Roo and Marilyn have been ruined for me - similar experiences?

[dncllpyk]

Yes they have ruined the characters of Roo and Marilyn. As much as I love Georgie Parker shes not Roo. I only watched Roo in the repeats. But Roo was much better when she was a brat I know people grow up but really they've ruined the character by making her nice. I loved to hate Roo now I like her its not right.

Marilyn I used to love the ditzy Marilyn. But they've changed her and I don't like her anymore. As for Pippa Debra Lawrence actually worked. Same with Flynn when Joel McIlroy took over. Same with Natalie with Aniotte(sp?) took over. In fact she was better than the original Natalie.

Another character they ruined was Tasha. Once she became normal it just ruined the character totally.

[Red Ranger 1]

As often seems to be the case, people seem to have forgotten what Roo was actually like or rather what she actually became.A lot of the publicity when she returned was emphasising the fact she was "Summer Bay's original minx" but if you watch any episode after she gave Martha up for adoption, then she's not like that.At all.She was...well, like she is now.She'd grown up a lot, she'd accepted she couldn't go on treating people like that, she was a nice person.So...no, Roo hasn't been ruined.Or at least if she has, she was ruined in 1988.

[ebrett84]

I like this discussion. Marilyn is really unlikeable but I wouldn't say she's been "ruined" because as RR points out, it's completely in character for her. As for why certain people on these boards are less accepting of it now than they were then, well you'll have to ask them. I really don't mind characters being brought back to have bad things happen to them....if it's in character. That's why I hated Will's return. I don't see him as a cheat, and I don't see him as someone who would get involved with a scrag like not! John Palmer's daughter. I did find it believable that he was a crap father as he wasn't exactly Mr Responsibility and Maturity, but still. It's why Kane's 2003 return was the absolute pits but his more lamented 2008 return didn't bother me. His 2003 return totally made a mockery of his 2002 rehabilitation. By the time he left in 2002 he'd been transformed into this redeemed, remorseful, well meaning, noble, genuinely sweet guy. So to watch him in 2003 stalking Kirsty until she takes him back, basically bullying her into marrying him, bullying and threatening her friends and family, treating his rape victim with absolute contempt and hatred and breaking the law whenever he felt like it was just jarring and depressing to watch. It was like they'd brought back his evil twin or something. But I didn't mind his 2008 return precisely because they'd already ruined him. It wouldn't have been in character in 2002 but given who they'd turned him into, it actually was in character for him to basically try to pawn his son off on someone else just so he could continue his pathetic little criminal life all the while pretending to be a hero because he's too selfish and gutless to turn himself in for the sake of his son. It was in character for him to "heroically" tell Kirsty to move on...and then change his mind and beg her for money when she actually started to do that. And it was in character for him to basically try and pressure Kirsty into going back with him, for him to basically act like her life is a triviality that starts and stops at his convenience, and to act like "winning" his fight to be with Kirsty is more important than whether or not she'd actually be happy being with him. If he'd done all this stuff in 2003 I would have been screaming blue murder about how they'd ruined his character. In 2008, well his character had already been ruined so you might as well get some mileage out of that.

[Perry]

I think its rather acceptable for Marilyn to behave out of character given her current storyline and her past experiences.

[Lulu1978]

It's different writers now than when both these characters were last on the show.So many times when characters return to the show under a different regime,they are ruined.I thought Marilyn's mid 90's return was good.Back then she was still the bubbly,ditzy Marilyn that we all loved.Towards the end of her last stint she started to change after the death of her baby Byron.A tragic loss of a child is something a parent never really gets over.I think sadly the late 80's/90's Marilyn is gone forever.

Roo started out as a b**** but after watching her 1989 episodes,she was a totally different person.She grew up alot after giving Martha up for adoption.I don't watch the current episodes very often.From what I have seen of the grown up Roo I like,although I prefer Justine Clark in the role.

I think it's the writing that is the problem when characters who are not meant to be unlikeable are not liked by the viewers.One of the main reasons I don't watch this show much now is so many characters are not very likeable.I remember during the first 10 years of the show when I loved almost every character.The characters were well written in those days and the characters who were written badly were usually the ones that we were not meant to like anyway.I am so glad that 7two is showing is showing the early years so I can relive the best years of the show.

[alexx]

Yes I agree with Red Ranger about Roo. The Roo we are seeing now is very much the Roo that left Summer Bay back in 1989, just more grown up. In fact I think this is one of the best recasts because the writing of the character hasn't been sacrificed - I could imagine Justine Clark's Roo coming out with everything Georgie Parker's Roo has and from what we've seen so far of her bond with Alf, its just exactly the same as it ever was back in the 1980's - she was a daddy girl then and she is now. I loved all that character driven stuff between Alf and Roo when she came back last year.

As I said, I dont think I can go as far as saying Marilyn is ruined, because we saw Maz go threw rough patches back in the later 90's and that is where the more somber Marilyn started to emerge, but having said that, she was almost suicidal back in the first few weeks of her initial stint in 1989 and then she ran away a good few times throughout the 90's when the going got tough so there has always been that element to the character. So no, I dont think she is ruined - I think if the writers are clever and careful enough they can rectify the damage they have done.

They just need to remember that a personality shouldn't be treated as a storyline - it is ongoing character development and personalty quirks and traits that make a character individual. In the case of Marilyn, they seemed to treat the dizzy/bubbly aspect as a introductory storyline and then forgot to follow threw with it - whereas all throughout the 90's and even when she was in serious storylines, that daft/dizzy element wasn't ever forgotten about (even if it was just mispronouncing a word during a serious conversation) - this is what they need to rectify.

[Ryan]

The problem I see with Marilyn is that I'm not sure that Leah, Irene etc. are actually aware she's returned to the bay and especially Irene, that is someone who she should be interacting with. Whilst not everyone in the cast needs to be bosom buddies, Marilyn appeared with Alf and Miles for her first 100 episodes and now seems to only appear with Sid and Nicole. If you look at the early years episodes, look how smoothly the cast slips around one another. This past week Lance has a story which involves him, Sally and Celia. It lasted 2 episodes and was all a bit silly, but that's what helps build the structure of the show. Every now again, Lance and Celia would get involved in a few scenes, it wouldn't usually go very far.

Look at the mid 90's, and what made it so good perhaps was that you could imagine Marilyn in the diner having a chat with many of the cast. Her recent return has written her into one location, that is the middle of nowhere.

I think if you're to change a solid, complete ending of a past character you need to ensure that this new future is worth it. Gypsy/Will was a 4 year love story. We nearly had it ended by a couple of lines in 2003 and whilst 2010 might have been believable it soils those past episodes.

The worst was when Steven and Selina were broken up in 2003 just so that Steven could ask Sally if she was marrying the right man.

[alexx]

Ryan I completely agree. That is another area they failed with Marilyn by keeping her at Alf, Miles, Sid and Nicole's side and ironically have done great with Roo. I say ironically because back in the 80's it was Roo who interacted with only a certain few cast members regularly whereas as you pointed out, Marilyn in the 90's was one of those who could be paired up with any character and have a good chinwag without it appearing false or forced.

[beau_t]

I agree they did a brilliant job getting Roo intergrated with all the community. There is still time to rectify this with Marilyn - all they need to do is acknowledge it in the story, have Marilyn admit that she has been consumed with her own problems and hasn't fully settled back into Summer Bay life yet. Give her a fresh start.

I really don't understand why they have done that between Marilyn and Irene and we will probably never find out (I have even emailed the official site asking why Marilyn and Irene's friendship has been forgotten about and got no reply, not that I expected one and perhaps that's a bit extreme - I am not accustomed to writing complaints to TV shows - but that's how mad I am about it).

[alexx]

Good I am glad you e-mailed them about it, I also e-mailed the official site about Marilyn a few months ago and also brought up the lack of Irene/Marilyn interaction in the email too - a few months later we got the first Irene/Maz scene but hopefully they will really embrace the friendship.