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“Welcome to Summer Bay”: Rewatching the early years.
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<blockquote data-quote="Spells &amp; Karma" data-source="post: 197436" data-attributes="member: 23"><p><u><span style="font-size: 22px">Episodes 167-174</span></u></p><p></p><p></p><p>To this day, the geography of Summer Bay is something of a mystery to me. Far more so than most soaps which are set on a specific street. Now and then there’ll be insight to give an idea of what’s outside of the usual establishing shots we see. Like a previously mentioned shot of Ailsa and Bobby walking out of the store and onto the beach in one continuous shot. Intriguingly, the same two characters were given a long continuous shot - two full minutes - as they walked round to the side of Summer Bay House, to a footpath running behind it then reached the camera and continued, the camera turning to follow them and reveal the land beyond.</p><p><img src="https://i.vgy.me/tic18t.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /><img src="https://i.vgy.me/rLJljC.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /><img src="https://i.vgy.me/OvTlEp.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /><img src="https://i.vgy.me/dqnlEX.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p>It was a nice scene, and showed Judy Nunn for the professional she is, delivering exposition about Graham being a Christian brother while hitting her marks and displaying great chemistry with Nicolle Dickson. But it also showed what stunning surroundings the house has.</p><p></p><p>Ailsa’s now sold her shop to Celia, despite Brother Graham’s warnings.</p><p><img src="https://i.vgy.me/xfzuKU.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />(It's <em>still</em> a huge novelty to see these two S&D actors together again).<img src="https://i.vgy.me/YrmL23.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /><img src="https://i.vgy.me/fMspio.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p></p><p>Now that Roo has given birth to baby Martha, the way Roo and Brett are written is proving to be a nice seesaw of villainy and endearment, and the way I’m feeling about characters is fluctuating, episode by episode, scene by scene. Just when I’m sure I dislike one of them intensely, something happens to endear them to me. One episode has Roo cruelly telling Bobby she’s not allowed to touch her baby. The next has her being forced to tearfully hand over her baby to Brett. The next episode has Brett beaming with childlike wonder while Pippa shows him how to feed baby Christopher. It’s a confusing time.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Roo has been given some crackers of storylines in the short time the show’s been on the air. At this stage she feels positively worldly. And she’s villainous enough to strike some low blows, for instance her line to Bobby:</p><p></p><p>But Roo is still just a sixteen year old girl, and susceptible to blackmail. Which is where Brett, who has decided he wants Martha even though she’s a girl, goes all Wayne Hamilton:</p><p></p><p>It’s a major bluff. Brett’s father won’t back him and wants nothing to do with a female heir. But Brett amps up the pressure on Roo, building threat upon threat, consequence upon consequence. And she is effectively isolated. The writing sells it well, but all the same it feels like a heck of a stretch that Brett could take things this far without interference. Alf being on a visit to Tahiti helps with credence (where do all these actors keep going?), but I've had to make a conscious effort to suspend my disbelief over this particular sequence of events.</p><p></p><p>The scene in which Roo handed over Martha to Brett was reminiscent of Leigh handing over her baby to the father who'd wanted no part of his own child until now in <em>Sons and Daughters</em>. Once again, a real baby makes it feel more raw. And Justine Clark gives great Drew Barrymore crinkly crying faces:</p><p><img src="https://i.vgy.me/J2djTw.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /><img src="https://i.vgy.me/IA8fQ8.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>In true soapy style, Roo announces to family and friends that she’s handing over Martha but follows Brett’s orders and doesn’t reveal what’s changed her mind. So she’s being well and truly judged for it. Best of all, it gives us some nice Celia scenes as she is first angry, before returning to Roo with an armful of toys and a heart full of hope:</p><p><img src="https://i.vgy.me/aLvTwi.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /><img src="https://i.vgy.me/Krnyki.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /><img src="https://i.vgy.me/OXLDPT.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Those last lines - Celia echoing Roo's earlier plea verbatim - were a nice way to show Roo's conflict. She is forced to present a different character to her Aunt than she had to Brett. And she angrily pushes her Aunt aside for expressing the same wish that she herself holds.</p><p></p><p>And on top of this she has to sit her HSCs:</p><p></p><p>There’s more exam drama with Carly cheating using Bobby’s crib notes. Despite the stories being worlds apart dramatically, it all manages to feel cohesive and organic. But the less said about Lance, Martin and their decoy ducks the better.</p><p></p><p>Stacey Macklin has arrived. She can make grown men cry. If for no other reason than those jangly bracelets which must bring tears to the eyes of the sound department. She’s upset Narelle by distracting Philip. And she’s disturbed me by saying “anythink” more than once.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Spells & Karma, post: 197436, member: 23"] [U][SIZE=6]Episodes 167-174[/SIZE][/U] To this day, the geography of Summer Bay is something of a mystery to me. Far more so than most soaps which are set on a specific street. Now and then there’ll be insight to give an idea of what’s outside of the usual establishing shots we see. Like a previously mentioned shot of Ailsa and Bobby walking out of the store and onto the beach in one continuous shot. Intriguingly, the same two characters were given a long continuous shot - two full minutes - as they walked round to the side of Summer Bay House, to a footpath running behind it then reached the camera and continued, the camera turning to follow them and reveal the land beyond. [IMG]https://i.vgy.me/tic18t.jpg[/IMG][IMG]https://i.vgy.me/rLJljC.jpg[/IMG][IMG]https://i.vgy.me/OvTlEp.jpg[/IMG][IMG]https://i.vgy.me/dqnlEX.jpg[/IMG] It was a nice scene, and showed Judy Nunn for the professional she is, delivering exposition about Graham being a Christian brother while hitting her marks and displaying great chemistry with Nicolle Dickson. But it also showed what stunning surroundings the house has. Ailsa’s now sold her shop to Celia, despite Brother Graham’s warnings. [IMG]https://i.vgy.me/xfzuKU.jpg[/IMG](It's [I]still[/I] a huge novelty to see these two S&D actors together again).[IMG]https://i.vgy.me/YrmL23.jpg[/IMG][IMG]https://i.vgy.me/fMspio.jpg[/IMG] Now that Roo has given birth to baby Martha, the way Roo and Brett are written is proving to be a nice seesaw of villainy and endearment, and the way I’m feeling about characters is fluctuating, episode by episode, scene by scene. Just when I’m sure I dislike one of them intensely, something happens to endear them to me. One episode has Roo cruelly telling Bobby she’s not allowed to touch her baby. The next has her being forced to tearfully hand over her baby to Brett. The next episode has Brett beaming with childlike wonder while Pippa shows him how to feed baby Christopher. It’s a confusing time. Roo has been given some crackers of storylines in the short time the show’s been on the air. At this stage she feels positively worldly. And she’s villainous enough to strike some low blows, for instance her line to Bobby: But Roo is still just a sixteen year old girl, and susceptible to blackmail. Which is where Brett, who has decided he wants Martha even though she’s a girl, goes all Wayne Hamilton: It’s a major bluff. Brett’s father won’t back him and wants nothing to do with a female heir. But Brett amps up the pressure on Roo, building threat upon threat, consequence upon consequence. And she is effectively isolated. The writing sells it well, but all the same it feels like a heck of a stretch that Brett could take things this far without interference. Alf being on a visit to Tahiti helps with credence (where do all these actors keep going?), but I've had to make a conscious effort to suspend my disbelief over this particular sequence of events. The scene in which Roo handed over Martha to Brett was reminiscent of Leigh handing over her baby to the father who'd wanted no part of his own child until now in [I]Sons and Daughters[/I]. Once again, a real baby makes it feel more raw. And Justine Clark gives great Drew Barrymore crinkly crying faces: [IMG]https://i.vgy.me/J2djTw.jpg[/IMG][IMG]https://i.vgy.me/IA8fQ8.jpg[/IMG] In true soapy style, Roo announces to family and friends that she’s handing over Martha but follows Brett’s orders and doesn’t reveal what’s changed her mind. So she’s being well and truly judged for it. Best of all, it gives us some nice Celia scenes as she is first angry, before returning to Roo with an armful of toys and a heart full of hope: [IMG]https://i.vgy.me/aLvTwi.jpg[/IMG][IMG]https://i.vgy.me/Krnyki.jpg[/IMG][IMG]https://i.vgy.me/OXLDPT.jpg[/IMG] Those last lines - Celia echoing Roo's earlier plea verbatim - were a nice way to show Roo's conflict. She is forced to present a different character to her Aunt than she had to Brett. And she angrily pushes her Aunt aside for expressing the same wish that she herself holds. And on top of this she has to sit her HSCs: There’s more exam drama with Carly cheating using Bobby’s crib notes. Despite the stories being worlds apart dramatically, it all manages to feel cohesive and organic. But the less said about Lance, Martin and their decoy ducks the better. Stacey Macklin has arrived. She can make grown men cry. If for no other reason than those jangly bracelets which must bring tears to the eyes of the sound department. She’s upset Narelle by distracting Philip. And she’s disturbed me by saying “anythink” more than once. [/QUOTE]
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“Welcome to Summer Bay”: Rewatching the early years.
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