Loveday Writing

When Geoff hears the news of the Russell Street Police Station explosion, he decides to go into work much to Evelyn’s chagrin. Later that evening Geoff comes home, however he has a heart attack in the driveway. When Laurie visits Geoff and Evelyn in the hospital, Evelyn tells Laurie that Geoff had to have emergency heart bypass surgery and that he will be in recovery for months. Evelyn asks Laurie not to use this as a reason to axe him, and the network needs to declare publicly that they support his recovery and eventual return. Laurie says he’s sure that the CEO will say words to that effect, however Evelyn doesn’t believe him. She ends up calling a journalist at The Sun, requesting that he publish the story of Geoff’s heart attack in tomorrow’s paper and to quote Geoff in saying that he will back on the air in July – essentially forcing the network to keep Geoff in his job.

Overall I could see Geoff’s heart attack and Evelyn’s actions coming; however it was a solid subplot as the ageism towards Geoff, and Evelyn’s influence on Geoff and her battles with Laurie have been addressed in previous episodes. It will be interesting to see what happens next with him in recovery and away from work.

Helen and Dale – This episode has Helen nervous about meeting Dale’s mother, Val. Helen starts her day preparing to make a slow-cooker meal to impress Val, only to be thrown off by Dale telling her that Val will be turning up at the studio earlier than she expected. She also asks for more sleeping pills from her doctor.

Her day only gets worse when she goes to see Laurie, who informs her that the network has been getting calls about her apparent weight gain. Laurie then asks her about her relationship with Dale and if she’s pregnant, she storms out without answering. These scenes again showing the sexism that Helen is subjected to, considering the fact that Geoff isn’t in the best shape himself and isn’t subject to criticism about his own weight and health.

Before Dale leaves to do a fluff piece on the royal wedding, Helen’s sister, Cathy, arrives and asks to speak to him. She tells him that hers and Helen’s father is dying and that the upcoming Easter weekend will be his last, and asks Dale to convince her to see him. Dale says it’s not his place, so Cathy angrily asks him to pass on the message to Helen. He does, which only angers Helen further, and she tells him to ignore Cathy if she contacts him again.

Dale goes to the Hotel Lincoln to produce the fluff piece, which has Rob on camera trying alcoholic drinks named after Fergie and Princess Diana. He leaves and decides to take the tram back to work after having a minor disagreement with Dale. After he leaves, Tim suggests that to Dale that he let Rob stuff up so that he can go back on camera. Dale angrily dismisses the idea and Tim leaves. Moments later, an explosion occurs nearby, throwing Dale and Gary down.

Dale runs outside to find out what’s going on and finds Tim running towards him. Tim informs him about the bombing at the Russell Street Police Station and they get straight to work, filming the scene and getting interviews.

Dale is commended for his work and is stuck in the city with Tim after it’s been locked down. They go back to the Hotel Lincoln, where Tim opens a window so they can get inside. After pouring themselves drinks, Tim kisses Dale, and Dale briefly and passionately kisses him back, before pushing him away and walking out.

While Dale is hard at work, Helen meets Val at the studio and gives her a tour. She eventually takes her home after work, and she admits to being nervous about meeting her. Val confides to Helen about Dale losing his father at 15, and how she fell apart, and Dale had to pick up the pieces. Helen tells her she’s not close to her family anymore but doesn’t provide further details, and Val doesn’t pry for them. When Dale eventually comes over, Helen tells him that she put Val in the spare bedroom for the night, that he was amazing on air, and that she loves him. He kisses her, hesitates, and then tells her that he loves her. The next day at work, Dale asks Tim not to tell anyone about their kiss excusing his behaviour on the shots they poured themselves, however Tim points out that Dale didn’t drink any of them.

Overall I felt that both the Dale-Tim-Explosion and Helen-Val subplots were solid. Dale showed his colleagues what he was capable of in a crisis, the sexual tension between Dale and Tim was finally addressed, and Helen and Val finally met and they bonded by being vulnerable with each other.

Rob and Noelene – Rob and Noelene’s professional relationship develops further when Dennis has her produce Rob after declining her request to produce the royal wedding stories. As Dale and Tim are on the Russell Street scene, they go to St Vincent’s Hospital to get interviews with those who were injured. After successfully getting an interview with an injured man who recognises Rob from his VFL days, they discover their car is blocked in by their rivals which means that they can’t get their interview in on time. When they tell Dennis this, he chastises Noelene. When Rob sees how much this upsets her, he takes the tape out of the camera and runs it back to the studio. Their story makes it on air, and following Dennis’ advice to be heavily versed in certain subjects, Noelene asks Rob to teach her all about footy (clearly, she is asking him out but he doesn’t take the hint).

Overall their subplot and scenes together perfectly complemented the Dale-Tim-explosion and Dale-Helen subplots and scenes. I also appreciate the subtle progress in their professional relationship as the season progresses.

Overall, this was a solid episode with intense action and rich character development all around.

Stray Observations:

-This episode is set from 27-28 March 1986.

-The network has to run at least 100 stories on the impending royal wedding.

-Dennis used to do Noelene’s job.

-Geoff’s doctor points out to him that Evelyn’s cooking is very good, dismissing Geoff’s claims that he was sick because he ate bad food.