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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 443677" data-attributes="member: 23">Suffer Little ChildrenThere were a some nice little twists in this story which, even though some could be worked out a little ahead of time, were probably more surprising - progressive even - in 1982. One of these came from an overlap in stories. The common theme of the episode was more cohesive than ever, with Simon concerned about one local girl, Robin - a patient of his - being battered by her father, while Vicky - and Simon in turn - has separate concerns about another girl being bullied by her father, bellowing at her to persevere with her high jumps on horseback.Twist #1 came when Simon’s initial patient - the young Aboriginal girl - turned out to have a medical condition more common in black children than white which left her more prone to injury. Brendan then angrily showed Simon the x-rays he’d taken of old injuries and burns which couldn’t be explained away by the illness, leading to Twist #2 when it turned out Brendan was talking about Robin, thinking she was the patient Simon had been concerned about. Part II saw some really strong anger flying between Simon and Terence, who was the doctor responsible for Robin’s care and who hadn’t done anything about the injuries sustained a couple of years earlier. I found myself wondering if this was the patient Terence previously said about having let down, as that would all fit, but it wasn’t explicitly said. Meanwhile, Marta is once again Terence’s confidante, having known about the earlier injuries (it emerges in their discussions that the welfare department told them they couldn’t act on it unless a problem was admitted, which seems a little unorthodox for this situation). Meanwhile, the bellowing father’s timid, nervous wife is presenting at the surgery with hives, something associated with her stress last time the girl was injured. This leads to Twist #3 when it’s revealed that the mother is the one who is bashing her daughter. This one I’d worked out, but not until Part II was underway. And, like I said, it’s progressive, even if it ultimately ends up presenting the violent perpetrator far in a far more sympathetic light than would ever happen if the perpetrator was male (“she only hits me because she’s hurting inside”, says the daughter, showing how deep the societal conditioning goes). With the Lindsay Clancy trial still in the news, there’s a currency to the story. In other news, Molly has mooted breeding turkeys and yabbies. I think this is the first time I’d heard yabbies discussed in context, so I had no real idea that this crustacean existed. It’s certainly shed some light on the name of H&A’s neighbouring town Yabby Creek. Let’s hear it Bev the telephone operator, as well. I love unseen characters like this, and her questionable work ethics and radar for gossip add a special sort of character. In these episodes Molly agrees to make her a dress in exchange for a turkey (Molly ends up not getting turkeys, but feels obligated to see her side of the deal through anyway). The fabric received is said by Molly and Brendan to be horrible. It’s a bit William Morris, but really not all that bad… certainly compared to some of Molly’s choices. Bev’s also lined up - without solicitation - a tenant for Frank since she knows he’s staying with Shirley and Vicky while he recovers from burnt hands sustained in the rescue in Team Work. This potential permanence pushes Shirley to ask Frank to go home, but then she gets annoyed and places a hot pan into his almost-healed hands, setting him back. It’s kind of amusing, as long as one doesn’t think too deeply about what she actually just did.</blockquote>

Verification: What month follows July?