.
Weekly Reviews > Episodes 4254-4258 by Steve

UK Broadcast: Monday July 28th - Friday August 1st 2003
Written by: Drew Tingwell, Helen MacWhirter, Linda Stainton, Martin McKenna, Sarah Mayberry. Directed by: Tony Osicka, Gary Conway

Some relationships were put under strain, some were being rekindled and others were just beginning. It was another great week in Ramsay Street...

Things died down a little after all the drama of recent weeks, and many of the residents' relationships were put under scrutiny. After getting close for several weeks, things began to get more serious between Lori and Connor with them spending more and more time together. When Lori learnt that Nina and Jack were close to becoming a couple, she sought comfort with Connor and when she learnt that it was his birthday, she arranged a party for him. The next morning, they woke up together next to the pool. They both dived in and she kissed him, leaving him unsure of whether it was a friendly thing or something more...

Connor and Lori are certainly an interesting pairing. Both very lively characters, and definitely a couple of misfits in Ramsay Street, they seem to work very well together. Whether this chemistry will continue as things grow more serious between the pair is debatable, as Connor often seems to work better when he's single, as his break-up with Michelle showed. Lori is similar, with a very independent streak, but hopefully they have enough in common for it to be a convincing partnership.

Another relationship just beginning - even though only one of the parties was actually aware - was that between Taj and Libby. He continued to find methods of spending time with her and hit on a great idea when he spotted her at the swimming pool. Joining her in the pool, he proceeded to give her tips on how to improve her stroke. Later, he called in at her house and presented her with some new goggles, explaining they were a thankyou for help with his tutoring. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and it seemed that Taj took it far more seriously than it was intended. Meanwhile, Stuart met a new woman, in rather strange circumstances, when a horse turned up in Ramsay Street. No, he didn't date the horse, but was rather impressed when he met Kat Riley, the woman looking after the horses for the little rich girls who had lost interest. At first she didn't seem impressed, but after a second date - when Stuart found comedy glasses and a moustache had been drawn on his face at the party the night before - things seemed to be progressing well.

The relationship between Taj and Libby is certainly an interesting one. It's quite obvious that she hasn't got a clue that Taj has feelings for her, which seems odd, as Libby has always been reasonably astute... although she took a long time to pick up on Drew, so perhaps she simply can't see when somebody is attracted to her. The storyline is certainly being very well written, and progressing at a reasonable pace, so it'll be good to see where it goes next. Meanwhile, the horse stuff was funny enough, as was Stuart going around with pen all over his face, but is it really wise to stick him in yet another relationship? Kat seems like a good character, so hopefully they're going to take these two somewhere other than the usual relationship wasteland.

After a few false starts, Nina and Jack finally got their act together this week - although it took another woman to show an interest in Jack before Nina finally plucked up the courage to kiss him. When Belinda asked Jack out, Nina was convinced that she'd lost Jack, but she tried to contact him and they always seemed to miss each other. Eventually, they met up at Connor's birthday party, where they managed to get Belinda out of the way, and Nina, in a rare act of forwardness, kissed Jack. While an upset Lori looked on, Nina and Jack decided to give their relationship a go.

With several weeks of fairly standard messing about, it's good that these two have finally sorted themselves out, as it was in danger of becoming boring. The set-up at the party was great, but Nina making the first move did seem slightly odd, but hopefully was there to show how much she's progressed since barely talking to anyone this time last year.

Max and Steph's problems with Boyd also continued this week, and started to threaten the couple's relationship with each other. When Boyd went out, claiming to be with Daniel, but was actually found at the party at number 30 by Steph, she let him off, only warning him not to touch any alcohol. Returning home, Max confronted Boyd, who claimed that Steph knew he was at the party all along. An upset Max spoke to Steph the next morning, explaining how worried he was last night and how disappointed he was that she hadn't sent Boyd home. Max ignored Steph's attempted to apologise, but later that day, Max heard about an accident on the freeway involving a motorbike and immediately worried that Steph was involved. He rushed to number 26, where he found her and they made up. An angry Boyd looked on, as he realised it wouldn't be quite so easy for him to get back into his dad's good books.

This storyline has really given Kyal Marsh a chance to show what he can do as Boyd. His displeasure with his father's relationship is increasingly and it's becoming obvious that Boyd won't be accepting Steph in a hurry, so things can only get worse for him. I think that, as time goes on, we can expect him to go to desperate measures to get some attention from his dad.

Also getting a look in this week were Lyn and Joe, getting the nursery ready in preparation for the arrival of their new daughter - but finding it hard to agree on the colour. Lyn also made progress as she tried to remember her attacker, little realising the guilt he was going through. Darcy even phoned the police, presumably to confess, but chickened out at the last minute. When Dee let herself into his home, she knocked over a plant causing Susan's hidden wedding ring to roll under the sofa. Susan herself was upset over her ring being stolen, so Karl made plans to buy her another one.

Everything in the show is really working well at the moment, with storylines tying together in unexpected ways, and events, such as this week's party, which really bring the street together and allow lots of storylines to develop in one place.