Does anyone know why Tom and Michael were killed off?

[Luigi Severus Fletcher]

On 05/01/2020 at 23:09, Homeandawayfan. said:

Imagine if Tom and Michael had met? Michael first appeared a few months after Tom died I think.

Michael should have been a character prior to Tom's death, they could have even been "mates from way back".

[Skylover]

On 02/07/2019 at 16:03, Sally Keating said:

As for Michael - he had a good stretch. Whether or not budgetary reasons played a part, it was still the right decision anyway. And I say this as someone who liked Michael (most of the time). It’s good to keep the show fresh and he left at the right point. Michael’s death changed Pippa on a long term basis and changed the dynamics at Summer Bay House. 

I wonder what their exit storyline would have been if Michael had stayed on up until Debra’s departure in 1998.

If Michael's axing ended up prompting Debra's decision to leave as Pippa, I wonder how things could have been different. If Michael was still around in 1998, it would have been more feasible for Pippa to have a long-term break (to visit a sick relative in the show or something) then Michael could have looked after Summer Bay House in the meantime. Michael and Pippa might even have still been on the show now.

[j.laur5]

1 hour ago, Skylover said:

If Michael's axing ended up prompting Debra's decision to leave as Pippa, I wonder how things could have been different. If Michael was still around in 1998, it would have been more feasible for Pippa to have a long-term break (to visit a sick relative in the show or something) then Michael could have looked after Summer Bay House in the meantime. Michael and Pippa might even have still been on the show now.

Debra left H&A as she wanted to move back to Melbourne to be near her mum who died a few years later.

Debra said she's more then happy to return as a guest but not as a regular as she lives in Melbourne and that's where her family lives.

[Skylover]

12 minutes ago, j.laur5 said:

Debra left H&A as she wanted to move back to Melbourne to be near her mum who died a few years later.

Debra said she's more then happy to return as a guest but not as a regular as she lives in Melbourne and that's where her family lives.

Yeah but if Michael had stayed, Debra would probably have been able to take a long term break (say 6 months or so) to go and be with her mother, as then the writers wouldn't have had to worry about who was going to run Summer Bay House. I think Pippa might have stayed if Michael did, I think Michael's axing forced her hand to an extent. But who knows, she might have left anyway? I think the show really changed from 2000 onwards, it would have been better if Pippa stayed and they kept the classic 96-99 opening titles rather than introducing the horrible fish credits with the new theme tune.

[Luigi Severus Fletcher]

15 minutes ago, Skylover said:

Yeah but if Michael had stayed, Debra would probably have been able to take a long term break (say 6 months or so) to go and be with her mother, as then the writers wouldn't have had to worry about who was going to run Summer Bay House. I think Pippa might have stayed if Michael did, I think Michael's axing forced her hand to an extent. But who knows, she might have left anyway? I think the show really changed from 2000 onwards, it would have been better if Pippa stayed and they kept the classic 96-99 opening titles rather than introducing the horrible fish credits with the new theme tune.

Couldn't agree more... Like I've said many times, the 2000 - 2010 episodes were a big shift in the show, many original characters were leaving or dying, the tone of the show had changed, losing it's qualities. Somehow, in 2010, the classic feeling came back, despite the different story lines.

[cymbaline]

I don't think Debra would've stayed on all that long, regardless. By the time she left, you could argue that she was at a crossroads in her life. If her daughter was born towards the end of 1992/early 1993, she was getting towards the age where she would be starting school by the time Pippa quit the Bay. Parents generally don't like pulling their kids out of school once they're settled in and making their own friends. If moving "home" and living nearer to her mother was in the back of her mind, that was as good at time as any to leave. She had gained financial security from being on H&A and Dennis would've done well out of it from his 5½ years there. Career-wise she now stood a better chance of getting more acting work than she had done before her stint on Home and Away.  She has also said she suffered a few miscarriages before her son was born - there's a gap of 6 or 7 years between the two kids she had with Dennis. She probably went through some of those while still on H&A. Maybe the stress of combining motherhood and H&A's gruelling schedule didn't help. All of these things (and ones we don't know about)  accumulate and make it easier to make the decision to leave. Most actors don't stay on H&A that long so her leaving after 7-8 years isn't that odd really. She moved on, the show moved on...

[j.laur5]

Also I wonder too if Debra felt Pippa was starting to get  tedious and boring to play  and worried if storyline’s  would just become  repeated after while and didn’t want Pippa to keep going though husband after  husband. 

[j.laur5]

Does anyone think would be interseing to see Debra Lawrence Pippa and Tom together and Vanessa Pippa   and Micheal together. 

I know technicality they both Pippas were same character but just saying .