Quick Questions

[cymbaline]

10 hours ago, Bobby Forever Missed said:

Narelle had that happen at Alf’s original store, i don’t remember that happening to Maz though?

It definitely did. Episode 820

 

[adam436]

11 hours ago, nenehcherry2 said:

She took six weeks off (in addition to the six weeks regular Christmas leave). This was written as her going to stay with her parents between 1153-1186.

Do we know if that was Debra's choice? I'm not sure what parental leave laws were in 1992, but I'm curious as to whether they didn't want Pippa off-screen for too long so that was all she could take. Debra said in the podcast interview that she offered to leave and the producers said they would find a way around it so she didn't have to.

Ada Nicodemou and Emily Symons had longer absences, but obviously parental leave have changed since then and they also weren't lynchpins of the show in the same way Pippa was.

[cymbaline]

I don't know anything about NSW parental leave either but if it has followed the trends of other territories, conditions have improved since 1992. Debra has also said that she was able to bring Grace into work with her and kept her in a room off the set. A soundproof room I assume  Obviously I don't know what H&A's other new mums do, but this sounds like a special arrangement. A way to get Pippa back on the set before too long. 

[CaptainHulk]

On 09/01/2024 at 23:28, Bobby Forever Missed said:

Narelle had that happen at Alf’s original store, i don’t remember that happening to Maz though?

Something similar did happen in ep 760 to Maz. She's up a ladder at the store, catches Matt basically "checking her out" and is like "Matthew!" and his face is like "Damn! Fair cop!"

 

Edited January 11 by CaptainHulk

[nenehcherry2]

On 11/01/2024 at 10:20, CaptainHulk said:

Something similar did happen in ep 760 to Maz. She's up a ladder at the store, catches Matt basically "checking her out" and is like "Matthew!" and his face is like "Damn! Fair cop!"

 

That would DEFINITELY never happen now! 

[nenehcherry2]

On 08/01/2024 at 19:45, adam436 said:

I'm going to say no, given how very little happened in the early nineties as a whole. I've not seen much of H&A from mid 1990 through to late 1994, but from what I gather, the big stories were few and far between. Other than the two you mentioned, which were both influenced by external events, the only big ones I am aware of are David's death and Sophie's subsequent pregnancy and Meg's death.

The later half of the nineties felt very more high-stakes drama with Saul's cult, Justine accused of killing a baby, Steven and Selina's relationship, the Robert Perez stuff, Chloe's rape, the earthquake, the cyclone, the fire in which Fisher lost his home and Nelson was injured, Sally going missing in the river, the deaths of Stephanie, Michael and Shane,  plus iconic weddings like Shane and Angel, Don and Marilyn. As I've mentioned, I've not seen too much of the early nineties, so my memory may be biased because I've seen these episodes. 

Totally agree. I'd say that the entirety of 1990-early 95 is a very calm, conservative, "down to earth" period on the whole in terms of stories & dramatic balance. Basically, the Andrew Howie years. With the exception of the Karen/Redhead/Sophie/David/Tamara arc, the other big stories are very reactive to actors leaving, getting pregnant, ratings etc (for example, they only wrote Meg's cancer because the show went head to head with Neighbours on the Aussie timeslots; H&A won the battle). Otherwise, it's generally non-offensive, short little stories which don't really go anywhere in the long-term. 

1994 especially suffers from this lack of drama since there was little for the writers to react to, hence the renewed comedy focus.

Whereas, to your point, everything from Laura getting trained to the end of the millennium is non-stop high drama. 

It's amazing to compare the said differences and thus evaluate the impact that the 95 revamp had. I watched the 95 season return ep the other week and it has FAR more in common with say 1990 episodes than how the show was by the time of the 96 return. Far more.

Edited January 13 by nenehcherry2

[CaptainHulk]

2 hours ago, nenehcherry2 said:

Totally agree. I'd say that the entirety of 1990-early 95 is a very calm, conservative, "down to earth" period on the whole in terms of stories & dramatic balance. Basically, the Andrew Howie years. With the exception of the Karen/Redhead/Sophie/David/Tamara arc, the other big stories are very reactive to actors leaving, getting pregnant, ratings etc (for example, they only wrote Meg's cancer because the show went head to head with Neighbours on the Aussie timeslots; H&A won the battle). Otherwise, it's generally non-offensive, short little stories which don't really go anywhere in the long-term. 

1994 especially suffers from this lack of drama since there was little for the writers to react to, hence the renewed comedy focus.

Whereas, to your point, everything from Laura getting trained to the end of the millennium is non-stop high drama. 

It's amazing to compare the said differences and thus evaluate the impact that the 95 revamp had. I watched the 95 season return ep the other week and it has FAR more in common with say 1990 episodes than how the show was by the time of the 96 return. Far more.

I see 1994 as a welcome break because 1993 (2nd best season) had enough sadness. It's probably because I was 10 at the time, I appreciated more laidback stories and comedy. 

It just seemed more warm/personable/for everyone.

[nenehcherry2]

3 hours ago, CaptainHulk said:

I see 1994 as a welcome break because 1993 (2nd best season) had enough sadness. It's probably because I was 10 at the time, I appreciated more laidback stories and comedy. 

It just seemed more warm/personable/for everyone.

Totally agree but my point is that without Dale's and Bobby's deaths (and the spin-off stories they generated), 93 would arguably have just been another 94. 

[adam436]

9 hours ago, nenehcherry2 said:

It's amazing to compare the said differences and thus evaluate the impact that the 95 revamp had. I watched the 95 season return ep the other week and it has FAR more in common with say 1990 episodes than how the show was by the time of the 96 return. Far more.

It really is. When we think of the "Early Years" of H&A, fans tend to genralise 1988-2000 in one heap. Cast changes aside, the early years can almost be broken down into three separate eras with John Holmes, Andrew Howie and Russell Webb all making their eras very much distinguishable: 

• 1988 to mid/late 1989: the original format (Holmes)
• late 1989 through to early 1995 - the Andrew Howie years (described above)
• 1995 - 2000: the highstakes drama era (Webb)

If we wanted to, it could almost be broken down further if we wanted to include transition periods (i.e. late 1989 - early 1991) and periods of change due to cast departures (i.e. Pippa vs Post Pippa, and the different teen gangs in 1995-1999). 

[nenehcherry2]

On 13/01/2024 at 20:19, adam436 said:

It really is. When we think of the "Early Years" of H&A, fans tend to genralise 1988-2000 in one heap. Cast changes aside, the early years can almost be broken down into three separate eras with John Holmes, Andrew Howie and Russell Webb all making their eras very much distinguishable: 

• 1988 to mid/late 1989: the original format (Holmes)
• late 1989 through to early 1995 - the Andrew Howie years (described above)
• 1995 - 2000: the highstakes drama era (Webb)

If we wanted to, it could almost be broken down further if we wanted to include transition periods (i.e. late 1989 - early 1991) and periods of change due to cast departures (i.e. Pippa vs Post Pippa, and the different teen gangs in 1995-1999). 

You and I are 1 million per cent aligned here my friend!

Just like yourself, I tend to categorise eras by storytelling / plot writing method more than actor presences. And, to your point, that was driven primarily by the series producer.

Also, Greg Stevens was script producer between late 89 - just before Shane & Angel's wedding. I feel like his writing style was very, ahem, simple. Very straightforward, no twists, sudden shocks or turns. And none of the "mysticism" that we saw hints of in 88 and the show became synonymous with again post-Bobby fridge. Compared to 89/9 stories like Bobbygate (the Don reveal), the Nutter, Dodge, Floss' prediction etc and equally compared to the mid-late 90s with the likes of Sally (then Stephanie) being reincarnated, the cult, Ailsa holding Alf hostage etc. None of these stories would have happened in that Greg Stevens period.

I mean, back to my example... There's very little cast difference between the very beginning and the very end of '95. Yet it's like comparing night and day. Country and western contest rivalries and paper round thefts to HIV scares & cults. 

Edited January 14 by nenehcherry2