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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 358387" data-attributes="member: 23">17 January - 21 February 1979 3083 - 3103Comings and goings this month have been plentiful. The Crisps and Helen Booth are among those who are yesterday’s news: the former two departing with tails between their legs; the latter with a bun in the oven and off to stay with her parents in Deal.We’ve also seen little-to-nothing of Vic and Sharon since Rennie, too, was sent packing after her mission failed.None of the above is bad news. Even in cases where characters were interesting, their stories had been practically burnt out.The saddest departure for me is Jane… off to see the Sullivans once again, but simply fading away off-screen. There were a couple of episodes where she talked about moving out of the flat she’d shared with Diane, but since she then continued to appear at the motel I guessed perhaps the Sullivans were actually within commuting distance. But then she simply wasn’t there. I can’t even remember her last scene which is a disgrace. I’m keeping fingers crossed that she returns but with each departure I grow less hopeful.Another “are they/aren’t they gone?” comes with Bernard Booth, convinced to take a holiday to spend time with Helen. He at least had a couple of scenes of relative closure; first with David Hunter where he forcefully told him he would be going to see Helen whether granted leave or not; then with Shughie and his colleagues in the kitchen where he left his instructions and passed the metaphorical baton. Once again, it’s implied his departure is temporary, and I hope it is. But I do wonder.There are a couple of new arrivals to fill in some of the gaps. The most notable of these is Trina Jameson: Mac’s girlfriend-slash-fiancée-slash-new-receptionist. She’s very watchable, but notable for being somewhat devious and enjoying game play when it comes to her relationship.My biggest concern is that she’s a bit of a threat to the Benny/Mac bromance. I really enjoy these two and feel it might become somewhat diluted with Mac “spinning off” into becoming a family man. But it’s early doors so we’ll see.Oh, there’s also Val - a whiny, hand-wringing mess of a motel worker who - despite saying almost nothing in her initial episodes - was straight into the midst of a pregnancy drama. Jill has taken Val under her wing and moved her into Chimneys along with herself, despite the fact that she’d just let Chimneys to Adam Chance. It’s a move that’s entirely out of order and he is annoyed at the situation and irritated at Val. And I’m with him on both counts. I do quite enjoy that it plays up Jill’s more brittle and entitled side, and I have to say I’ve also loved seeing her in giggly mode when teasing Adam. Jane Rossington has excelled at all this and the emotion of her sadness over the custody battle. It’s great to have her back.Jill has set something of a precedent: More than the departures or new faces, the last month’s worth of episode have been characterised by a number of significant returns.Firstly, Sandy’s back. It’s great to see him and I’ve missed Roger Tonge croaking out Sandy’s wry observations and lighthearted quips. He’s mostly reacting to other people’s dramas but that’s fine. Not every player needs to be wildly generating their own storylines and Sandy is a character whose presence is present enough.Then there’s Rosemary Hunter, poking the bear that is her (and David’s) son Chris’s involvement in Hugh Mortimer’s kidnapping and death. She’s just learning about it herself, with David having kept it from her, but Janet Hargreaves plays Rosemary with such an interesting combination of neediness and bombast that she’s very difficult to empathise with. It’s a choice that gives this story some edge. And now a twitchy Chris has apparently phoned from Paris. I’m curious to see where this goes.What a lovely surprise to see the return of Lloyd Monroe. We haven’t seen Meg’s old cottage, but he’s spending all his time at the motel (where else) and is a most welcome return. This time he has Dr Kathryn Fischer in tow. There was an initial tease that she might be his young lover, but she’s actually his daughter. With her gothic looks and sardonic manner she’s certainly making an impression on everyone - albeit not the best impression. She’s interested in antiques and this extends to antique shop proprietors and she has another returnee - Ted Hope - doing her bidding. Quite literally, since they’re meeting up under the guise of visiting an auction together while poor, lovely Tish is forced to stay back in Kings Oak and worry that history is about to repeat itself.In the midst of all this, some great Doris/Shughie scenes where she challenges him about his fantasies and grandiose talk about his fancy girlfriend. There's a wonderful little scene where he tentatively tries to ask her to be his date for the ballet and it takes her a few moments to twig. And after the ballet they go for a meal in the greasy spoon where his almost-beloved works and Doris tells him one of the ballerina's dresses reminds her of one she wore when she was a tot for a school play. Kathy Staff looks as though she's drawing on a warm and cherished memory of her own and her wistful, quietly poignant performance makes the scene one of the series' most beautiful to date.</blockquote>

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