Sons & Daughters Top Ten - the storylines

Victoriafan3

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This is another ‘I really had to think about it’ round. Firstly I’d like to thank the incredible person who spent ages putting each individual freeze frame and explanation of every episode so clearly on the S&D UK site. The time and effort in that is amazing!

Secondly I realise my opinion is very different to everyone else’s on here who will pick much cooler freeze frames than me and more generally popular ones

Thirdly please excuse any boo boo’s I make here because I haven’t tried to upload so many pix in order before on here.

Fourthly please excuse the way I’ve chosen them because I am so bias to Jill but many deserve special credit of course

So without further ado, here goes...

The rawest freeze frame award goes to Peter after Martin kicked him in the pool
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The funniest freeze frame goes to Barbara after she pushed ‘faking it’ wheelchaired bound Wayne into the pool
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The most boring ever yawnsville freeze frame which did nothing to entice me to watch the next episode is Andy driving off in his van with John to go visit the cult
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Victoriafan3

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The loveliest mature generation freeze frame goes to Doug proposing to Rosie. Bless
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The most chilling freeze frame is Patricia standing over Dee have heart murmurs. Will she let her die?
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The most original freeze frame and great exit beginning new stories was Dee’s video will. How very modern
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Victoriafan3

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Oh dear. It’s only letting me upload three screen shots at a time. Oh well. Soz. You’ll just have to put up with some more posts from me (blush)

The hottest sexiest freeze frame was Gorgeous Glen on the brink of kissing me, I mean Alison
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One of the best acted (if not almost all the best acted) freeze frames goes to Beryl as she sobs into John’s arms over a finished marriage and a ruined pav
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The best intro for the viewer freeze frame is a photo of Alison Carr aka Pat the Rat
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Victoriafan3

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To finish off this part of the round, the absolute OMG what will happen next?!
a heavily pregnant Beryl falling down the mineshaft (she should thank her lucky stars she was there! It was one of the only places baby Robert didn’t get kidnapped from!)
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Two other highly commended freeze frames just because Beryl is one of the best ever characters (here she is blind, after finding out Jim has died) and one of the best ever actresses
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and here coming face to face with Rowena/Pat/Pamela in prison. Awesome!
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Fiona flying across the room was utterly hilarious and deserves a round of applause for making us literally laugh out loud. Just too funny, can’t wait to watch this again. Only another 400 episodes to go before I see it ;-)
 

Victoriafan3

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But now my actual real top 10 which will make most of you roll your eyes but not surprise any of you...

Coming in at number 10, out of 972 episodes, my only non-Jill freeze frame. This outstanding acting from Rowena stayed in my mind for years. Absolutely brilliant. Just ahead of Beryl and Heather O’Brien, this top lady can act the sox off almost anyone...’My children haaate me’
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9. The very first freeze frame ever in episode ‘3’. The start of Sons and Daughters. Jill liked John. John liked Angela. Angela liked her horse.
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8. Not because I liked it particularly but because it was Jill’s last ever freeze frame til the montage in the final episode. This was the end of Sobs and Daughters as I knew it for me. She’d unfortunately gone back on the game. Such an unsatisfying end to one of the most popular and original characters on the show
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Victoriafan3

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Incidentally my favourite burst of freeze frames is from episodes 408-414, where in Five out of these Seven episodes, Jill’s face was the freeze frame :) This includes where Kathleen tried to run down Jill but Robin saved her and took the hit. Like Pam, Bobby and Katherine but before Dallas did it, S&D did it first (but I have to say Dallas did it better cause I didn’t have a high care factor for Kathleen or Robin)

7. The aftermath of the exploding wheelchair. Three of the best characters on Aussie telly get told that one they care about has died. But who?
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6. A very sweet scene after wee Fee has been born and could have died and Jill and Fiona are told she will be ok. Awwww
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5. I like normal, feel good scenes. This one had me melt. So simple. So cheerful. So believeable. Easy to watch. One of the few times a birthday on the show is acknowledged where John and Jill trick Fiona into thinking people have forgotten about her birthday and surprise her with a party. I didn’t tear up ;-)
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Victoriafan3

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4= ‘And a slut. There’s no hope for us John. Not anymore. Not if you think like that about me. You’re wasting your time on a tramp like me. ’ Nooo don’t split up Jill. Boo hoo (that last line was from me not John). John got the freezed face but Jill owned this scene
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4= (Sorry if I’m not allowed an equal the Patricia scene at number 10 will have to go). It’s to hard choosing the best Jill freeze frames. There are so many ;-) Jill cries her heart out after being raped by Terry. Such a moving scene.
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3. Jill, Wayne and a new cat get engaged. I loved this scene. So sweet. But I don’t think anyone should give her any more cats as she is jinxed with losing them as well as boyfriends
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Victoriafan3

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2. This is a toughie as I adore this scene and I like her with John more than Wayne, but here we are. Jill is proposed to (by the man she should’ve ended up with and in my world will always be with in Queensland!) and gleefully accepts!
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And at number One, making the front cover of TV Week in September 1983 for Jull and Wayne, and my favourite episode of Sons &Daughters ever. John and Fiona tried to stop the wedding but it was dead husband Brian who saved the day. Fabulous! What a shocker. Had no idea, no one saw that coming! This show was in its prime here. They don’t look impressed but I Loved it!!!
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Highly commended to the freeze frame where Jill tried to stop the bulldozing of Fionas’ son’s grave :-(
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Mel O'Drama

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Well so far my "short"list has enough choices for ten cliffhangers per season. :think:
 

Mel O'Drama

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To whittle things down I interpreted "cliffhangers" to be moments with an element of high suspense, an unanswered question or an important "hook" to bring viewers back for the next episode. So final moments of face slaps, ultimatums, hatched plans and arch threats were dropped (which covers a surprisingly huge chunk of episodes) along with other hugely-dramatic-but-non-cliffhangery-moments. This means no Irene giving Karen Fox short shrift. No Fiona slapping Patricia or facing off with Terry. No Healy pool scene. No Beryl turfing Patricia out of her lounge room. And no scenes of Patricia brooding melodramatically. Basically, it's just game-changers and the "they're screwed" moments.

I also elected not to include season finales and season premieres. And there are no deaths or exits.


The final ten look nothing like I imagined they would. Here's what I ended up with:




1. Patricia left in the bush fire by Margaret (#370)

Such a striking image, and the surrounding moments are full of high drama. The fire feels very symbolic of the hot and wild emotions of this sibling rivalry.



2. Patricia withholds Dee's vital heart medication (#321)

A true classic.



3. Brian's back from the dead (#313)

This is as high stakes as it gets. It's all the more impressive because the preceding cliffhanger - John's car crash and the evidence of Wayne's scheme going up in flames - is such a hard act to follow.



4. The Rat Is Back (#630)

All the hallmarks of a classic entrance. The hat. The shades. The airport. The car. The flutey music. This thrilled me the first time it aired here, and there's no way any viewer could resist tuning in to see what happens next.



5. "Scott's my son?" (#017)

A game-changer, made even more effective because it comes in the middle of a dramatic confrontation between two matriarchs who have been judiciously kept apart up to this point.



6. Patricia burns Martin's suicide note (#257)

A moment of malice that could affect many people's lives. Mostly for the worse.



7. Patricia arrested for Luke's murder (#502)

Another terrific run of cliffhangers. Between finding out Luke had embezzled everything, running out on her wedding and all the later business with Roger's goons, I was spoilt for choice. This one seemed to sum up the storyline best.



8. David arrives at Fiona's where John is hiding (#013)

We know something he doesn't know. But we don't know how Fiona and John are going to get out of this situation. It's the definition of suspense.



9. Poor Wayne - Shot Again (#581)

Say what you will about Caroline, but she gives good freeze-frame. This one's noteworthy for coming moments after Wayne encountered his own evil doppelgänger.



10. "Bye Bye" (#970)

Very close to the end, this is a last hurrah for the fun, wildly OTT cliffhangers.





There were also many beautiful freezes that weren't necessarily cliffhangers, so a battle of the freeze frames might be worth considering at some point. But perhaps wait a while before doing it so the waters don't get muddied.
 

Willie Oleson

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I think there are four types of cliffhangers: 1) the imperilment of (a) character(s) as in, literally hanging on a cliff, 2) the shocking event, with most of its momentum in the episode itself, 3) the shocking information that turns everything upside down, and 4) the teaser that is about to inform the viewer of a new plot twist.

My Gawd & Gasp top ten is a potpourri of the above.

1. Wayne confronts the Hansens with their secret: Terry is Fiona's son (#292)

Whaaaat??:yikey:
I've been re-reading a few episodes that happened before this one, trying to find something (no matter how seemingly insignificant) that hints at the possibility of Terry being Fiona's son.
Well I couldn't find it, but if any of you remembers a spoilerish titbit that diminishes the impact of this cliffhanger then I'll remove it from my list.

2. Patricia left in the bush fire by Margaret (#370)

The most impressive and most chilling one of all the physical cliffhangers.

3. Craig tells Beryl that she's his mother (#374)

We've been there before with Mary and Patricia (remember Mary? No?) but this is Beryl - the mumsiest of mums - for God's sake!
But if something like this happens in the soapiest of soaps then you can't be sure of anything. I found it delightfully bewildering.

4. Rosie tells Gordon that amnesiac Angela is about to remember something she shouldn't (#258)

The conversation hints at something very devastating - but what could it be ?

5. Shooting at Woombai (#352)

It's a proper who-got-it, Falcon Crest style.
Somehow I thought that the episode before that ended with Joe Parker hiding in David's truck, but it turned out to be a fake memory.
If it had happened in the last scene then I would have voted for the pre-cliffhanger cliffhanger.

6. Dee Morell's introduction of her video will (#366)

Drenched in Agatha Christie-esque suspense, the conniving matriarch is about to reveal her last gifts...or punishments?
But..oh, it stops! No no no no, this can't be happening, and certainly not on Friday!

7. Beryl tumbles into the old mineshaft (#540)

For that brilliant editing that created a (literally) last-second surprise.

8. Karen Fox's dead body under the Hamilton bridge (#561)

Oh my God! Is that Karen Fox's dead body? What happened?

9. Leigh sneaks baby Robert from under Beryl's very nose (#566)

♪So near, yet so far away♫. "Frustrating" doesn't even begin to describe this super-twisty cliffhanger.

10. A mysterious old document must be destroyed! (#663)

Otherwise it will destroy Gordon. Good grief, what now!



Honourable mention: amnesiac Angela "remembers" that John....is her husband!

On the surface, it looks like one of those sexy "mistakes" in a sitcom à la Man About The House.
But, considering their previous/kind of ongoing semi-incestuous relationship, this cliffhanger twist had a wickedly inappropriate undertone.
 

Willie Oleson

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I just started with the tally up but then I realized that it would be a list of all the favourites posted above, only in a (slightly) different order.
That would be a nonsensical top ten.
Nevertheless, two particular cliffhangers proved to be the most popular:

1. Patricia left in the bush fire by Margaret (19 points)


2. Brian's back from the dead (18 points)


Patricia wins again!
 

Victoriafan3

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Did you have an idea for the next round? If not, who’s up for best slaps?! I can only remember slaps up to 1984 so any from 1985 on I will be inspired by you...
 

Victoriafan3

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So as it stands at the moment, until I get inspiration by you...

  1. The double slap. Patricia slaps Margaret but she strikes back
  2. Rob slaps Patricia for being, well, Patricia and one of the few man slaps woman
  3. Beryl slaps Angela over Paul
  4. Mike slaps Jeff, is that the only man slaps man/boy? Having a mind blank, did Martin slap Peter?
  5. Dee slapping Charlie, funny
  6. Patricia slaps a heavily pregnant Jill. How very dare she
  7. Did Barbara slap Prue? That would’ve been great if she did
  8. Who else has Beryl slapped?
  9. Has Andy been slapped? I line up for that. I remember Stephen punching him in the cult rubbish so that was something
  10. Fiona slapping Patricia for telling Terry she was a prosthetic
  11. Jess Tate should’ve been ;-)
 
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Willie Oleson

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Hopefully here's some inspiration for you:

1. Beryl slaps Katie O'Brien
"Youuu...SLUT!"
One of the most powerful and exhilarating soap bitch-slaps I've ever seen.
Later it transpired that Beryl was already very worked up before she discovered Katie in her bedroom, because of what had happened between Leigh and Jim. Katie got one slap for the price of two, and that makes it a bitch-slap with subtext.

2. Beryl slaps Angela
Again, it looks great and it's full of emotion and Angela is simply the perfect slapee.

3. Patricia slaps Margaret slaps Patricia
A happy soap sisters slap-fest is difficult to stage, and while not quite as wild as Claudia vs. Sammy Jo, the sequence itself is much more fluent.
From Margaret's point of slap there also appears to be a more psychological reason behind it.

4. Patricia slaps Jill
And even more interesting is that little moment before the slap, it's like a cat watching its prey. Patricia and Jill usually operated on neutral ground, and this is what happens if you interfere with one of Patricia's soapy story arcs. You've only got yourself to blame, Jill!

5. Patricia slaps Angela
The one that started it all, if I'm not mistaken. One of the other cast members appears on screen to see what the fuss is all about.

6. Rob slaps Patricia
A hate-slap that's been building up for quite a while, and Patricia knows exactly how to eliminate that last shred of restraint.
*disclaimer: I do not support physical violence against anyone*

7. David slaps Patricia
Visually, not the most impressive one, but it complemented that shocking and very dramatic conclusion to season one's biggest storyline.

8. Beryl slaps Tracy Kingsford
Must have been the last item on Beryl's grocery shopping list.

9. Dee slaps Charlie
This is more about the shock and humiliation than the physical force of the slap. The idea of retaliation is alien to a woman like Charlie, she should *always* get away with everything she says or does. So I guess this was an interesting wake-up call for our beloved, ditzy vampirella.

10. Beryl slaps Leigh
Only once???
I think Leigh called her a miserable cow, or something like that. And then Patricia covered for Leigh (because of...other plans!)

I *think* Charlie slapped Patricia, but it wasn't for real. Did this happen some time before Charlie helped Patricia escape from the Aussie hit show?

There must have been more, I'm thinking of Karen Fox, Amanda, Caroline and of course that horrible Carr woman. Maybe Pamela slapped her?
I just can't remember them.
 

Mel O'Drama

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Did Irene slap anyone? Because I'm sure she'd have made a good job of it.



Since this is specifically bitch-slaps, I'm not counting backhanders. Which means, sadly, I had to excise the season finale pimp-slap David laid on Pat and Rob’s classic “talk to the hand” moment with mother-in-law dearest. Which leaves:







1. Beryl slaps Katie O’Brien
Memorable for the kinetic fury and the accompanying roar of “Shooooou little slut”, followed (if memory serves) by Beryl’s trademark hyperventilation.

She's not named Beryl Palm Her for nothing.





2. Barbara slaps Liz
For blackmailing her way back into Gordon’s life, and for telling her she can take Gordon away “just like that”. The latter of which makes this the slap with parallels to Knots's most famous entry into the genre. But how very S&D to add a dash of Tommy Cooper into the mix.





3. Barbara slaps Wayne
I forget exactly why it happened. Something to do with a document that should have been signed but wasn’t. Or shouldn’t have been signed but was. Barbara asked him a question and he didn’t give the correct answer, so she struck him and then asked him again.

The why may have been forgettable, but the execution was terrific. And Cornelia Frances's bare and powerful upper arms made her look truly formidable. It just begs for an extended YouTube Poop version where they go into a cycle of wrong answers and slaps.





4. Liz slaps Karen
Right over the bridge!! Perhaps most riotous spectacle to happen in the grounds of Dural. And that's saying something.





5. Dee slaps Charlie
Or as Willie entitled it: the darling-slap.

As has been said, the humiliation factor makes this a winner, with Charlie being driven from the room in tears while the guests watch. Charlie’s drunken silliness and gesticulating immediately before the slap somehow made it more effective when she was startled into sobering up and froze with shock. And let’s not forget “horrified gasping woman” clutching her pearls in the background.





6. Fiona slaps Patricia
I love the way she saunters into the room with one hand casually at her side. And it’s got the satisfying “you’ve interfered for the last time…” type line.





7. Patricia slaps Margaret slaps Patricia
A genuine ping-pong slap. With a lifetime of sibling rivalry behind it.





8. Beryl slaps Angela
And gives her a good verbal dressing down for good measure. Which is an area in which she excels. When Beryl loses it, great things happen.





9. Beryl slaps Leigh
This came at a time in the series when everything felt excitingly interconnected and consequential. And at a time when Patricia was all over the series like never before as she left her mark indelibly on the series before her exit. So instead of just a “she had it coming” moment, it became a plot device in itself with Patricia siding with Leigh (as if she didn’t have enough to do) because it greased the wheels of her master plan.





10. Wayne slaps Karen
And unknowingly implicates himself in her death which came immediately after. High drama indeed.
















Special mentions:


Patricia slaps Jill
Another one that was witnessed and so became a “get yourself out of that one” moment. That it felt uneven - Patricia standing over the seated, pregnant Jill - was a bonus. And it gave us a wonderful profile freeze frame of Patricia.


Patricia slaps Angela
Because it’s in the Bitch-Slap Archive and I can’t remember any others. But it does appear to be S&D’s inaugural slap and so very deserving of a mention.
 

Victoriafan3

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Thank you for your inspirations and memory jogging. Very helpful. The last two get highly commended. And yes absolutely Willie, I am Not in to violence either, be neither the slapper or the slapped. But in soapdom. And by crikey I don’t think Patricia is going to win this round! So my complete updated list is...

  1. The double slap. Patricia slaps Margaret but she strikes back
  2. Beryl slaps Katie, very oomphy
  3. Rob slaps Patricia for being, well, Patricia and one of the few man slaps woman
  4. Beryl slaps Angela over Paul
  5. Liz punching Karen over the bridge into the mud, hilarious visual of her legs going over like she was giving you the fingers as she went
  6. Mike slaps Jeff
  7. Dee slapping Charlie, funny
  8. Patricia slaps a heavily pregnant Jill. How very dare she
  9. I’m sure Martin must’ve hit Peter, those two were incredible actors
  10. Stephen punching Andy (unfortunately to save him) in the cult rubbish
  11. David slaps Patricia at the end of season one after she tells him the twins aren’t his children
  12. Fiona slapping Patricia for telling Terry she was a prosthetic
 
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Willie Oleson

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Since this is specifically bitch-slaps, I'm not counting backhanders
Liz punching Karen over the bridge
I've watched it a few times and I'm pretty sure she used her fist. But I'll keep it for the tally up!
I’m sure Martin must’ve hit Peter, those two were incredible actors
This is very vague, can I use your #11 choice instead?
Fiona slapping Patricia for telling Terry she was a prosthetic
Perms & Dentures, I didn't know it as supposed to be a secret!
She's not named Beryl Palm Her for nothing
Fab!:10:
 
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