2000 Episode Discussion

[dan]

Dan F, what was the continuity glitch with Floss' van? I've only watched the first 136 eps of the real early years so maybe there's something I haven't found out yet, But I'm wondering if possibly they were said to have sold the van when they left back in 1989 and therefore perhaps Floss didn't still have it to sell when Nev died. If that's what it was then maybe they changed their mind and bought it back soon after they were last seen, Floss did after all sell it and then they changed their minds during 1988 so it's a possible explanation.

[Blaxland 89]

Voices change. It'd be unrealistic to expect Daniel Amalm to sound the same as he did 15-17 at 21.

I'm 33 and if you listen to old cassette recordings of me at 15-17 I sound pretty much exactly the same.

Hayley!(Looking incredibly young.)Ken!Irene, 2000 version!Harry!Duncan!Can always rely on a wedding to show the characters who haven't appeared for a week hanging around in the background.And more doomladen dialogue as Hayley talks about Ken and Irene being the next to marry and we all go "Oh no..."I think Ken, Edward et al must have been added to the credits after the original order was sorted, hence their odd positioning.(When these were last one we had five of the cast still in the current show and the next one appeared in 2004.Now we're down to three and, discounting Marilyn's brief return, the next one's in 2009.)

It's a shame we've been parachuted into the middle of this storyline, meaning there's no build-up to Kieran getting his comeuppance, no background to Hayley and Gypsy's reconciliation and we don't notice Colleen doing a complete turnaround after weeks of blaming Gypsy for everything.(The show being taken off in the UK meant I spent a year hating Kieran and Colleen...)Still, it's hard not to cheer Gypsy and Hayley when they get up and out Kieran at the wedding.Continuing to love everything around both Gypsy and Sally, both of whom seemed to be put through the grinder for months upon end around this point.I'm so glad Sally didn't stay angry with her for long and that thank you at the end laid the foundation for their forthcoming friendship.

Never liked Steven and Frank going after Kieran like macho thugs and the fact no-one's that bothered about it apart from Sally and most of them are pretty much cheering them on makes uncomfortable viewing.I'm still in two minds about kicking off with these episodes:They're wonderfully nostalgic for the long-term fans but imagine being a new viewer from 2013, turning that on and finding them all talking in what's virtually a foreign language, then all the new characters you've just met disappear both literally and metaphorically.Still, everything from Sally and Lance's chat on is a delight:I've been misquoting his bon mot for years, what was it, "Everything's all right in the end"?Alison Patterson gets a happy ending eleven years after she left the show:Makes a nice change from the other way round.Suddenly realised near the end that Ben is the name of both Carly's husband and Floss' grandson which is probably why the latter didn't get a namecheck.And that moment between Pippa and Frank, her first foster child, on the stairs finally brought a tear to my eye:"All the rest was a bonus."

And I don't actually mind Nancye Hayes...

I don't either.Apart from looking nothing like Judy,she had some similar mannerisms. Edward was definitely in the originally credits of 2000. But Justine's was replaced by Ken. And Nick's replaced Sam. Natalie, Tom and James had also been taken out by then. Leah replaced one of them and another by non character shot. I think the other one could be Colleen but I might be wrong on that one Not long before it all looks a bit over crowded with sutherlands.

[sindikatas]

Dan F, what was the continuity glitch with Floss' van? I've only watched the first 136 eps of the real early years so maybe there's something I haven't found out yet, But I'm wondering if possibly they were said to have sold the van when they left back in 1989 and therefore perhaps Floss didn't still have it to sell when Nev died. If that's what it was then maybe they changed their mind and bought it back soon after they were last seen, Floss did after all sell it and then they changed their minds during 1988 so it's a possible explanation.

When Floss and Neville left in 1989 they decided to leave van in caravan park because the engine was to old to work. At the start of 1991 Michael and Pippa decided to get rid of that van to make space in caravan park. The engine was fixed and van was sold to some stranger by Ben.

[dan]

Ah I see, so was the van actually seen regularly in outdoor scenes during those two years then? Maybe Floss and Neville might have seen the newly fixed van being driven by the stranger in 1991 or thereafter and bought it back, and the assembled friends knew this when they were asking Floss at Sal's wedding what had happened to it. Well that's one way round the obvious continuity mistake anyway. Speaking of which Frank mentioned his two divorces, but although he had two weddings back in the day, the first one to Roo never actually took place due to her pulling out through guilt, so did the researcher at 7 in 2000 see that Frank had had two wedding episodes and just assumed that meant two divorces, or did Roo and Frank marry for real offscreen after they had departed the soap? Also possibly a third continuity error, and one I recall mentioning when the episode first aired is that Pippa mentions her girl has an ear infection and couldn't fly, but this daughter wasn't mentioned prior to this return, or on any future returns, so was this an attempt to show Pippa has moved on in her life by having another baby (making 3 for a woman who couldn't even have one when the series began) or was that a bizarre error? And finally did Pippa and Ian marry or not? She told Shauna she was Pippa Ross in one episode, but when Carly joked about people marrying 3 or 4 times she hastily took it back by saying "Oh Pippa I didn't mean you", which implied Pippa had married 3 times. Maybe Debra just forget herself and said Ross out of habit, even though she wouldn't have said it for a couple of years by the time of these eps.
I don't mean to sound too critical of the episodes by the way, they were truly wonderful both then and now for any fan of old skool Home and Away, I just can't help mulling over little details like the ones above.
I remembered the Home and Away weddings DVD as a result of today eps and just watched that again, and Kim Coopers quote about her broken ankle and banging it on the pew during the wedding scene is actually on there, not from bttb after all, so my memory was half right.

[Red Ranger 1]

It was recently confirmed in the 1991 episodes that, yes, Frank and Roo married offscreen.Pippa was mentioned as being pregnant in 1999, that's the only mention of it being a girl and she seems to have forgotten both her children since 2003(she doesn't mention Christopher here either).I noticed that remark about three or four times either, not sure if it's definitive evidence Pippa's being married three times it might just refer to the fact that she remarried.I doubt Debra would have said Ross unless it was in the script and even if she did they'd probably have done a retake.She was still Ross in dialogue and credits up to 2009, by when Ian was long forgotten.

[John]

Mmm. I'm reading this discussion with interest for all of those characters I recall being mentioned.

Of course I'm Oz based so can't get the replays.

If you see someone lurking in the shadows of this discussion just to hear all those names and remember it will probably be me.

[-Andrew-]

Episode 2855 (the one after the non-wedding) is amongst my favourite standalone episodes. It's a bit schmaltzy at times and they probably go a bit overboard with the references, where it's almost like exposition, but they definitely had the right idea. The scene with Lance trying to comfort Sally was perfect and Floss brings such a nice vibe to all of her scenes.

Is something cut during the long SBH conversation scenes, when Pippa gasps "Frank!" as if he's said something offensive? Just seemed a bit out of nowhere, like Morag's "RIC!!!" in the channel 5 edit of episode 4000.

I enjoy the theme/ credits alot more now than I did at the time. They were so well made and rich in detail when compared to how the style wound up in 2003, when they removed all the background footage of beachgoers/ floating text, leaving just the backdrop of the waves and a few fish. Of all the FX- driven credits, these were definitely the best imo.

[c120701]

Another good line or so from Alf today, about his tools being boomerangs and having them "since Adam was a boy, and I don't mean Adam Cameron."

[Red Ranger 1]

Did they add Edward and Judith on the end in 1999?I don't think those credits have anything like a full overhaul until 2003.The references to Natalie kind of underline that her era is kind of so near, so far, and then there's that empty frame next to Joel in the credits where she used to be, just to rub the salt in...It suddenly occurred to me during Pippa's speech about her that Leah was still very new at that point, might even have been the most recent arrival until the Sutherlands.Yep, these episodes are that old.

Rhys!Shelley!Dani!Kirsty!Jade!Okay, I could have just said "the Sutherlands" but might as well get it all out there.Gosh, Rhys and Shelley look young, whatever did they do to them?Rhys' dry sense of humour already in evidence.(Love his bemused "Thanks for that" when Colleen says she'd lend them her telly if it was working.)Colleen acting like it's open house still...I wondered if that episode was going to remind me of the Fletchers moving in in the pilot but actually it's not that similar, although you've got Alf coming over as the old owner, them meeting the eccentric permanent resident and a nocturnal drama.Dani's characterisation does mostly seem to be Gypsy 2.0 but there's a few similarities with 1988 Carly, especially her complaining about leaving her boyfriend behind.It's interesting to see all the character traits that were quickly dropped:Dani's frizzy hair and quasi-goth style thankfully doesn't last long(resulting in her looking very little like her first shot in the opening titles and her being one of the few people to get it updated), ditto Kirsty's skateboarding and Jade's asthma(I think we get a "You haven't had an attack for a while" in a few weeks).Oddly quaint how they get listed right at the end of the guest cast as 'The Sutherland Family'.

Few things starting to build:Mitch's possessive attitude towards the Drop-In Centre and belief that only he knows how it should be run seems to be behind his questionable decision to give a couple of randoms the run of the place.(Doesn't it feel strange hearing 2000 Alf casually name drop Adam Cameron?Maybe he's been drinking whatever continuity juice was being knocked back in the previous episode, although I suppose his 1999 stint made him a recent memory.)Sally's OCD kicks in remarkably quickly and loved Harry's bemused "This is a female thing?" when Shauna talks about using running water to disguise crying as if it's the most normal thing in the world.More great comic timing from Norman Coburn with Don's pained expression during Martin's speech.

And I know the face is offputting but I do think Nancye Hayes has captured the spirit of Ailsa well.Come on, it's only a few months on from Fake Mitch, they could have done worse.

[Blaxland 89]

Judith and Edward first appeared in credits on the first episode of 2000. These 2000 episodes is making me want to watch the season from the beginning when it was still n ITV. Yes Leah was the latest main character at that point. Ken and Nick had already been in it in 1999. Though Nick was played by another actor. But he really looked like a mini Will. Not long before Brodie's debut.