Josh in Mandy's room. As with your guys comments I'm also on the opinion that Marilyn handled it better and I'm glad Marilyn was the one to find out. I always thought Marilyn could be the cool auntie to maddy and spencer whom they turn to when they don't want to speak to Roo but it hasn't really flourished. Hopefully, although deceitful, this will bring maddy closer to Marilyn and won't push her away like alf does.

Mangrove River looks a bit remote and how on earth is that house habitable?! Debbie and brax clearly have precious and her reception for him was somewhat cold. I can sense a very loud conversation about this big secret coming in the next episode. Ricky finally let Brax do his trying but I can't help but feel she made a big mistake. If he loves her like he says he does he wouldn't hide things from her. I I think his is a hi crack in their relationship and one lie could leads to another. Ricky deserves to know, they've been through enough and it took him long enough to convince her to stay in SB.

I don't know what to make of Doctor Sexy. He seems very chup in his shoulder and it would appear that's because he doesn't like where he's been transferred. I don't feel that's a need to be flippant about such an important job though, perhaps there's more to him? April putting her foot in it once again wih her new supervisor. When will that girl learn?! HAha.

[Red Ranger 1]

Hmm.Not sure if Marilyn handled this right, even if Maddy's plan was impractical in the long run.John's advice was based on the assumption that Josh's parents are worried about him:Well, okay, Debbie is, but she also threw him out of the house.Marilyn's surely seen enough to know that Alf and Roo wouldn't be interested in helping Josh and sure enough, they weren't.So Alf gets to spout a load of alpha male knowledge about "my house" and make himself feel big by kicking a kid out, then disappear instead of facing the consequences.Maddy was a bit too confrontational with Roo but she's obviously not interested in talking about anything other than Maddy staying away from Josh.The moment where they realise that by trying to control her they've driven her away was sadly lacking and, although she's still not thinking long term, Maddy is at least trying to do the right thing.There's also a budding continuity error in her plan but we're not quite there yet so deal with that later.

The first scene between Heath and Ricky was pretty good:Heath seems surprisingly eager to tell anyone who's passing what he's hiding from Bianca but it was interesting that once upon a time he'd probably have stuck to giving Ricky abrupt answers about Brax but now he tried to reassure her.Shame it was just an isolated moment, felt like another case where there was meant to be more scenes but they got cut.Meanwhile, back at the Barrett hideout, while I don't really think he's anyone's father Brax did seem surprisingly familiar with Debbie.The showdown between him and Andy, who we haven't seen in far too long, was a disappointment.It's obviously all down to this secret Brax is keeping but the way he was willing to dismiss Andy's lack of remorse over trying to kill Casey really was a "Is that it?" moment.Even more disappointing, the fact he also tried to kill Maddy(because...what, she said no to Josh?she's friends with Casey?she was there?)isn't even mentioned.Is anyone ever going to send the police after him or is Josh going to carry on getting all the hatred that should be directed at Andy?Subtle continuity point in Debbie thinking Johnny ran off with the money from the robbery.We, the audience, know that Brax and Cheryl got the money.Is Brax's secret that he kept it from the Barretts, who probably needed it as much?Maybe, but Brax's desolation at the end suggests something bigger.

I'm the same, H&Alover, fascinating, if occasionally frustrating, to see what everyone said about the episodes in Aus Discussion.It is weird how the two threads often have opposing views of subjects and how something that was a major discussion point here isn't even mentioned there.