1988: The land before the diner

[j.laur5]

I always felt Carly was put in the diner because they did not know what else to do with the character. 
 

I think Carly should have been written out after she got married. She had already run her course by then or at least the writers no longer had any interest in giving her storylines. 

[nenehcherry2]

  On 20/12/2023 at 05:56, j.laur5 said:

I always felt Carly was put in the diner because they did not know what else to do with the character. 
 

I think Carly should have been written out after she got married. She had already run her course by then or at least the writers no longer had any interest in giving her storylines. 

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She wouldn't have realistically gone to Uni and there's only so many times you can repeat year 12. And she was an adult, so too old to just bicker with her foster siblings. 

Very similar to what happened to Fin post 92.. repeats a school year (whilst working part time in the diner), then ends up working full time there. 

Fast forward to 95 and guess what? Angel's working in the diner.

In fact, Shannon and Selina seemed to be the first female teens who "stayed on" post HSC who are immune to the "diner disease".

[adam436]

  On 20/12/2023 at 16:51, nenehcherry2 said:

She wouldn't have realistically gone to Uni and there's only so many times you can repeat year 12. And she was an adult, so too old to just bicker with her foster siblings. 

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I always assumed the long-term plan for Carly would have been to become a foster mother like Bobby and Sally did, but left before that happened.

[CaptainHulk]

  On 21/12/2023 at 05:51, adam436 said:

I always assumed the long-term plan for Carly would have been to become a foster mother like Bobby and Sally did, but left before that happened.

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She became an actual Mum!

[Homeandawayfan.]

Surprising how many of them Summer Bay late teen characters managed to keep track of their age if they had to repeat a year or two. Glad here in the UK the school system is different to Australia, as at 16 I left school for the last time. No repeating a year for anyone and having to stay on in school for yet another year. Although some slow learners were kept back a year or two, grade retention. One close friend of mine had learning difficulties but was born Jan 1981 and he went to school with my brothers girlfriend born Jan 1980 and she says he was 2 years below her at school and assumed he must have been born Jan 1982 but I know he was 100% born Jan 1981. We then worked out he must have been kept back a year.

For any viewers of the British school based show Grange Hill, well for years H&A felt like a partial Australian Grange Hill with the regular school scenes.

[adam436]

  On 21/12/2023 at 10:13, CaptainHulk said:

She became an actual Mum!

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Off-screen! Had she stayed, they might have gone down a different route for her.

[CaptainHulk]

^ Her fate was sealed when soldier boy bowled up.

[nenehcherry2]

  On 21/12/2023 at 12:15, Homeandawayfan. said:

Surprising how many of them Summer Bay late teen characters managed to keep track of their age if they had to repeat a year or two. Glad here in the UK the school system is different to Australia, as at 16 I left school for the last time. No repeating a year for anyone and having to stay on in school for yet another year. Although some slow learners were kept back a year or two, grade retention. One close friend of mine had learning difficulties but was born Jan 1981 and he went to school with my brothers girlfriend born Jan 1980 and she says he was 2 years below her at school and assumed he must have been born Jan 1982 but I know he was 100% born Jan 1981. We then worked out he must have been kept back a year.

For any viewers of the British school based show Grange Hill, well for years H&A felt like a partial Australian Grange Hill with the regular school scenes.

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You could actually leave school as soon as you turned 15 in NSW (so much younger than England/Wales) as late as the 90s but H&A never showed a character do this (presumably Lance and Martin did prior to the pilot). Realistically, so many of the characters would have left school way before year 12 ended. We saw Shane and Tug experiment with leaving but then go back. Sophie and Blake both left DURING year 12. 

From about 2000 (I'll research the exact year at some point), the law was changed so that you had to finish year 10 at least but could then leave after that / before your 17th birthday (or leave at 17 if you hadn't finished year 10), so long as you had a TAFE course or work placement to go to. At 17, anyone can leave school or education in NSW.

[Old H&A Fan]

  On 22/12/2023 at 15:29, CaptainHulk said:

^ Her fate was sealed when soldier boy bowled up.

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It was remarkable how quickly Carly decided he was the right one to spend the rest of her life. How did she come to that decision (other than just being blinded by so-called "love")? Was it because he was tall? Because he was older? Was it the way he looked? or some other ridiculous criteria?

[CaptainHulk]

^;After Matt (grew apart), Foley (Train wreck), and Adam (eventually chucked her for Emma), They wanted someone long-term for Carly. I will admit that was right quick.

If it weren't him, it would have been Grant and that wouldn't have gone far even if he didn't step aside for Pvt Lucini. Who else was there in the bay? 

If you really dislike Ben, you'll *love* reading Summer's Bay's fic where he's demonized as a Domestic abuser.