Rewatching The Early Years

[adam436]

9 hours ago, cymbaline said:

Recasting Pippa was the least disruptive solution to the quandary they found themselves in. What were the alternatives? Killing Pippa off 2 months after Tom died and then finding a new Mum & Dad behind the sofa doesn't sound like a great solution either. The alternative, which they probably didn't have time for, would've been to create circumstances that forced Pippa to move away and leave the kids behind. They, let's not forget, were the main stars of the show. Not the oldies. 

In hindsight, the producers were lucky Debra stayed as long as she did. Had she only stayed a year or two, the producers would have been in the same predicament as they were in 1990. Instead, they didn't have to worry about it for over 7 years. 

There probably weren't too many alternatives at the time. Bobby perhaps could have worked - there were plans in the works for her to become a foster mother anyway, and I'd say there was a big enough gap between Bobby and Sally and Sophie for her to step in as their guardian. Steven only had a few months left on the show, so I imagine they'd probably have just glossed over her being his guardian too just to get through the transition period. If Vanessa had left a year later, I think the producers would have seriously considered Bobby as a possible solution as she was officially a foster mother by then and oldest child Steven was gone. 

They could have also invented a reason for Alf and Ailsa to move into Summer Bay House, just as they did with Travis and Rebecca when Pippa eventually left. I'm not sure how Judy Nunn would have felt at being the central mother figure though, since she seemed to prefer a supporting role, especially in later years. 

The Pippa recast would have felt less jarring had Pippa had at least gone away for a week or two. There was a gap between the other immediate recasts: Flynn Saunders went to Perth for a few weeks and came back as a new actor, and the Natalie Nash recast happened over the Christmas break in Australia (maybe not in the UK though?). I'm not counting the "emergency" temporary recasts like Selina, Alisa, Mitch and Rebecca here either.

 

[cymbaline]

I think the casting of Dennis as Michael was another big part of it, because that settled the new Pippa properly into the show. Aside from the chemistry between those two, which even teenage me could spot a mile off, they just looked like a couple who'd been together forever once the wedding was over. It helped that Carly and Ben had left, so things were rebalanced in the house. 

Would Bobby have worked as a foster mum in the house? I'm not so sure. It's hard to see somebody as young as Bobby being a foster parent in real life. They got away with it because Nicolle and young Ryan worked well together and it looked like there was a real bond there. Having her move into the house and look after Sophie and Sally, and run the caravan park would've sucked the life out of her. She was better off in the diner interacting with more people than being stuck at home.

If they'd moved Alf and Ailsa into Summer Bay House they'd have lost their home as a location. By then they were starting to send newcomers to live in different houses in the Bay. Fisher had Viv for a while. Emma and then the Deans moved in with Alf & Ailsa. The Beach House was about to appear as well. For the kids that were coming in, they needed a variety of quasi-parents for them all. 

When Pippa decided to leave with Ian, Sally wanted to take over the running of the house. What age would she have been then? 20? Pippa was having none of it and stood her ground re. Travis and Rebecca. 

[j.laur5]

I actually think Vanessa Pippa and Michael wouldn’t have too bad chemistry.

I have always thought Tom and Debra Pippa would work well together. 

[nenehcherry2]

Also, do any other folks on here see weddings as iconic moments? Just curious to know what we all think.

Subjectively, soap weddings bore me to death. Unless there's some drama (alas Roo & Frank). And, no, I'm not talking about dozy kids getting fingers stuck in plughole or grooms losing their pants / trousers kind of dramas!

So said, there's something I miss from the times when soaps would just have the odd episode purely showing a big milestone in a long-term character's life (as much as the wedding itself bores me). More generally speaking, that is. Those days sadly feel very long gone now; in all soap operas. 

5 hours ago, j.laur5 said:

I actually think Vanessa Pippa and Michael wouldn’t have too bad chemistry.

I have always thought Tom and Debra Pippa would work well together. 

Vanessa and Roger would look like two little gnomes in a garden shed together. Another member of this forum once said this but I'm unapologetically using their witty comparison!

Edited July 27 by nenehcherry2

[James Martin]

Sally would have been 18 in 1998.  Interestingly, Kate asked then show runner Coral Drouyn not to put her into SBH.  When he took over in 2004, Bevan Lee did it anyway.

[adam436]

13 hours ago, nenehcherry2 said:

Also, do any other folks on here see weddings as iconic moments? Just curious to know what we all think.

Subjectively, soap weddings bore me to death. Unless there's some drama (alas Roo & Frank). And, no, I'm not talking about dozy kids getting fingers stuck in plughole or grooms losing their pants / trousers kind of dramas!

For me, it depends on the characters involved. I was never a fan of Ben and Carly, so had zero interest in their wedding, whereas others like Travis and Rebecca, Don and Marilyn and Vinnie and Leah were iconic moments for me.

Most wedding episodes work best if it's not just one storyline in the episode. Travis and Rebecca for example, got married in the season finale, so there were a few other things happening in the episode. From memory, the other examples I mentioned were the sole focus of the episode, but it was a different time where the show could afford to have an episode off from the heavy dramatic plots.

 

4 hours ago, James Martin said:

Sally would have been 18 in 1998.  Interestingly, Kate asked then show runner Coral Drouyn not to put her into SBH.  When he took over in 2004, Bevan Lee did it anyway.

I really can't see it working in 1998, since she was only a year or so older than Justine and Tegan. The only way it may have worked would be if she had married off to someone in his mid 20s, but I feel like that would have been disastrous for her character in the long-term.

Sally needed those 6 years to "grow up" before she could take over SBH. In that time, she finished uni and got a decent job at the school, married the town GP Flynn and had a child on her own. She also gained quite a bit of life experience through her storylines in these years which included living in share houses, a romance with a much older man (I can't remember his name, but his daughter had epilepsy and dated Sam), the failed wedding to Kieran, getting engaged to Luke, getting shot, something to do with unwittingly being on a webcam at Vinnie's house and probably more I've not thought of. 

[nenehcherry2]

13 hours ago, adam436 said:

For me, it depends on the characters involved. I was never a fan of Ben and Carly, so had zero interest in their wedding, whereas others like Travis and Rebecca, Don and Marilyn and Vinnie and Leah were iconic moments for me.

Most wedding episodes work best if it's not just one storyline in the episode. Travis and Rebecca for example, got married in the season finale, so there were a few other things happening in the episode. From memory, the other examples I mentioned were the sole focus of the episode, but it was a different time where the show could afford to have an episode off from the heavy dramatic plots.

 

I really can't see it working in 1998, since she was only a year or so older than Justine and Tegan. The only way it may have worked would be if she had married off to someone in his mid 20s, but I feel like that would have been disastrous for her character in the long-term.

Sally needed those 6 years to "grow up" before she could take over SBH. In that time, she finished uni and got a decent job at the school, married the town GP Flynn and had a child on her own. She also gained quite a bit of life experience through her storylines in these years which included living in share houses, a romance with a much older man (I can't remember his name, but his daughter had epilepsy and dated Sam), the failed wedding to Kieran, getting engaged to Luke, getting shot, something to do with unwittingly being on a webcam at Vinnie's house and probably more I've not thought of. 

The older guy Sally saw was Sean Ellis. I can't remember the daughter's name but I can see her face in my mind (don't you just hate memories like that?!). 

I totally agree RE Sally needing time to grow up first. However, it was very in character for her to "want" to take over things at SBH whilst Pip was away. Over her time on the show, she'd developed into the role of the "I've been here the longest and wear the t-shirt" (no rude jokes about Sally's t-shirt fitting please, @CaptainHulk! ) towards the newer members of the family.

It was also in character for Pippa to realise Sal wasn't ready yet and to refuse to entertain her proposal. 

18 hours ago, James Martin said:

Sally would have been 18 in 1998.  Interestingly, Kate asked then show runner Coral Drouyn not to put her into SBH.  When he took over in 2004, Bevan Lee did it anyway.

Correct. Sal celebrated her 19th only episodes after Pip left (one of those awkward moments where she felt she didn't belong at SBH anymore, ultimately leading to her moving in with Jesse and Vinnie).

Edited July 28 by nenehcherry2

[Homeandawayfan.]

I think Sally's year of birth has been 1979 but occasionally the month and day of her birthday has jumped. I think in an earlier episode her birthday was July, and later on it was February. I think Leah was also born 1979, same as Sally.

[cymbaline]

I've heard an actor from either H&A or Neighbours joke that they say "Please don't invite me to your wedding" to whoever is getting married on the show. It's a lot of hard work for everyone involved and doesn't seem to be that much fun. Weddings in themselves aren't particularly interesting and there's only so much anybody can do with them to tweak the formula. Also, a wedding in a soap usually isn't the end of a character's story arc but rather, it's a comma. How many weddings have we seen on H&A which didn't end with a divorce or death? I think the weddings which end with the couple splitting up are forgotten more quickly. Would Shane & Angel's wedding be as fondly remembered if their story wasn't a tragic tale? What if Shane had had an affair or Angel got fed up of him and moved away?  

[nenehcherry2]

4 hours ago, Homeandawayfan. said:

I think Sally's year of birth has been 1979 but occasionally the month and day of her birthday has jumped. I think in an earlier episode her birthday was July, and later on it was February. I think Leah was also born 1979, same as Sally.

Absolutely correct, the month of her birthday seemed to gradually, over time, come earlier in the year. In later 89, she's said to be "almost 10", then it seems to be July for a few years. But, by about 2000, it stays in Feb.