adam436

I disagree about Jack Wilson, but I agree with your summation of Adam Cameron. I just found Martin a more likable character, and given Mariyln instantly formed a trio with him and Matt as soon as Lance and Martin left, it's obvious the producers saw them as replacements. I think the problem is the show wanted to be more "sexier" by early 1990 (writing out some older characters, the increased bikini and speedo scenes), and I suspect the producers thought Adam and Matt looked better without a shirt on than Lance and Martin

What option did they have with Zac? Widow Leah for a third time? I guess there were other ways to break them up that didn't paint Zac as the villian though. Hunter was revealed to not be Zac's son which just added to his poor exit storyline. Part of the problem was that the writers wasted so marrying off Zac and Leah that it felt disatisfying to break them up after a year. He was around for well over 4 years, but they were only happily married for a few months. Ada's leave possibly changed the course on that though, since she was originally meant to be away much longer than she was. It is more frustrating, because there is little time for them to be redeemed.

Coincidently, I stopped watching the show for many years around the time the Holdens arrived I didn't find any of the Holdens particuarly interesting from the little I saw of them to be honest.

Four years in total - 3 years of the floating boxes and then 1 year of the larger boxes. That whole style was much easier to update though. It's just a matter of replacing the text/box rather than filming a whole new group/duo shot every time someone leaves/joins. The late 90s style meant that many characters waited months before being added and others sometimes remained long after they'd left so multiple updates could be done at once. The 2004 titles was easy enough too since the actors were probably in front of a greenscreen.

This might be what I am getting confused Jade cheating with Seb with! There was a school performance and she got really sexually inapporpaite with Seb during the performance. I don't remember any further details though.

Thanks everyone for sharing those insights. I remember the initial pairings were Duncan/Jade and Nick/Kirsty, but both seemed quite uneventful pairings from memory (perhaps due to being slightly younger?). I recall much of the drama for Nick and Jade - did Jade cheat on Nick with Seb after Charlotte's death? I recall her going "off the rails" after Charlotte's death, despite barely knowing her. It might have been around the same time as the Angie stuff. From memory, I think I preferred Jade with Seb, despite them being a relatively uneventful pairing in comparison. I also wasn't really a fan of either Jade or Nick, so perhaps that's why I don't see the magic in them as a couple. I can see for those who liked them as a couple, why it was frustrating they didn't get their "sunset ending". Jade left not long after Nick, so she could have followed him to the US instead of that awful twin swap stuff. 2004 was a big year for poor exits - Max was shipped off to boarding school in a blink-and-miss-it exit instead of moving away with Rhys and Shelley, Jade and Seb's has been discussed above, Rhys' exit was messy in the sense that the writers had spent ages building up the Hunter/Sutherlands as the new central family unit, only to tear it all apart after a few months.

May I ask why people liked Nick and Jade so much? I'm not critising, just trying to understand as I watched that era and was only a few years younger than them at the time, but I can't really recall anything that special about them. There was quite a bit of musical partners with that group though between Duncan, Kirsty, Kane, Seb, Jade, Nick and whatever guest characters came through, and Nick and Jade were certainly one of the more long-running couples of those, but I don't recall anything that "magical" about them. I'm also probably biased because I wasn't keen on the Sutherlands overall except for Shelley and Max, but Nick/Jade and any pairing that came out of that group of characters (except the Kirst and Kane drama) just seemed like the standard run-of-the-mill teen couple. Anyway, I still agree that Jade deserved a better ending than finding out she wasn't a Sutherland and then barely being mentioned again. She could have left with Seb, who left around the same time, or reunited with Nick off-screen. Seb was my favourite of that teen group, so I think he deserved better than ending up in a wheelchair too (or leaving with Jade, but I'd have taken that over the wheelchair exit!).

I guess the problem was there was only so much that could be done in terms of corporate espionage, progress vs the environment etc, so it got exhauted pretty quickly. I wonder if it would have kept chugging along had Frank, Roo, Stacey, Tom etc. all stayed longer or whether it would have still fizzled out eventually.

That's a good list. I'd say Tom, Natalie and Joel all had terrible exits, but the cast turnover was so high in 2000 they probably just wanted everyone gone as quickly and quietly as possible ready for the new era. Charlotte was a punching bag for the writers for most of her stint, so it was kinda fitting she went out like that. She was a pretty forgettable character though that she could have had a one-episode exit storyline and it would have been just as memorable for most people. It gave Josh West and Jade some new material to work with though, but overall it wasn't very impactful when you compare her to other deaths. Nick's exit felt far-fetched - never acted before and suddenly he's cast in a Hollywood film. Beth Hunter's exit was an odd one too - it made sense for her to die, but she was absent for months beforehand. Did Clarissa House not want to die onscreen? Were the producers hoping they could win her back after some time away? Did Clarissa take some time off and decide not to return? Was it a timing thing for the storyline (i.e. the same day Kit's baby was born)? Jasmine's exit was subject to Sam Frost's immediate exit, but I agree they probably still could have done something better than reuniting with Robbo's family. I've got no strong opinions on the others you mentioned, either because I was never keen on the character (Harry, Maddie) or I don't remember much about their exit (Miles, Hunter). I wonder if that was part of the 2000 story - a response to feedback from 1998. Pippa's exit felt weirdly temporary too - she was going on a roadtrip around Australia, and then we find out via Ian later that they've settled. That would have contributed to her low-key exit in 1998 - when all the kids were still living in the house with new caretakers, it doesn't have the same impact as Pippa walking through an empty house reminiscing etc. The Early Years was launched in 1998 too, so the producers' were at a place where they wanted to celebrate the past in 2000. Maybe had that attitude been around in 1997 when the writers were crafting Pippa's exit, we would have seen the likes of Jack, Carly, Sophie, Frank and Steven back for her exit.

I'd agree with that. I wasn't a fan of either character, but making Jade a non-Sutherland served absolutely zero purpose whatsoever other than the novelty of having Christie Hayes play both twins for a few weeks. It was forgotten pretty quickly after that. There were other ways to have Jade go on a downward spiral to lead to Seb's paralysis.

Stacey had 3 engagements in the space of a year and didn't marry any of them - Nicholas, Philip and Andrew I love Stacey, but that was ridiculous even by H&A standards.

I'd agree with Marilyn and Phil. It's a shame the producers didn't lure Peter Vroom back for her 1992 exit and have her live happily ever after (until 1995 anyway!) with Lance.

I preferred Stacey with Phil, so it's probably them for me as my favourite. In terms of non-romantic relationships, I enjoyed Bobby and Alan, Stacey and Ailsa and Morag and Nigel.

I think they could have to be honest - if only one of them left in 1990 and the other stayed, Lance could have continued as Marilyn's husband and Martin in a similar function to Adam (had he not been around). I just feel the writers had made them so co-dependant on each other and written them into the corner with their ridiciulous stories it was hard to come back from that.

I'd say they were filling that void before Lance and Martin left. Once Adam and Matt became a partnership (around episode 350ish?), Lance and Martin were reduced to silly stuff like the band, the goldfish funeral and the hotdog stand. The money making schemes and hopelessly trying to crack onto the latest newcomer was left to Matt and Adam. For example, the Summer Bay Bunyip story is something that Martin would have led in his early days, but instead it was driven by Adam despite Martin still being around at that point. I suspect that was the point to the extent. Lance did have a heart of gold, but his naivity and lack of intellegence was a bit farfetched at times.

Agreed. We had a number of boring early 20s characters around that time like Alex, Jesse, Josh and Scott I would have happily dropped in favour of Mav.

Matt Wilson - he worked fine as a recurring two-dimensional boyfriend for Carly in 1988, but served little purpose as a regular. The early 20s male was definitely in oversupply during Matt's regular tenure with the likes of Lance, Martin, Adam, Grant, Ben and Nick that didn't it feel like was really needed to make up numbers either. Denny Miller - the Maguire family didn't really need expanding and her romance with Casey wasn't exactly unique either. The writers clearly saw her as disposable when it came to her exit too. I think most characters have served some purpose at some point - whether that be through work, part of a family unit etc. - even if they stayed long after that purpose has been served.

Gordon Macklin could have worked as a recurring villain that perhaps could have popped up every now and then over the years, but definitely not as a regular without softening him significantly. The only time we really saw his softer side was toward the end when he was trying to reconnect with Stacey. Wasn't he meant to be a family friend of the Bellinghams as well? Perhaps they could have used that connection and had more Gordon/Morag scenes. Ron Haddrick was even still working in the 2000s when Martha and Morag were on the show, so perhaps definitely a missed opportunity there by not having him trying to connect with his granddaughter. I'd love to know whether the Macklins we always going to be drip-fed into the show to set up the Sands Resort/Macklin Corporation or whether they were originally just going to be a two-dimensional wealthy family with their role limited to Roo's pregnancy. The corporate world and wealthy characters was very much an 80s thing on soap. Most of the American soaps had it, and in Australia we had Sons and Daughters and a number of short-lived soaps. Even Neighbours had the Lassisters corporation. Perhaps the producers were trying to follow that trend. I think it would have run its course eventually, but it definitely fizzled out earlier when all the characters linked to it like Frank, Roo, Tom and Stacey were gone. If the producers really wanted to keep it chugging along, they probably would have kept Stacey on and returned her to the business world or had Tom continue to work there after his stroke, or given some of the newcomers like Ben or Adam a job working there.

He was a regular on a short-lived soap called The Power, The Passion prior to joining H&A, so he did have some acting experience. It wasn't great, so maybe Julian forgot about that as well

I suspect the producers anticipated Matt to be a bigger character than what he ended up being: he had his own tie-in novel (The Matt Wilson story), and was brought back full-time in 1989 despite being a rather forgettable and two-dimensional character (which didn't improve when he returned!) the previous year. He even appeared in the opening titles for a few weeks in 1988. I remember watching the Early Years in the late 90s and when he made his opening credits debut alongside Roo, I had no idea who he was

Bob and Craig Barnett - there was a spark of romance between him and Celia early on which fizzled out. Craig was likable enough too, perhaps moreso than some of the teens who came in the early 90s. Alan Fisher - I know his death is one of the more memorable storylines of 1988, but there was so much wasted potential. The writers have tried to milk it as much as they can over the years though with On the Crest of a Wave and introducing Alan's secret son Seb. Gus Bishop - I wonder if we would have seen more of him had Donna not left so early on. He'd have been another rebel-turned-responsible-teenager story arc if he had a longer run. the Mackins - I enjoyed Gordon and Brett as a guest villains, but they were both very two-dimensional. It's a shame H&A didn't want a regular villain in the cast like many other 80s soaps did. Stacey was one of my favourite characters too, but she got a longer run than some regular characters. A few from the "later" early years: the modern day Pattersons like Stella, Maverick and Skye. The latter two might have made good regular characters. Skye has the "wild child turned good", and Maverick as the slightly alternative character. It's a shame he got lumbered with Brodie Hanson. teenage Christopher Fletcher - as a closeted gay teenager the same age as Chris was at the time, I enjoyed that story arc. It's a shame he didn't stay beyond that or return later to live with Sally and Flynn. Chris Polous Nathan Roberts and his future wife Grace

We had already seen Bobby get married young and divorce after a few months and just recently seen Pippa widowed, so perhaps the writers felt either of those two scenarios for Carly would have been soon. Plus, what would they have done with Carly without Ben? She'd probably just end up fawning over every new male arrival like she did before Ben arrived. I assume the long-term plan was for Ben and Carly to eventually become foster parents themselves like Bobby and Sally did, but they left before it came to that. Their farm would have been a good location for kids from broken homes too.

I do wonder if sometimes there are behind-the-scenes reasoning for it that we aren't aware of, like maybe an actor giving short notice of their exit. The ones that stand out for me are Dan Baker and Beth Hunter. I understand they both had to be killed off due to their ties to Summer Bay/current characters, but why did the writers decide to kill them off off-screen after the actors had made their final appearances. It could be a timing thing with storylines - Beth died on the same day Kit gave birth and Tom Fletcher told Sally that Leah was going to need her or something along those lines. Rob's exit kind of worked for me because he was slowly isolated from his regular interactions with the characters: he moved out of Irene's house, he quit his job at the school and bought the boat shed (a business regular characters had little reason to frequent) and his friendship with Donna was pretty much over. Travis and Donna left a few weeks after him as well. I can't comment on Matt's exit as I haven't watched that era, but did Matt's had a similar foregrounding or was he still living with Adam and Marilyn and working at the diner? I believe his exit got explained later on though, so there was probably a behind-the-scenes reason Greg Benson just disappeared. It was drawn out and overall I enjoyed her journey of leaving Summer Bay with Ian, but I think the issues lay with the "temporary" nature of it - she went travelling around Australia, leaving her foster children in the care of Travis and Rebecca. Ian returned later to explain they'd settled in the Carrington Ranges and to take Tegan with them. From all accounts, it sounds like Debra Lawrence was adamant she was ready to move on, so it begs the question why the writers opted not to make it permanent from the start: Was it so that Pippa didn't look bad by completely abandoning her foster children (by the time Ian returned, Justine and Sam were settled with the Nashes and Donald)? Were the producers still hoping they could persuade Debra to come back after she'd had some time out? Was Pippa such an important character that they felt a softer exit was the best approach?

Given Vinnie's colourful life off-screen since 2002, there is certainly scope for him to still be alive. I'd say the fact that we are now another three husbands down the line (maybe more by the time Ada calls it quits!) and VJ is long gone, that ship has well and truly and sailed.

The short answer is yes. I read somewhere Ryan told the producers he would come back for Ada Nicodemou's exit, but of course that never happened.