How Do You Think The Characters Have Changed This Season?

[bttb-rox!]

I don't want Sally to end up the black widow of Summer Bay like Pippa was!

That would be awful!!

IMO Brad and Sally should stay together and get married eventually (not yet though), but like you brought out Claire Louise, what would the writers do if Chris wanted to leave?? He could run off I guess ... but then that would leave Sally on her own and the same thing would probably happen again .

Sally letting her hair down a bit would be nice to see! Even though barely a day goes by without a disaster in Summer Bay, i'm sure she could find some tome to relax a bit more with her friends especially Leah and Rachel .

So what would you like to see happen to Sally or any other characters this year?? Feel free to discuss ...

[claire_louise]

I'd like Kit and Rachel both to tell Kim to get lost. I'd like the issue of children to be brought up again for Leah and Dan, seeing as it was kind of forgotten about after they got back together, and I think it would be lovely for them to adopt a child. I'd like Amanda and Peter to get back together, and for Kelli and Ethan to die horribly. I'd like Martha to sort herself out, get rid of Cam and go back to her electrician training, so we can see the return of the old Martha. I don't, however, want her and Jack to get back together - I'd rather see him back with Sam. And a new love interest for Alf would be lovely.

[bttb-rox!]

I'd like the issue of children to be brought up again for Leah and Dan, seeing as it was kind of forgotten about after they got back together, and I think it would be lovely for them to adopt a child.

That would be an interesting storyline for them. Ada and Tim are great when they get the material .

I'd like to see abit more of Ryan and VJ. Ryan does pop up now and then but seeing as he is Dan's son we don't get to see very much of him considering. I can see why though, most of the storylines recently have been revolving around the younger characters, which usually means we don't get to see anything of the really cast members.

We've seen a fair bit of little Pippa recently in the UK, which has been great!! She was recast so maybe thats why she has been around more .

[Skykat]

Firstly great topic Coco.

For me this first half of the year has been one of the best in home and away in a long time.

Kate Ritchie as Sally has been phenomonal once again. Her performance during the Rocco storyline was spot on. For me the key moment was her speech to Ric after Rocco's funeral, superb acting and so emotional, she's such a good actress and seems to get better with every storyline they throw at her.

Its a toss up between Kate and Amy Matthews as to who is my favourite actress. Every scene Rachel's in, it seems to me like Amy puts her heart and soul into everything. She's actually succeeded in making me like Kim and I honestly didn't think that was possible. She, like Kate just seems to improve with every storyline.

I wasn't a fan of the Belle/Lucas/Drew love triangle but I am a fan of Jessica Tovey who plays Belle. I think she's a great little actress and what I love about Belle is how her character stays the same, she has attitude and feistyness but also a sensitive side and I love her up down relationship with amanda.

Speaking of Amanda, I've been really critical of Holly Brisley's acting, I never found Amanda a convincing baddy but since the whole Graham saga ended I've seen a real improvement in her. For me, Holly seems to do really well at the deeper, more emotional, more human side of her character as opposed to the pantomine villian and its been great to see more of that this year. Especially in her relationship with Belle and her drunkness after the whole Drew thing was hysterical. She plays a very good drunk!

Martha is someone else who I have never been a fan of but I think Jodi's acting has been much improved in the current storyline. What I like about Martha is that she has always been headstrong and independent which was why I didn't buy into her being used by Ash the way she was. The current stuff about her downfall though I do buy into and considering the personal tragedy Jodi was coping with during filming, I think she's been really great of late.

Matilda. Indiana is a superb little acress and one who we simply haven't seen enough of this year. I love her relationship with Ric and I thought she was great during the prison stuff. I'#d like to see her tackle some more big storylines like the bulemia one of last year because she can handle it and at the moment I feel she's a litle underused.

Other characters who are massively underused at the moment are Irene, Colleen, Leah, all good actresses but with hardly a storyline between them recently. On the actor side the same can be said of Alf, Dan and Tony who are only playing supporting roles at the moment in the UK.

Actor wise, if we go on Australian episodes it would be someone different but on UK episodes I have to go with Ric. The whole prison storyline was really well done, very convincing and really well portrayed by Mark. I love his relationship with Matilda, the slow burn and the depth to it and I really hope these two stay together. Its also nice to see Ric being so loyal to Sally and fitting into that whole family environment. I like how Ric has matured, on one hand he's still hanging around with Lucas and dating Matilda but he's also going on lads nights and bucks parties and its great to see a natural transition between teens and adulthood for once.

Lucas and Drew are both quite convincing at their respective roles. I thought Rhys was great in portraying Lucas's reaction to Belle's betrayal and I really buy into the Drew/ Belle relationship. Drew reminds me of every typical teenage boy I knew when I was 16/17.

Jack improved loads for me when he got with Sam. I found them a really believable couple unlike JM and she's a great actress. I liked Jack in that family role and he seemed more suited to someone a bit more laid back like Sam as opposed to Martha's willfullness.

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On some of the points others have bought up.

Yes Sally acts old for her age but if you watched Sally as a teenager and growing up, the way I did you'll know that Sally has always seemed old for her age. She was always the sensible more mature one and I find it entirely plausible for her to fit straight into the motherly role as head of the Caravan Park house. I think her relationship with Brad has been well done, I'm not a Brad fan but I do actually like him and Sally together. I like that the writers aren't rushing their relationship and I hope it continues like that. I also like how Flynn isn't forgotten and still gets referred to.

Lucas again is meant to be a serious, studious type and those type of sensible, level headed characters do tend to appear more mature than they really are. I thought during the recent aftermath of Belle's betrayal though that lucas reacted exactly like a guy his age would.

The Kit/ Kim / Rachel storyline has not so far been particulary interesting but I do think that the acting has been really good. Chris to me is not a natural actor, I've always found him quite wooden but he's improved of late. Maybe its working with two really great actresses in the Amy's. I think they're both wonderful and really true to their characters in their portrayal.

Leah and Dan, the issue of kids would be a good one to explore especially as they've now got such a parental role with Drew and I definitely think its about time they got a storyline when you consider they're both really good when given the material.

Read ditto that for Irene and Alf.

Amanda and Peter are really cute togther and I don't find Amanda quite as bad recently. Kelli to me is an unconvincing villian and Ethan is about as scary as a kitten. Te sooner this storylines over the better as far as I'm concerned.

Im loving the stuff in Aus at the moment, I have to agree that its better than what we're seeing in the UK. Luckily the UK has it all still to come.

[bttb-rox!]

Wow, Sky...long comment . Your post was very enjoyable to read and I agree on basically everything you brought out. I particulary agree with your points about Ric. He has really matured this year but still does the kind of things teens do e.g he hangs out with his mates, larks around sometimes , but is still mature in the way he handles different situations. His relationship with Matilda is very believeable and Mark's perfromance while Ric was in jail was very well done, and very realistic too.

I would also like to see Matilda have something challenging to work on. Indiana was just amazing while Matilda had bulimea, and I would like to see another storyline involving her tackling something or just dealing with a difficult situation. As I have brought out before, she is particualry good at emotional scenes, and often manages to pull of the scene extremely well.

Martha has been another character I have warmed to this year. One reason why is because I think Jodi's acting has improved alot this year from what it was last year. Its partuculary inspiring to watch Jodi's performance as she has been going trough an exremely difficult time lately.

I too, am loving the stuff in Aus at the moment, the episodes here at the moment are good but like you said Sky, the UK still has them to come . I am really looking foward to the upcoming storyline involving HotDad, I can't mention it in here because its a spoiler , but i'm sure quite a few of you know what i'm talking about.

[alexx]

I totally agree Sally has always been old for her age, they’ve always given Sally/Kate Ritchie very deep storylines too, going back to her childhood through teens and currently. Sally has been threw so much tragedy, lost so many important people in her life and has always remained headstrong and tried to gain security and stability in her life. So I think she’s definitely ‘old for her age’, however I do think at times they writers are going a bit OTT on this, especially with her getting involved with the kids so much.

I don’t think it would be a bad thing at all, if only they would work on the relationship she has with them more…at the moment we are told during specific storylines they are really close and like son/daughter to her, yet we don’t really see them have a connection in that way, imo – its more like a big sister thing, and I think they should focus on that rather than make her mum to them all….leave that until she is older.

As for Sally and Brad, it was hyped up to be something big, but what was the point, Sally may as well still be single for all the use Brad has been in bringing him into the show and as Sally’s boyfriend. I think they should either start writing them some good character development as a couple in forming a bond and so on, or split them up and have Sally single…. I definitely don’t think they should marry them off, and if they do, I reckon its just a cop out and totally boring.

[bttb-rox!]

As for Sally and Brad, it was hyped up to be something big, but what was the point, Sally may as well still be single for all the use Brad has been in bringing him into the show and as Sally’s boyfriend.

If I recall one of the promo's leading up to them kind of getting together was 'The biggest romance in Summer Bay history is just beginning'... I think that might have been a bit of an exaggeration . Okay so Sally and Brad are cute together but I can't really see what they have brought to the show as a couple so far this year. Its pity that that's the case because I remember a scene last year when they were having an arguement about Brad going after Johnny, and I was thinking how it would be nice if the two of them had more scenes like that. I completely agree with you Alexx about them marrying off...that would be BAD!!!

I was thinking earlier, I may have mentioned this before but anyhow ...how the guest cast have impacted on the characters lives. I can't think of any good examples right this minute but i'm sure there's a fair few that have had a big impact on the characters lives this year .

[claire_louise]

^ Rocco is the one that springs to mind, and Johnny of course. I thought they were both amazing, even without my being biased towards Callan Mulvey because of Heartbreak High. The whole prison storyline has really helped Ric to develop as a character and allowed Mark to show what he's capable of as an actor.

I'm still not convinced by Sally and Brad. They're cute together and he's exactly her 'type', but as Alex said, what's the point if that's all there is to it? I'd like them to give Brad a storyline of his own so that he can develop as a character, as I don't really feel like we as an audience know him very well just yet. It was the same with Dan when he first arrived, being there only as a partner for Leah - it would be nice if the writers learnt from their mistakes!

[ter06]

Daniel Bennett was a great fan of Sally and Kate Ritchie and I think that has been more evident the past few months as we havent seen as much as Sally lately. After the stabbing and Ric's imprsonment (which DB were responsible for), Sally kind of blended into the background so I will look forward to seeing her get her own big story again.

However, I am not a Brad fan and cant imagine I ever will be, that said though I didnt like Flynn until I found out he was dying then I didnt want him to go! I am like an overprotective dad, I dont think anyone will be good enough for my Sal! But I just dont think they have a spark and their relationship comes across as being forced.

It was great to see Leah finally getting a storyline these past few weeks, if only we could see more of her it would be great..

I like the direction in which they are taking Ric this year. He is funny and has a caring and sensitive side.

Irene really needs a story, the last big one she got was the poisoning story in 2005. Lynne is a fantastic actress and deserves to be at the forefront on the show.

I love Kit. When Kit first arrived as an alcoholic I found her annoying, then I left Ireland for Australia and they were about 6 months ahead there at the time. She was a different person by then and left shortly after. So I never got to see Kit's growth as a character and have only really seen her in guest appearances. However, despite this I have a real fondness for the character which stems from her battles with Amanda. No matter what they throw at Amy Mizzi she can pull it off and is an amazing actress. I wish she was a permananet cast member.

I also think Martha has been a great character this year and I think Jodi's acting has come on a lot. I prefer Martha when she is not involved with Jack and although her stupidity during the Rocket Club story might have annoyed people, to me it showed she had a vulnerable side and was now a very believeable character.

This year has relied heavily on guest characters which at the end of the day had no effect on the show. James was a pointless character, there only to fill the gap until Archie was born. Lily, I will never know why they brought her into the show. Bad story, bad acting, bad taste. Then there was the guests who had a big impact such as Rocco and Kelli but I dont understand how H&A can bring in people for three months or whatever it may be and give them huge stories when there are great actors in the cast who havent had a story in ages.

Characters I dont like are Drew, Belle and Lucas. I used to like Belle but the love triangle thing bored me to tears and I cant stand her anymore.

I've enjoyed typing this post, it actually got me thinking about things rather than a lot of the trivial threads we seem to have the past few months.

[bttb-rox!]

Then there was the guests who had a big impact such as Rocco and Kelli but I dont understand how H&A can bring in people for three months or whatever it may be and give them huge stories

I've enjoyed typing this post, it actually got me thinking about things rather than a lot of the trivial threads we seem to have the past few months.

I'm glad you enjoyed typing your post, I thought I would try and create a thread and get some discussion rolling .

Rocco had the biggest impact in the Bay IMO. I see where your coming from ter06, its hard to understand how a guest character can come into the show and be on it for a couple of months and have a lot of storylines. Yet some of the guest characters e.g James, like you mentioned, didn't really have a point, if you know what I mean. He was kind of a filler in between storylines, which isn't always very interesting .

I think its easy to be critical of different things that have happened this year and throughout Home and Away's history because there are probably so many things that different people would like to change. Personally though I have found a lot less things to be critical of this year than any other. There are a few things that i'd quite like to see happen this year and probably won't e.g HotDad finding out he has a long-last daughter ...i'd like to see that happen ALOT!! But overall I love the characters personalities, and how they have changed and developed this year. I'm very happy with the way the characters and the show are heading...Cameron Welsh ahd done a top job IMO!!

P.S ter06 there are couple of fairly big spoilers in your post which you should probably edit .