Bobby Simpson - Nicolle Dickson

[nenehcherry2]

On 13/05/2021 at 15:27, homeandawayroxsomuch. said:

I love Bobby, but the time when Bobby made fun of Carly eating, then took Carly's skirt and asked Ailsa to take it in a few inches, claiming that Carly had discarded it, before putting it back with Carly's clothes really annoys me because that feels like a really 1988 Bobby move to make.  There were times in 1988 when Bobby and Steven had their little running club thing when they implied that Carly could do with coming with them, and I feel like Bobby doing that to the skirt in 1988 would have made more sense and it could have led to an eating disorder storyline for Carly.

But I feel like 1990 Bobby and Carly are somewhat friends and are a bit more mature, and Bobby SHOULD KNOW BETTER than to pull a potentially harmful prank like that.

Bobby's characterisation in early / mid 1990 is a bit all over the place, going from one extreme to another. I agree RE that silly, filler Carly skirt story, she's very 88 Bobby like in behaviour (and her hair had just been cut a bit 88 like, strange). Just a week or two before when Grant started teaching at the school, she had acted far more grown up (in fact, identical to how she was when Luke started working for Don, a blatant copycat story). As in, she still stirs but in a more clever way. 

By the time of her pregnancy, she's pretty much what I'd call "middle Bobby" - generally settled but still more than ready to flare up reactively and enjoys a little stir with say Adam or Carly. That then lasts I'd say until around just after she marries Greg and Maz leaves. In her final 12 months, she seems bored and vacant a lot of the time, as if Nicolle battling with the producers about staying is spilling over. 

[homeandawayroxsomuch.]

On 14/05/2021 at 21:22, nenehcherry2 said:

Bobby's characterisation in early / mid 1990 is a bit all over the place, going from one extreme to another. I agree RE that silly, filler Carly skirt story, she's very 88 Bobby like in behaviour (and her hair had just been cut a bit 88 like, strange). Just a week or two before when Grant started teaching at the school, she had acted far more grown up (in fact, identical to how she was when Luke started working for Don, a blatant copycat story). As in, she still stirs but in a more clever way. 

By the time of her pregnancy, she's pretty much what I'd call "middle Bobby" - generally settled but still more than ready to flare up reactively and enjoys a little stir with say Adam or Carly. That then lasts I'd say until around just after she marries Greg and Maz leaves. In her final 12 months, she seems bored and vacant a lot of the time, as if Nicolle battling with the producers about staying is spilling over. 

I suppose it says something about the development between Bobby and Carly that when Carly finds out that the skirt thing was Bobby's doing that she just plays a prank back to get even (undoing the seams on the new shirt that Bobby has sewn).  And then a few episodes later when Carly has a special dinner planned with Ben and Emma has been implying about sex, Bobby says "I'm your best friend and best friends talk to each other about these sorts of things.

I love Bobby's 1988 haircut and this return of it in 1990.

[cymbaline]

I wish they hadn't killed her off and I think a lot of people agree. In an alternate universe, she would've been a really good character to bring back à la Steven later on. I'd have had Bobby and Greg split up after his affair was uncovered and sent him on his way. He'd still become a mediocre absentee dad. Bobby and Sam would have still left town, leaving the door open for both to return. If Nicolle had had a change of heart and wanted to reprise her role as Bobby, she'd have fitted right back in. I'd have her raising Sam as a single mother, with things getting interesting when he became a bratty teen. She could've gone back to flipping burgers in the diner but I'd have preferred to see her do something else. She could've retrained as a lot of things during her time away. A teacher? A nurse? Mechanic? Depending on when she came back, she might've been around when the two main mother figures in her life moved on. Pippa moving away would've been a big loss to her but not as significant as Ailsa's death. 

[project90]

I would have loved Bobby to be around when Duncan was going off the rails after Alisa's death have her taking on Morag when she was trying to get her hands on him

[j.laur5]

I think Bobby and Irene would become great friends had Bobby lived and even though they were on show for little while  when Lynne taken over role and they seemed to get along well in time they had screens. 

[nenehcherry2]

On 04/06/2023 at 23:35, j.laur5 said:

I think Bobby and Irene would become great friends had Bobby lived and even though they were on show for little while  when Lynne taken over role and they seemed to get along well in time they had screens. 

What makes you think they'd have gone on to become great friends? I'm not disagreeing with that possibility but just curious as to what other "ingredients" were there for a "great friendship" from your perspective (other than the definite chemistry between Lynne and Nicolle; I'm aligned with that POV).

I'm not trying to be dismissive, condescending nor critical of the comment in any way but it feels very anecdotal. Tell us WHY you think these things, whether that's a friendship between Bobby and Irene that never was or why you feel that Ailsa became the Helen Daniels of Summer Bay... pretty please, it's interesting to hear the reasoning behind everyone's perspectives and the clarity RE the WHY helps us all appreciate those interpretations / links more (which in turn, helps to evolve our own thinking of characters, relationships etc; which is exactly why we are all here!). In the nicest possible way, it just comes across as random without those clarities to connect the dots. 

I was personally disappointed with how the other characters were written in terms of their reaction to Irene upon her early 93 return. Bobby of all people should have been suspicious of a recently recovered alcoholic who was a convicted child beater. Yet, she welcomes Irene with open arms like an old friend. Same with the likes of Pippa, Ailsa, Michael and Sophie. Very poor storytelling from Boaz Stark & Greg Stevens and out of character for all concerned. I feel that Bobby needed a friend her own age to keep her in touch with her own youth. She seemed to turn into one of the oldies after Maz left. Glad they didn't force a friendship with Roxy, they were too different (but not different enough alas Bobby and Maz), though I did feel that Nicky and Lisa had a nice chemistry in the few scenes they were given (you can see the real life friendship there).

Edited June 6, 2023 by nenehcherry2

[cymbaline]

On 06/06/2023 at 19:39, nenehcherry2 said:

I was personally disappointed with how the other characters were written in terms of their reaction to Irene upon her early 93 return. Bobby of all people should have been suspicious of a recently recovered alcoholic who was a convicted child beater. Yet, she welcomes Irene with open arms like an old friend. Same with the likes of Pippa, Ailsa, Michael and Sophie. Very poor storytelling from Boaz Stark & Greg Stevens and out of character for all concerned. I feel that Bobby needed a friend her own age to keep her in touch with her own youth. She seemed to turn into one of the oldies after Maz left. Glad they didn't force a friendship with Roxy, they were too different (but not different enough alas Bobby and Maz), though I did feel that Nicky and Lisa had a nice chemistry in the few scenes they were given (you can see the real life friendship there).

I think Bobby was just one in a long list of people who were required to put their brains into hibernation for a while. It was also jarring to see the Rosses asking Irene to look after things when Pippa was having her baby. This'd be the same Irene who was last seen breaking into their house and then tried to get her own kids into trouble with the law? Yep, that's exactly the person you'd trust to look after your family, your house and your business...

Bobby came of age at a time when they didn't write well for young adults. We can all think of young characters who simply fizzled out after school, or the underwhelming young adults who came in. That's why going away for a few years and then coming back would've give her a shot in the arm.