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Weekly Reviews > Episodes 4173-4177 by Billy

UK Broadcast: Monday 17th March - Friday 21st March 2003
Writers: Linda Stainton, Katrina Foster, Anthony Morris, Louise Le Nay, Kim Leeanda Wilson. Directors: Jovita O'Shaughnessy, Gary Conway

This week saw Nina and Jack's sordid affair escalate into dangerous territory, while Rosie and Lou's suspicions over Ruby are confirmed - but Rosie is left in a compromising position. A new term begins at Erinsborough High, bringing in some new faces and some old ones too...

Michelle comments that she has been hearing weird noises recently from outside, and Harold catches Boyd and Daniel looking over the fence in his garden to the Scully house. The boys pretend that they were bird watching, so Harold, knowing all too well what they were up to, gives them a two hour talk on birds, and invites them to go on an expedition with him. Daniel is told the good news that his father has been receiving help for his problems, and that he can go home, much to Summer's disappointment. Daniel can't sleep that night and talks to Max about going home. Max reassures him that his dad misses him and that everything will be okay. The next morning Daniel talks Boyd into having one last look at the Scully bathroom. They are caught by Max, who is then caught by Joe as he looks over the fence to see what the boys found so interesting!

Max expresses his disappointment in the boys, and when he goes over to the Scully house to apologise, Jack tells him that Connie has died, and that Steph has gone up to be with Lyn. Connie's death was handled very badly, with no real impact or emotion. The Scully kids' complete nonchalance during the week she lay dying makes their sudden grief a little hard to swallow, and it lacked any real sense of occasion. Jack's speech to Nina on Friday probably came the closest to hitting the right notes, but generally, the pay off was very disappointing indeed.

Lori meanwhile has been led into a false sense of security over her relationship with Jack. After hearing him gush about her to her parents on the phone, she is sure that he was beginning to warm to her again, after she has given him more independence. When they later on have a remembrance party for Connie, Jack's deceit is all the more apparent, when he thanks Lori for saying such nice things about her, and tells her he loves her.

Karl is struggling to cope without alcohol, taking his frustration out on the juice machine. Susan later catches him eating liquor chocolates and bans him from having them again. Karl makes Susan breakfast to apologise. Strictly sitcom for the Kennedys this week, but after the last few months, that's as welcome and apt as high drama, with Alan Fletcher and Jackie Woodburne seemingly loving every minute of it.

The play rehearsals don't go according to Harold's plan, as the gang try to modernise it. The scenes Jack and Nina share push their feelings for each other to the limit, as they both desperately try to fight their growing attraction. Whilst walking Nina home after rehearsals, they give into temptation and share a kiss. The next morning, whilst on a run, Jack goes to Nina's house in Heather Street to see her. After their next rehearsal, they are left to clear up and almost steal another kiss, but Nina breaks away, saying she wants to be with Taj.

Taj and Nina's relationship is put on the rocks when his old girlfriend Allie turns up, completely unaware that they have broken up. After talking to Allie, Taj manages to sort things out with her, explaining that he now has a new girlfriend, which she seems to accept without argument. However, Nina continues to shut Taj out, even after sorting the Allie situation out, and ignores most of his calls. She becomes so wracked with guilt over what is happening between her and Jack, that she cannot face going into school. Jack stops by Nina's house, and she lets him in - the two share another kiss.

The Jack and Nina story is working really nicely, mainly because Delta Goodrem manages to project such wonderful vulnerability in every scene. There's a sense of helplessness about the character and her situation that she really nails, and it's vital to making this thread so engaging. Meanwhile, Taj's innocent goofiness makes an ideal foil, and there were some nice touches along the way, such as the silent seduction scene between Jack and Nina. Simple and deft, the lack of dialogue was a bold decision and gave it real punch. Nice to see an increase of visual storytelling, which really helps invigorate the episodes and their pace. Hopefully something we'll see more of in future.

Lou returns home from hospital and Harold looks after him. He heads straight for the pub the next day to see how Max has coped, and is glad that everything has been running smoothly. For Lou, the kidney transplant seems to have been a lifeline in more ways that one. Seeing Lou back to his old larakin ways, something which we haven't witnessed for the past year, has been a welcome return. For a while, the character seemed to be losing his place in the ensemble cast, but happily Tom Oliver's fine acting has been delivering some great scenes recently.

Ruby comes over to see Harold and breaks down, saying that she can't afford her rent. Lou overhears and later tells Rosie that he thinks there is something off with her. Rosie agrees and relays her fears over Harold to him. Lou speaks to Harold about his gut feelings over Ruby, and Harold sticks up for her, saying she is a dear friend who he loves. Harold later lends Ruby $1,000 so she can purchase a new stereo, and when Rosie spies her coming out of a casino, the final piece of the jigsaw fits neatly into place. Ruby confides in Rosie over what she has done with Harold's money, and admits that she has a gambling problem. She begs Rosie not to tell Harold about it, as she values his friendship too much. Rosie then advises her to seek counselling, and to tell Harold everything, hinting that she is aware Ruby was behind the burglary. When Ruby shows up with the stereo, Lou is amazed that she spent over $900 on it, later saying how his friend had it for $300 less.

Ruby's story continues to develop nicely with some unexpected turns - her newly formed pact with Rosie makes for some welcome conflict between the two and brought some interesting new angles to Rosie's character. The use of Rosie's unique obligations as a minister deserves kudos for being one of the only stories to actually use her profession to advance the drama, and the renewal of bonds with Lou is a welcome touch too.

As the children go back to school, not everyone has a good time. Summer is being bullied, and Lori is sent to the principal's office on her first day for wearing trousers. However, the school sees the welcome return of Susan, and Libby also joins to teach Taj and Jack's class media studies. This element was probably the weakest of the entire week, with some of the cringe-worthy non-jokes that can only come from a Neighbours character trying to entertain a bunch of bored extras. Susan's opening speech to her class fell foul of this, which was a pity, as there was some real potential to show how far the character has come to overcome last year, something with far more pathos and depth than a cheap gag about alien abduction can muster.

Steph's love life takes an interesting turn when Joanne's nephew Dennis, asks her out on a date. After being stood up by him at the pub, Max steps in and offers to have lunch with her. Elsewhere, Darcy's attempts at romancing Dee don't go according to plan when she cancels her arranged lunch with him so she can spend it with Toadie. Toadie has been getting calls from Sarah, asking for her dog Bob back, so Toadie comes up with the brilliant idea of buying an identical dog, Bib, and sending him to Sarah. Later on the postman drops round with a parcel for Dee. He phones her at the surgery to ask what it is, and she shrugs it off as being a collection of her things from her Nan in Tasmania, and asks Toadie not to open it. Darcy offers her a lift home, and when he gets a moment alone, his curiosity gets the better of him and he rummages through Dee's parcel. Darcy is stunned when, staring back at him, is a wedding certificate with Dee's name on it.

Bob or Bib? Obvious farce, telegraphed almost before the episode began, but done with such joy that its overall contrivance didn't seem to show. Darcy's delving into Dee's past seemed far less successful, not only relying on an alarming amount of risk, (which didn't seem to faze Darcy in the least) but the whole wedding certificate opened a separate can of worms - Dione married? Yes, it has me stumped too, and I'm not the only one - actress Madeleine West has already commented in a couple of soap mags on the continuity problems it throws up. A great cliffhanger, I'll admit, but I think I'm going to have a tough time following its logic.

Notes: For the first time in Neighbours' 18 year history, an episode premiered outside of Australia. Episode 4175 was finally shown on Wednesday, after Channel Ten accidentally aired the wrong episode 4176, and chose to skip the missing installment. A fully illustrated summary, with video highlights, can be found here. Elsewhere, Dee's birth certificate (seen in Friday's episode) finally confirms her father's name, John.