John

I think your thoughts on Brax and the River Boys era have been made very plain repeatedly and fair enough if that is your view. However your assertion that Neighbours was not given adequate coverage on Logies night is simply not accurate. Both Jacqie Woodburn and Alan Fletcher were interviewed at length on the night. In fact it could be argued that Neighbours received more coverage than Home and Away despite it supposedly being Home and Away's big night. The Logies were screened on Channel 9 and sponsored by TV Week and I doubt that Channel 9 can be seen as biased toward Channel 7 programs. That assertion shows no understanding of the "battle" between the two major commercial TV channels here in OZ. As you concede, your argument that Home and Away is is at its lowest ebb for quality at the moment is also not universally supported. To argue that all or even a majority of the viewers who voted for the show and gained it a popularity award had no idea how to judge quality would seem to be self serving and a little bizarre. I have no problem with you holding the views that you do as long as you concede, even occasionally, that others who are capable of thoughtful judgement have come to a different view.

While I understand that you are not a fan of Brax's character and that is your right, I hope you also understand that your opinion is not universally shared. In fact many viewers do like the character of Brax as indicated by Steve recently winning a Logie for the most popular character. I would say that is the reason the show has held open the possibility of a return.

I'm afraid I really find Chris annoying as well. He constantly pushes into situations where he has no place and stays in people's faces long after he should get the hint and simply go away. I don't find him either lovable or endearing. In fact I'm always surprised he doesn't get his nose punched much more often.

Still running slow but seems to be more reliable and less likely to crash. Considerably quicker loading posts. Thanks for your efforts Chris.

I'm glad it's caused such eager discussion, it's absolutely fantastic to have such an iconic location back on screen. But as you suggest, what does that say about the standard of the storylines at the moment that the SBH location is the bigger talking point! Or could it be that the long term supporters of the show who are still enthusiastic supporters of the current show were just as happy about the return of the Summer Bay House as those who are not as enthusiastic about current storylines and so don't post in discussion of them.

If New South Wales is the same as Victoria and I suspect it is, changes to Building Regulations in the wake of fires now require construction or reconstruction to satisfy Building Attack Level requirements to get a Building Permit. Just looking at your pictures Dan I think the original house in its original setting would have been considered to be a the "Flame Zone". In that case reconstruction would not have been allowed without extensive vegetation management to create a buffer zone around the house. The metal roof was probably also a part of those requirements. The re-siting of the caravan park may also have been effected by those requirements.

I think the advantages of having such an iconic location back in regular use greatly outweigh any small continuity issues.

It would actually be fairly easy to "morph" the new Summer Bay house with the former one both exterior and interior using storylines. "We've had some renovations done", said Alf. This could be number in a number of small stages or in a larger reno. When you think of it, it's actually not reasonable for an old timber house to remain the same over 27 years without at least a coat of paint ( or several ) and some renovations and upgrades.

I think the differences are to be expected. I'm not sure how long it is since the house has been shown but all houses, particularly weatherboard ones, need maintenance. A repaint and even a new roof are not out of character in that time.

It really is great that the Summer Bay House has reappeared. I think those iconic locations like the Summer Bay House, the Surf Club, The Caravan Park and the Diner are part of what holds the show together and gives it its ongoing feel. All characters will eventually leave. Sally did and even Alf can't live forever but if the locations remain then they can be a foundation around which new characters are introduced and new storylines and other necessary changes are introduced.

She is 45, born on August 10th, 1969... She looks much younger in real life than as Marilyn. The styling and how Marilyn acts make her 20 years older... You have got to be kidding!! I'm 69 and if Marilyn looks 20 years older than Emily's real age of 45 that would make her comparable in age to me. Let me assure you that she looks nowhere near my age.

Very wet and humid

I agree with you about Denny RR1. I think she still has the potential to be a valuable character long term but the side excursion into a forced, random relationship with Casey just seemed to be a pointless detour. I'll wait and see what happens in 2015.

I think people need to take a deep breath. Obviously people have differing views on this event and that is understandable. It's also quite acceptable to disagree with someone's view even strongly. However in my opinion sarcasm almost never leads to a good outcome in an argument. Please be careful when expressing views.

A great piece of writing Tele. As a Vietnam Veteran myself and a participant in the Battle in the Binh Ba rubber it stirred some memories of those time and of mates who, like Alf, meet together each year to remember. I am impressed by your research which gives great authenticity to the first few paragraphs. Thank for the piece.

Very nice work Dan. Interesting part for me was that I now figure I actually started watching the show within the first 1000 episodes.

Steady rain 14.5C

Could members please remember to only post discussion of the week 8 episodes that have been shown in some states but not in others to the Week 8 thread in Australian Discussion.

That´s weird, i have heard so many times the word Yabbie Creek and them going there but im gonna stop now, i don´t think the mods are gonna be any happy if we go more off topic now:) You're right, the Mods wouldn't.

Wasn't it Jett that threw the party? Chris just gleefully accepted the idea.

What happened to the thread i started? What thread are you referring to?

They certainly didn't when I was little. They still had steam trains.

I must say I miss the late night MSN chats with Dan, Karen, Kat and QA etc. We all must have had more time on our hands then!! And the April Fool's Day pranks. The massive "staged"fight among staff one year. The word substitution prank. Good days!!

@#$%^ hot!! 43.8 Celsius.

Time flies doesn't it!! Happy Anniversary to the site. I came on Board with BTTB in September 04 and although my memory is hazy ( I am an ageing geriatric ) I think I migrated over from another site which closed. I started watching the show when I was teaching. I had a group of semi- illiterate students who had no interest at all in reading and writing. I did find in conversation with them that they all watched some show on TV called Home and Away and were animated in their discussion of it in class each morning. It provided me with an opportunity to encourage them to begin writing episode notes and later summaries. Some even graduated to Fan Fiction. After I retired in late 1999 I continued to watch the show and eventually went looking for a website to chat with other watchers. I joined the predecessor site I can't recall and eventually found my way to BTTB. I was approached to be a judge in the Script Writing Competitions along side Coral Drouyn whose work I had always admired. At that point I discovered that, hidden in the dark musty back of the site, there was a staffroom. A world I had never suspected. I loved the Script Competition and it is one of my great laments that circumstances have meant that they had to be discontinued. I then became a Feature Contributor and worked, with a number of others, on one of the last departure features on the site the Belle Departure Feature. The site and Forum keep me interested and have become one of my main recreations as I watch Home and Away and other Australian Drama. I would like to pay tribute to Dan particularly. It is his passionate dedication to the site and the Forum which keep it going. The amount of work he does is monumental. I hope that the site lasts at least another ten year and that it and its attached Forum continue to give the same pleasure to fans of the show as in the first ten years.