1995 Episode Discussion

[Skylover]

I'm so happy I've finally seen the episode itself, the actual lead up and the aftermath of Bobby's fridge moment! I loved it all! What an inspired idea!

Poor Sally and stupid Gus' actions. Nice to see Jack looking out for Sal even if he has to do it in his usual antagonistic way, but gotta love him!

Donald expelling Selina for what happened seemed like a massive overreaction. I've enjoyed her way more since the pregnancy storyline, however Irene is massively getting on my wick which surprises me. She's not Selina's foster parent and she comes across far more authoritative with her that she needs to be, I don't know, just seems a bit odd.

Since the change of the theme tune the vibe of the show has changed and it feels like we're right in the throws of the golden age at the moment, I haven't enjoyed the early years this much since the 1989 episodes. Brilliant, I'm seriously loving it.

[CaptainHulk]

5 minutes ago, Edward Skylover said:

I'm seriously loving it.

^ Ba da ba ba ba... 

 

 

[Red Ranger 1]

Finally caught up on the last six episodes.And I'm afraid I have to go against the majority and say...what the heck was Selina playing at? I thought she was asking for trouble when I first saw these episodes back in 1995 and watching it again it seemed even worse.Firstly, there seemed to be zero reason for her to be in Jack and Curtis' room after curfew the first time.Fair or not, rules are rules, and from my experience of school trips of that period often it's the accommodation people that set the rules not the school, so she really was risking getting the whole party kicked out just for the sake of a game of cards.Then, she seemed to have ample opportunity to tell Don Joe was missing but instead chose to sneak off and look for him herself, meaning far from being a hero who saved his ass she arguably put Joe in danger by delaying a proper search and was very lucky that she found him so easily.(Of course that's a massive plot fudge: If there's a curfew and Selina's meant to be in her dorm, why doesn't Don wonder why Joe isn't in his?)And her behaviour on the bus really did have me screaming "What are you doing, you idiot?" No teacher would let such a blatant challenge to their authority go unnoticed, and while I might be giving Don too much credit, she threw away a chance to explain it in private before the whole thing escalated.She only wound up as the "good guy" because Don massively overreacted and then insisted on trying to enforce a ludicrously over the top punishment, ignoring everyone's counsel and new information because he's incapable of admitting he's wrong.One day, he'll learn that behaviour like that loses you respect.And now Teresa's in the firing line, with Don having obviously decided that if he can't get rid of Selina he'll get rid of her instead.So another decent person suffers: Being ambitious is hardly a crime and ultimately she puts the students ahead of her career.(Shame Bobby's ghost didn't visit Don as well and teach him the true meaning of Christmas.)

And on a similar vein...what the heck is Sally playing at? Talk about desperate.Her willingness to dismiss Gus' dark side is almost disturbing to watch.Gus obviously has no moral compass at all, completely unable to understand why Sally would have a problem with his actions, and is obviously very manipulative.Honestly, when Jack is the most moral person in the storyline, you know you've lost your way.And yes, that punch was very satisfying.I remember Sally's payback on Joe but didn't realise it was actually her idea (or Gus', technically).Well, she owed him that and it broke the ice so they can all be friends again. Except Jack.

Shannon makes her move on Shane and gets shot down in flames.Shane tells Travis, as we saw during their chat at the Diner, but not Angel.Marilyn continues to be irritating and I'm somewhat bewildered that Angel went from wanting to strangle her to thinking that she's wonderful after having to spend ages locked in a cupboard while she had the key all along.Reminds me of the absurd attempts to portray her as wonderful in 2010 as she wrecked Miles' household.And if that's the future salon...they must have built an extension.

Ah yes, Bobby's ghost.Going to court controversy here...was the 7Two showing cut? Because I remember Bobby being more obviously malevolent in the 5* showing, cackling evilly.While Bobby taunted Ailsa more than she did in the ITV showing, here it did seem fairly ambiguous: Bobby trying to snap her out of it by any means necessary.And ironically, we're now only two episodes off the episode we saw in Channel 5's Isla Fisher Week last year, which was also cut by ITV...

[CaptainHulk]

ITV's Mid-90s H&A run can be summed up with the following statements: 

A) Wussies w/ a Capital P!

B) The First Choice In Television Butchers!

C) "If It's got Balls, We'll cut it!"

D) All of the Above

[Skylover]

I really like Joe (now that he's been redeemed) and would love it if he stuck around. They could have killed off Teresa and kept him living with Irene. Plus he's hot  The teen dynamic is great with Sally more integrated and the addition of Joe now he's been redeemed. I don't like how Gus is leading Sally astray but it's a good storyline. Nice to see the always perfect Sal acting like a normal teenager.

I feel like Donald has a personal vendetta against Teresa and isn't coming out of the situation looking too good.

The weakest part of the early years for me is the way early adult relationship stories are written. With the exception of Shane and Angel, who seem to be consistently well-written, although they were teen characters in the beginning, all the other 20-something pairings since the start of the show haven't been that good. Probably the only way the current show is better (apart from the bed hopping/partner swapping). Travis and Donna just annoy me together, I would far have preferred her to go out with Rob. I do wonder why they got rid of Rob when Travis basically replaced him. It's this emphasis on 'romance' that Donna was talking about that puts me off them, Travis is the kind of guy who likes hanging out, having a pizza and a beer but that's not good enough for Donna, he has to change himself in order to impress her but somehow this is disguised as romance, I suppose they're trying to make it look like he's trying. The actors do their best to make it work but I don't see sexual chemistry between them.

[alexx]

On 9/10/2016 at 8:03 AM, Edward Skylover said:

Donald expelling Selina for what happened seemed like a massive overreaction. I've enjoyed her way more since the pregnancy storyline, however Irene is massively getting on my wick which surprises me. She's not Selina's foster parent and she comes across far more authoritative with her that she needs to be, I don't know, just seems a bit odd.

I understand what you mean, I think in real life Irene would have got on my nerves too at times but I find it interesting to watch because it's pretty realistic and different.  It seems like she wasn't there for her own kids when they were Selina's age so she's massively overcompensating with Selina but she doesn't actually know how to handle her sometimes. They've obviously developed a really close bond but I see them more as really good friends rather than mother/daughter because Selina hasn't naturally taken to being mothered at all really, she's very independent whereas it seems like that's what Irene's wanted to do.

I think Irene lost respect for Selina a bit when she got pregnant (my interpretation) and that's informed how she's reacted to the camp stuff. But it was great to see her realise how she had totally misjudged her and I think that's been another turning point in their relationship. I actually think Irene is learning more from Selina than Selina's learning from Irene.

[Blaxland 89]

So jealous I can't watch these episodes especially as I've officially stopped viewing the modern show. But am really enjoying everyone's commentaries. Please keep mentioning songs that are beginning to appear. As a uk viewer there were many I recognised but would never know the titles too. I remember when the new theme came out. It gives the such a warm feeling. Watching the titles it feel like it the Caribbean or somewhere. 

[j.laur5]

So are Early Years back next week?.

[CaptainHulk]

There's a more sensual/playful feel to the titles with that comes with the new theme. Interestingly, the extended single version of the original theme (Uk Chart #73) includes a sax solo towards the end. 

 

[Dan F]

1 hour ago, j.laur5 said:

So are Early Years back next week?.

Tuesday 20th