adam436

Does anyone know why Rob Storey departed the way he did? Did the actor have to leave suddenly for personal reasons or was there a behind the scenes story? In some ways it feels like Rob's departure was planned with him gradually phased out in his last few weeks with him losing ties to most of the cast - he quit teaching, he moved out Irene's house and his friendship with Donna broke down, but it was an odd move to have his actual exit non-existent. Every character usually at least have a final scene or proper exit, even if it's rushed in the space of an episode or two. The only other time I recall this happening with a regular character was Matt Wilson.

Lance and Martin were big drinkers in the early days too, but likewise, only drank at home. It seemed the only "adult" restaurants were in Yabbie Creek, which we saw occasionally like with Steven and Sandra, Stacey and Jeff Samuels etc.

It could have been an interesting story to go down though - Bobby struggling to fit in and adjust to uni, standing up to lecturers etc. I guess you could argue it would just be repeating her Year 12 though, but it could have been a catalyst for her and Frank's marriage ending. Are Sam and Bobby the only child characters to ever be credited as full-time cast? If they are, it's interesting that they were both among the longest-running characters in the show's history, rather than them staying for 2-3 years before leaving to focus on their schooling etc. The only other characters I can think of never had regular stints in their child years - Dylan Parrish, Rachel McGregor, Christopher Fletcher, Duncan Stewart, VJ Patterson, despite the child actors remaining in the role for a long time and some of them appearing somewhat frequently.

I think indespensible in that he survived Bobby and Greg, and then Pippa leaving, when he could have been written out with either of them. Maybe the producers had decided that as Kate Ritchie was getting older, they needed another child actor to fill that void. I'd say by 1998 he'd come into his own, but in 1993 the Marshalls could easily have been written out as a family unit (as opposed to killing off Bobby) and I doubt anyone would have been upset to see Sam go.

The writers seemed to invest everything in developing Bobby (giving her the diner, the Fisher/Morag stuff), so Carly just got sidelined. She just got the romantic stories which got a bit of repetitive after a while - in 1989-early 1990 there was Matt, Andrew, Adam, Grant and then finally Ben. I can't remember if she dated Grant, but it was definitely another case of "Carly throws herself at new guy in town" story. Given how strong her stories were in 1988, it's a shame she went down that path.

From memory, Shauna's father was a prison warder who raped Ailsa? I also have a vague recollection of it being confirmed he had since died. I've not seen those episodes since they aired though, so my memory is a little hazy.

I don't really remember the details of that story, but why were they worried about Sam and not Christopher. I'm guessing it was to do with Christopher being Pippa's biological child and Sam being a foster child, but were they not worried about him not having a responsible adult to care for him? Debra Lawrence talked about that return in a podcast interview and it sounds like "someone stuffed up" and the producers realised no one was around. It must have been a surreal time for Debra, as she said she didn't know any of the cast at the time either, which is probably true. Ray Meagher and Lynne McGranger were absent (hence, the need for Pippa), and she'd never worked regularly with the other stalwarts of the time, Ada Nicodemou and Lyn Collingwood. She wasn't even in a familiar set either, since she was staying at the Beach House and not Summer Bay House. Who else could they have realistically drafted in to the hold the fort at Summer Bay House? I guess they could have brought back a past foster child like Carly or Frank to hold the fort, but then we wouldn't have had the story of Sam possibly going into care in that situation...

Donald Fisher is one of my all-time favourite characters. This is down to the complexity of the character, the amazing talents of Norman Coburn and the way he was developed throughout the first season. He was written as a two-dimensional tyrant who had it in for the Fletchers, but we gradually see him let his guard down, mostly following Alan's arrival. By the end of the year, I think the writers found that balance. If you watched the pilot and final episode of 1988, you can really see the difference. He's celebrating Christmas with the Fletchers and he and Bobby have developed a mutual respect for one another (the writers knew about the connection, but obviously viewers didn't!).

It certainly was! Far better and memorable than their successors, Matt and Adam. I think the argument is that they were too dependent on each other from a story perspective. With better writing and character development, they could have had their bromance whilst still been able to have their own storylines, love interests etc.

I can't remember how long Pippa was in hospital for (as a 8 year old, it felt like ages), but they obviously needed someone to "fill in" at Summer Bay House, and I doubt there would have been many other alternatives that wouldn't have felt too jarring/obvious. Bert returning as he did would certainly have been preferable than a fully-able-bodied Danny returning in the same capacity.

I forgot about that one actually. Either way, the writers are more likely to create a new ex-husband from Roo's absent years than they are to bring back Frank

I think the attempt was definitely to recreate Scott and Charlene. Charlene and Bobby were both tomboy-ish and upfront, and Scott and Frank were both dull male "hearthrobs". I never found Frank that attractive in all honesty. Having just rewatched 1988, Martin Dibble is more physically attractive to me, but obviously his character was written as a comedic fool, not a male romantic lead.

There was Narelle he could have been paired off, but she left pretty quickly. I didn't think much of her as a character either though. And Carly, but that would have been a little ick, since Carly and Frank had been foster siblings since they were both young. I'd say it would have had to have been a new character. I doubt he has, given the producers reluctance to celebrate the past. There is also another Morgan in the show now, which may confuse viewers who aren't aware who Frank is.

Re-watching the 1988 season on 7Plus, I'm really not liking or buying them as a couple at all. It could because that I know what's coming for them in 1989 though? The chemistry between Alex and Nicolle feels more like that of best friends than two characters madly in love. I actually find the romantic chemistry between Frank and Roo much more believable. I've just watched the episode where Frank doesn't want Bobby to go to uni and instead stay at home and "look after the family". The episodes are dated in terms of societal views, but Frank comes across as really chauvinistic and arrogant in those episodes and makes me realise how much he dragged Bobby down. He made it sound like his career and future was more important than hers, despite her having more study opportunities. I'd be curious to know what would have happened had Alex Papps not quit the show? The marriage fizzling out as it did play out would have been much more believable, but I imagine the producers probably had high hopes for them as a "Golden Couple", which I struggle to imagine due to the lack of romantic chemistry. What are everyone thoughts on the pairing?

I agree. At least in the first season it was all fresh, amusing and somewhat realistic. The examples you mentioned, especially the pop group and the fish funeral, seemed a bit ridiculous. Perhaps it wouldn't have been so bad if they were 1-2 episode comedy B plots, but the pop group and hot dog stand story seemed to go on for way longer than they should have. I'm not sure if it was a coincidence or not, but for those stories they were paired up with other characters who were on their way out - Celia for the hot dog stand and fish funeral and Stacey for the pop group. I suspect her purpose in the early days was mostly just to shake up the Lance/Martin dynamic by making them a trio, and perhaps to a lesser extent give Morag someone to bounce off, who would have otherwise primarily just been at loggerheads with the rest of the cast. The producers must have thought the character was worth keeping around (and were forced to flesh her out after losing Morag, Lance and Martin), because it would have been much easier for her to go in the late 1989/early 1990 clear out too.

From what I remember of 1996/1997, he came to stay at Summer Bay House when Pippa was in a coma and developed a relationship with Donald's mother Isobel. I've not seen the episodes since they aired and I was about 8 years old, so my memory is a little hazy, but surely he wouldn't have come to stay and help out at Summer Bay House without Pippa around if he was still suffering from the memory loss?

In many ways, Celia is such a sad character. She lost her fiance at a young age and threw herself into religion and community work. Had Les survived, she would have a large family and as a mother, would have been a completely a different person. Instead, she's often a source of a ridicule for the younger characters and often the butt of many pranks/jokes. I'm currently watching the episodes in which Craig Barnett comes to stay with her which I think sums it all up. Celia is excited and enthusiastic about having him him stay and wants to cook him a full breakfast and had plans of all the fun things she wanted to do with him, which probably how she imagined her own life panning out with children, but instead he and Steven are scheming to get Craig kicked out.

The writers became too reliant on each other from a story perspective. Even when Marilyn was introduced, they became a trio rather than trying to develop Martin and Lance as individual characters. That would have been the perfect opportunity for both characters to develop and "grow up" - Lance in a long-term relationship and Martin perhaps with some more serious storylines. I'd rather have had him over Adam as the hapless larrikin always looking for the next big get-rich-quick scheme. Both characters showed promise - Lance had a great "big brother" relationship with Sally and definitely had more of a conscience, whereas Martin was smarter and easier into integrate into the younger cast at the time (i.e. living with Frank and Narelle, working at the Macklins). The scene in which Martin tries to "break up" for Lance because he thinks just brings Lance down shows the depth of Martin's character.

I think it's fine for soaps to evolve - they have to to stay relevant. I know that H&A will never go 100% back to its roots, however it's a shame that that legacy has been lost entirely. It honestly wouldn't hurt to replace 2 or 3 of the twentysomethings with teenagers (there are so many right now, you'd barely notice!) to provide some balance, even though it will never return to a full-on teenage soap again. Whether I enjoy the current show or not, it is still chugging along, which it probably wouldn't be otherwise. I've not watched any of the UK soaps except Hollyoaks, but I understand Emmerdale has changed it's premise too, and Hollyoaks, which was originally about a group of teenagers in college, has evolved into being about an entire village of characters of all ages.

We've definitely had the fostering element in the show since 2011. Obviously John and Marilyn/Gina have had their share (all guests, except for Raffy and Jett!), Roo and Harvey had Maddie and Spencer, and Leah and Zac had Matt, Evie and Oscar (the latter two being his niece and nephew), and Irene had Bella. I can't remember how many of them were official fostering though. Fostering has been a slow decline since 2000, with the introduction of a nuclear family into Summer Bay House over maintaining a foster family. It was all but done by 2019/2020 though.

Did she perhaps stay long that she had become synonymous with Bobby? We hadn't really had long-running soaps in Australia at that point, so Bobby's stint would have been considered long-running by Australian standards in that time. We had dramas A Country Practice as a drama that ran for 10+ years, but other successful soaps such as Sons and Daughters, The Sullivans, The Young Doctors tended to last about 6-7 years. Weirdly, pretty much all of the younger original cast didn't really stay in the industry after leaving H&A. Justine Clarke has become a household name, and Alex Papps has had a long run on Play School, but otherwise all the other original younger cast appear to have left the industry entirely. Many have obviously returned for brief stints and Adam Willits for a regular stint, but none of them have have stayed in the industry in the same way that many of the Neighbours cohort of the same era have.

Funnily enough, Emily Symons requested that Marilyn be killed off when she left in 1999, but the producers said no. I'd be curious to know the reasoning there - maybe the producers didn't want Fisher as a single father of a baby or maybe after Bobby, they didn't want to close the door completely. Either way, it worked out well for Emily that the producers didn't go with her request. If Bobby had not killed off, she definitely would have returned at some point. She would have been back for the big events like Sally's weddings, Sally's departure, Steven's wedding (which Carly returned for), the 2002 reunion episodes, episode 4000 and some of the big Ailsa and Fisher related moments too like his wedding to Marilyn, his 2003 exit, Seb being Alan's son and Ailsa's accident in 1999. I also would have expected her to be considered for a full-time replacement for Pippa or Sally too, since the producers at the time seemed to care for the show's past.

It really is. When we think of the "Early Years" of H&A, fans tend to genralise 1988-2000 in one heap. Cast changes aside, the early years can almost be broken down into three separate eras with John Holmes, Andrew Howie and Russell Webb all making their eras very much distinguishable: 1988 to mid/late 1989: the original format (Holmes) late 1989 through to early 1995 - the Andrew Howie years (described above) 1995 - 2000: the highstakes drama era (Webb) If we wanted to, it could almost be broken down further if we wanted to include transition periods (i.e. late 1989 - early 1991) and periods of change due to cast departures (i.e. Pippa vs Post Pippa, and the different teen gangs in 1995-1999).

It definitely happened with Phillip Matheson back in the eighties. I feel like some of the younger characters are killed off because they are "expendable" for the sake of drama (i.e. Stephanie Mboto, Charlotte Adams, Denny Miller, Mason Morgan, Hannah Wilson, Oscar Maguire), but I can understand the actors of some of the more popular characters like Bobby and Neighbours Todd Landers and Kate Ramsay requesting to be killed off.

Do we know if that was Debra's choice? I'm not sure what parental leave laws were in 1992, but I'm curious as to whether they didn't want Pippa off-screen for too long so that was all she could take. Debra said in the podcast interview that she offered to leave and the producers said they would find a way around it so she didn't have to. Ada Nicodemou and Emily Symons had longer absences, but obviously parental leave have changed since then and they also weren't lynchpins of the show in the same way Pippa was.