1. Luke Carlyle
This was the era when I was first watching the series. I still find it thrilling, especially with the chain reaction of Patricia facing a murder charge and the threat of assassination from Luke’s furious father. As Willie said, there was also that horrific discovery which Leila Hayes sold incredibly well.
2. Dee Morrell
As VF3 said, the video will was a true classic. Dee’s death changed a number of lives. And not all for the better.
3. Jeff O’Brien
One of the series grimmer deaths, what with Jeff’s parents being so close but so far away. As well as being a moment in itself, it also made for an exciting twist to the already exciting storyline that had come from the
last big death.
4. Sharon Watson
Because it affected the person who was viewed responsible so profoundly, leading to some of the rawest scenes in the entire run of the series.
5. Susan Palmer’s Fake Suicide
The visual of her walking into the ocean, eyes glazed, on a wintry-looking day continues to resonate. We got some great character responses to her death. And even better responses to her resurrection.
6. Scott Thompson
The memory of Baby Scott gave some incredibly powerful moments to early S&D. Fiona’s discovery that his grave had been destroyed is one of Pat McDonald’s finest moments.
7. Roger Carlyle
Kind of S&D’s
Who Shot Bobby?, due to the familiar-but-inferior echoes of a similar event earlier in the series. A Carlyle gets into an altercation with a Patricia and is then mysteriously killed. The reveal of the killer wasn’t the most exciting, but Charlie preparing to pretend to be shocked when she and Caroline discover the body, and her reaction on discovering the body has mysteriously vanished gave a welcome injection of fun. Plus the sight of Roger, dead in the darkness, with his pale blue eyes staring was genuinely creepy.
8. Ruby Hawkins
Craig’s discovery of her body after she’s been hammered to death gives me the creeps every time. There’s something very Jack The Ripper about it all, right down to Ruby being a lady of the night.
9. Leigh Palmer
Another grim ending. But after so much chaos, it felt clean and fitting.
10. Jim O’Brien
I hated that Jim had to die. But this was another scene that was so much more than it needed to be, thanks to Leila’s touching performance.
Special mentions to:
- Titus the dog (whose death was moving)
- Todd Fisher (whose preparation for death was equally moving)
- Karen Fox (for that tumble from the bridge)
- Barney Adams (because he was effectively killed by an exploding wheelchair. An exploding wheelchair!)
