John

We are grateful for any and all offers of help but there are two remaining problems. Even if members volunteer all the material there are only a few staff with the "smarts" to present and upload it. But more importantly, the last big feature we did was for Belle's departure and we were absolutely underwhelmed by the small number of board members who actually looked at it and commented. We sort of got the impression we were talking to ourselves.

I have resisted commenting on this storyline to this point because I just think it is so poorly written in its portrayal of the long term characters of Rachel and Tony. I think the biggest flaws in the writing have been in the character of Tony. I just can't see that boxing would have such a big influence in the life of the same character who was so distraught in the events surrounding his violent loss of his son Jack. The whole boxing thing just seems so trivial when judged against the other things. is going to emerge as a major influence for Tony then it needed to come out well before this. I do actually think their are some threads in Rachel's character that explain this but her character has been so badly written in recent times they are not obvious. When Rachel first came tio the Bay and was working as a psychiatrist she was very career oriented but that was derailed in the events surrounding her relationship with Kim etc. A storyline could have been put together that she has just regained that confidence in her own ability and feels ready to pursue career advancement again. Once again poor writing has not made much of this storyline possibility.

I understand the Adelle fan's wish for a happy ending for their favourite couple although I'm sometimes a little bemused as to the extreme lengths they will go to to pursue that wish. However I think we have to consider the fans in general. Believe it or not there are not just those who "love" Adelle and those who "hate" them. There are the vast majority of the fans who appreciate the drama and storylines surrounding all couples without singling out any one couple for their love or hate. For this large group of fans the cancer storyline which lead to Belle's death and the involvement of other characters including Aden in it was one of the best and most compelling storylines in the recent history of the show. It provided a fantastic opportunity for both Jessica Tovey and Todd Lasance to showcase their acting talent to the delight and appreciation of many of the fans. Perhaps a happy ending could have been written to also do that but it might then have just been lost among all those other fairytale endings on their way to the sunset.

Cold, wet, ugly.

I'm suspending jusgement. We all know that in soap land cancers can be cured miraculously.

Excuse me for just using this small piece of your post. It seems to me that you have just described most of us.

I might be repeating myself when I say this but then we're all doing a lot of that. I think the problems with the Charlie Angelo storyline are with the writing. For me, and I concede it's just my view, too much has been "left out" and not explained. We've gone from Angelo "up a tree" and Charlie wanting nothing to do with him to a passionate rekindling of the relationship without the writers giving us any insight into how each character came to that point. We needed some idea of what happened in both Charlie and Angelo's life journeys that brought about that change. We didn't see enough of the counselling to attribute the character growth to that. Nor did we see enough interraction with other characters in the show for us to understand any involvement they might have had. The whole thing has just been too quick. My other annoyance in all this is that the "left out" bits would have provided some really good dramatic material which would have added to our understanding of both characters and given scope for involving performances by both Esther and Luke.

Cold and misty. 4 degrees.

I certainly thought Aden went out with a whimper rather than a bang. There really was no acknowledgement of the huge character developement he had undergone or the relationships he had formed.

Some caps from Underbelly with Jess.

It really is interesting that Charlie and Angelo seem to be drawing closer together again. Love is a strange thing and people are sometimes drawn together in some sort of self destructive attraction. They really aren't good for each other but they can't let each other go. It's like watching a train wreck. I tend to feel that their relationship is like that and like a good train wreck I can't take my eyes off it.

Not so!! A lot of us like Nicole and think that Tessa is doing a great job playing her. We do have a number of members of the forum who are quite irrationally negative toward her because they believe that after Belle died Aden should have stayed lonely, alone and celibate for an extended mourning period of their choosing. Because he chose to love Nicole rather than do that they hate her. Ummm excuse me... but that's not entirely true... John... and maybe you should reassess your facts before accusing every Nicole hate of hating her just because she got with Aden... no... I'm afraid you have got your facts wrong when it comes to some of us Nicole haters... I'm sorry if not every single one of us can forgive every little thing she has done wrong that she never got punished for that she should have been punished for... I mean has everyone forgotten the Sid thing here... she didn't have to leave town... she wasn't looked down upon like some of the other members of the Bay would have been... no... she chucked a wammy because Miles and Sid humiliated her... after she'd already forced her hand in splitting up a family... no... to me that is unforgivable... no matter the circumstances.... and you can turn around and say to me that she was having a hard time with her dad going to jail et cetera... but that still does not give her the right to be the prima princess of Summer Bay and get away with everything... The Aden thing just bought everything to a head with me... especially when at the beginning of their so called "relationship" she complained about Aden being distanced and blah blah blah.... UMMM HELLO HIS WIFE JUST DIED! And then when she told him she loved him and got all insecure that he didn't say it back... jeeeeeesus.... the only other person he had said it to was HIS WIFE.... and she did not get that.... then she does a complete 180 and say's she gets it all blah blah blah... yeah whatever I dont care anymore... I really dont... But to me... what she done to Sid and his family... I will never forgive that... EVER... I dont care how much you all have... I'll just be glad when Aden is finally free of her! He's lost his touch since getting with her! I think I'll let other members judge the things you've put forward as "facts". What I put forward was an opinion based on my judgement of events. What you put forward was also an opinion based on your judgements of the events. Mine was positive in my attitude to Nicole, yours was negative. I have not felt the need to resort to over the top language or constant repetition, you have. Let's just let other posters tell us what they think about Nicole and not try to pressure them into agreeing with either of us. Rather let us hear their judgements.

Not so!! A lot of us like Nicole and think that Tessa is doing a great job playing her. We do have a number of members of the forum who are quite irrationally negative toward her because they believe that after Belle died Aden should have stayed lonely, alone and celibate for an extended mourning period of their choosing. Because he chose to love Nicole rather than do that they hate her.

The departure of Annie wasa cause for regret on my part. Not so much because of her as a character, although I did think she was interesting and a little different to the usual Home and Away characters. My main regret was that I thought the producers had returned to their practice of some years ago of nurturing young talent over a nymber of years on the show. This doesn't appear to have happened with Charlotte. However at this stage we don't know why she has left. Maybe it was her decision to return to school and complete her studies, maybe she got a better offer and we will see her appear somewhere else.

I couldn't agree more wit these sentiments. I had high hopes that Annie ( Charlotte ) would see a return to the show developing young talent so that it stayed with the show for an extended period. I guess we don't know whether it was Charlotte's decision to leave. If that is the case there's not much the producers can do about it.

I was very interested in the dated picture of Anzac Day. That boozy, blokey culture is sort of fading these days. With the Vietnam Veterans our wives and kids have always been a part of the Association. It's an interesting historical picture.

I like the character of Nicole. I think that she has actually been very consistently written over the years. That's not to say that I would like the "person" Nicole if I ever met her probably I wouldn't. She has many characteristics that I wouldn't find appealing in a friend or acquaintance. However as I said I like the character and think she adds something to the mix of characters that make up the show.

I joined the site in September 2004 after previously being a member of Aussie Soap. For many years I just lurked but finally it drew me in. The Script Comp was my downfall. As one who has always been an enthusiatic writer Frankie's invitation to be a judge was one I just couldn't resist. Congrats to Dan and the other hard working staff members. The more I have to do with the site and Forum the harder I realise they work. Happy birthday!! and on to the next 6 years.

I suspect that we're going to see a much more grown up Annie when she returns. There was a suggestion of that before she left.

Band of thunder storms passing over.

Nicely written Steph. You're going to have to revise how you write Annie with all her recent character development.

I don't see Rachel so much as a perfectionist as being a product of her medical training which says that if you make a mistake that can mean someone's life. That can be sustained in a professional setting but in a personal setting like with baby Harry it can build up unbearable pressure which Rachel is buckling under. It's not a debilitating personality fault.

Jess has a guest role in Police Rescue Special Ops coming up soon. I look forward to seeing her do something different. Belle was getting a bit limiting toward the end I thought.

Were Martha and Hugo in tonight's episode? I don't recall seeing them.

Did you see the look on Aden's face. I think it was a classic acse of "the lights are on but no-one's at home" Aden is emotionally dead at the moment. I don't think that any thing he does is making any emotional impact on him at the moment. It's not pretty to watch but it is realistic.