Classic Episodes on 5★

[Red Ranger 1]

Graeme Squires couldn't act for toffee.

He's actually not bad in the online episode for 1998, maybe because he had something to do other than be angsty and moody.Or maybe he just worked well with Bree Desborough, he was okay today as well.

Murray (the gunman - don't think we got a surname so hope it wasn't Jensen ) hid out in the bush for where Sam and Hayley came across him, he held them there for a brief while, and whilst I don't remember the exact details offhand, he was eventually discovered and arrested.

Ah, Will and Gypsy were there as well, Sam and Hayley ran off when Murray fell asleep accidentally leaving them behind and summoned help, Will talked Murray into giving himself up and it all ends with Joel wrestling him to the ground the moment he sees him.

Party like it's 1999!(Okay, pretend I didn't say that.)I wasn't sure about seeing Joey's mental illness storyline, since I thought it might mess up the character, but it's well played so good on them for that.Nice to see Tiegan involved given how close she and Joey were.Always had a bit of a soft spot for Sally and Vinnie, almost tempted to speculate what would have happened if she'd married him instead of Flynn, who (especially after the recast)had a touch of the idealised love interest about him.Still, I suppose Ryan would have left after a few years anyway.Sally's a bit uptight at this point, which ultimately doomed them and probably led to her OCD the following year.Loved Jesse's bemused reaction to Sally asking him about Vinnie's career choices and all Vinnie's responses.Ailsa firing at Alf, guess there's meant to be an anti-gun message there.Didn't they end up giving Martha that storyline?What was with the guy bullying her's accent?He didn't really sound Australian to me.

Yep, even when Bennett's dead, twice, you can't shut the guy up.How technology moves on:Nowadays, talking to someone on a computer screen wouldn't sound at all weird if they weren't dead, here Kaia stares at the massive box in the corner of the room and assumes he's had an e-mail.Tiegan's complicity in Justine and Tom's secret relationship was quite good.The Natalie That Everyone Remembers, who my nineteen-year-old self had something of a crush on.Rather enjoyed Marilyn and Vinnie's byplay and Gypsy's bemused shrug at seeing them together.Hard not to watch Byron's birth without being very aware of how the rest of the year goes but Don's reaction to Marilyn suggesting naming him after Vinnie raised a smile.

[Ryan]

http://benager.com.au/about-me/

You can hire him to be the celebrant at your wedding.

[Skylover]

Getting to the 1999 episodes has given me this sinking feeling. It's not 1999 itself, more the fact that 2000 sees the massive deterioration of the credits IMO (the blue ones) and the loss of the iconic beach credits and theme tune.

[Red Ranger 1]

http://benager.com.au/about-me/

You can hire him to be the celebrant at your wedding.

Wow, thanks, Ryan, that's pretty interesting.I did think there was a touch of an English accent in there;with the reference to working in Australia and England, I'm guessing either he's Australian but spent a lot of time over here and picked up a bit of an accent or he's English and hadn't quite mastered the Australian accent.

Haven't got time to watch the online episode tonight, try and catch it tomorrow.I think that'll be the last one I watch, the only episodes from the Channel 5 era I really wanted to see were the Will and Gypsy ones and since those are being broadcast I'll just tune in to the 5* transmissions.(Weird to think there's still two weeks after this one and we're only about halfway through the show's life, it feels like we should be nearly at the end.)

By the way, I think I mentioned this last year but if Travis' reference to Joel leaving town "16/17 years ago" is accurate, they must have had Tom and Gypsy awfully soon afterwards.

[Skylover]

I don\'t know if I\'ve mentioned this before cos I\'m losing track of what I\'ve said but I love the symbolism of Sally staying in the opening shot of the credits once Pippa\'s removed. Watching 1999 does feel like the end of an era although I have to admit I think losing Pippa was a massive blow and I don\'t see why Sally didn\'t stay in Summer Bay House? I know she was still young but as the only member of the Fletcher family left I think it would have been right, although I read somewhere that Kate Ritchie didn\'t want to be turned into the next Pippa...I don\'t think she should have fostered in 1998 (only being 18 and all) but she could have houseshared for a few years until the whole Flynn love story started and she took in Ric etc in 2004.

I loved Vinnie taking Marilyn to hospital. He\'s one of those characters I know little about and I think he can easily be forgotten being sandwiched right in the middle of the show\'s history (it\'s easy to forget about the characters from the late 90s-early 00s IMO) but I\'d love to see more of him and yes, it seems a shame his relationship with Sally never really developed like his relationship with Leah did. I love that Marilyn gave the baby Vinnie as a middle name, I just wish it would be referenced in the current show - in fact, I don\'t think Leah and Marilyn have ever had a conversation about Vinnie which surely they would have if this was real life? It also makes me wish that the baby had survived as there is so much potential in two iconic characters in Donald and Marilyn having a baby - especially now that Marilyn is once again in the current show. I guess I\'ll just put it down to a stupid decision by the writers much like Chloe being killed off in 2005 which I still find ridiculous - oh and not forgetting Will Smith being sent to prison in 2010/11.

I haven\'t watched the online episode yet but I\'m about to. (Got so much H&A viewings to get through, the online 5* ep, today\'s Aus ep and 3 7Two eps) Not that I\'m complainging, becoming a bit addicted to the show atm! I have to say, I don\'t think the Nashes gel that well as a family. Gypsy seems to be the only one who works; I find Joel and Natalie to feel too young. However I don\'t think Tom is too badly acted as people have said. Travis also seems to work well and Rebecca seems like a character who would be a favourite of mine and I\'d love her to be brought back to the current show but obviously her portrayer Belinda Emmett passed away in 2006. RIP such a great actress and passed way too young.

Ending on a positive note, I also want to see more of the Joey character. SO hot. I get lost in those gorgeous brown eyes...

I loved Alf\'s reference to Travis that he and Tom Fletcher got lost at sea ten years ago...

[Skylover]

Oh my God I really wasn't expecting Adam to appear in that online 1999 episode! Well that well and truly did feel like eras colliding!! So lovely to see him, I'd like him to return to the current show.

[Si-Co]

Everyones saying about the cuts made towards the end of the closing, I'm a bit annoyed about this so decided to give 5 a ring this morning and I've had it confirmed by 2 staff members that nothing has been cut, there showing them the way they were given to them by the distributor, so it seems whatever is happening is going on at Seven's end.

To be honest, that doesn't surprise me. Distributors often 're-badge' old shows - updating production logos, etc. Although they haven't changed a logo here, just messed around with how long it appears on screen. Puzzling, and apparently pointless!

By the way, I really do like the 1999 opening titles. I wasn't really a fan of the 1996-98 'surreal' credits, but by late 1998-99 they seem to have got the balance right - retaining the style but less 'silly', and bright, sunny and cheerful to boot!

[Si-Co]

Getting to the 1999 episodes has given me this sinking feeling. It's not 1999 itself, more the fact that 2000 sees the massive deterioration of the credits IMO (the blue ones) and the loss of the iconic beach credits and theme tune.

The 'blue' 2000 credits were of course totally different to anything that had gone before, and at the time I welcomed the change (though I wasn't so keen on the CGI fish!). They became 'old' very quickly though, and really should have been updated sooner. The early 2003 titles were an improvement, but the late 2003 ones were the best use of this style, and these later styles warranted a full season's use in my opinion.

[alexx]

By the way, I really do like the 1999 opening titles. I wasn't really a fan of the 1996-98 'surreal' credits, but by late 1998-99 they seem to have got the balance right - retaining the style but less 'silly', and bright, sunny and cheerful to boot!

I see it the other way round. The late 90's don't seem as sunny, but that's probably 100% down to them being filmed on what looks like a very dull/grey day.

[Si-Co]

By the way, I really do like the 1999 opening titles. I wasn't really a fan of the 1996-98 'surreal' credits, but by late 1998-99 they seem to have got the balance right - retaining the style but less 'silly', and bright, sunny and cheerful to boot!

I see it the other way round. The late 90's don't seem as sunny, but that's probably 100% down to them being filmed on what looks like a very dull/grey day.

Yes, maybe 'sunny' was the wrong word - but they seem brighter in style - the character shots are more natural too, rather than what I perceived to be silly poses in the earlier titles.