Who Was You Favorite Pippa

[Skylover]

I guess it just comes down to personal preference. I still personally feel that had Vanessa stayed on until say 1998 and had the same stories that Debra's Pippa got, the character would still have become a Home and Away icon. Like I said though, personal preference. It seems the common argument is that either Vanessa came across as a warmer portrayal, or Debra did. It's a strange one as fans of each portrayal usually see the other version as the colder one. I still like Pippa 2 but I think it will take until at least the 1992 or 1993 episodes of the rerun for me to start appreciating her as at the moment I feel like the Michael marriage and relationship is way too rushed.

[c120701]

I feel like the Michael marriage and relationship is way too rushed.

Possibly, but I don't think that has anything to do with an opinion on the actress, yes you associate that storyline with that actress, but that's down to the writers. Perhaps if Vanessa had stayed on, she might have gone to the producers unhappy with that, but certainly as the third actress cast in a role I doubt Debra would've felt able to do so had she wanted to having been there a year, if that. I just think that with Tom's stroke and then his death, Pippa saw that you have to take happiness when it comes as she later did with Ian having also lost Bobby, Dale and Michael along the way.

[Skylover]

It might not have anything to do with the actress but I think it makes new Pippa harder to like if you see the person we're supposed to think of as 'Pippa' rushing into a new relationship.

[beau_t]

I think it depends how you see it, or perhaps more, how you choose to see it to fit your agenda. I personally don't see how you can accuse Pippa of rushing into a new relationship with Michael when all she seemed to do for what seemed like months, was fight her feelings, try to avoid Michael, deny that she liked him, and constantly feel guilty about moving on from Tom.

Like I said, if you like Vanessa's Pippa better (and if you see it as a contest in the first place, which I don't), then it probably suits you to ignore all that and see it as if Michael arrived in town and Pippa forgot all about Tom and started fluttering her eyelashes at him.

Personally I think Tom is talked about so much these days by Debra's Pippa he feels more a part of the show now than he did in that final year!

[c120701]

I just think it's probably more prominent now when you watch one episode with Vanessa, then one with Debra. I know when they switched we had that, but I think it's one of those things at the time that you just accept and move on. Both are Pippa, in fact it's not until we see episodes out of context like this or on YouTube that I even compare them. When I look back on the show, Pippa brought Sally to Summer Bay and Pippa drove her away from it, no mark one or mark two about it, just Pippa.

[Skylover]

Yeah, Pippa mentioned Tom throughout the beginning of her relationship with Michael, but I still think she rushed into the marriage. I don't think it's about fitting agendas, I'm not trying to dislike Pippa #2 or treating it as a contest, but Pippa's current behaviour is why I don't see her as the same character as Pippa#1. There is no denying that almost one year to the exact date of Tom's death Pippa had already married Michael, who she met in October(?) and married at the end of April(?). If Vanessa had still been playing the role, I think it would have highlighted how quickly Pippa moved on from Tom. I feel like the writers are treating the two versions of Pippa as different characters though even if they do share nearly all the same traits.

I guess it has nothing to do with the actors that played her though.

[beau_t]

I take your point. The change in actors made it easier to accept the character moving on.

[Blaxland 89]

I'm just imagining Vanessa's Pippa with Michael. Weird.

[Skylover]

Likewise imagining Debra's Pippa with Tom is weird. lol.

[Natasha]

I liked both Pippas but Pippa 2 is my favourite because I started watching Home and Away in 1991 and (until now) I never saw Pippa 1.