.
Weekly Reviews > Episodes 4239-4243 by Steve

UK Broadcast: Monday 7th July - Friday 11th July 2003
Written by: Written by: Philippa Burne, Anthony Morris, Megan Herbert, Martin McKenna, Judith Colquhoun. Directed by: Jovita O'Shaughnessy, Jeffrey Walker

The pace really picked up this week as many characters returned from their travels and a shocking robbery took place...

The tension between Boyd and Steph continued this week as her presence was felt more and more in the Hoyland household. As an angry Summer shouted at Boyd, telling him he had better not ruin their dad's chance of happiness, Boyd appeared to be making more of an effort with Max's new girlfriend. Lyn made her feelings clear as she told Steph that it was going to be difficult to take on a widower and his two children. Upon Joe's return, the Scullys and Hoylands had an awkward get-together, with neither party really knowing what to say to the other. The following day Steph and the Hoylands, along with Summer's friend Lisa, went on a trip to the beach, where Boyd attempted to teach Steph to surf. Meanwhile, Summer and Lisa took the metal detector out on a treasure hunt, and somehow managed to find their way onto a nudist beach. Earlier in the week, a chance comment by Max mentioning the word 'love' sent Steph's head spinning and she wondered whether he had actually meant it. After trying to subtly drop it into the conversation, the end of the week saw them both admitting that they loved the other. Boyd, meanwhile, was eavesdropping on the conversation, and looked none-too-pleased at what he heard...

The tension created by Lyn and Boyd is really keeping this story interesting, at a stage where romances can sometimes become dull. The scenes where the two families had a awkward meeting at number 32 were a perfect example of how Neighbours can create a tense scene without relying on pyrotechnics or any big drama.

Harold got rid of one housemate this week - finally, as Lou helped him to plot against Gino. Realising what a devoted vegetarian Gino was, Harold went out and bought up most of the meat in Erinsborough and cooked it up under Gino's nose. Gino challenged him to take a bite - and Harold did - although he had fortunately mixed a veggie sausage in with the others. Just as Harold had the house to himself once more, Ruby turned up on the doorstep. She told him that she had returned to right a few of the wrongs from her previous time in Erinsborough. While Harold was thrilled to see her, and Susan was very welcoming, Lou was immediately suspicious of Ruby's motives for returning. Elsewhere, Darcy's debts finally caught up with him and James Atkinson turned up, demanding his money. Arranging a meeting for later that evening, Darcy headed to the pub with Dee, where Harold, Ruby and the Kennedys were already gathered. While everyone was watching Lou's remote-controlled car demonstration, the pub takings were mysteriously stolen. While the prime suspect, Darcy, acted as cool as a cucumber and the police admitted there was little they could do, Lou had only one suspect in mind for the crime and he asked Ruby to turn out her handbag.

These scenes were an excellent way to tie together the gambling addiction storylines that had affected both Darcy and Ruby in recent months. It's good that they have brought Ruby back, as her storyline was in need of a resolution, and this is certainly the beginning of an interesting and dramatic few months for many residents.

As panto season had drawn to a close and the 2003 production year had begun, many characters found their way back to Erinsborough. Joe and Karl returned from their trip to America and told their wives about the journey home. Both travellers also returned to find unwelcome visitors in their homes - for Karl, it was the infamous poodles, Stella and Blanche, while for Joe, it was their owner, Valda. As Karl told Valda that she had to take her poodles back, it was the last straw for Joe, who told Lyn that Valda would have to go. A devastated Valda overheard the conversation and made plans to move out - to the garage.

The scenes as Joe and Karl returned were great, as they cut from one conversation to the other, giving each character's perspective on events. It is always fascinating to compare the Scully and Kennedy households, as it really shows the class difference and the different coping strategies that Susan and Lyn adopt. The situation with Valda was also very moving and helped to make Valda into a far better rounded character - certainly in comparison to her visit last year. As always with Valda, even in the saddest scenes, she always adds a touch of comedy, such as telling Joe to carry her cases out to the garage.

Things are really starting to come to a head in the love triangle between Dee, Darcy and Toadie. While it is obvious that Dee and Toadie are meant to be reunited, Darcy's plotting is getting to the stage where he's telling lies and committing acts that there's no turning back from. The level of trust that both Dee and Toadie place in Darcy is bizarre, given past events, but it's the perfect set-up for a devastating fall-out in the coming weeks.

Other minor storylines this week included Tahnee and Nina in the bins at the back of Lassiter's searching for a guest's missing passport. While looking, they found some rather bizarre pictures of Harold with various hairstyles and no apparent explanation for any of it. Jack jumped to the conclusion that Lori and Taj had started seeing each other, but when he confronted her with this, she told him that she could never move on as quickly and easily as he did. Lori's strength of character continues to shine through, but it does seem that all of the teen characters are treading water, waiting for something more exciting to come along. Meanwhile, the addition of Connor to number 30 brought the blokey side out of Toadie once more, as the pair sat around in their underwear watching action movies and eating pizza. This story is bringing back memories of when Toadie shared the house with Lance and Joel, which might be a good thing, depending on how you look at it.

Overall, the show has definitely begun to really improve this week, as things moved into a new production year. Everyone seems to be a lot more refreshed from the Christmas break and it's great to have so many characters all back at once, making the scenes feel a lot fuller. Hopefully, under the new executive producer, this is a sign of things to come.