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Magic Moments > 1993 > Jim's Death Episode 1904
Written by Lois Booton, Directed by Michael Sergi
Beth tells Jim that she wants him to give her away at her wedding to Brad, and Fiona agrees that it will be a lovely idea. Jim says he will be honoured. Russell asks Phoebe if Stephen has asked him to leave, and Phoebe says that so long as he doesn’t get on Stephen’s nerves, he can stay. Jim goes into the kitchen after playing with Hannah in the garden for a lie down, and clutches his chest. He keels over in pain, as Fiona watches in shock in the doorway. Jim falls, bringing with him a bowl of oranges, the tablecloth and a couple of chairs, and crashes to the floor...
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Fiona runs into the kitchen and sees Jim lying on the floor, surrounded by oranges, gasping for breath. She tries to resuscitate him, but it does no good. Jim stops breathing, and Fiona rushes to the phone to call for an ambulance. However, after dialling, she spots Jim’s keys for his secret drawer on the desk. She hangs up the phone and opens the drawer. She gets out a folder with information about his shares and other paperwork inside, and rushes out the door.
At 32, Julie is on the phone to Phil. Phil tells her that he has found Michael, and she admits she is relieved, but glad that he isn’t coming back home. She says goodbye and tells Helen the news. Helen says she doesn’t blame Julie for feeling glad that Michael isn’t returning, especially after everything he did to her. Helen says that she hopes she won’t be a nuisance staying with Julie, and Julie tells her not to be so silly, saying that 32 is, in fact, Helen’s house. Julie asks Helen what she will do long term, and Helen says that she will look for a flat. Julie blames everything on Fiona, saying that she alienated Helen and Jim, and pushed Helen out of her own home. Helen says that she isn’t worried about the house, but more worried that her and Jim have fallen out, because she sees him like a son, rather than a son-in-law. Helen then says that she will back down and learn to live with Fiona.
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Back at 26, Fiona is on the phone to Jeffrey, Jim’s stock broker, as Jim lays dead in the kitchen. She says that Jim has given her orders to liquidate the account with savings in it for his children. Jeffrey advises her not to, and also says that he will only take orders from Jim. Fiona snaps at Jeffrey, saying that Jim will not be pleased that he has questioned her authority. Jeffrey hesitates and says he will go ahead and liquidate the account, and Fiona says she will pick the check up before noon.
Beth, Brad and Annalise are sprawled out by the pool of 24, soaking up the rays. Beth asks Brad to speak to Stephen about being the best man, as Cameron fled the country a few weeks back. Brad gets up and goes inside the house. Annalise asks Beth some personal details about how Brad is in bed. She asks her if she’s been with anyone else, and concludes that she hasn’t. Beth said she’s a one man woman, and Annalise says that she needs someone to compare Brad to.
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Fiona kneels down by Jim’s corpse and said it was great while it lasted. She goes to leave when the phone rings. She hesitates, then answers. It’s Annalise, asking her for a coffee later on. Fiona snaps that she won’t and hangs up. She goes out the door and bumps in Rosemary. Fiona tells her to go away, and Rosemary says she’s Helen’s daughter and has come to see her mother. Fiona says that she’s staying over at Julie’s, and when Rosemary asks why, Fiona says she’ll have to ask Helen. Fiona then says Jim’s at a business meeting, so Rosemary leaves, saying she will be in town for a few days.
Brad asks Stephen if he’ll be the best man, and she says he’ll be honoured. Stephen asks if Cameron shot through because Lauren dumped him, and Brad says he doesn’t know.
Rosemary arrives at 32, to the welcoming hugs of Helen and Julie. Rosemary tells them that she met Fiona at the house, and asks Helen why she’s staying with Julie. Helen says that she simply needed some breathing space after a disagreement. Julie butts in and says it’s not true, and that Fiona virtually evicted Helen. Helen agrees, saying Julie isn’t exaggerating. Julie goes on to say how vile Fiona is, and that she only wants Jim for his money. Rosemary jokes that she was hoping to catch up on the news whilst she was away, and that there seems to be a lot of it. Helen assures her it’s not all quite so bad. Rosemary tells them she’s staying at Lassiter'ss, and is glad she didn’t intend on staying at 26. Rosemary suggests that they have a family get together, to which Helen thinks is a lovely idea. When Rosemary says she’s intending on inviting Fiona, Julie stops her in her tracks, saying how there’s no way she plans to mix socially with a home wrecker.
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Over at 30, Phoebe is telling Hope a story when Stephen comes in. He jokes how he’s telling the baby rubbish, when Russell arrives back with some bread Stephen asked him to get. Stephen then asks where the housekeeping money is, and Russell says he doesn’t have it. Phoebe says they’re not desperate for it. Russell then gives Phoebe an outfit for Hope to wear. Phoebe gratefully excepts it, saying how kind it was of him to do it. When Russell leaves, Stephen says that he doesn’t want Hope wearing the outfit, and that if he can afford that, he can afford the housekeeping.
Annalise and Beth enter the Waterhole and say hello to Brad. Brad tells Beth that Stephen agreed to be the best man. Annalise goes on about how they better not be driving anywhere on their wedding night, after Beth says she’s on her way to the travel agents to book the honeymoon. Beth jokes that Annalise has a one track mind. Annalise then goes on to say how it’s not wrong for a woman to sleep around. Beth asks her to change the subject, and Annalise tells Brad to admit he’s slept with more girls than just Beth. He said it was ancient history, and Beth says that it’s one-on-one for the rest of their lives. Annalise says they’ll regret it.
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Fiona is at the bank and tries to cash in the cheque. The man at the counter says she can draw against it in five working days. Fiona says it’s too long and storms off, and bumps into Julie on the way out. Julie snidely remarks how Fiona is helping herself to some more of her dad’s money, and Fiona explains to her that it was Jim’s choice to invest in her business. Julie mentions the family get together, and says how she hopes Fiona will have the common courtesy not to interfere. Fiona smugly retorts that Jim wants her to be part of the family. Julie informs Fiona that she isn’t invited, and although she may be her father’s fancy woman, she’ll never be one of the family. Fiona says that’s Julie’s loss, and stalks off. Julie is left seething.
At 30, a saleswoman knocks on the door asking after Phoebe. Russell plays along with the lady’s assumption that he is her husband, and says that she’s gone to the shops. Russell asks her to call back later, and the lady says she will, and that she’s surprised about his attitude, saying that most husbands don’t like their wives spending a lot of money on her beauty products. Russell says how he likes Phoebe to look pretty for him. The saleswoman says Phoebe’s a lucky woman, and leaves.
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Back at the Waterhole, Brad asks Annalise why she was giving Beth such a hard time before. Annalise says Beth needs to experiment before settling down. Brad tells Annalise not to put ideas into Beth’s head, and says she wouldn’t be interested anyway. Annalise seems to think otherwise.
Rosemary knocks on the door of 26, but no one answers. She sighs and turns to leave when Fiona arrives. Rosemary says Jim isn’t back from his meeting, and Fiona asks if she’d like to come in and wait. Rosemary says she will, and that she wanted to talk with her anyway. Fiona apologises for being so abrupt earlier, and that it was only because she had an urgent errand to run. They go inside, and Fiona says she’ll put her things away and then they’ll have a cup of tea. Rosemary goes to boil the kettle. As Rosemary steps into the kitchen, she lets out a scream as she sees Jim’s body lying on the floor. Fiona comes running in soon after, acting surprised. Rosemary says that Jim is dead through her tears, and runs to the phone.
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There is a knock on 24’s door, and Beth goes to answer. Annalise comes in, and apologises for what she said earlier. Beth forgives her and tells her to just drop the subject of sex. Annalise asks what she has planned tonight, and Beth says nothing. Annalise suggests a girly night in, and Beth agrees. As she goes to leave, Annalise tells Beth that she plans on bringing a surprise. When asked what, Annalise says it wouldn’t be a surprise if she told her.
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At 30, Stephen storms into the living room with Hope saying how he thought he said he didn’t want Hope in the outfit Russell got her. Phoebe says she didn’t put her in it, and Stephen sarcastically remarks Hope got up and dressed herself, and tells her Russell is lying to her. Someone knocks on their door and they both go to answer. The saleswoman has returned and says how Phoebe’s husband said it would be okay to call back later. Stephen yells at her saying how he is Phoebe’s husband and no one else. The saleswoman apologises and leaves. Stephen glares at Phoebe and marches off.
Julie returns from the bank and says how she can’t believe Fiona’s nerve, and that what her father sees in Fiona is beyond her. Helen says that she should make an effort to get along with her. Julie says that if she turns up to the family gathering, she won’t be responsible for what she does. Just then, Rosemary enters and tells them she has some bad news. She says how Jim has passed away, and that she phoned Dr. Dawson, and that he said he would be taking Jim’s body to the hospital to sort out the death certificates. Julie and Helen stare at her in disbelief. Julie says that it can’t be true, and rushes out the door and runs across the road to 26.
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She bursts in calling for her dad, and sees Fiona in the kitchen. She runs over to her and sees Jim’s body on the floor. Helen and Rosemary walk in, and Rosemary tells Helen it would have been a massive heart attack, and that he wouldn’t have suffered. Helen looks down at Jim’s body in a trance, as Julie kneels over it, in tears. Fiona begins crying too, and then Julie gets up telling Fiona to get away from him. Julie jumps up and yells at Fiona to get out the house, saying it’s her fault, and that she killed him. Fiona says that she warned Helen and Julie this would happen if they kept on at him, and that is wasn’t her fault he died. Julie screams at her that she didn’t care that he was sick, and how all she wanted was what she could get. Fiona retorts that she only made him happy, and that she didn’t make him miserable by fighting with him like Julie and Helen did. Julie, through her tears, said she only wanted her father to see what Fiona was really like, and how she was moving in on him for her own gain. Fiona says that Julie look should to herself if anyone’s to blame, as it was her who was laying down ultimatums. Julie backs away from shock, and then lunges at Fiona, screeching and scratching and calling her a bitch. Rosemary breaks the fight up, saying it isn’t the time, when Helen suddenly collapses.
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Notes: Annalise and Beth's discussion of sex was trimmed for its BBC broadcast.
Comment: Jim’s death has to be one of the greatest episodes Neighbours has ever produced. Everything about it worked. The writing, the acting, the drama, the emotion. It’s pleasing that Alan Dale got such a great send off after spending so long on the show. The performances from Anne Haddy (Helen) and Julie Mullins (Julie) were spot on, and the end result seemed like it was something from one of the glossy American soap operas, rather than a cheaply made Australian one.
Summary by Billy. Captures by Stuart
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