.
Main Pages

Home
News
Spoilers
Features
Comment
Reference
Interactive
Neighbourhood
Actors & Crew
Characters
Year by Year
Magic Moments
Episodes
Interviews
Articles
Multimedia
Galleries
Music
Links
Search

Message Board

.
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.

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.

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...