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Weekly Reviews > Episodes 4318-4322 by Steve

UK Broadcast: Monday October 27th - Friday October 31st 2003
Written by: Katrina Foster, Graham Hartley, Noel Maloney, Elizabeth Packett, Michael O’Rourke. Directed by: Tony Osicka, Gary Conway

Things got complicated this week in Ramsay Street with secrets, lies and heartbreak threatening to ruin several lives…

The week began with the baptism of Oscar, but throughout the whole event, it was obvious that Lyn was still having trouble coping. The arrival of Valda, Lyn’s mother, went some way to help ease the tension, but Lyn still found it hard to be around people and quickly found an excuse to leave the church. She found herself at the mall, where she ended up putting an expensive silver rattle in her bag without evening realising. When Joe found her with it later that night, she explained that she’d bought it as a baptism gift for Oscar, but Joe was worried about the extravagance. So, Lyn found the perfect excuse to ‘return’ it the next day, placing it back in the shop when the assistant’s back was turned. Later in the week, Lyn was back at the mall to do some shopping when she saw a mother and baby and was horrified to realise she’d left Oscar in the car. Rushing back to the car park, all she found was an empty parking space, so she contacted Joe and the police. However, after everyone had arrived, the police got a report of a baby left in car and Lyn realised she’d mistaken parking lot D4 for B4. While the police agreed not to press any charges, Joe was extremely worried that Lyn was over-doing it. This led to a huge argument, with Lyn storming out after admitting that she was a complete failure as a mother…

While Neighbours is doing an excellent job of portraying Lyn’s depression and her isolation from day-to-day life, it is hard to believe that nobody has noticed what’s wrong. It seemed that, during the baptism, Susan had picked up on the problem, so it seems very odd that she didn’t say anything to her doctor husband. However, the performances, and the way the situation is also impacting on other storylines, cannot be faulted.

Steph’s diagnosis of breast cancer continued to cause her a great deal of worry and she finally managed to tell someone this week – confiding in her best friend, Libby. While this helped to alleviate some of the tension, it didn’t help ease her problems telling Max, and so she decided to suddenly move out. This was heartbreaking for both Steph and Max, as she broke down in tears on Libby’s shoulder, while he did his best to avoid thinking about the situation. Summer and Boyd were also deeply affected, with Boyd confronting Steph and accusing her of wrecking his dad’s life. By the end of the week, Steph was attempting to explain the situation to her parents, but arrived in the midst of Lyn losing Oscar at the mall, and realised that her parents had their own problems to deal with…

This storyline is finally beginning to really pick up pace now, as other characters are becoming involved and it’s having a serious impact on their lives. One of the strengths of Neighbours is the way it can really show the different reactions of various characters to one development. The behaviour of Steph, Max, Boyd, Summer and Izzy gave each actor the chance to shine, while also showing a believable way for each person to react.

Two newcomers managed to really make their presence felt this week. Izzy managed to find her place in Erinsborough very quickly, as she sweet-talked Harold into letting her buy shares in the Coffee Shop and take over as manager. The amenable café owner barely had a chance to stop and think before Izzy had convinced Max to loan her some money and announced her plans. One person who was particularly unhappy about this development was Sky, who compared Boyd’s aunt to a pole dancer. Izzy showed further deviousness when she was quick to put down Steph after she moved out. Meanwhile, Sky herself was causing trouble, as she and Boyd plotted to get Candace Barkham and ‘Blue Suit Man’ to Lassiter’s restaurant for a date. While the youngsters also used the occasion as an excuse for a date, it ended happily with Candace hitting it off well with her blind date. Meanwhile, Sky was preparing to head back to Western Australia, so Boyd gave her a card, explaining his feelings for her, warning her not to read it until she’d gone. But Sky steamed it open and was then given the news by Harold that Joe had allowed her to stay on in Erinsborough.

These new characters had proved to be exactly what Neighbours was in need of. Izzy is perfect as the glamorous minx, causing trouble for everyone she comes across. Meanwhile, Sky and Boyd’s blossoming relationship is a real joy to watch, as she has quickly proved herself to be more than your average Neighbours teenager and has had a similar effect on Boyd.

Also this week, Toadie showed his first signs of moving on after Dee’s death. He, along with Stuart and Connor, started selling his belongings on Ebay, seeing who could raise the most money for the most ridiculous items. However, in the middle of their fun, Toadie’s wedding photos were delivered, providing a painful reminder for him. Elsewhere, Jack was extremely jealous when Edwina started showing an interest in Taj and her feelings were reciprocated. Meanwhile, Candace tried to talk Libby into returning to teaching, after admitting that she too had slept with a student after qualifying as a teacher.

It seems that Neighbours is really on a roll at the moment, with storylines and characters we can relate to and really care about. Hopefully, this momentum can be maintained as we head into 2004…