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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Spells &amp; Karma" data-source="post: 366846" data-attributes="member: 23">Episodes 97 - 104 4 - 24 October 1983And this is it… the final episodes of Brookie’s first year. Marked with some location work, a bring and buy sale and Sheila appearing on television.Amanda Burton was at the heart of the location filming. When Heather said she was off to visit her family in Belfast,  I assumed she would be off-screen for a couple of weeks, winding down from the intense scenes around the Huntington’s marriage breakdown. It was a nice surprise to find ourselves on the plane with Heather and Polly and arrive in Northern Ireland where we met Jack and Gill(!!). We also caught up with old friend Will, a familiar face thanks to being played by Derek Thompson (post-The Gentle Touch and pre-Casualty). Incidentally, when Heather mentioned she'd like to bring Lucy back a souvenir, Paul Collins quipped "Shrapnel?"Even returning to British soil, there was more location work when Roger’s dad drove Heather and Roger to Southport, dumping them there to sort out their differences in a pleasant environment. All to no avail, since Heather returned from Ireland having decided she won’t be taking Roger back.If Heather walking away from him at the end of episode #104 is the last we see of Roger, that would mean Rob Spendlove’s stint in the series lasted exactly one year. I <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Huntington" target="_blank">looked this up </a>and found it to be exactly the case. Rob had wanted to leave, and Phil Redmond wanted it all done within Rob’s original one year contract in case he was unavailable for reshoots if it went beyond (it was interesting, too, to read that two scenes from this final arc are personal favourites of Phil Redmond: Heather chucking Roger out of the house; and his father Sydney admitting that he doesn’t love Roger’s mother but stays with her because he’d committed to it).Very early Roger was a top tier character for me. I’d forgotten all about him and loved how hapless he was, where anything that could go wrong for him, did. In his rebellion, that aspect of his character got diluted (though, of course, the outcome of his affair was also worst case scenario for him). It was a really nice touch that in his final visit to the house, he cast a meaningful look and touch over the shelving unit which was the bane of his life for what seemed like about a month. I probably won’t miss him quite as much as I’d have thought a short while ago, but I certainly will miss him all the same.It’s been a busy time for Sheila, which is good news for viewers. Her Fairbanks WAGs action group has been gathering attention. Their picket brought the media, leading to a terrific sequence where Sheila and fellow wife Maureen Lomax were thoroughly miffed when Sam arrived to (in their eyes) steal attention and pose for photos, undermining their cause. Adding insult to injury, the newspaper added ten years to Sheila’s age and gave descriptions of the “headscarved housewives” to which Sam was lending her support.Sheila’s second chance was appearing on live TV. This time her thunder was almost stolen by Maureen herself (I love how Maureen - played by Jimmy Nail’s sister - is shown to enjoy the spotlight Sheila herself finds unattractive) but she found her voice in time to get her point across. Sue Johnston did some nice “awkward acting” where Sheila was just that bit more hesitant and tripped over her words just a tad more than usual though self-consciousness over speaking on TV.The bring and buy sale is also related to stopping the Fairbanks closure, with Annabelle helping out greatly. This, too, has been a goldmine of light entertainment. Like Marie believing Sheila has stolen the £20 note George believed to be in the trousers Marie donated. George later found the note stuck in the washing machine causing a furious Marie to have to back down:And off she walks. The growing enmity between the two is hugely enjoyable. I love how spiky Sheila is towards her. She simply doesn’t want to give Marie the time of day.Also relating to the bring and buy sale, we’ve had Annabelle becoming a scratchcard junkie having bought a load herself to support the cause. There’s a hilarious scene where Paul arrives home and he, too, starts scratching away at a card enjoying himself… until he discovers it’s related to the Grants and then immediately does an about face, tutting at what a waste of time it all is.There was an episode or two where Paul kept putting his foot in it with Sheila. In one scene, he arrived home, commenting to Annabelle that the Grant lad was “up to no good” outside. But what he didn’t realise was Sheila was present, having been visiting Annabelle at the time. In another (either later in the same episode or in the next), a visitor to the Close asks if the lad outside (Barry) is Paul’s son. He replies that no, he isn’t, thank goodness. This time he knows Sheila is there, but has apparently briefly forgotten himself. One again, Sheila quickly leaves having given Paul a frosty look and a sharp line or two.Sheila’s at odds with Paul for the same reasons she is with Marie: both have dared to criticise her family. She knows Barry in particular is a player, and she gives him a hard time, but if anybody outside the family makes the same observation, she’ll cut them down to size on the spot.Barry is indeed “up to no good”, with he and Terry involved in selling designer jeans that fell of the back of a lorry. Damon gets involved when he removes one pair from each bundle and sells them at school until he’s caught by Billy Corkhill, which means he’s in trouble at school, with Sheila and with Barry.Another thing I’ve read on refreshing myself on some background is that Phil Remond enjoyed suggesting the high degree of everyday crime going on in the Close. The dodgy jeans saga has certainly delivered on this front. On a less everyday level, there’s also a protection racket going on with Val’s father and his restaurant. Until they were literally put on ice by Alan Partridge and his friends who locked them in the fridge (for good measure, Alan also threw a friend in with them on realising he’d bitten his bum during a rugby match).Harry and Edna Cross have already appeared, having come to view the house in episode 98. I’m looking forward to them becoming regulars for Year Two.</blockquote>

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