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Weekly Reviews >
Episodes 4278-4282
by Steve
UK
Broadcast: Monday 1st September - Friday 5th September 2003
Written by: Kim Wilson, Michael O'Rourke, Drew Proffitt, Noel Maloney,
Elizabeth Packett. Directed by: Gary Conway, Chris Adshead.
A sad departure and a surprise arrival meant that there wasn't a quiet
moment this week in Ramsay Street...
Connor and Lori both found people to rely on this week, but still found it
difficult to discuss their situation with each other. While Connor chose his
mentor Lou to confide in, Lori was still relying heavily on Karl to get her
through things. Although Lori and Connor managed to work things out and he
apologised for being so distant lately, she was forced to tell him that she
had made an appointment at the abortion clinic. Connor's attempts to talk
her round came to nothing and so he drove her to the clinic. Once inside and
filling in forms, Lori suddenly realised that she couldn't go through with
it and walked out - straight to the one person in Erinsborough she still
felt she could rely on - Jack. He agreed to help her gather her things and
return to her family in New Zealand. The two shared an emotional goodbye and
Lori admitted that she still loved Jack.
Despite Lori only appearing in the show for six months, she was granted a
very impressive leaving storyline. The beauty of it was that so many threads
were left hanging, with Connor unaware that Lori hadn't aborted the child
and Lori's feelings for Jack still being so strong. The best part is the
knowledge that Michelle Ang will be back for three weeks next year, and
hopefully we'll see some of these situations resolved then.
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Lyn was barely coping with the knowledge that Valda is her real mother this
week, to the point where she was trying to ignore the whole problem.
However, Jack couldn't ignore his grandmother and shared a meal with her at
the pub, before trying to talk Lyn into talking to her. Lyn decided that,
while she couldn't talk to Valda, she would try to get the truth out of her
'father', Henry. Phoning him at home, she failed to make contact and it
wasn't until she phoned his neighbour, Bert, that she learnt the truth - he
was on his way to Erinsborough. Upon his arrival, Lyn wasn't sure how to
react, but Joe eventually convinced her to confront Henry and so she simply
blurted out what she knew and demanded an explanation for all the lies.
This storyline has proved to be a real slow-burner, but now that the action
is really kicking off, it's great that the show managed to bring back Bud
Tingwell as Henry. The re-introduction of this character is not only
realistic given the situation, but it adds a depth to the whole scenario
that can sometimes be lacking in Neighbours. The performances from everyone
continue to be excellent, though in some cases, I feel, slightly
over-played. This whole situation is certainly quite removed from what we're
used to in the show and it's certainly not going to be easily resolved. There were some nice scenes between Jack and Valda, when he accepted her as his grandmother.
Angie's arrival continued to be a headache for Dee and Toadie. While her
heart was in the right place, she was determined to organise everything,
leaving the young couple feeling left out of their own wedding preparations.
In the end, they were forced to ask her to stay out of the whole thing and
she disappeared down to the pub to cry on Karl's shoulder. Meanwhile, Dee
and Toadie learnt from his father that Angie had sold the camper-van to help
raise funds for the wedding. After convincing her that they needed her
around, they then had to convince her that they weren't just doing it to get
their hands on her money and that, infact, they didn't want any of it.
Wedding preparations are normally fairly hectic in Ramsay Street, but with a
mother like Angie and an increasingly neurotic fiancée like Dee, Toadie
seems to be getting a particularly rough ride. Even though most viewers know
what's about to happen, these signs are really providing some great comic
relief from the heavy-going storylines with Lyn and Valda, and with Lori and
Connor.
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Elsewhere, things were progressing very nicely for Libby and Cameron, until
he admitted that he didn't see a place for children in his life. Libby ended
things with him and put herself in an awkward position with Taj, as she
helped with his media project.
Jack found that Nina was being taken over by
her manager, Melody, as a picture appeared in the newspaper with Nina
kissing Robbie D. It seemed that Nina had been convinced of the great
publicity it would provide, causing yet another crack in the relationship.
Harold's bizarre alter ego, Afro Harold, provided some 'comic relief' as he
filmed his late-night ad for the Coffee Shop.
This week really showed Neighbours at its strongest, an excellent blend of
drama and comedy. Though whether there's a lot of comedy to be had from
'Afro Harold' is debatable...
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