1993 Episode Discussion

[Red Ranger 1]

I can't say I've enjoyed having a break from Pippa and I definitely don't agree at her being "bland and unfazed":The last few weeks before she left showed her at possibly the most fiery she's been ever. That said, I can't say I really missed her that much either, the only thing I do regret is that it means we haven't seen much interaction between her and Irene.Incidentally, Irene seems to be copying Fin's trick of constantly announcing she's going and then staying.

So bye-bye, Karen, for good this time.I guess there's a parallel between her and Shane in there somewhere:Both came out of jail bitter but Shane, who had reason to feel hard done by, manages to get over himself and accept that people are trying to help him, while Karen, who was actually guilty, just throws everyone's attempts to help her back in their faces.There is merit in the idea of her aiming for a fresh start somewhere where people won't always point her out in the street and say she killed someone, but she seems to want to have her fresh start in the gutter and stay there.She's never going to get anywhere in life if she doesn't get over the self-pity and victim complex and it's hard not to think that Blake's being a bit of a sucker by constantly trying to see good in her:Every time there's a glimmer of humanity, it turns out to be an act.

You know, these episodes were shown in the UK over the August holiday, which must have been 1993 only a few months after the Aus broadcast, and I can clearly remember seeing one of the episodes with Douggie in a hotel in Kent.(Communal hotel televisions.Do they still have those?Man, I feel old.)I think I must have missed an awful lot of episodes because of holiday things because while I clearly remember episodes like the disco and Adam's return, I wasn't quite clear what happened to Karen and for twenty-odd years I've believed that Pippa gave birth to Dale off screen.So seeing Michael turn up at that hospital was a real "Hang on..." moment.

The ending of the Matthew storyline was rather strange:Are we meant to assume that his objections to Sarah staying in school were entirely down to the fact he couldn't afford to support her?Ah, this is the period when they seem to be pushing Damian and Sarah as a future couple, complete with sledgehammer subtle hints from Michael, except the opening titles make it clear it's not going to happen.Because, yes, Tug's back, to a chorus of "Oh, have you been somewhere?"It's a smart move to have Nick be willing to give him a chance, and Adam help him out even if it is just to further his own agenda, because it's reached the point where we really don't trust Bobby's judgement where he's concerned.He's still got the attitude but does seem to have softened slightly.And we finally get a confrontation between him and Shane.Bad luck that it happened just as Damian was holding out an olive branch to him, although Shane loses sympathy slightly by suggesting Damian needs to ask his permission to be friends with him.

And yes, Adam slotting back in, charming his way in to Greg and Bobby's household and gaining Roxy as a surprisingly willing sidekick.Could be fun...

[Trudy Heine]

When Jesse left jail he was also bitter and ended up killing one of his friends by accident. Did Karen kill David on purpose?

[Old H&A Fan]

Nope. She was driving recklessly, only David got in the way, at the wrong place at the wrong time. By the way, he was quite busy listening to Sophie's tape to be concentrating on his driving, yet the mise-en-scene seemed to suggest he was the innocent victim.

[Red Ranger 1]

She drove through a Stop sign when David had right of way.

[beau_t]

She drove through a Stop sign when David had right of way.

Makes sense to any reasonable person, but come on, he was listening to a tape! We all know that if you were listening to a tape during a car crash then as far as the police are concerned (even if the other person admits crashing into you), you're as good as guilty!

To be honest I'm surprised 9/11, the Titanic sinking and global warming haven't been blamed on David Croft. I mean after all, he DID have consensual sex with a girl of legal age! If that's not proof that he's responsible for Abraham Lincoln's assasination I don't know what is!

[rachel1990]

Now that Karen and Sophie and Lou are gone can we finally leave David Croft behind us?

Lets look to the future with Luke, Roxy, Sarah three of the greatest characters ever!!!

[Old H&A Fan]

Beau_t, in having consensual sex, didn't either David nor Sophie have any idea of the consequences????

[j.laur5]

If a character like Irene arrived in 2014 we would not have character development. As soon as a character who was a recovering alcoholic arrived they would get a job in Summer Bay and become a first class citizen!.

[Natasha]

I loved Irene's first day at the Stewart store. Was very funny and I'm getting more and more annoyed with Shane.

Could we please stop talking about Sophie/David?? Its getting old.

[Old H&A Fan]

Sorry about that Natasha. Some people seem to have a glaring blind spot when it comes to basic commonsense regarding actions that have grave consequences on the rest of their lives. I just can't believe people still think it's OK to take risks like those 2 did, despite the life-long ramifications anyone with sense over the age of 16 years, has a clue of.

I apologise for dragging the "debate" longer than it should have gone, but I just can't believe something so basic doesn't make sense to some people, and it has to be argued any further! The biological science is long since settled!