Characters that felt lost once their family or makeshift family left ?,

[adam436]

9 hours ago, CaptainHulk said:

There was the Sean mess, The Webcam business... That's sbout it. 

I'd don't remember the webcam business at all! I suspect that's a good thing I don't though  

I'd forgotten about Sean! I remember his daughter had epilepsy and dated Sam, but I'd forgotten her dad was involved with Sally. I remember Sally worked at Bonza Burgers around that time too. 

I feel like Sally would have got "lost" regardless of whether Pippa was there to be honest. H&A never really know how to write post-high school characters, mostly because very few characters make that transition and gone within a year or so. The next longest would be Bobby, then probably Hayley, Carly and Chloe. Hayley didn't really have much direction post high-school (from what I recall, everything revolved around Noah and/or love triangles), and the writers didn't know what to do with Carly from about mid 1989 onwards. Sally came out the other side and was elevated to one of the show's linchpin characters by the early/mid 2000s. 

[CaptainHulk]

Basically, a Webcam was set up at the Nash House which Sally, Vinnie and Jesse were renting from Travis. It was left on and Sal was doing some ironing and well, folk got an eyeful (This was the era Kate's... "Frontal Endowment" came to the fore, as seen in the credits)

[SunlightLurker]

Tane was at his best characterised as family oriented, but his family was written out. Gemma stayed in New Zealand, Ari died, Mia then Chloe left for New Zealand, Nikau left with Bella and then

Spoiler

the contraception drama with Felicity broke up his marriage, which also put distance between him and Cash, the only other person he reliably spent time with and that was because they lived in the same house

. Introducing some kiwi cousins could have bolstered the Parata presence but we only had Kahu, a short term guest character who was ducking responsibility at Tane's expense.

[c120701]

On 15/01/2024 at 19:52, adam436 said:

I'd don't remember the webcam business at all! I suspect that's a good thing I don't though  

I'd forgotten about Sean! I remember his daughter had epilepsy and dated Sam, but I'd forgotten her dad was involved with Sally. I remember Sally worked at Bonza Burgers around that time too. 

I feel like Sally would have got "lost" regardless of whether Pippa was there to be honest. H&A never really know how to write post-high school characters, mostly because very few characters make that transition and gone within a year or so. The next longest would be Bobby, then probably Hayley, Carly and Chloe. Hayley didn't really have much direction post high-school (from what I recall, everything revolved around Noah and/or love triangles), and the writers didn't know what to do with Carly from about mid 1989 onwards. Sally came out the other side and was elevated to one of the show's linchpin characters by the early/mid 2000s. 

Hence they kept Sally in High School by just having her work there, but that made sense for her as a character - even Bonza Burger did in a way as she’d worked that kiosk for years.

[beachside]

On 14/01/2024 at 10:26, adam436 said:

The two that spring to mind for me: 

• Joel Nash - I'm assuming the producers had already decided that Joel was leaving at the time Natalie, Tom and foster daughter Justine were written out, but it felt like the writers weren't really invested in the character after that point. He sold the caravan park to move in with Vinnie (I think the Nash family owned the house though, but it still an odd living arrangement?), and then was paired off with Judith, who was equally at a loose end following Edward's exit. Technically he still had Gypsy, but she seemed to really come into her own following the family departures, whereas Joel was just sidelined. That probably comes down to the fact the producers had already made the decision about Joel, whereas Gypsy was pretty much the most popular character at that point, so the producers wanted her at the forefront of things. 
• Alf Stewart in the early 2000s - he lost Ailsa, Mitch and Duncan in the space of less than a year, then he just lived in the flat above the Beachside Diner for a few years before moving into Summer Bay House following Flynn's death, when he started to actually have a purpose again. I know Seb moved in after Fisher left, but that felt more like a convenience thing to keep Seb in the show, rather than it actually about giving Alf someone to bounce off or acknowledging the connection between Alf and Seb (Alf was Seb's great-uncle)

I do agree re Joel

Here's my list personally

Joel Nash - as already mentioned by someone seemed after Nat left he was lost mind you when him and Gypsy they did some beautiful scenes

Gypsy Nash - as like her Father I feel like after Joel - her Dad it felt like Gyspy's life just went further downhill until eventually Will and her made things work but when her and Will weren't together and her Dad was gone she was not in a good place.

Ziggy Astoni - i know she was already mentioned but I want to add something I feel like she lost her number one supporter after her Dad Ben left the bay god knows she needed him when it came out about Dean being involved in the murder and that he had a Son.

Hayley Smith-Lawson - even though she had Noah and Irene after her brothers left she wasn't really the same

Matilda Hunter - after Scott and Robbie left for overseas and Beth died Mattie was never really the same

Sally Fletcher - i dd feel like for a few years after Pippa left Sally was lost

 

[Jamie!]

From recent years, Ziggy comes to mind. She was great when her family were on the show with her. The year long cancer storyline with Maggie was a real highlight as it felt very real, true to life and character orientated. You could tell that she really loved her family, and the close family ties were reminiscent of the Early Years. When Ben and Maggie decided to leave, we had scenes where Ziggy was openly saying how she didn't think she was going to be able to cope without having them there. And when they did leave, Ziggy started to change into someone who was only on the show so Dean could be with his "one true love" and how they were just meant to be and that she couldn't be without him. They even made her cheat on Tane by kissing Dean, which completely went against her character after her being so upset after Brodie and her reaction when another character, (Olivia, I think?), did something similar IIRC. The show loved Dean and so were desperate to have the two of them as the show's next super-couple. Such a disappointment.

[adam436]

How do we feel about adding John Palmer into this category? He's had various incarnations of a family unit with Gina, Jett, Marilyn, Raffy and guest foster children, but he's been a solo character for many years now. I like John and I wouldn't want to see him leave, but I think he worked best with Marilyn and Jett. He's become very much a supporting character in recent years with his big storylines being very far and few between. Most of the storylines he's had since splitting up with Marilyn would still have worked if he had a family, except for the Susie McAllister stuff and Marilyn's jealousy of him and Irene. 

John's current situation reminds me of Alf in the early 2000s, which I've mentioned earlier. 

[Irishbraxton]

Kirtsy Sutherland after Rhys and Dani left in late 2004 although she did depart not long after them in Febuary 2005.

Agree about Ziggy she was a breath of fresh air after she arrived she wasn't the same after her family left.

Edited January 26 by Irishbraxton

[j.laur5]

I really don’t think they knew what else to do with Dean and Ziggy in their last two years as Dean was all over the place. There were times he was on the straight and narrow and then back to Rver Boy behaviour. Ziggy at times looked like a right hypocrite. She breaks up with Dean for his criminal behaviour and then gets together with the other bad boy Tane. Ziggy helps cover up Tane's crimes with Willow and that really annoyed me. When Ziggy cheated on Tane with Dean and I wish Dean refused to take her back.

 

 

 

[adam436]

3 hours ago, Irishbraxton said:

Kirtsy Sutherland after Rhys and Dani left in late 2004 although she did depart not long after them in Febuary 2005.

I didn't think Kirsty fared that badly after Rhys and Dani left, perhaps because it was such a short period. Had she lingered around for another 2-3 years it probably would have been a different story. 

I don't remember much that she did other than find out she was pregnant and go on the run with Kane though..