|
.
Weekly Reviews >
Episodes 2752-2756
by Mark
Originally
broadcast in 1996. UK Gold: Monday 26th May - Friday 30th
May 2003
Writers: Louise Le Nay, John Upton, Ian Coughlan, Helen MacWhirter, Jeff
Truman.
Directors: Nicholas Bufalo, Gary Conway A busy week in Ramsay Street, with unrequited love preoccupying a few of the
Neighbours and a welcome return to good old fashioned neighbourhood disputes
courtesy of Lance Wilkinson and some shopping trolleys...
|
|
Having just got over the drama of the inquest into Cheryl's death, Karl
continued to find himself immersed in tension and strife at home this week.
The notoriously short tempered and tight wadded Karl was furious to discover
someone had scratched the side of his car moments after he has polished it,
and in no time, was on the phone to the insurance company and embarking on a
door-to-door questioning of the Neighbours in the hope that there had been a
witness to the crime. In an unusual naughty moment for dear old Helen, she
lied to Karl when he asked her if she knew anything - despite the fact that
Philip had earlier told her about Lance's actions. Meanwhile, Susan quickly
grew tired of Karl's whinging and exploded at him after his moans went too
far. After calming down, Susan apologised to Karl for losing her patience
with him, and he, in turn, apologised to her. Karl was finally placated when
Lance called over with Ruth to own up to being the culprit, and Karl happily
agreed to take Lance up on his offer to work off his debts. Lance had been
forced to confess after Philip cornered him about the situation, and
although Ruth was angry with Lance for his failure to admit his involvement
sooner, she was furious when she realised Philip had witnessed the incident
and said nothing to her - sparking off another Phil/Ruth argument.
This was a perfect example of one storyline effecting a large number of
characters in different ways - something Neighbours did brilliantly in its
heyday and has somehow lost the knack of in recent years. Here we had a
storyline where characters from different families were all connected by the
one incident - Lance accidentally scratching the side of Karl's car with a
shopping trolley. From that one action, several other ongoing storylines
(such as the Ruth and Philip sexual tension) were touched, and it worked
extremely well.
|
|
The reunion of Madge and Harold continued this week, with Madge adopting a
harder approach in her efforts to regain what she once had with her husband.
Her determination was fuelled considerably by Harold's mention of a female
friend from Tasmania who was coming to stay with him, which prompted Madge
to attempt to seduce Harold - on two occasions - in the Robinson house.
However, Harold was uncomfortable and awkward about the situation and ended
up calling Madge a fishwife before running out of the house.
While it seemed as if Ian Smith and Harold Bishop had never been away all
this week, Anne Charleston's Madge was in strange form. While she was
forthright and fiery at times, there were also various moments when she did
or said things that were distinctly un-Madge like - such as verbally
attacking the frail Helen when she dared to suggest Madge was coming on too
strong with Harold. Perhaps it was simply the storyliners trying to find
their feet with the character after so long, but perhaps also, it was sign
of things to come.
|
|
Mal and Catherine's road to romance stepped up a gear this week when they
got to go on a date to see Sunset Boulevard. After Jo came down with a
migraine, she had to pull out of the date (she was originally supposed to go
with Mal) and offered her ticket to Luke or Catherine instead. Knowing how
much Catherine liked Mal, Luke insisted she take the ticket whilst he stayed at
home with Jo. After a wonderful evening, Mal and Catherine said
goodnight on the porch of No. 30, but stopped short of kissing because
neither wanted to betray Jo. The next day, Luke urged Mal to make things
clear to Jo once and for all that there was no future for them, and Mal
finally broke the news to Jo later that day. Although she put on a brave
face, Jo was clearly devastated by Mal's decision.
The origins of the Mal/Catherine romance has been enjoyable to watch second
time round, possibly because this time, its known that they end up married.
What struck me most about their relationship this week was that Benjie
McNair and Radha Mitchell have a very sexy, intense on-screen chemistry -
the scene where Mal dropped Catherine home after the date is a perfect
example of it. Perhaps the only downsides to this storyline has been the
presence of Bernard Curry in desperate need of a storyline in his last weeks
on the show, and Emma Harrison struggling as always with her delivery.
|
|
Other storylines this week included Lou offering the job of renovating Chez
Chez to Mal and Darren, Anne being none too happy about being told what time
to go to bed at by Ruth, and Libby and Darren embarking on a disastrous
camping trip. Toadie continued his quest to win Sarah's affections by
resolving to confess his feelings to her once and for all - only for him to
chicken out at the last minute and purchase an expensive tie from her store
instead! Billy and Anne also showed signs of their famous romance this week,
definitely one to watch.
Another enjoyable week on Ramsay Street, with the revamp proving to have
worked excellently. There's a real excitement about what's still to come and
there's 'the perfect blend' of characters old and new.
|
