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Weekly Reviews > Episodes 4313-4317 by Rhys

UK Broadcast: Monday October 20th - Friday October 24th 2003
Written by: Martin McKenna, Jeff Truman, John Hanlon, Sarah Mayberry, Ben Marshall. Directed by: Jovita O’Shaughnessy, Tony Osicka

A gorgeous relative arrived in Erinsborough, making her presence felt, whilst Stephanie’s ordeal was far from over...

Luscious legs stretching out of a taxi, perfectly painted lips, trim figure and golden hair and a walk up to Lou’s Place not dissimilar to that of a catwalk model’s: Such was the arrival of Isabelle Hoyland. She flirted outrageously with both Lou and Stuart, before Max arrived to save them both from her playful tactics. Fortunately for Izzy, Max was happy to see her and let her stay at the house with the kids, who were also overjoyed to see their Aunt Izzy. Despite Izzy’s apparent dizziness and stereotypical “blonde” qualities, she’s an extremely intelligent lady, and knows how to use her looks and brains to her advantage. In fact, as Lou commented when he saw her, she is reminiscent of Annalise Hartman in many respects. Coupled with the fact that Natalie Bassingthwaighte did a brilliant job in portraying Izzy’s arrival means we can be sure we have a classic character in the making. One scene of note was when Izzy took Summer along to a “Becoming a Woman” session at Erinsborough High. Summer’s aunt was particularly bored by the finer aspects of the ovaries, and assured Summer that if they went for coffee and cake, she could teach her all she needed to know about sex and becoming a woman. And, naturally, as sixth form co-ordinator, Susan was given the task of hosting the session...

However, despite Isabelle’s breath of fresh air, one adopted member of the Hoyland family was experiencing terrible pain. Steph, having insisted that Karl arrange a specialist appointment to examine the lump in her breast, was more and more worried about the possible causes of it. The worry took its toll on her as she became distracted and stressed at work – to the annoyance of Stuart, who like everyone else, had no idea what Steph was going through. The specialist, Roberta Marley, confirmed the lump needed further investigation, and an ultrasound was arranged for later in the day. This, however, revealed the shocking truth that Stephanie did indeed have cancer of the breast, something quite uncommon in someone of her age. Carla Bonner’s portrayal of Stephanie has always impressed, but giving the actress something as challenging as a cancer storyline has really proven her capabilities. Some of her scenes have been truly heart-wrenching to watch, as they must have been to film. The only criticism of the plot, so far, is the curse that afflicts any such story in a soap opera, in that the outcome of finding a growth almost certainly means trouble – and as such, the shock of Steph being told the confirmation didn’t have quite the impact on the viewer as Carla was portraying it on Steph. But this is a story fault, and in a daily serial there is little way around it – it’s a means to an end.

Bizarrely, despite being mentioned for the entire first three episodes of the week, and several episodes in the previous week, Lou didn’t make an appearance until Thursday’s episode. This was slightly odd, bearing in mind much of the early part of the week dealt with Harold, Connor and Max’s concerns that Lou was sleeping in, and spending too much time at the pub to counteract loneliness at No.22. Quite why Mr Carpenter felt it necessary to vacate the premises when the rest of Ramsay Street showed up, therefore, remains a mystery! One can only assume actor Tom Oliver was recuperating from another bout of the back trouble he suffers from.

Lyn’s post natal depression continued to rear its ugly head, but Joe, sadly, didn’t notice, as his role as father to newborn Ozzie was thrilling him. However, Lyn managed to make Joe realise he needed to appoint someone as Godfather, with the Christening only a day away. It was only when he saw how good Harold was with Oscar that he realised the Godly café owner was the perfect choice. Meanwhile, Harold’s granddaughter was quite happily entertaining herself around town, proving to be very influential around Boyd – to the extent that the young Hoyland dreadlocked his hair to please her. However, Max was not amused and make his opinion of Sky known to Harold. The youngsters, though, were too busy organising a blind date for Candace Barkham, having read a personal advert of hers in the newspaper.

Having made the decision to move in together, Stuart, Libby and Ben started life in their new home. Nice little risqué touches included Libby eyeing up Stuart’s topless body when he went to the shower and Stuart returning the favour by catching sight of Libby’s uncovered breast when she wore her dressing gown. Begs the question as to how long the two will remain just good Neighbours? And finally, despite having offered to take their relationship to the next step, Jack rejected Nina, much to her confusion. Unfortunately, despite Delta Goodrem having been allowed to sing live in the studio for a previous episode, Monday’s featured an appallingly bad dubbing of “Innocent Eyes” over Nina miming.