OK, I confess, I blubbed during this week’s episode of Packed to the Rafters (Prime7, 8.30pm Tuesday). And more than I did when Mel died last year.
Maybe I was tired and emotional after The Block’s auction finale. (You couldn’t not watch but, gee, it was tedious and a fizzer, no matter how loud the auctioneers yelled. Eight weeks of renovating was a gruelling, energy-sapping marathon of watching paint dry. But that auction was two whole hours of spack-filler!)
But back to Tuesday’s teary exit for Jessica Marais, aka Rachel Rafter.
As she prepared to head to her dream job in New York, Rachel’s every last hug was milked for maximum emotion. Talk about the long goodbye.
I doubt anyone fond of the Rafter clan could keep their composure in the face of such concerted and relentless yanking of the heart-strings.
Rachel had farewell scenes with every single family member.
A silly, last-minute tiff with fretting mum Julie (Rebecca Gibney): lump in the throat. Reminiscences in the park with brothers Ben and Nathan: hard swallow. A hug and one last daggy joke from dad Dave: sniffle. A speech from Grandpa Ted (Michael Caton) about him being so proud: more sniffles.
More family speeches over dinner at the local Chinese: tears. And, finally, on-again, off-again boyfriend Jake’s climactic dash to intercept her airport-bound cab: damn you, Prime7, that’s just cruel!
The plot is left open for Rachel’s return. “It’s just for six months,” Dave reassured Jules. But six months is an eternity in prime-time. And not just on The Block.
With the stunning Marais now in Miami filming an HBO series, a return seems unlikely.
Damn those bright lights of Hollywood! Australia’s hottest prime-time beauties are deserting us. First, Zoe Ventoura (aka Mel). Now, Marais. I fear lovely Indiana Evans on Crownies (ABC1, 8.30pm Thursday) is next.
Thank goodness Rush returns next week (Southern Cross Ten, 9.30pm Thursday). Nicole da Silva is back as Constable Stella and she’s packing heat. She’s carrying a Glock as well.
And another thing ...
Did you notice the ad on the back of the taxi carrying Rachel to the airport on Rafters this week? Yep, My Kitchen Rules. Network cross-promotion is one thing but the Chiko Roll T-shirt that Carbo wore for several scenes was pretty blatant. It’s called “embedded advertising” and it needs to be a lot less obvious if it’s not going to deface Australia’s favourite drama.
Now, over to you. Am I a big sook or did you cry too during Rachel’s farewell episode? What? Not even a little misty-eyed? Or maybe you aren’t a Rafters fan. If not, why not?
Have you noticed the ‘‘embedded advertising’’ in Rafters? Bug you much?
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