The Kennedys weren’t the only family with problems, however, as the Hoylands got their fair share of trauma. At the beginning of the week, Mal turned up on their doorstep and announced that he’d be selling number 32. Although it seemed that he’d originally intended to give Max first refusal, he then spotted Izzy living there. Because of his hatred towards the woman, he announced that if Max wanted to keep the house, he’d have to bid at auction like everyone else. Max and Steph then spent the remainder of the week attempting to scrape together the money to buy, while also putting off Izzy, who wanted to have a stake in the mortgage herself. Meanwhile, realising how lonely Sky was feeling at home, Boyd let her stay at number 32 on the last night of the holidays. Although Max was uncertain about the plan, he allowed it to go ahead and when Boyd and Sky ended up under the duvet together, they did nothing more than watch tv. With a new school year starting, it meant that Summer was beginning high school. She and her friend Lisa soon found out all the pitfalls of being the youngest kids around, while Sky found herself reliving the moment from the end of last year when Erin and her gang pushed over the portaloo. In an act of revenge, Sky and Boyd put a mouse in Erin’s bag, but the prank failed when Erin left without even noticing it. Summer, however, seemed to think that she could come up with something a lot better…

After cancer and arguments over whether to have a baby, you’d think that Max and Steph had been through enough, but apparently not. All these problems keep things interesting, but you can’t help hoping that they’ll be allowed a brief period of happiness. Meanwhile, it was great to have some school scenes, and with Summer now at high school, she’ll hopefully start getting in on a lot more of the action with the other teenagers.

At the Scully house, there were signs of things to come, as a leaflet dropped through the door for a reality show named ‘Making Mansions’. Joe was eager to take part, realising that they could get a lot of work done on the house for nothing and he gradually managed to convince Lyn aswell. Jack was desperate to impress his father and convince him that he’d be a worthy workman on the site. To do this, he attempted to fix up a set of drawers in the garage. Lyn was eager to help, but Jack wanted to prove himself. However, when Joe saw the finished effort, he tried to be positive, but ended up picking holes in it, left, right and centre. Nonetheless, when one of Joe’s foremen had to take some time off unexpectedly, Joe ended up offering a few days’ work to Jack, on the premise that he wouldn’t be getting any special treatment just for being his son.

Mostly providing the background stories this week, the Scullys are now building up to their first major story of the year, as they become reality TV stars. If the writers can continue to play on the obvious comic potential of the relationships between the family members, it should prove to be a very memorable storyline.

Career matters were also on the minds of the residents of number 30 this week. While Toadie searched for a new office for him and Tim Collins, Stuart attended a police recruitment open day. Having realised that a life as a police officer could be the right course to take, he set about trying to get a reference from Lou. The publican wasn’t about to forget the way Stuart had left him in the lurch, however, so Stu took a different angle and phoned Libby, part-owner of the garage, in Adelaide so she could provide him with a reference instead. Meanwhile, Lou was setting about selling off his assets to fund Trixie’s tour of Asia, which led to a new opportunity for Connor. Max realised that he’d need a new assistant manager and, after watching Connor deal well with a particularly rowdy group of tourists, he offered him the position. Connor explained that the terms of his visa meant that he’d only be able to work another month at the pub before changing employers, but then Max offered to sponsor him, meaning that he’d be able to stay after all.

Overall, this week was simply laying foundations for new storylines for the vast majority of the cast. The true stars of the week were Alan Fletcher and Jackie Woodburne, who gave everything to their performances, but actors like Natalie Bassingthwaighte, whose subtle glances towards both Karl and Susan are packed with emotion, should not be overlooked either.

Notes: This week saw the return of two recurring characters for the first time since the 2003 season. Both Karen Buckley, played by Maya Walker and Lisa Jeffries, played by Rhiannon Fish, had a part to play as the kids went back to school.