Latest UK Episode Discussion (2006-2017 Seasons)

[Red Ranger 1]

Again, wasn't too keen on the Alf/John antagonism.It felt a bit forced.The little bit between John and Gina was quite nice, with his comment about taking Alf on a moonlit walk and Gina's pained look at his "charm" face.Although John's proposals did seem a bit extreme, Alf seemed a bit petty.I did like the last few scenes where Alf realised the surf club needed to move on without him, he seemed to do it with good grace.I am finding myself liking Colleen this year, incredibly.

The "Nicole doesn't fit in at uni" thing was perhaps overdone a bit.I thought she'd have been better off going with the tour guide, who was well-meaning despite putting her foot in her mouth a lot, instead of opting out and going to see the evil lecturer.I loved Indi in that episode, she was being a genuinely supportive friend of the type Nicole doesn't have enough of at the moment.Love that Morag finally had that chat with Marilyn and told her she should be offering Nicole support without the strings attached, it seems that now it's no longer affecting Alf's case Morag's actually quite understanding about Nicole's pregnancy.(And she's been there herself, of course.)Shame that Marilyn interpreted "give Nicole some space" as "bring it up again next time she sees her".Given the day Nicole had just had, it was poorly timed and may push her into making a snap decision.

[Miranda]

Probably a bit late for my comments but my daughter's been ill in hospital Home and Away is such a nice bit of escapism.

I thought the Penn storyline was pointless and a damp squib. What was the point of bringing Will back to ruin his life and then never see him again? I presume we won't see him in prison or getting out again. It would have been better if Daria had been someone from Penn's past catching up with him while pretending to be Shandi. then SHE could have murdered him and also they could have done a really twisty turny plot without Will. In fact I thought she had stabbed Penn while Will was struggling wiht him- that would have been better. I've never liked Will particularly but I didn't think he deserved that fate.

That poor Nicole, I really felt sorry for her. So she shouldn't have had sex with Penn, but she did. Now she feels like she's being punished for it. Her lecturer was far too unsympathetic, not very promising. Why didn't Nic meet Geoff 5 years later, then they cuold have lived happily ever after? Or even Aden 5 years later?

Haven't seen Xavier lately, where's he been?

I didn't like John and Alf arguing, it wasn't a minute ago that they were friends. I can see the club needs modernising but it doesn't mean they have to alienate the locals

[H&Alover]

Hope your daughter is feeling a lot better Miranda.

To be fair to Marilyn Red, she didn't know that Nicole had had such a bad day. Do think the she phrased the her and Sid trying a different route to adoption very badly. From the way I saw it Nicole now thinks they don't want to know. Agree with you though about the lecturer, she didn't actually come and say that Nicole wouldn't be able to manage due to her being pregnant, but the meaning was there. The tour guide really should have stopped digging before she got herself in so deep, but she meant well.

Evan seemed an OK kind of guy, and at least he was honest when Nicole told him she was pregnant. I think he could be a good friend if she lets him.

Once again Colleen seemed to come out with some sensible remarks. Liked the one about the website giving fishing tips and it spoiling the fun of going fishing. It did seem the others were ganging up on Alf, so perhaps it's good he has decided to step down, hope John can handle it and doesn't try to make too many changes too fast, it could all backfire on him. His charm offensive on Alf didn't last long did it? Loved the look on his face when his car got towed away. Alf made a good point, just because he (John) is a member/working there shouldn't mean he's exempt unless he has a badge/sticker in his car to indicate that.

Did my ears deceive me or did Alf say to Angelo something like 'John pulling ideas out of his khyber'?

Btw forgive a poor ignorant pom, but what is a pokey?

No evening episode tonight.

[Psychic Wombat]

Reality bites for Nicole, being pregnant she can't get drunk and cop off with guys at partys, nevermind.

Thank goodness the Penn thing is over at last, poor Will broke Summer Bays cardinal rule, once you leave you can't return without something bad happening to you!

@H&Alover Pokeys are slot machines, the Aussies have thing about them and gambling in general.

[H&Alover]

@H&Alover Pokeys are slot machines, the Aussies have thing about them and gambling in general.

Thanks for that Psychic.

[Red Ranger 1]

My best wishes to your daughter as well, Miranda.

The following post discusses the episode shown at Thursday lunchtime:

Every episode Nicole's in I hope she's going to change her mind about this adoption.It's clear she isn't 100% committed.I think she's focusing too much on the negative and not really getting enough support.I'm glad Alf talked to her, now that the Penn thing finally seems to be over hopefully he'll be a good support to her.Doesn't help that chunks of the storyline seem to have been removed, Nicole's "That's what Liam said" sounds extremely strange when as far as we know Liam doesn't even know.I really wish Charlie would talk to her, maybe making something of that friendship that sprung up out of nowhere when they went to the races together, she probably knows better than anyone what Nicole's going through.(And her advice to Ruby, help Nicole learn to love the baby, is exactly what's needed right now.)Marilyn and Sid's idea of a contract is actually a pretty good one, it means they all know where they stand.Not sure how legally binding it would be though, I think Nicole would still need to sign the baby over once it's born.

I did think in the previous episode that Indigo seemed to be staying awfully late at the party for someone whose boyfriend was cooking dinner for her and...yep.Not sure what to make of Ruby, if she is trying to split up Romeo and Indi she's being awfully subtle about it, although she did drop quite a few remarks about the two of them being left alone while Indi's at uni.The kiss could just about be interpreted as a friendly gesture.(Obviously that wasn't Ruby's only reason for doing it but it wasn't an unambigious come-on.)Romeo and Indi do seem to be on the rocks but then they usually are.

April's sudden transformation from environmentalist to eco-terrorist...is actually believable, thanks to that nice little scene with Xavier where she tells him about how she wants her father to notice her.It's obvious that's her real reason for suddenly turning extremist, so she can get some attention, and maybe, although she seems to be genuine, that's also why she got into environmentalism.Seems like Rene's a bit of a bad influence on her too.Hopefully Xavier will manage to pull her back from the edge.

[Miranda]

Thanks H&Alover and Red. My daughter is much better, she is so little it was really worrying.

I thought Indi and Romeo would be a great couple but all they do is talk about their relationship without actually having a relationship! I have changed to thinking perhaps Ruby could be good for him, she might actually make him DO something instead of hanging around. And Ruby going out with Xavier's best friend would be interesting!

So... April. What is she planning to do with those chemicals? I thought she wanted to stop the tanning factory polluting the river, how will chemicals help her do that? Please explain to someone who wasn't listening properly

[Brian]

Thanks H&Alover and Red. My daughter is much better, she is so little it was really worrying.

I thought Indi and Romeo would be a great couple but all they do is talk about their relationship without actually having a relationship! I have changed to thinking perhaps Ruby could be good for him, she might actually make him DO something instead of hanging around. And Ruby going out with Xavier's best friend would be interesting!

So... April. What is she planning to do with those chemicals? I thought she wanted to stop the tanning factory polluting the river, how will chemicals help her do that? Please explain to someone who wasn't listening properly

Glad to hear it Miranda.

yes, Romeo and Indi should split up - good opportunity now that Indi will be at uni during the day. And Ruby is just what Romeo needs, to bring out the proper boyfriend in him, but he better watch out, because Ruby does not take any prisoners!

I can see how phenol sulphuric acid could do a lot of damage in a factory. An extremely corrosive substance, that could dissolve any metal machinery and seriously pollute the water if poured into it. An unlikely chemical to be kept in a school however - doesn't feature in any syllabus that I know of and would not be allowed under our H&S rules. Then Xavier would have found that out during his research and he asked April the correct safety questions, to which she had no answers, the airhead that she is. But then Xavier would not have been stupid enough to have poured them down a kitchen sink - he would have found the nearest outside drain. Then he wouldn't have just stood around waiting to be aphixiated - he would have got him and April outside quickly at the first whiff and sight of those white fumes!

Not a very convincing scientific narrative.

[Miranda]

Thanks Brian

Xavier was brilliant and idiotic in this episode. Brilliant at spotting that Ruby is after Romeo, but idiotic with the chemicals, as Brian said above. What an idiot! (Xavier not Brian!) Pouring all those chemicals down the sink where they obviously mixed, probably with water too, and reacted.

I'm not sure now about Ruby and Romeo. I liked the thought of them but she was being so devious today (why am I surprised?) that I heard the bell of doom tolling for Romeo. She'll probably have married him by the end of the year....

So, Leah still likes Elijah... hm... I never saw any chemistry between her, there was more with her and Robert. Was. He came on far too strong, he should have said 'I'm moving to the city, you are welcome to come and visit,' leaving it to her. Although I can see his point, with Elijah lurking in the background of her life. Leah in a love triangle!

[Red Ranger 1]

Alf's episode count this week:Four.Sid was also in four(although he only appeared in flashback on Monday), while Liam and Bianca were only in one.

I don't really see much chemistry between Leah and either Elijah or Robertson, I really wish they'd have the courage to have her happily single instead of trying to pair her up with every guy that comes to town.Robertson getting a promotion is absurd, he did nothing except wander around harrassing an innocent man(even right at the end he was trying to get Will to say Alf was behind it all), whilst everyone else solved the case for him:Charlie, Morag, Irene, Angelo, even Graves did more than him.(Got to feel sorry for her, when she and Robertson were going back to the city before Penn's body was found Robertson expressed his regret that her first case was ending without a result. Then he gets her to arrest the wrong man against her better judgement and apparently packs her off back to the city!)Nice to see some girls' talk between Leah and Charlie again.

It's odd, I thought this storyline was going to make me hate Ruby but...it doesn't.At all.Instead I find myself rooting for her and Romeo to get together, even though I don't think they'd be any better for each other than him and Indigo are, they both need someone more mature to keep them in line.I'm not sure if she was actually being devious, she just seemed to be getting Dexter to find out what was going on so she knew whether or not they were going to split up and whether she had a chance.It's possible that she knew getting Dexter to ask questions would cause further trouble but that's not the way I interpreted it.

Xavier was brilliant for most of the episode, he still seems to know Ruby better than anyone and he rightly told April that her "plan" was insane.But the last few minutes were ridiculous.Xavier's meant to have thoroughly researched the chemicals and found out how dangerous they are and how they could react with other substances...but instead of doing the sensible thing and returning them to the school anonymously, he decides to flush them down the sink and then stand there breathing in the fumes.Hard to shake the feeling the reason we didn't see Xavier and April collapse was because no-one could figure out a way for it to happen.Yes, I know he was worried about the police being involved and not thinking clearly and yes, I get that he was distracted by arguing with April.But as Brian said, they must have shown some sort of symptoms, they wouldn't have collapsed instantaneously, so why didn't they get out of there?The whole "The students don't know what chemicals were stolen" thing was a bit daft too:Gina knows Xavier looked up the exact chemicals but doesn't seem to twig until he mentions sulphuric acid.(And did Xavier actually get a good look at the chemical bottles anyway?)I hope there's going to be some genuine legal consequences for April here, even if it's just an official caution, rather than "Oh, she's suffered enough, we won't press charges."I like April, although not so much in that episode, but it needs to be followed through on.