H&A Spring Break - From the Bay to LA

[Jamie2811]

Just watching tonights episode, noticed Selina wasnt in the opening titles. I thought she was still in the show at this point, leaving in 1998.

Good to see Vinnie in his earlier days, most of what i can remember of him is 2000-2002 stuff. A very watchable enjoyable episode, shows you dont need explosions, murders and car crashes to make a good show.

Selina left a couple of weeks before today's episode in 1997 - she made a one-off appearance in 1998 for the UK episode where she reunited with Steven.

Ah thank you Dan

[Dan F]

I actually wanted to watch the next episode after tonight's - the Marat/Sade story which involved Pippa, Ailsa, Alf, Don & Marilyn.

That's the one that got the award! Did it really? I never knew that. Thanks.

Am I right in remembering Marilyn went against Don after she had read it? Wasn't there another book that caused a lot of controversy, it had to do with the rights of passage? I must say Tiegan's reading has come on in leaps and bounds. Was there any actual sex in Romeo and Juliet or was it more implied? It would have been good to see the next night's episode, but I'm guessing the kids won the day, though wasn't Tiegan told to stay home and look after Christopher?

Yeah it was a good episode, a good 2/3 of it was dedicated to the meeting. You're right in remembering Marilyn did go against Donald after reading some of it, but she declined to vote. In the end it was Tiegan barging in and making an impassioned speech that swayed the vote in Don's favour. They've done similar storylines a few times over the years, most recently with Miles and Christine Jones.

[Jamie2811]

So tonights episode was 2 years on from last nights, but my recording missed out the opening titles so I'm not 100% sure who had left at this point. I know Pippa had, and I'm sure Tegan, Joey, Rebecca and Travis had also gone. Not sure about Chloe and Marilyn though?

I love Justine faking the stomach pains to stall the auction and coming up with the idea Alf, Colleen and the Nashes etc join forces to stop Diana getting her hands on the caravan park. Diana was a good bitch character, I'd like to see her come back as its 10 years since she told Irene "you haven't heard the last of me" or something like that. Not the best Vinnie focused episode considering its Vinnie week, something from the testicular cancer storyline wouldve been good.

How long after Ailsa and Duncan's crash was this? I vaguely remember from the time Ailsa standing by and watching Alf get electrocuted. I believe Adam Cameron made a comeback in 1999 too, had he left again by this point? Robert was the guy who set fire to the Nashes house wasnt he?

[atrus]

Evil Duncan is here! Obviously he's fresh back from a sojourn at the SORAS Academy. He's not quite as evil as I remember, though. Perhaps that was only later on?

Another nutcase kidnapper on the loose, and this one was a real scenery-chewer. Some things never change!

Vinnie seems way too old to be at school now? Particularly since he's doing stripping after hours! Anyone remember how that storyline resolved? Seems like the customer thought he was there for another reason...

Diana Fraser - a rarity in that she's a guest character whose name I remembered the moment I saw her. Great screen presence.

[Red Ranger 1]

You’re quite right, beau_t, about Dylan and Rachel being brother and sister in real life. I keep hoping Channel 5 will show an episode of each close together so we can see the similarity but it never quite works out. (Unless Dylan is going to be in next week’s Angel episode?)

Anyway, here we are in 1999. Pippa’s gone, we’re through Travis and Rebecca’s stint as caravan park custodians and out the other side, Sally’s finally left home and living with Vinnie and Jesse, and a new teen group is in place with the Smith and Nash children and their peers around and only Justine left of the late 97 caravan park crowd (although Sally and Sam are around in other households). Duncan and Rachel have both been recast (Rachel’s still cute, Duncan not so much) and Natalie’s been introduced and recast. And Colleen’s around and confirming she was in Queensland during 1998.

Despite reading the summary, it didn’t quite sink in that we were going to see David DiAngelo, one of the big 90s villains, until the episode started. (Frequently referred to as Robert Perez here, although at least they were more consistent than with the Zoe/Eve confusion.) The scene when the teens are laughing and joking prior to Joel’s announcement only for Gypsy to freak out when it hits home how serious it is is one I remember. Duncan gets a truckload of karma for taunting Gypsy: She makes it through DiAngelo’s Second Coming unscathed while he’s soon being menaced. This was during one of Ailsa’s many breakdowns when Alf had moved out (resulting from the contrived driving-her-car-into-a-lake incident we had as the online episode during the previous 5* run, fact fans!).

And the auction! I’d had the same thought as Justine at least ten minutes earlier but what the heck, it was worth it for the moment where Alf continually outbids an increasingly fraught Diana. (In case anyone didn’t guess, Alf, Joel, Natalie and Colleen pooled their resources and bought it as a syndicate.) With Chloe having left shortly beforehand, I believe this was Diana’s last storyline until 2005. Interesting that Sally’s already dreaming of buying the caravan park at this point, which will come up when it’s sold again the following year before finally paying off in 2004. Interesting too the number of Fletcher/Ross photographs still present in the house: There’s one of Sally and Shannon very visible behind Natalie at one point.

Some good interplay between Sally and Vinnie before the latter is left feeling bemused: The advert failed to mention he was a stripper and his client was just after some company. The seeds of Jesse’s departure are sown with his plans to buy a garage.

Gypsy is blonde on the opening titles but a redhead in the episode. I had completely forgotten Peta appeared on the 98/99 style titles: We’re not far off them being replaced with the thumbnail pictures scrolling across a pale blue background style, which would last until 2004. Interesting that Mitch is on the closing titles before being added to the opening titles. Following up on what someone said earlier, I believe ITV stopped showing the full closing titles during the 1995 season and never brought them back, so this really is a rare UK showing for them.

ETA:

Not sure about Chloe and Marilyn though?

How long after Ailsa and Duncan's crash was this? I vaguely remember from the time Ailsa standing by and watching Alf get electrocuted. I believe Adam Cameron made a comeback in 1999 too, had he left again by this point? Robert was the guy who set fire to the Nashes house wasnt he?

Marilyn was still on the opening titles but had actually left the previous week.Adam had been gone three weeks.Ailsa's accident was about two and a half months previous.And yes, Robert/David was the bloke that burnt down Joel and Natalie's original house.

Evil Duncan is here! Obviously he's fresh back from a sojourn at the SORAS Academy. He's not quite as evil as I remember, though. Perhaps that was only later on?

Vinnie seems way too old to be at school now? Particularly since he's doing stripping after hours!

Duncan kind of went through peaks and troughs.Some would argue that his 2004 stint upped the ante considerably in evilness but he wasn't really any worse in 2001 than he was in 1998.Vinnie went back to school when his dad offered him money to get his HSC.His dad then ended up with no money again, so Vinnie wrote off his final exams and ended up with one of the lowest marks on record.("I didn't know they went down that far,"says Justine on seeing his results.)

[Jamie2811]

Thanks Red Ranger. Just thought of Judith and Edward, were they around at this point or was it 2000 they were introduced? I noticed all the Ross/Fletcher photographs too! Wouldve thought Pippa would've taken them with her or Sally had them at least. I believe the Nashes sofa even had Pippa's throw on it too.

[Dan F]

Channel 5 haven't been forthcoming with the details for the final week, which I'm putting up one by one - but glad to say that the Angel episode is her final episode, Episode 2000, which is a pretty good choice.

http://www.backtothebay.net/news/2015/04/27/ha-spring-break-uk/

The majority of the good Vinnie bits I'd mentioned before were seemingly from the following episode - as RR1 said, the lady didn't want him to strip, she was just lonely and wanted a chat. Good episode to repeat but probably not the best one to showcase Vinnie, perhaps the next one might have done that a little bit more.

The syndicate pretty much descended into chaos & arguments immediately during their first group discussion Diana did have one last try in the next ep, trying to convince Alf to enter into a partnership with her, but she was exposed as trying to bribe the council official and that was the last we saw of her until 2005.

This was about 3 months after Ailsa's car crash, and in the meantime we'd had the recovery and Ailsa making Alf's life a living hell. It was Ailsa standing by doing nothing as Alf was electrocuted, 3 episodes before today's ep, that led to him moving out into the caravan. The Robert/Duncan saga helped bring them back together.

Judith & Edward arrived 2 & 3 weeks after today's ep.

[c120701]

It was great to see one of Home and Away's longest standing characters in all it's glory - Summer Bay House - it really did look beautiful.

I'm so glad it's on screen again, but I do miss that red roof.

[Slade]

Thanks for the update Dan.

So not too long before the Sutherlands arrived and just a few months left on ITV before Channel 5 picked it up. There were quite a few characters I found unlikeable and annoying - Joel, Gypsy, Will, Natalie and Colleen. I actually found Duncan quite funny. He thought he was a bad boy but he was an idiot sometimes. I found the scenes with DiAngelo and Duncan so amusing, however I so wanted that to be Gypsy. I really enjoyed her reaction when she found out DiAngelo had escaped and seeing her suffer throughout that episode. I loved Duncan trying to bait her too. Ailsa's look of fear at the end when she realised DiAngelo was in her house was exactly what I would have hoped to have seen with Gypsy which was a shame.

Found it annoying when Justine feigned illness to stop the auction.

[CaptainHulk]

In 1999 and 2001, Duncan was screwing with explosives and both just went horribly wrong.

And Slade, that's nothing compared to what some people WILL actually *do* to save their home.

Edward and Judith hadn't rocked up for a few weeks yet.

And yeah, Pippa left all her stuff in the house assuming she wouldn't be gone long and Travis and Rebecca would hold the fort. Couldn't she have just had Ian get a truck and haul it away when he came back for the kids? But soap logic...

The ep was more about Duncan vs Robert and The Caravan Park for sale. Hopefully tomorrow's Vinnie episode is better (2000 was definitely his year).

Yeah, Vinnie tossed in school in Year 10/11 to live it up but Ralph's finances went tits-up and the Pattersons lost it all (I'm assuming Stella kicked him out)