1992 - Your Reviews

[SandsResort]

I’ve resurrected this thread as I’m a new member to the forum and would like to add my review.

 

In 1992, the show felt more focused and confident than ever before, in terms of its cast and its tone. By now, the Blake and Sophie era was in full swing. For both characters, this was their third and effectively final year (bar a few weeks at the start of 1993), and they both enjoyed a constant stream of storylines and airtime this season.

Blake’s constant stream of airtime was a delight, as Les Hill excelled himself with some exceptional performances. Blake & Meg’s doomed romance was my favourite storyline of the year (an obvious choice, but it deserves its lofty reputation). I loved Cathy Godbold’s delicate portrayal of Meg and Debra Byrne’s intense portrayal of Julia, plus Alf & Ailsa’s involvement. The only hitch in this otherwise perfect storyline was that Julia moved into Fisher’s old house to be closer to Meg’s grandfather Joe, but he seemed to be forgotten after a few episodes.

Blake’s reunion with his father Les was another satisfying storyline. Having arrived full of angst in 1990 as the irresponsible Dean sibling, Blake had been forced to assume the role of the responsible sibling since Karen’s descent into darkness in 1991. Now, he could even excise the source of some of his childhood angst, getting the chance to confront his father about walking out on them... and the chance to learn what sort of a man his father is, even if ultimately he didn’t like what he found.

Sophie’s constant stream of airtime got a little repetitive, as she agonised over the same questions about whether she was happy to stay with the Rosses, how much involvement she wanted David’s parents to have with her baby, and whether she should work after having the baby. With her exit looming by the end of 1992, I wonder if the writers seriously considered Sophie leaving to raise Tamara with Ryan, as was teased in his brief redemptive return stint. I think it could have worked (David’s best friend raising his child), but Sophie reaching out to Mary was more consistent with the year-long build-up that basically told us Sophie couldn’t cope with being a mother.

For me, the Nick/Lucinda/Ryan love triangle was one of those storylines that starts off by annoying you, but keeps twisting around so much that you realise you’re enjoying it and want to know what happens next. Its saving grace was Alistair MacDougall, oozing charm as the manipulative but charismatic Ryan. I liked how the love triangle storyline wasn’t told in isolation, but permeated into other storylines such as Sophie’s relationship with Mary and Shane’s troubles with the law.

Shane & Damian became the successors to earlier young male scheming double acts often used for comic relief (Martin & Lance, Adam & Matt, Blake & Haydn and Blake & Simon). By creating yet another of these pairings, it’s interesting to note how, five years in, the writers must still have thought this was an essential part of the show.

Bobby’s evolution from foster child to foster parent (which had cleverly made a virtue of the fact that her earlier trademark feistiness had toned down by this stage in the series) continued to bring her character full circle in 1992. Bobby may have fostered cute little Sam in 1991, but it was this year, in the far less pleasant Tug, that she identified someone with elements of her old self who she could mentor based on her own life experience. Bobby’s relationship with Tug was the thread that most kept me hooked into returning for 1993.