Is Martha given too much air time?

[claire_louise]

I am sure the young ones adore her. She is beautiful after all. I would like to think that the show has story lines for all age groups, not just those under 25. It certainly used to, but I have felt of late, that with the exception of Alf's eye's, my age group is not really considered. I like to watch the younger actors, I like Indiana and Jessica very much and think they are very good young actors; I am also interested in the stories which they are given, but I suspect that the younger viewers are less interested in stories around the older characters, therein lies the dilemma for the writers.

I'd hardly say that Martha is old though! I can understand the younger viewers being less interested in the more 'grown up' characters such as Leah, Dan, Irene, Sally, Alf etc, but I do think they're interested in the 20-somethings. At least I know I was when I was younger! I remember being fascinated by Shane and Angel when I was a kid, and they were similar in age to Martha and Jack. I think others have hit the nail on the head in that there just aren't enough characters in Martha's age bracket, especially now Kim and Kit have gone. Tasha was always good friends with Martha and they don't seem to have replaced her yet, which basically means that Martha has no close friends nowadays. She needs a best mate to share the limelight with!

[Terry]

Yes thats true, but to a lot of teenagers over 25 is old. I think Shane and Angel were actually teenagers though they seemed older, , Angel had Dylan when shes 14, and Angel was still only about 20 when she left Summer Bay. There are a number of characters older than Martha, there are Sally, Leah, Dan, Jack, Brad, Alf, Colleen, Irene, Tony, Rachel, Morag, Sam, Fitzy, Julie the nurse etc.. . The majority of these people have not had a story line in a month of sundays. When Don, Ailsa, Pippa, and Barry were around there was less emphasis on the younger age group and occasionally some of the oldies got story lines. I would have liked to have seen Colleen pole dancing though, and wonder what Reverand Hall would have had to say about that.

P>S. yep. I think Martha is on too much.

[emmasi]

Yes thats true, but to a lot of teenagers over 25 is old.

I'm 22, and I think 25 is old

I've been thinking about Martha and how she's a part of every storyline... and it occured to me, that she actually does have the most to do with everyone in the bay. She's Alf's grandaughter, she's Ric's cousin, she's Cassie's friend (if they ever choose to remember that), she lives above the Diner, which connects her to Irene and Leah... She has some other connection to Sally, apparently. All the Holdens of course. And she's one of the most fiery impulsive characters, so she's more likely to get herself into trouble rather than sit around and comment on other people doing that. She's not a bad character... but I actually think that the teenagers need more storylines. Real ones that go places. Apart from the stuff with Lisa, they haven't really done much that's been very involved. They're more like surface stories... Well, I guess Drew has been doing alright, but he hadn't had a real story since Peter so... I guess he was due. I don't know... I guess I just don't mind watching Martha these days. She takes the spotlight a lot, but I can see her relevance to things and the reason she's there. Unlike some other characters who think they own everything when none of it is their business in the first place

[claire_louise]

Yes thats true, but to a lot of teenagers over 25 is old. I think Shane and Angel were actually teenagers though they seemed older, , Angel had Dylan when shes 14, and Angel was still only about 20 when she left Summer Bay.

Yeah I actually meant Shane and Angel in their later years on the show, after they got married. And Martha is only 19 isn't she? Or 20 at most. I think kids would still be interested in watching people of that age. When I was younger I preferred watching the characters who were slightly older than myself (say 16 and over) than those my own age. I suppose I was a bit in awe of them, lol.

[Frankie]

MMMM.... Martha as a role model...someone to look up to... to aspire to be like?... A girl who has jumps form one partner to the next, impulsive, pole dances, and who may have a heart of gold , but is actually a walking disaster? Rev Hall may have had a point after all

I think the point made...that Martha is at the moment the only one in her age group is pertinent.... and elso emmasi's that Martha is related to practically every one in the Bay. They need to bring on some 18 - 24 year olds,...or get some more characters like Ric, Belle and Drew who are going to hang around more than 5 minutes. I would like to see more interaction with other characters of a similar age, and those characters having their own story lines independent of her. That way I would not feel as if she is in my face all the time.

This week has been and odd one for me, as I find I liked some of Martha's scenes, Jodi's acting has certainly improved and she deserves credit for the work she has put into that. Sometimes the wrong story line makes us fatigued though. She is sometimes given story lines which just don't work for her, and which can make you cringe. At other times they give her great ones, but then they don't always follow through. I really like the M and M story, but even that looks set to turn into another J and M will they won't they story. It's has been done to death, and it's that which ... in part... also contributes to the non J and M fanatics being fed up I think.

[zx5073]

I have no problem with Martha being given lots of air time, but then I'm biased Like someone else has said, she is very beautiful, and, she does have a nice sounding voice. All in all, she can have as much air time as the producers want to give as far as I'm concerned

[Varsha]

i like Martha , maby she has a lot of storyline but i like it

i think she`s great actress

[Corey]

I like Martha , maybye she has a lot of storyline but I like it

I think she`s great actress

Seriously?

I Like Martha, but I would hardly call Jodi a great actress, in fact compared with the rest of the cast I would say she is one of the weakest.

I think they over use her largely because Jodi Gordon is popular with teenage girls who want to be her. This is rather shortsighted and misguided in my opinion, and actually says the rest of the viewers can go hang. I would like to see story lines evened out more, so that I do not have to use the fast forward button quite so much when she is on. It gets a bit monotonous when she is in practically every story line, and I am sick to death of the Jack and Martha saga. I hate to say it, but its worse than paternity gate.

[Varsha]

well i like her , she isn`t the best actress, but she`s fine

[emmasi]

She used to be terrible, but she's really come into her own this year. She's probably as good as anyone else there now. Not THE best obviously but... she's not bad.

I don't know why anyone would want to be Martha. She's so messed up, and she keeps making the same mistakes over and over! Her life has been pretty depressing too. Even Jodi Gordon's life of late isn't much to be envious of... Apart from her looks, and the opportunity to make out with reasonably attractive men... I don't see why you'd want to be Martha at all!