Neighbours (AU) - General Discussion

[neutron]

2 hours ago, Nozycat said:

I  don't understand the guy with the snakes.  Where did he come from, what has he got to do with anyone?

Isn't the snake guy supposed to have something to do with Belinda? That's what they seem to be hinting at, anyway. There was the photo of Belinda that Toadie found on the kitchen floor, and the anonymous card that was delivered on Steph and Belinda's anniversary, and the attack at Toadie's office after he didn't get Belinda her registration back or whatever it was, and the fact that most of the other attacks have occurred at Toadie and Sonya's house (where Steph also lives). I don't know why they're dragging the whole thing out so long, though.

That thing with Ned and the hair was weird, but I didn't understand why Elly was randomly searching Ned's wallet in the first place.

Edited August 27, 2016 by neutron

[Kim0820]

Now it looks like that guy who Therese briefly dated has another copy and Amy knows and is even smart enough to realize it might help Xanthe.  

Agree about snake-guy - he is a religious nut who wants to get back at Paige regarding her liking a priest?  But yeah he has nothing to do with anyone and is therefore not really interesting.  

Bike path story isn't that interesting for me either.  Seems like a good idea to give a story to mayor Sonia and involve the whole community.  Maybe they took that idea from some minor news story.  

Ned having Lauren's hair - don't believe his story - is odd but Ellie should not have looked into his wallet.  Helping him get over Lauren does not seem outside the range of how serious she considers this relationship to be.  Interesting both she and Madison have exes.  I suppose they will eventually come of out the woodwork to cause trouble.

[neutron]

15 hours ago, Kim0820 said:

Agree about snake-guy - he is a religious nut who wants to get back at Paige regarding her liking a priest?  But yeah he has nothing to do with anyone and is therefore not really interesting.

I thought his confession to Jack was supposed to be about Steph and how she should be with Belinda rather than Mark.

[Nozycat]

Yeah I think snake guy was talking about Steph as well.  His crazy seems to match Belinda's crazy.

Ellie is a bit left of centre, lol, I laughed at her dancing around behind Lauren trying to match the hair, but she is also pretty intense.

[Kim0820]

I thought it was a twist after watching today but you guys already know!  I was thinking like Jack, that he meant Paige.  The last scene was creepy!  

Allison is awful!  Anyway I hope that kid's mother gets caught.  Touching scene with Gary and Xanthe and Sheila.  

[Kim0820]

i would hope the priesthood now has an out to warn someone of real danger. In the US lawyers do. Now. But maybe this is how Spencer can get out of it. He will make the right call but be kicked out. Voila free to have a girl. 

[neutron]

Although I can see things from Amy's point of view when she said that she wouldn't feel comfortable making a confession unless she knew that it was confidential and wouldn't be shared under any circumstances, It seems strange to me that the whole priest/confession thing would even be set up that way in the first place, because of problems like the one Jack faced potentially arising. Like, if it was just set up in a way where people knew right when they walked in that if they confess to putting people in danger then the priest has the right (but perhaps not the obligation – I don't know?) to disclose that information, then the issue could be avoided, and people could just choose not to confess that sort of thing if they didn't want people to find out. Especially since keeping that sort of information to themselves just because they heard it in a confession could potentially comprise other beliefs/morals/standards that a priest has. I actually have no idea of what the law and the Catholic Church says about this in Australia, but I assume they looked into it when writing the episode, so I would guess that what happened in the episode was basically accurate? (Although I suppose you never know, with Neighbours. :P) I wonder if it's the same throughout the world.

Edited September 2, 2016 by neutron

[Nozycat]

Yes that's how it is with counsellors, if the client reveals harm to someone else, even self, they are required to report.  Still different in the confessional obviously.  I am finding that whole story stupid though, why do they keep forcing Belinda on us.

And Mark was really dumb putting a bug in the confessional, and awful listening to Amy.  He should have at minimum stopped listening as soon as he knew it was her and nothing to do with the case.  I found it really icky that he listened.

[Kim0820]

At least that story is over but it looks like Belinda is not guilty - it was her crazy patient.  Mark being stabbed will probably redeem him and he'll get out of trouble for his shenanigans.  

Paige and the boxing is a bit silly and she has an incompetent manager Aaron.  

[neutron]

I'm liking Ben at the moment. So refreshing to see a Neighbours character who actually seems to recognise that going to school (or uni) involves doing some work! :P The other day Paige mentioned something about having a uni class and before that I'd completely forgotten that she was even supposed to be a student, because she never seems to be doing any work. Is she supposed to be studying part-time or full-time? I assume part-time. Xanthe also doesn't seem to do any work, and Gary is too busy giving her silly advice (like "ask Madison for tips on how to make Ben like you", as though she should expect to need tips from an expert) rather than getting her to do her work (after paying for her to be tutored). I assume Ben and Maddie are writing/recording a song together or something?

 

What was with Paul and Terese tonight? Their storyline sounded like it was written by someone who had missed the last few weeks of episodes or something. It didn't seem to fit in with everything else that's happened. They're always so secretive about their hotel plans, but then all of a sudden Paul just randomly starts bragging about his plans to Terese and then is shocked when she tries to ruin them?? At first I assumed that he was just making stuff up in front of Gary and Terese to trick them and to cover up his actual real plans, but no. Why would he tell Terese that he was booking Maddie for a particular date before he'd even booked her? Makes no sense.

[Kim0820]

Putting the cat amongst the pigeons lol. Toadie shouldn't have said that !  

[Nozycat]

Yeah Paige has been only boxing a bag up until now and all of a sudden she is supposed to be ready to fight professionaly.

Indeed good to see Ben focusing on his school work.

I am so sick of Paul and Terese fighting, it's been going on for years now.

Heh @ Karl and the pigeon racing, he's funny to watch but would do my head in in real life.

[Kim0820]

The pigeon story is amusing - different for a soap to find something like that to get into.  

Yes, the Paul and Therese rivalry romance needs to move along.  Probably should heat up, of course they really like each other, and are alike and competing.  

So Xanthe finally knows what was going on.  Never assume!  She and Sheila are both silly. 

 

Also why is Angelina so desperate to get Paige to back out if she's so good and thinks it will be so easy for her?  Why the need for the intimidation?  

Edited September 14, 2016 by Kim0820

[Nozycat]

I loathe boxing so I am glad they are not glamourising it.  And Paige is so naive not realising someone may get hurt by her punching them. Who was the woman in her corner, I can't remember seeing her before.

I hope the Ari storyline is over now, I thought that was terrible.

The pigeon racing was fun, could have done with more of that.  I like the fun and funny stuff they do on Neighbours.

[neutron]

That whole boxing storyline was silly and I hope there's no more of it after this. I don't understand how Aaron gets himself and others into such ridiculous situations. And it seems strange that a boxer could have a brain tumour without anyone realising. Wouldn't boxers get regular brain scans?

I can't believe Kyle is back for Sheila's 60th birthday party. Not just because I wasn't expecting it, but also because as if Sheila is only supposed to be 59! I had no idea. Kyle is supposed to be around 24 or 25, I think, and she's his grandma. They've probably mentioned before that Kyle's mum and Sheila both had teen pregnancies, but I just didn't really think about it. I guess that's a good explanation for why Naomi seems closer to Kyle's age than Gary's.

Edited September 16, 2016 by neutron

[Nozycat]

They keep introducing or reintroducing characters with the same old trope of them looking suspicious in some way and then so being not.

So Karl says he can't give any info on a patient then proceeds to do just that.

[Kim0820]

Angelina's situation is entirely her own fault and she is a mean and nasty person, compassion for her brain tumor notwithstanding.  You could see where she gets it with the mother blaming Paige.  

Kyle, ugh, I dislike him now.  He dissolved his own business (what does he do in Germany) to go back to someone who had already left him and had this quick change of mind and now it is not working out for her after all?  And Amy should never speak to him again.  They made Kyle look bad the way he left and they really made Georgia look bad.  Now they make her look worse.  

[Nozycat]

Yeah they are doing a complete character assassination on Kyle, imo.  Both he and Ned are coming off really dumb and thoughtless and mean even.  I really feel for Amy, good she gave Kyle a talking to, and I think Elly should kick Ned to the curb.

So Mark and Steph made plans to immediately travel to Fiji without considering that maybe Charlie's dad and his family had other plans? Dumb.

[Kim0820]

That was pretty dumb.  Why assume?  And you'd really want to make sure they were OK with it as you'd want to see Charlie.  They could just have planned it for a little way down the road instead.  It's not like they live in the same town. 

I used to think Elly was the crazy one in the relationship, but I agree, now it seems like he is unreasonable.  Why does he think Elly should just ignore what she sees?  Why be so secretive and even mean about it?  Also they need to reveal just what the issue is here with Regan.  She was married and had an affair with Ned and still wants him, OK, but how does she have any power over him?  If he just told Elly all about it, she'd have none.  He seems to have not known she was married and got out as soon as he knew, so he's not all that blameworthy.  

[Nozycat]

I think they said that Regan's husband is very dangerous and could be out to get the 2 of them and she came to warn Ned but she seems to want to reconnect with him too.

So Karl tells Paige he can't give her any information on Angelina then proceeds to give her full reports and constant updates.  What's up with that?

I liked Jimmy telling Kyle how he hurt them too.

[Kim0820]

 A surrogate has to be finished having their own family to be one, how is that enforceable? After they have the surrogate baby, what do they do with the person goes and has another baby of their own later? That seems lame. Also Sonya yet does not know if Stef even wants to do this. 

 If you are in boxing, what is the point of blaming the other fighter for any injury that occurs? If Angelina does not want to get hit, get another hobby. 

Edited September 23, 2016 by Kim0820

[Nozycat]

I thought Gary was being really skeevy with Terese, I would have laughed at him or told him to nick off, but she seemed to like it.

[neutron]

20 hours ago, Nozycat said:

I thought Gary was being really skeevy with Terese, I would have laughed at him or told him to nick off, but she seemed to like it.

Ugh, yes, I KNOW. That seemed so weird and out of character. Although I guess people probably do behave differently with someone they're interested in compared to everyone else, but still, it seemed a bit creepy and I was laughing the whole way through. :P Unfortunately for Gary, I feel like Terese is just enjoying the attention, and if Paul were to start being nice to her and then kissed her or something, they'd be back together almost immediately.

Sheila's 60th birthday party seemed to come out of nowhere and wasn't really talked about. I guess they just invented that storyline when they heard that the actor who plays Kyle was going to be in Melbourne. I liked Jimmy hugging Kyle and then telling him it was actually for Bossy. :P

I've never heard that law before about having to have finished making your family before becoming a surrogate mum. I guess it's probably not enforceable. Like, if you got pregnant afterwards, they couldn't force you to abort it or anything, and I don't think they could even fine you, because it could've just been an accident. Maybe it's just to ensure that if anything goes wrong during the pregnancy or birth that leaves the surrogate unable to have more babies later, they can't sue anyone. And I guess it's also an extra layer of protection against the surrogate trying to steal the baby for their own family after it's born (but I would imagine there'd be other parts of the contract that explicitly prohibit that).

Edited September 25, 2016 by neutron

[Nozycat]

Yeah I didn't think Terese would go for the caveman act.  Is that what the writers think women think is sexy?  Not me.

I hadn't heard that requirement for surrogacy either and I agree no way to police it.  You can see there's going to be tears before bedtime.

[Kim0820]

Seems Madison is being written out. She never got into the credits.  Not seeing the point of her character. 

Susan showing up at just the right moment was good. That brat Xanthe needs a comeuppance. 

I liked Steph calling Elly a total narcissist!

[Nozycat]

Yeah Madison was sweet but I wonder why she was there too.

Ha I laughed out loud when the camera turned to Susan in the hotel room and the romantic music came to a shuddering halt.  And Steph calling Elly a total narcissist was gold.

Steph was stupid though not to tell Mark what was going on.  Also to visit and lie to Jacka.

Edited September 29, 2016 by Nozycat

[Kim0820]

Xanthe making up her own punishment is like great, so she can do whatever she wants, apologize and decide the punishment.  Glad Gary added in cleaning the bird cages.  

The Paul and Susan house must have only three bedrooms if Angus has to share since Elly is there.  LOL I believed all houses had 4 as they had seemed to by the numbers admitted to living there.  

Inattentive parents seems to be a theme.  At least Sarah told her son about her cancer; now it seems he is overexposed.  And his father is not around for him.  Also we have Xanthe's mother.  Who does seem sad and apparently can't see her for some reason.  

The Jacka story is a bit dumb and why would Ned be any safer anywhere else?  And he's such a powerful crime lord he can get minions from jail? And he's completely unreasonable.  His dumb wife could have picked any man.

[Nozycat]

Seems to me they are flexible about how many bedrooms they have, heh.

Paige does my head in, she has been throwing herself at Jack before he was even conscious and despite him pushing her away again and again and she blames it all on him and guilt trips him, with never any empathy for him and his situation.

Lol @ Gary and Terese getting busy all over the hotel.

What's with Ned telling all those lies?  I don't get why he lied to Brad about Ellie.

[neutron]

19 hours ago, Nozycat said:

Seems to me they are flexible about how many bedrooms they have, heh.

Paige does my head in, she has been throwing herself at Jack before he was even conscious and despite him pushing her away again and again and she blames it all on him and guilt trips him, with never any empathy for him and his situation.

Lol @ Gary and Terese getting busy all over the hotel.

What's with Ned telling all those lies?  I don't get why he lied to Brad about Ellie.

That's true about Paige, but I think that if Jack is serious about his commitment then it would be much smarter to not go anywhere near Paige. Like, okay, the other priest died and he feels like he needs to stay in Erinsborough to work at that church, and that's fine. But there are still ways to stay away from Paige. Also, who (particularly a girl) takes all of their top layers off in a public place when they have no other clothes around? And as if her natural instinct wouldn't have been to cover up before turning around, especially because it could have been Brad or anyone else walking in? I understand what Piper said about it not being Paige's fault that Jack looked at her the way he did, but really, if you take your clothes off in public, you can't be too surprised when people look at you. :P

And yeah, I don't understand Ned's lies either. He's a bit weird. I don't like him or Elly.

[Kim0820]

Angus and his crush is silly - he should go to school forthwith.  

I didn't pick up on why Paul dislikes Leo enough to investigate him.  

The brothers, Aaron and Amy were funny but these characters are too jumpy - just see the evening out for heaven's sake!  You have to leave as soon as it does not go your way.  What party poopers.  

[neutron]

I have never understood why, on this show, the gay characters just immediately correctly assume that someone else is gay. I mean, statistically, they're likely to be incorrect, right? So when Aaron assumed Leo was gay, I thought it was just one of those things where we're supposed to believe it's somehow obvious. And now it turns out he was wrong! And yeah, I don't recall any interaction between Leo and Paul before yesterday's episode (or the day before or whenever it was) when he said he didn't like him.

[Kim0820]

I suppose it is all due to Paul trying to ruin Therese and he found out she just hired someone and he got lucky and found something dodgy?  

And piper and Tyler went on about Amy and David's chemistry yet the next day David is uninterested enough to leave the outing and in another tells his brother to go for it. 

[Nozycat]

Total plot contrivance with Paige taking her clothes off.

Why on earth is it up to Angus whether he goes to school or not?  And why is Susan asking Ellie to convince him to go?  Surely Susan would just make that a condition of his staying - doesn't seem like Susan at all.

No idea why Paul dislikes Leo either.

What is up with David and Leo's haircuts?  David's isn't too bad but imo Leo looks totally ridiculous.

[neutron]

I guess the Leo/Paul thing was explained when Paul mentioned that Leo made some negative comment about Paul's restaurant the first time they met. I'd forgotten about that. But it didn't seem like a big deal anyway.

I think both David and Leo need new haircuts.

I'm starting to like Xanthe more and more. Wasn't a fan when she first came on the show, but she's gotten much better.

Edited October 8, 2016 by neutron

[Nozycat]

Doesn't take much to set Paul off does it.

Agreed about Xanthe.  She is like Naomi for me, at first I didn't like her much but then she really grew on me - great humour.

[neutron]

Oh my goodness. That balloon crash episode. COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS. Like, where do I start? Jacka turning up to the balloon site with one tool that happens to fit the task and knowing exactly what to do to wreck the balloon and no one even spotting him because he's wearing his Special Hoodie of Invisibility. The people in charge not even doing some sort of safety check before taking off. Jimmy becoming a super genius and doing complex calculations so that he could film the balloon with his drone, and then somehow flying it perfectly just by looking at a phone and a computer screen. Elly being invited onto the balloon when the ride was supposed to only be for Lauren's close friends, and Regan finding the balloon site and making it there in time and just casually hopping onto the balloon to see Elly without anyone realising or even wondering who she was, using the Jacka-style hoodie disguise. Paige randomly reciting her apology to Jack for Lauren to hear and Piper conveniently recording it, as well as the balloon crash, and sending it to Jack. Paige just suddenly standing up and jumping out of the balloon into the water. (WHO WOULD DO THAT?!) Piper being totally fine when they crashed and just running around all normal. The balloon operators just disappearing after the crash and no one wondering where they were. The balloon conveniently having an accurate tracking app. Jack and everybody else just conveniently realising that the balloon was crashing and then being first on the scene when it landed. Karl immediately deciding on a diagnosis for Regan after looking at her for two seconds, and then telling Ben to go get a power drill from the ute so that he could perform brain surgery, because of course that's what a doctor who isn't a brain surgeon and doesn't have the correct equipment and is out in the middle of nowhere and not in a hospital would do, rather than at least first calling the paramedics who are on their way and asking for advice. And then, I didn't really understand what happened at the end of the episode, but it looked like the drone just gained a mind of its own after Jimmy stopped controlling it, and it flew all the way to Grease Monkeys and randomly knocked Steph off her bike. Ridiculous! But oh well, I suppose the ridiculousness of everything was good in a way, because it was hilarious, and I think it would have been too scary and dramatic and stressful for a Neighbours episode if it had been more realistic. Hot air balloons really do seem quite dangerous and not able to be controlled easily if something goes wrong. I wonder what percentage of balloon rides end badly. Personally, I would never go on one.

I wonder whether Jack calling out for Paige on the beach was an intentional throwback to that well-known scene where Madge called out to Harold when it was believed that he had drowned? Made me laugh, anyway.

Edited October 11, 2016 by neutron

[Kim0820]

I have to agree. Amy was not on the balloon it seems?  Regan getting on was ridiculous. Yeah the thrills of balloon riding don't top the fact that it is otherwise useless and so would be a stupid way to die.  And these characters have already seen a disastrous bouncy house and a hotel explosion.  They should not feel safe anywhere. 

[Nozycat]

Rofl, that was all just too ridiculous, even for Neighbours.  I couldn't believe it when Paige leapt from the balloon - who does that indeed.  She is lurching from one ridiculous thing to another, I thought stripping down in a public place and the nun's habit were bad, but this takes the cake.

eta - and now she and Jack have sex while her family are beside themselves with worry.  Weird priorities.

Edited October 12, 2016 by Nozycat

[Kim0820]

True and the balloon accident had the obvious function of getting Jack to realize he could not live without her. 

Even if Karl was drunk he was at an emergency scene in an unofficial capacity. He seemed in control anyway. 

[Olivia Y]

Ugh, I was half expecting Paige to wake up with amnesia. The dancing around with Jack/Paige (and Tyler/Piper for that matter) has gotten SO grating.

Can they please drop the Angus/Elly storyline? I've taken to skipping all their scenes. Also, she's been dating Ned for what, an hour? And they're already so in love she was willing to drop everything to go on the run with him? Even for soaps that's ridiculous.

(Funnily enough, the last student/teacher storyline I can remember was Rachel and her teacher, who was also named Angus.)

I have to say that the girl who plays Xanthe has improved heaps since she started, it helps too that her storylines are less about her being a ungrateful little brat. And compared to Madison she looks like an Oscar nominee.

19 hours ago, Nozycat said:

eta - and now she and Jack have sex while her family are beside themselves with worry.  Weird priorities.

Ugh this! Did Jack not have a phone on him or something? To at least send a text letting them know she's okay? It's not like he had to tell them their location and they still could've had time to do the deed. 

[Nozycat]

Hi Olivia, yes agree with all your points :-).

At least Karl did try to get in contact with someone which they didn't show at first, but really, there was no one else?

[Kim0820]

Karl was a Good Samaritan there so he would be held to a lesser standard unless Australia lane doesn't follow that doctrine 

Jacka calls Karl a murderer when he knows that he is the murderer. 

Great reveal that David is gay. lol Aaron and Amy made the same error. 

[Nozycat]

So David is ?

I am loving the Cannings going to Family Feud, should be fun.

[Kim0820]

David is in denial maybe?  He definitely had a moment with Aaron.  

Paul should learn to coexist with Therese, he sure is dumb.

[Olivia Y]

Okay add Paul/Therese to the list of couples whose plots need to either get resolved or just dropped.

In other news, Daniel Robinson was back on Once Upon a Time (only one episode though).

Edited October 16, 2016 by Olivia Y

[Nozycat]

Ugh, Paul and Terese have been at each others' throats ever since she moved onto Ramsay St.  It is sooo old.

Where are you watching Once Upon a Time?  I loved that show when it was on fta.

Eta - I cannot believe Jack is on the fence AGAIN, enough of this storyline, it's already dragged on too long as is.  David sure likes giving out mixed messages.

Edited October 18, 2016 by Nozycat

[Kim0820]

I laughed out loud when Sheila said "Therese" for "name an animal with claws"

i agree it is frustrating for jack to go back on the fence and really annoying that another woman is there. Paige had that already. I was glad she told him off 

[Olivia Y]

On 10/18/2016 at 7:17 AM, Nozycat said:

Where are you watching Once Upon a Time?

Netflix =]

Ugh. I used to be annoyed that Paige was pressuring Jack and blaming him for everything, but after this latest round of 'I need more time' I really won't blame her if she pushed him down a well. 

(Also...ARGH stop it with the love triangles!!!)

[neutron]

Am I imagining things, or did they recently replace the Brennan brothers bit of the opening credits with an almost identical clip, except that Mark now has a shirt on when he didn't before? What's up with that?

Did Lauren have all those scratches on her face at the balloon crash site? I don't remember seeing them.

I'm getting really sick of them showing that bottle of tattoo ink every five seconds. So unnecessary considering they already showed Jacka putting stuff in it. Also, I don't understand why Brad brought it to the hospital for Lauren. Can you really use tattoo ink for artworks on paper?

[Nozycat]

Yeah Family Feud was great.

Thanks Olivia, I'll look it up.

Heh, yeah I don't blame Paige either for getting really angry at Jack this time.

No idea, sorry Neutron, about the opening credits or scratches on Lauren's face.

Yeah they only need the music to go duh, duh, duh now every time they show the ink bottle.  I am guessing Brad doesn't know about ink, just saw black ink and brought it in case.  How did Brad's tests and blood work show up an infection when he hasn't got one?

Eta - what was up with all the Union Jacks in tonight's ep?  They were everywhere!

Edited October 27, 2016 by Nozycat