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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Spells &amp; Karma" data-source="post: 211984" data-attributes="member: 23">Episodes 375-390 (...continued)For all the dramatic goodness over the last three weeks’ worth of episodes, there’s an awful lot of filler that runs the spectrum from testing to intolerable. Increasingly, “funny” scenes and storylines are no longer just the domain of Martin, Lance and Marilyn. Now everyone’s getting in on them. It is not an improvement.At the more watchable end Morag herself was on the receiving end of a practical joke at the diner.<img src="https://i.vgy.me/Lw8iaq.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />The scene works by taking the “less is more” approach. Wisely, we see Morag about to taste the offending soup and the scene cuts away. When she is next seen at the office she is fuming about the incident to Danny, who uses it as an opportunity to impress Morag by dashing out for some salmon and cream cheese sandwiches. So far so good.At the other extreme, there’s the Summer Bay Bunyip “storyline”, in which Lance - wearing a fur coat - is mistaken by Marilyn for a Yeti-type monster when he stumbles out of the bushes in the dark, groaning. Alf pulls legs by deadpanning a story about a local legend, leading to various sightings and newspaper headlines. The diner now sells Bunyip Burgers and Bunyip soft toys, while a number of recent episodes have ended with “which one of you is the Bunyip” type cliffhangers. It’s completely unwatchable, and one can almost hear Justine Clarke and Alex Papps breathing a collective sigh of relief at getting out in good time.Equally problematic is the blandness created by new arrivals Viv and Adam. Viv at least has the benefit of interacting with Donald regularly. I’m sad to say that she frequently brings his scenes down, but there are also moments where he elevates her, as in this nicely written scene as she discusses the Bunyip with DonaldStacey and Andrew are now an item. The writers are aiming for a Fairgate-Mackenzie volatile thing where they argue and make up repeatedly. An ill-fated camping trip was such a test of patience I found myself almost looking forward to the Bunyip. Peter Bensley has now shifted from “look, Mum, I’m acting” to “look, Mum, I’m being funny” by mugging and overacting even more than before. And I find him so terribly unlikeable that Andrew getting them both arrested by being unreasonable and entitled with an officer who tried to move them pretty much proved my point.The storyline is also a waste when I consider that this is Stacey’s first romance since her fiancé was killed just a few months ago, and yet Philip hasn’t been mentioned once.Still, at least Stacey’s relationship with her father has been in the spotlight. With Gordon back in town for the opening of The Sands Resort, Stacey finds old resentments coming to the surface:<img src="https://i.vgy.me/QNfKwB.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /><img src="https://i.vgy.me/K7HQiB.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" />Gordon is initially dismissive. It’s worth noting that there’s a rare reference to Brett when Gordon says how he gave Stacey “and your brother” everything they could have wanted.Gordon starts to see the light thanks to SuperTom:There’s something of a making up between father and daughter when he comes to her flat and apologises, but then Stacey realises he hasn’t changed and we’re back to square one.continued...</blockquote>

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