Judy Nunn is still unhappy about her character’s Home And Away exit

[Blaxland 89]

Jumping straight to funeral. What a cop out. Wanted to see don Irene Sally vinnie and Leah find out. 

[project90]

Just quick poll, would you rather have seen her die in the car crash, the mud slide or the way she did.

[Blaxland 89]

I know the is pretty miserable but as it's never been done I would have. Wanted a suicide story. She was very vulnerable to depression in the past so I think it would have made sense. Esp as she just lost her home and business and was showing signs of going down that route again. Great material for Judy too. Perhaps Nicole could have come back for a two hander . 

It would have had to have been written with care and sensitivity though and be used to help raise awareness. Not their strongest point around that era. 

I wish she hadn't left at all though. 

[c120701]

17 hours ago, project90 said:

Just quick poll, would you rather have seen her die in the car crash, the mud slide or the way she did.

I’d rather her die the way she did and I’m glad it was in the Diner, however they didn’t need to write in some random heart condition to do it that way. Whilst it would’ve been nice to have some deathbed scenes for Judy to play with Ray, we did at least get to see some emotional scenes from her just a few weeks before when the Bayside Diner burnt down. What let her death down for me was the aftermath, the Bay didn’t really seem bothered, it was just the funeral and that was that, we should have seen paramedics pronounce her dead, Alf’s reaction and then the news spread.

Don, Sally & Irene barely seemed affected by Ailsa’s death. 

[Blaxland 89]

True. People often mention Sally jumping and giggling with Leah at ailsas wake. She didn't seem to care at all. And she wasn't there for Alf at all afterwards. 

[Spinach]

Was Sally jumping and giggling at the wake? Leah was but didn't Sally tell her to calm down, now wasn't the time for that - but at the same time she was glad that there was some happy news amidst the sadness. Or am I remembering wrong?

[alexx]

I think it's fair to say she was unusually chirpy considering she was at Ailsa's wake. Leah had also grown quite close to Ailsa during 2000 so for them both to be giggling was just distasteful and disappointing.

[adam436]

On 11/12/2017 at 15:08, project90 said:

Just quick poll, would you rather have seen her die in the car crash, the mud slide or the way she did.

 

There was also the Diner fire a few weeks before her death too! She could have died as a result of that as well. Wasn't the Mudslide supposed to be the biggest stunt H&A had ever done at the time? I remember thinking that Ailsa, an original cast member, must die in that given the amount of money they invested in it. 

 

This is a real sore point for me, as Ailsa is my all time favourite character. I wouldn't have minded her dying of a heart attack if we had a "deathbed" scene where Alf, Duncan and Shauna (and Sally & Fisher I suppose!) said their goodbyes before she passed away. But there wasn't even that: she just dropped dead in one episode and then the next episode it was her funeral. 

 

Do you think the fact we had already had a regular death the same year? Like, Ken's final scenes were quite emotional (despite him being a regular for less than a year!) and the moment Irene found out has still stayed with me to this day. Maybe they thought the initial aftermath was too similar too soon? I know it shouldn't have been (look at Shane and Michael) but still... 

[c120701]

None of the original characters who died had a deathbed scene did they?

Tom & Ailsa died instantly and Bobby never woke. 

 

[adam436]

9 hours ago, c120701 said:

None of the original characters who died had a deathbed scene did they?

 

Everyone said goodbye to Bobby though while she was in a coma (or was she brain-dead?). Something similar would have satisfied me for Ailsa, where those close to her could have said goodbye, though it would have been too similar to the 1999 scene probably when they turned off her life support 

 

It's not so much the cause of death that got me - it was the poor execution. TPTB had months to plan Ailsa's demise and they didn't even foreshadow the heart attack until a week or so beforehand. A character of 13 years deserved better and it was unacceptable to jump straight from her death scene to the funeral. 

 

I also wonder whether anyone was invited back for the funeral - Debra Lawrence, Fiona Spence, Cornelia Frances and Les Hill (there were heaps more around that time, but those played characters close to Ailsa or the Stewarts!) had either recently returned for guest appearances or would in the next year or so, so I wonder if anyone was even approached to make a return. 

 

What would an alternate exit have been though? Complications from the mudslide or Bayside Diner fire (a la Billie)? A drawn-out cancer storyline? A shooting (they weren't a monthly occurrence back then!)? Another car accident?