Nicholas Bishop

[Colette]

Ha ha ha Bless, I read it quick and then got called away, didn't have time to think about it

[Bloom]

OMG I just watched the episode of dan crying in peters arms! I almost cried too

[angelgirl]

^When was this??

[Bloom]

Episode 4297

[*CJ*]

Tip: If you don't want to read a very lengthy set of comments on the wedding, barn explosion and aftermath, just skip to the end for my four word summary of the entire stalker story!

(I feel like numbering them for some reason. And signing off at the end for some other reason.)

Apparently #4212 got 354,000 viewers on new channel Five Life, but I don't quite know what context to put that in, or what it got the next day on Channel 5. It sounds like a lot of people. (The BBC's atrocious new production of Robin Hood gets about 6-7 million on BBC1.)

episodes 4211 + 4212

1. Felt somewhat drained after watching these two dramatic episodes together. It was so intense with the whole cast in different states rushing around in the hospital (or not rushing anywhere *sob*), in fact they impressively matched even (the fab) ER for pace. And I bet they don't have a comparable budget.

2. It was a really great ensemble episode with everybody (except Amanda) involved. It must take so much planning to weave multiple plots in and out of episodes, I guess a lot of that was down to Daniel Bennett to work out. I've been trying to pay attention to who was writing the episodes, near impossible when the credits are squished almost daily, but interestingly, it looked like different writers did almost all of the last key stalker episodes.

3. Good that Morag reappeared and we saw her soft side outside the church, liked the mention of Roo too. Martha sounded like she had a sore throat some of the time? Not too sure having Kit turn up was necessary, but it's always nice to have people return. (Especially from the dead.)

4. The church could have been a little fuller? Glad that Peter was very visible during the wedding. In fact, the first time, I spent the whole episode watching out for exactly where he was in every scene, to the extent I hardly even saw Martha walking down the aisle.

5. I didn't enjoy Jack and Martha's wedding as much as I would probably otherwise, becuase it felt like theirs was the B-story and we were just waiting for the A-story to take off. (I'm sure lots of people feel differently!) It was a longer wait than I expected. Though also as we don't seem to have seen all that much/enough of their relationship to build up to such a day.

6. When we had a view of someone spying on the barn from outside I thought it was Zoe. That's what she does best. ('twas Macca.)

7. I noted the absence of Peter joining in the dancing at the wedding. I'm sure he was simply too concerned about the whereabouts of Tracey to have a good time...or is he too cool for a silly dance?! If he didn't have a partner, he could've invited me...hang on, minor flaw...question: what lengths is it worth going to for a dance with him...being attacked by a deranged pair of stalkers and trapped in a burning barn? (answers, please.)

Dan, meanwhile, has no such worries.

8. The most sinister line - and Zoe didn't say much - was when she said to Pete something along the lines of, "Oh, I'll take you with me, and not only you..." (I don't think I took in the significance of it first time.)

9. It's too quick to properly appreciate if you only see it once, but if you look again, the explosion itself is a suitably impressively large fireball.

10. The music through from the opening of the second episode, as the barn blazed and everyone was in chaos was very effective, haunting.

11. What did Colleen have in her hand? (as she passed Zoe's body on her way out.)

12. There were still surprises because I didn't have any inkling that Rachel's mother would die. I also expected a bomb would blow the place up rather than gas. (Zoe is - eek - *was* always fond of bombs.)

13. They very nearly succeeded in killing Pete on Friday 13th. Spooky. This is point number 13. Spookier...

14. Interesting that Zoe seemed perfectly happy to die along with the whole Bay. Was she just looking forward to joining Sarah? Don't baddies, even psychopathic ones, prefer to live to see the result of their villainous plans? Did both of them really want to die?

15. Which leads to: was the EvilTracey thing a good idea? It trashed her previous character (in a similar way to Jesse's exit), but didn't explain her background or motive. I can't believe she's only been around for a few weeks, it seems a lot longer - she fitted into the show fast. I thought we were initially told she happened to see Zoe working at a city hospital (why wasn't she arrested there immediately)? I could just about buy that, so I don't quite get why she thought P. was such a fool for not wondering about it.

I suspected her all through just because of that topic here, but it might have been better to have some hints in the plot. The accomplice thing was only suggested by her to P., rather than the other way round, P. himself never wanted to consider someone he knew could be helping Zoe. Her being on the dark side was only really necessary so Zoe could escape the prison van. Though I guess we're supposed to think back and see that she was responsible for planting the parcel on Peter's desk, that she knew the bomb in his flat wasn't real, maybe she planted the spy camera? What was the point of her flirting with P. in the previous episode? To further convince us that she was a smart, sane, person (since any smart, sane person would flirt with him! Sorry.) To further annoy him when she mocks him at the end?

I just read Dan B.'s comments that censoring and time constraints were basically responsible for us not finding out that Zoe and Tracey were lovers. A pity, I wonder if that means they filmed more which was cut, or that they couldn't film it. Good to find out more via the internet, but a shame that most viewers won't ever know that.

16. Was poor Cake Girl - as the official site put it - an accomplice too? If not, again (like the bomb in P's flat) the timing was too good, with the explosion patiently waiting to do its thing until Zoe had revealed her accomplice, and they'd insulted Peter once last time!

17. In the second episode, the doctor was oddly called away from Jack to talk to two guys. I'd say they fitted the description of "shadowy agents". Everything happens for a reason, I think we were supposed to believe it was related to organ donation, but it looked suspicious. (With hindsight from the newest eps, perhaps more so...?)

18. At last Tony gets to do something - his speech to Dan about organ donation was a real highlight (music was good over it too). I've been pretty surprised at how small his role has been since he joined. Tim was just great too, I'm liking him more and more.

19. Is it believable that Jack could be a match for Peter's liver, or is it one of those million-to-one chances? Hearing this detail a couple of months back further convinced me that P. was gone for good, actually.

20. Nic gets to show off his well-practised "lying still in a hospital bed" skills again, perhaps he insisted because Tim was recently attempting to outshine him in that department! Actually it can't be particularly comfy with tubes stuck in your mouth, depending how long a scene takes. I am very glad that many scenes took place with him right there, it wouldn't have been the same if these conversations had happened in the corridor or something.

21. I do not think it at all fair that the only time (*) we are treated to a glimpse of Pete wearing a little less, is when he's lying in a coma, or on his death bed in hospital. Amidst such sombre episodes and such tragic scenes, you simply can't have those thoughts!

(*) If this is not the only time, you're welcome to prove me wrong - post (real, rather than cheekily chopped up) pics to back it up if you must.

22. Of course, should there be strange people out there who don't like Pete (I politely say "strange", I'm thinking "crazy"), they won't be too pleased to have him back. I know I wouldn't if I thought we'd got rid of someone such as the dreadful Connor, Lynn or Ned from Neighbours only for them to turn up again.

But I think it will benefit the character too, as a lot of people will realise they miss him and be happy to have him back. I'll really look to make the most of his every story in future because it makes you aware that no matter what you want to happen, however much you rate somebody, they can do what they please, when they please, to whom they please. It also emphasises that time is fleeting, five months passed with Peter back on the show, they just have to make more of Pete and Dan in the future, who hardly got a conversation together in all that time.

23. It's only consistent really, if Zoe can have two lives, then Pete can have at least two. He'll probably need quite a few more, being a detective in Summer Bay. Indeed, the official site is suggesting he may need one ALREADY, over a rather nice new pic: "Can Peter cheat death again?"!

24. Mixed feelings about these episodes overall: a bit sorry they didn't quite have the emotional impact they should have, thanks to the damn four-month gap between countries. I wish I could stay away from here permanently, but that's not been an option lately because I simply had to comment on these top episodes. Even if I'd stuck to the UK only topic I'd have been spoiled as to Tracey's involvement, because of the former title of the Zoe thread which for some reason referenced her. Gotta try harder not to read too much of this Nic topic in future, much as I want to! (Seriously wondering about downloading now, but it seems a bit time consuming, and while thanks to people here I might be able to watch his story continuing like that, all the other stories would be four months ahead.)

But it may be for the best that I didn't see it out of the blue, with no foreknowledge. I want to be moved, but with this I think I'd have been more devastated than Dan and more heartbroken than Leah. Not sure I'd have been expecting Pete to die either, even with all the threats over the weeks (because it would just be so wrong for Zoe to get to kill him off!), plus it happened extremely suddenly - both factors would have made it a lot worse.

I suppose I've already been through it in a way, by reading of it, since all of Australia believed Peter was dead. Okay, except those who knew all along - or claimed they did! I wonder if the cast knew. Now that would've been an even meaner stunt than the one they pulled on us. Not telling people, particularly Tim, to get more real acting from them? - if Tim believed that Nic was leaving, he'd have been genuinely sad (one hopes!). Nah. It makes me wonder how big fans of Vinnie felt when he was heard to be alive after all, or how big fans of Jesse felt when they watched his exit, or big fans of Chloe when she was brought back only to be killed off, etc. I liked these characters and enjoyed their stories, but I guess there isn't quite the same attachment as there is with Pete. I'll never forget reading that e-mail from the official site, when they said "Don't cry too much, amazing things can happen in Summer Bay", I think my heart skipped about ten beats. (I see there's a similar sort of suggestion in "Inside Soap" magazine this week.) I was first just pleased to even get a reply, now I know they were teasing in such a positive way, and giving me quite an exclusive hint at the same time, I'm just completely impressed and thrilled they did it.

25. I'm sure they rather like to kill very popular characters occasionally. They only pick on those they know are most loved. So, for his future safety, I think I ought to start pretending not to care about him any more. Yes, actually, I've always thought Macca was an adorable guy...Pete who?

26. I've just read something I find quite incredible, on Bloom's excellent new site. In a magazine piece, Nic says he believed Pete was going to die in the barn explosion, and right until they were ACTUALLY FILMING there (though that doesn't necessarily mean they were the last scenes he did since they may film out of order), he thought he was leaving - at which point the producers approached him and suggested they'd like him to return. That's breathtaking. And probably scarier than anything Zoe ever did - it sounds like we seriously DID very nearly lose him. Can't they see how much he adds to the show? (Thankfully somebody did just in time.)

And how on earth did Nic feel about it all, this suggests he's been put through it almost as much as us! In which case I owe him an apology, because I believed he knew more than he did, it didn't cross my mind for a second that, for an unknown time period, he'd been expecting to leave. Maybe he's a steady type of guy, but it must have been something of a shock to prepare to go, only to have the plan turned upside down at the last minute.

27. I'm already looking forward to his return, and the story sounds promising. I'm sure the rest of the cast and plots will keep me entertained for four months, but it won't be the same. I'm not sure I've ever been so smitten with someone on TV. Perhaps Dylan from 90210, their episode when his new wife Toni Marchette was killed (come to think of it, that was another story with Mafia ties and fake deaths) was the high point of that series. I so hope he stays with the show for ages. While I have no wish to ever see Pete die (again), it might not be quite as awful if we have him for a long time first. (And the only trouble is now, if he does die, I'll never believe/accept it!)

28. Finally, four words to sum up the whole stalker plot of the last two years. If the story had a gravestone, this is what should be on it: IT WAS A BLAST!

(Wow, this was so much fun to write. I hope it was good to read!)

love, CJ

[Bloom]

Whoa that is the longest post ive ever seen!

[angelgirl]

^I know,CJ is a long posting person,lol!

[swfc]

15. Which leads to: was the EvilTracey thing a good idea? It trashed her previous character (in a similar way to Jesse's exit), but didn't explain her background or motive. I can't believe she's only been around for a few weeks, it seems a lot longer - she fitted into the show fast. I thought we were initially told she happened to see Zoe working at a city hospital (why wasn't she arrested there immediately)? I could just about buy that, so I don't quite get why she thought P. was such a fool for not wondering about it.

I suspected her all through just because of that topic here, but it might have been better to have some hints in the plot. The accomplice thing was only suggested by her to P., rather than the other way round, P. himself never wanted to consider someone he knew could be helping Zoe. Her being on the dark side was only really necessary so Zoe could escape the prison van. Though I guess we're supposed to think back and see that she was responsible for planting the parcel on Peter's desk, that she knew the bomb in his flat wasn't real, maybe she planted the spy camera? What was the point of her flirting with P. in the previous episode? To further convince us that she was a smart, sane, person (since any smart, sane person would flirt with him! Sorry.) To further annoy him when she mocks him at the end?

I just read Dan B.'s comments that censoring and time constraints were basically responsible for us not finding out that Zoe and Tracey were lovers. A pity, I wonder if that means they filmed more which was cut, or that they couldn't film it. Good to find out more via the internet, but a shame that most viewers won't ever know that.

That was a very long post, CJ. But it was very interesting read. Ih answer to the question about the explanation bit,. we [Andy, Shannon, and myself] sent an email to the official site and asked about the explanation bit being cut out and if it was possible if they could put it up on the site or something like that since DB did say it was due to censorship/time constraint. We were told however, that they wrote it out of the script eventually so, all in all, no explanation. Eventho, a lot of us wanted it.

[~Lynd~]

I'm back!!....

I think the whole thing is far fetched but as long as Nic's back i'm more then willing to believe anything...and he and Drew are so cute together!

[peter_baker_rox_my_world]

I'm back!!....

I think the whole thing is far fetched but as long as Nic's back i'm more then willing to believe anything...and he and Drew are so cute together!

Agree 100% Drew and Pete

YAY! petes beard is gone..i must say he looks soo much cuter without it..(even thought he was still cute with it)