1989 Episode Discussion

[Ryan]

Maybe the interior, but we definitely say the exterior in 367.

[Lulu1978]

So are they going to play the 1990 season?

I hope so.I would love to see the early 90's episodes again.

[Lulu1978]

Firstly the Lance, Martin, Marilyn comedy act is so funny to watch, they are so uncoordinated its awesome; love the dance routine Carly, its awful! haha This just highlights how badly and out of character they are writing Maz in current episodes; they could be writing the baby storyline with so much energy and lots of comical twists and turns in amongst the more serious and emotional side to the way Nicole feels... frustrating!!

My opinion on Dodge is pretty much the same as Viv's - I think he can be manipulative, selfish and has been dishonest, not to mention everything with the fire and Phil - but its like Viv said, he is human and somewhere along the lines I still think he genuinely wants to change his life for the better and the Fletchers is his best chance. Or was. I think Pippa was rather harsh around the table and made it quite clear she doesn't like or want him in the family anymore in front of him as if he wasn't there, which wouldn't do Dodge any good in the long run at all, but I get where she was coming from in not wanting to loose Sally. It was a great episode and I cant remember watching it first time around so it is great to watch the scene where Sally is asked if she wants to be adopted, I think it was a really well written.

I agree with you about Dodge.When I first watched this storyline years ago I hated Dodge for killing Phil.Watching the storyline again now that I am alot older,I can see that Dodge wasn't all bad and if things had worked out differently for him he could have turned his life around and become a better person.That wasn't to be and he ended up becoming worse by the time he returned in 1995.

[beau_t]

Maybe the interior, but we definitely say the exterior in 367.

Yep, they seem to have hidden it out of view up until now. Either that, or it wasn't actually built when the show started?

[Dan F]

Maybe the interior, but we definitely say the exterior in 367.

Yep, they seem to have hidden it out of view up until now. Either that, or it wasn't actually built when the show started?

The current building was built in 1973.

One interesting thing that I was told whilst there - when the show first started filming at Palmy they used the services of Palm Beach Surf Club (the one that you don't see on the show) at the southern end of the beach. However it seems after a year or so they got bored with the filming and so booted them out - which is when they then went to North Palm Beach Surf Club, and they've been there ever since.

Perhaps these episodes mark the time when that relationship started.

[Red Ranger 1]

I have to say I haven't been particularly impressed by Pippa throughout the whole Dodge storyline. First she brought him there out of what seemed to be pride rather than compassion("We're the Fletchers!"), then when he didn't get into any trouble after about two weeks(at least not that she knew about...)she was patting herself on the back and saying it was a job well done.And now that she finds it's not that easy, she wants to get rid of him, having proved so ineffective that when Dodge and Sally have a fight she calls Tom home from work to deal with it!Although I can understand her horror at how far her relationship with Sally has disintegrated, to the point Sally would rather talk to Ailsa or even Celia than her.Doesn't help that she seems to veer between blaming Dodge for everything and blaming Sally for everything, sometimes in the same episode.

I have a hard time gauging Dodge's sincerity.Much of what he says to Steven seems to be for the sole purpose of keeping him onside and he blatantly played him, Tom and Pippa off against each other with his confession but he seemed genuinely affected by the fact Tom went to bat for him when he actually seemed to be expecting to be asked to leave.He's a narcissist bordering on being a nihilist but he certainly isn't evil at this point.Helping Viv might have been motivated more by getting his end away than altruism but helping Sally did seem mostly genuine, despite his odd "Lucky it wasn't deep, I can't swim" comment(

Hmm, wonder what that says for his survival chances after 1995?

)and I didn't really see any evidence of him using it to big himself up as Pippa claimed.

I can see why people would view Sally as a brat but I think her desire to leave was entirely genuine and I can see her point, the family's in a bad way and, although he's arguably the catalyst, it's not all down to Dodge.Steven seems halfway to being Dodge Mark II(he's got the attitude if not the criminal leanings)and Pippa seems to have been in a near-permanent strop for months, even before Dodge turned up, constantly berating Tom when he's actually being quite reasonable.(What happened to the Cool Mum of 1988?!Her "Why do you keep going to work?" thing was worse than Ailsa with Alf during the Brett Macklin storyline!)Sally does actually seem to be making an effort with Dodge:She obviously hated having to shake his hand but it's hard to imagine her listening to his ideas for the anniversary a few days ago.Hearing her calling herself Sally Fletcher for the first time is a real iconic debut.

I'm quite liking Viv, they're doing a fairly good job of showing someone with an oppressed upbringing struggling to adapt to Donald's more permissive regime.(And who could have imagined a sentence like that when the show first started?)There's a nice sisterly relationship building with Bobby as well.

[beau_t]

I'm quite liking Viv, they're doing a fairly good job of showing someone with an oppressed upbringing struggling to adapt to Donald's more permissive regime.(And who could have imagined a sentence like that when the show first started?)There's a nice sisterly relationship building with Bobby as well.

Speaking of which and I believe these latest episodes are the first time we see the kitchen in Donald's house. We have yet to see Alf and Ailsa's if I'm not mistaken.

[Ryan]

I was surprised at how long it took to get inside Don's house, almost the entire 1988 season IIRC. I think you're right on both counts though.

[Red Ranger 1]

We definitely saw inside Don's house when Bertram was staying with him, that might have been the first time.

There was one scene where I think it cut straight from Viv with Steven at work to Viv walking into the kitchen at home where I genuinely didn't know where she was supposed to be and thought they were cleaning someone's house until Don walked in.

[English Invader]

We definitely saw inside Don's house when Bertram was staying with him, that might have been the first time.

We also see inside Fisher's house in the Christmas episode. He and Ailsa are discussing the manuscript of Alan's book (On the Crest of a Wave).

Bertram stays with Fisher after they find him in the abandoned house and just before John Farnham comes to Summer Bay.