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Weekly Reviews > Episodes 4210-4214 by Steve

UK Broadcast: Monday 12th May - Friday 16th May 2003
Writers: John Davies, Noel Maloney, Jeff Truman, Philippa Burne, Lyn Ogilvy. Directors: Gary Conway, Chris Adshead

Lies, confrontations and sad departures made it a dramatic week on Ramsay Street...

The main storyline, which began and ended this week, saw the departure of Reverend Rosie Hoyland from the show. After a sudden demand from the Bishop to attend on conference on the cyclone crisis in Papua New Guinea, she returned a few days later announcing to son Max that she would be going there for three months. The decision was her own, as she felt that she had some way to go before she could forgive herself for her recent behaviour over Harold and Ruby. Having broken the news to Lou and Harold, she made preparations to leave, with Summer being particularly upset over losing her nana. Max arranged a surprise farewell party for his mum and she used the opportunity to tell Harold how much their friendship meant to her. The next morning Rosie got a glamorous send-off from Lassiter's as she was driven to the airport in a limousine...

After only a year on the show, Maggie Millar's departure was a big shock to many fans, who still feel she was treated badly both behind-the-scenes and on-screen. While the story was fairly sudden, it was believable that Rosie would want to do missionary work after all that had gone on recently and New Guinea is close enough should she ever want to pop back for a visit. It's sad to lose a character who hadn't really been fully explored, but many characters in similar positions, such as the Hancocks, have been axed over the years, it's sadly just another part of the business that is soap opera.

Another departure that took place this week was that of Steph. After changing her mind several times over her trip around Australia with Alex, she finally agreed to go with him. She also explained to him that there was someone else she had feelings for and that they would only be taking the trip as friends. After realising that he was about to lose her, Max made several attempts to tell Steph how he really feels about her, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. On the morning of her departure, Max rushed out into the street only to see her bike turning out of Ramsay Street - possibly forever.

Most fans have been hoping that Steph and Max would get together for the past few months and so her departure from the street seems to be just another obstacle in their path. Due to the inevitability of her return, there was a distinct lack of emotion in her departure scenes, although the part where Steph looks across at Summer then Max comes running out was very nicely done. At this stage, the Steph and Max fans can only wait for further developments...

Candace Barkham continued to affect the lives of all three Kennedy characters this week. As Libby went after the job of media studies teacher at Erinsborough High, it became obvious that Candace would stand in her way. Libby felt deflated after her interview, realising that she wouldn't get the job, despite being perfect for it. Candace then told Susan that Karl's forthcoming drugs and drink awareness talk to the senior class would have to be cancelled, due to his recent appearance in court. Susan was horrified by the way Candace was determined to ruin not only Susan's life, but those of her family. After confronting Candace, Susan feared she may have gone too far. Later, while attending driver education classes, Karl met Candace, who was there to research the subject for school. The two got on well, later realising who the other was, but Susan's arrival to pick up Karl led to another outburst over Candace's hyposcrisy. After Karl explained the situation to Susan, she felt he was being disloyal to her, but Karl reminded Susan that maybe she was being slightly unreasonable and biased in all of this.

This is a very good storyline, tying in the lives of Karl, Susan and Libby, while also bringing in a great new bitch to the show. For Candace's first few appearances, she has been shown to be unreasonable and quite unforgiving in her treatment of both staff and students. However, this week, the tables were turned as Susan overreacted, and was shown to be in the wrong. This really did show a new side to Susan's character after many years - perhaps showing that Susan is not as comfortable with going from principal to VCE co-ordinator as she would have everyone believe. As always, the fantastic rapport between Alan Fletcher and Jackie Woodburne made these scenes great to watch.

The teenagers were also all having problems this week. Lori and Jack continued to deal with her paralysis, with him feeling a lot more frustrated than her with the situation. After Nina visited Lori, Jack wondered how much longer he could go on dealing with his guilt over the whole situation. Taj also felt the fall-out as, after being dumped by Nina, he decided to leave school, only being talked out of it at the last minute by Libby. Libby also helped to heal the rift between the two boys, making Jack realise that it was no good blaming Taj for what was a simple accident. Meanwhile, after barely seeing each other for the past few weeks, Connor finally took the plunge and told Michelle that their relationship was over. She decided not to take this lying down and, after talking to her Auntie Valda, she realised she'd have to fight for her man.

These storylines were scattered throughout the week, with some progression only being made in the friendship of Jack and Taj and the relationship between Connor and Michelle. The character of Connor seems to be distancing himself more and more from the teenaged characters of the show, working a lot better in scamming scenes with Lou and Valda. With Kate Keltie leaving the show soon, the resolution of this storyline won't be far away. Meanwhile, the love triangle between Lori, Jack and Nina went nowhere fast, although Jay Bunyan's scenes of frustration and anger over his lack of control over his own life, were very well-acted.

In other characters' lives, Lyn and Joe excitedly went for their first ultrasound scan. Some amusing scenes emerged as they disagreed over whether to find out the sex of their unborn child, eventually deciding not to. Darcy took his first steps into the new world of the Aurora club, where he quickly found himself winning big at a poker game. This storyline may be only beginning now, but many fans know that it will eventually pave the way for Mark Raffety's departure from the show...

Valda provided more comic touches as she brought world cuisine to the pub, decorating the place with a Japanese flavour and dressing Stuart and Connor up as Samurai warriors. Putting Valda in the pub, as an excellent foil to Lou, has proved to be a fantastic idea and hopefully will continue to bring fresh ideas and laughs for both characters. Finally, I have to mention one of the funniest scenes I've seen in Neighbours for years. As Libby and Susan left the house to go to the pub, the sounds of Ben could be heard in the background and Libby burst back in, realising she'd forgotten her son and making Susan promise they'd never mention the incident to anyone. A very simple, natural scene - but then those are usually the ones that work and this one definitely did.

Notes: To read an illustrated summary of Friday's show click here.