beau_t

I have to say, I prefer shop-keeper Ailsa to Diner-owner Ailsa. She lost that "centre of the community" vibe. Anyway, that's ages away. Back to topic in hand. I forgot how good this Samuels storyline is.

I didn't say it wasn't legal, just that the writers wouldn't want to do it so they invented Marilyn rather than bring back Narelle. Just my theory.

I completely agree. The "dizzy" side of her character has been dropped but (for whatever reason) this was deliberate. Emily said it on one of the video interviews on the official site. She said something like "She is less dizzy and more spiritual"... I guess they wanted to take the character in a different direction, maybe they were worried about just making her a cartoon of her former self? It's a shame, I miss dizzy clutzy Marilyn but I still love the Marilyn we have now, I wouldn't give her up for all the tea in China

I agree Narelle was great but if she had stayed around they probably wouldn't have written in Marilyn. I always thought they (the writers) kind of liked the idea of Lance dating someone like Narelle but obviously couldn't (becuase they were cousins) so they replaced her with Marilyn.

And also ARRGHH Why don't people spell Ailsa properly?!?!?!?!

I still don't think it was strange. Alan was clearly her favourite. She even once said she wished she had a daughter like Bobby! I don't think she liked Rebecca very much!

I think originally they did try to hide it because when Debra took over the role I always looked hard to see if I could spot Vanessa Downing in any of the family photos and I think they removed her from them all! But as time went on it became a part of the show's history and when enough water was under the bridge I think they realised they could acknowledge it and the fans wouldn't mind. That's my opinion. To be honest Pippa as a character wasn't that great. She didn't really do much over her 10 years. Her only strong storylines that I can think of were: Her brother Danny The deaths of Tom, Michael and Dale Her coma and recovery She has now been far surpassed by Irene both in terms of years on the show and in terms of strong storylines. Leah I think is currently on a par year wise but also surpassed in terms of storylines and definately in terms of character development. Pippa was a mum, and she was great, but they couldn't really develop or grow her character. That's not to say I didn't like her, in fact I think the show benefitted a lot from having that strong earth mother "heart of the Bay" type character who was friends with everyone and always had a pot of tea on for you. Since she left it has never quite been replaced. I'm not going to get into VD/DL comparisons because it was the same character! Although I will say that I felt in Pippa's (original) final episode when she left with Ian, they took the character back to her "Vanessa Downing" roots. She played basketball with Sam in the caravan park and described the house to Rebecca as being full of "horrible rotten messy adorable kids". Both very "early Pippa" things to do and say, and not something you were used to DL doing/saying.

There is no ambiguity at the moment. Rebecca was specifically mentioned when Barbara first appeared on the show. She told Donald that Rebecca's piano lesssons were doing well, or something to that effect.

Well I guess some people find that kind of arrogance hot. I would not complain if I looked like him Not sure of him as a character. Kind of reminds me of Dodge when he returned in the early 90s. Very cool and laid back in appearance, but beneath the surface he is constantly planning and calculating.

Yes you are right I've noticed this before. There are clips on SBJ. When Marilyn returns around the mid 90s she walks up to Lance's/Colleen's mobile home and laughs (you get the impression there should have been a flashback here) and there are no stairs whatsoever. So they must have removed the stairs for whatever reason when they stopped showing the mobile home after Lance's exit. I think this was the first time it had been shown on screen for years. In 2000 when Sally talks to Lance on the steps and also in the storyline where Les returns to win Colleen back, the steps have returned but now go straight out instead of sideways. I thought I was the only one who noticed these peculiar details. What I have never been able to determine for sure, is whether the interior set in 2000 for the Colleen/Les storyline is the same one that was used for Lance and Martin in the 80s. But if we ever do see Colleen's mobile home again in the future, it won't be the same one we know and love, because as Ryan said it was destroyed by Josh West and she got a replacement. Also (as we all know) the real life one was destroyed in the bush fire.

I think when they brought him back in 2000, they may have got the name of Colleen's ex confused with Celia's. Celia's fiance that was killed in was called Les and she talks about him a lot. The writers of the "Les" episodes in 2000 may have thought they remembered correctly, but were actually thinking about Celia's ex. Didn't they make a similar mistake that year by saying Colleen's maiden name was O'Rourke? That was in fact Ailsa's real maiden name. Colleen's was Hickey. It was probably the same writer again thinking they remembered correctly, but not getting it quite right.

^I'm pretty sure Gina has asked him to cut it out on more than one occasion. Just glancing through various threads on this forum, I can't believe the level at which people are only seeing what they want to see with regards to Gina! It's like a witch hunt!

Thanks Dan! I remember when Brad first moved in, it was a one bedroom flat, and then the next year we had Morag, Roman, Aden and Nicole all living there in seperate rooms! Do you know if the townhouse will be seen again or if that's the end of it on H&A? Also, back to Summer Bay House. Do you have any idea what the real life interior is like? (either in the old house before the fire or the new one?) I've always wondered about that.

Maybe someone should make a "bring back the freeze frame to Home and Away" facebook group! To be honest, I am much preferring the current "cut to black" much more than I ever liked the "fade to black".

Lynn's exit was sad. The final segment of that episode was really good.

The shop is called Hogan's Store so maybe she still uses the name Hogan at work. Or maybe she doesn't change her name to Stewart until Old H&A Fan it is spelled Ailsa not Alsa :cool: It is great having all the Stewarts in Summer Bay at the moment, hopefully with Morag to come back soon too. An era that sadly will never be repeated

I think these couple of episodes were the episodes that defined Morag and the potential she had. Up until the wedding she had been judgemental and bitchy, yes. But once she got Roo back to her mansion, she became truly conniving, devious and ruthless - giving us and the writers a taste of how much they could do with this character. I think the phonecall with Celia and her pretend conversation in earshot of Roo was the turning point. I think the writers realised this and had already decided they'd have to bring her back, hence the closing shot of Morag watching tearfully as Celia took Roo away, which very much left her character without closure. (I could be wrong but I'm assuming this was the end of Morag's first stint). Thinking back over the years, especially the early years, I realise I have often found the Stewart/Fisher family more interesting than the Fletcher/Ross, so I'm really enjoying these episodes and what's soon to come.