1993 Episode Discussion

[Old H&A Fan]

Bobby has her head firmly stuck up her arse I mean look at the way she was sticking up for Tug when Nick was questioning him about stealing Luke's money.

One of the reasons why I'll be glad she'll be rid of later this year.

And why was Sophie being so bitchy to Damian when all he was doing was asking Pippa for permission to visit Shane?

[dncllpyk]

I'm enjoying 93 so far. I don't know why Alf and Michael were so quick to judge Luke.

I can actually remember Fins diving accident from when I was little. Glad that Lynne McGranger has taken over as Irene now

[Sophie4life]

Hey does the way Luke acts remind anyone of the other former teacher Grant Mitchell? Also I think Sophie will be missed for two big reasons. She was the first of that second generation of teenagers to Summer Bay that included Simon, Karen, Haydn, Finn and Blake. With her leaving it feels a little bit like the end of an era.

[Old H&A Fan]

Luke was dressed like a dole-bludging hippie and making a nuisance of himself with his noisy saxophone. Michael didn't like the way the scruffy man was "liking" little sally.

Luke definitely reminds me of Grant Mitchell, the way he wants to challenge Mr Fisher's authority, and egged on by Bobby who describes her own father as one who bullies the teachers.

It is a shame Sophie threw her life away: she turned from a dyslexic-turned-high achieving student with hopes to the future, to a hopeless single mum with no future, the moment that creep set foot in Summer Bay in mid-91. He should have been drowned at birth (alongside "Revhead"). He should have been castrated.

[CaptainHulk]

I'm back to run my mouth about this Season.

It has a lot of resonance as I was like 9 around the time it went out in the UK and remember a helluva of the season. Especially the Shane/Tug grudge that culminated in the June 7th Musical incident.

The retains the charm of the early years but it feels like they're hitting the reset button very soon, Blake and Soph are on borrowed time.

Luke getting under Alf's skin was brilliant however (using the sax as a weapon) after the Bill storyline the character starts to lose momentum a bit...

[Jezz]

Great to finally see Irene again this time played by Lynne McGranger.

Funny seeing Irene smoking in her first re-appearance played by Lynne as you can't imagine that happening these days with any character whatsoever, in particularly with Irene herself.

[dees189227]

yeah its funny back in those days seeing people spoke in other peoples houses. Today when sophie said to michael can you ask irene to stop smoking inside and Michael said its only for a day and she has only just given up the booze.

[Red Ranger 1]

So, 1993, with probably the most spoiler-filled set of opening titles in the history of the show.Made it up to 1150.Pippa's nastiness actually seemed to go up a level in the season opener, I guess we'll have to write it off as a brief aberration because some of the stuff she spouted would make her completely unsuitable for fostering if she actually believes it:The first thing they teach you is that you have to respect the child's family, not write their actions off as "completely unforgivable".Ah well, a talk from Bobby caused her to find her missing maternal streak, which was a bit contrived given that Michael, Alf and Ailsa all tried to get through to her but the lady wasn't for turning but by that point we'll accept anything.As for her odd attitude at the end of the week, well, Sophie snapping at Damian was adequately explained, she was worried about Pippa's stress levels, even if she did it a bit much, the real issue was why Pippa was so dead against Damian visiting Shane, the reasons she gave just sounded like excuses.

And yes, the arrival of Lynne McGranger as the "new" Irene, who I believe has actually overtaken Kate Ritchie to be not only the second longest-serving actress in the show's history but the longest-serving actress in an Australian drama ever.Having seen that episode a couple of years back and been bewildered by the warm reception she received, I was watching closely and it did make sense in context:She parted on good terms with Fin and Damian, even if it was only one scene, and the few references we got suggested that continued to be the case.Her smoking was probably just as jarring at the time as it is now:Is she the only person we've ever seen smoke in the Diner?And her voice hasn't changed in 21 years, there were a couple of lines that could have been beamed in from today's show(mostly of the "How are ya, darl?" variety).Oh, and Fin and Blake finally got together, enjoy it while it lasts, kids.Still, they last longer than Nick and Roxy did.All that angst for a couple of kisses and going to one party together?

Of more importance at the time, if not in retrospect, the arrival of Luke Cunningham, who does indeed echo Grant with the way he sidles into town and chats to his future students without anyone knowing who he is.The open shirt was a bit cheesy (and dare I say exploitative) and thankfully he covered up quickly so hopefully that's the end of that.Alf's reaction was in character(I kid ye not, we had Christian groups coming into school and pointing to Alf as an example of how not to behave, using this storyline and one from later in the year as evidence).Michael...not so much.He's never decided to hate someone just because Alf said so before, giving Revhead a chance, remaining friendly with Ryan when not many people were, so kicking Luke out without bothering to give him a fair hearing, actually listen to Sally or speak to Pippa who'd actually met the guy felt a bit extreme.Oh well, at least he apologised and clearly meant it, while Alf just got a bit awkward.

Adding Tug to the opening titles when he's basically the show's lead villain is just weird.It's hard to tell how we're meant to feel about him and Bobby:It seems like one minute we're meant to loathe him, the next we're meant to sympathise with him.It's a bit hard when it's interspersed with us seeing what Shane's going through because of Tug's malice.At least Luke got his superhero moment, love the cool way he gets Damian to hold his saxophone while rugby tackling him.And that's it for Tug for quite a while, which makes them adding him to the opening titles now even more strange.

[j.laur5]

The way Pippa left to go on her break is what they should have done when Pippa was recast to give a break in between Vanessa leaving and Debra taking over.

I am personally glad we are having a break from Pippa as for quite a while there she was rather unlikeable. I feel that Pippa seems bored with being a foster mum and I feel that she does not want to live in Summer Bay anymore !.

I don't know if I can ever forgive Pippa for the way she threatened to kick Finlay out if she goes out with boys as she is a minor.

[CaptainHulk]

Bear in mind Debra was pregnant for reals in the middle of a demanding story that required a lot of emotions and I think her real=life weariness comes out in scenes.

And it was Michael that was willing to sling Fin out over the boy issue.

John Adam was clearly cast for looks, he's not the worst actor but I don't recall *him* being up for a Logie in 1994!

Luke was dressed like a dole-bludging hippie and making a nuisance of himself with his noisy saxophone. Michael didn't like the way the scruffy man was "liking" little sally.

Luke definitely reminds me of Grant Mitchell, the way he wants to challenge Mr Fisher's authority, and egged on by Bobby who describes her own father as one who bullies the teachers.

It is a shame Sophie threw her life away: she turned from a dyslexic-turned-high achieving student with hopes to the future, to a hopeless single mum with no future, the moment that creep set foot in Summer Bay in mid-91. He should have been drowned at birth (alongside "Revhead"). He should have been castrated.

Oh come on, That's a bit extreme about Luke. I actually found the "Oi! Cut that out immediately!" and "Have you got a permit for that?!" and the "If I hear one more squawk outta that thing..." kind of funny.

In Michael's defence, Luke's comments about 14yo girls really *didn't* help his case.