No snark, just love. 'Tis the festive season any how.
After a very turbulent year - not in cast departures but in narrative storylines - we do a quick recap of 7de's Laan's highest and lowest!
2018 started with a bang literally - with 7de Laan's possible best episode in the aftermath of the "Who Poisoned (Arnold) Langley" episode. The episode gave us insight into several characters with various 'revengas' against the father of Vince and Justin.
The episode featured as a standalone and excluded the rest of Hillside when a New Years Dinner party turned south when Arnold Langely is subsequently poisoned. SPOILER: The Killer is Amanda.
SPOILER: He didn't really die.
Breaking away from the traditional happy go lucky day-to-day vibes of Hillside and focusing on a darker "Who Killed Langley" mystery without having it dragged out, proved that 7de Laan was starting 2018 on quite a note. It also gave us Carina Nel's best performance - as Amanda not Alexa.
From there the show creatively hit some highs and some withering low storylines - which we'll get to.
Let's do a quick 2018 recap of the (personal) best and worst of Hillside 2018.
Bad:
7de Laan has a bad habit of not closing storylines properly and leaving many threads hanging. It's a growing frustration for the 7de Laan community over on YouTube and is greatly noticed in the writing. Storylines start off strong and have some momentum and will then wither out or end without a proper resolution.
Storylines also seem to jump all over the place and can be glaring when characters take 180 degree turns for the sake of a storyline or they'll sneak up on you for character exits (I'm looking at you Amorey Welman-Spies and Chris Welman's exits)
When I last recapped 7de
Tronk Laan we were only half way through the year and at a high point, however subsequently so much has happened that's dropped the quality of storylines and shocked me so much, the first half of 2018 is an actual blur.
Resurrecting Langley from the dead for that awful
Monique storyline - made absolutely no sense at all. In retrospect it was done to hook Justin up with his half sister. Did we not do the incest storyline a year before between Amorey and Willem in 2017?
Langley's storyline made zero sense and 7de Laan crossed into US Soap Opera Daytime territory very quickly. It was also poorly executed and made zero sense. The storyline also character assassinated my favourite character Amanda (Carina Nel).
This all happened directly after 7de Tronk's storyline so anything that followed would have been heavily criticised to live up to that high - but that storyline was absolutely awful.
If not to make things worse, 7de Laan concurrently brought
Tieneke into the fold to destroy Willem and Amorey's marriage. In hindsight this storyline was shoehorned to make way for Kristen Raath's (Amorey Welman) exit from the series.
Willem and Amorey basically broke up and Lesedi took claim as the mastermind of the plan as revenge on Willem helping to get Mariaan out of jail. Felt very false and untrue - but this storyline probably was rushed for the quiet exit of Kristen Raath.
However this storyline continued and spiralled into a worse place and took the last few months of 2018 to some of the craziest roll-your-eyes storylines I've seen.
Willem's affair causes him to get addicted to an interactive Afrikaans computer game (do not even get me snarked up and started here) to which we eventually are led to the
Ringmaster Storyline.
To this day - 7de Laan fans on YouTube often post their need to discover who the Ringmaster is. Nothing has been answered there. Again, this is where 7de Laan failed on storyline resolutions.
We were immediately moved into Rickus's Ringmaster Storyline's Main Character and subjected to the return of former beloved Francois and Haven.
Any old 7de Laaner will remember Francois Rossouw (the original quirky and loveable owner of Oppiekoppie). I guess 7de Laan felt the need to bring back an original face - there are still quite a few - for their 20th year - but at the same time completely desecrated the character we once loved.
Haven storyline started with Rickus being rescued after the Ringmaster storyline threw him (and viewers) into a river with no questions answered. Francois after losing his last wife - no, not Katinka - starts a group of loyalists against the destruction of technology to our lives.
7de Laan's storylines do often feel preachy but this went on for months to the point that their mantra against technology can be easily recited by all viewers. The storyline made me want to switch the TV off and not continue that storyline.
Haven's storyline concludes with the Haven group travelling all the way to Hillside to take it hostage (well, at least a block of Hillside and four or five sets) and we are forced to endure a siege storyline for three weeks of torturous hell.
While it was a different approach and something to grab the ratings and audience - it went on for too long - and also gave us zero belief that this could happen mid-Johannesburg or that the Police Services could be that idiotic that it ends up as Hilda who saves the day.
Last but not least, again as a result of this - we are tortured with Connie being slightly burnt in a bomb explosion, making her "deformity" everyone's problem and wishing the character had actually died in the explosion so that we didn't have to endure her complaining week in and week out.
7de Laan's only major character exit this year was Chris Welman - which was announced months in advance but the writers scrambled around in the last three days the actor was on set to give us the most unbelievable exit.
I've been saying since some 7de Laan veterans had their mass exodus from the show in 2016/2017 that the show does not know how to write characters out or build toward proper and well fleshed out exit storylines. Case in point: Oubaas' ridiculous exit.
The same was done for David Rees' exit as Chris Welman. Makes me suspect that when someone speaks out about the show prior to their exit, the character and audience is punished with some unbelievable character departures.
Coincidentally Chris Welman's exit occurred days before Rickus (his son) was supposed to blow up the Heights for the first part of the Haven storyline. A fitting exit was to have Chris a victim of this choice and follow the dramatic points that followed there.
But no, instead, in fitting 7de Laan character exits - characters only leave the show and Hillside and their families when previously unheard of family members show up and loyalties are thrown out the window and these characters follow (*cough* Altus, Oubaas, Chris *cough*)
Anyway 2018 has been rough all around, including Hillside, so let's move on to some better aspects of the year.
Good:
* 7de Laan's New Years Who Killed Langley Episode.
* Carina Nel getting some meaty storylines to work with but as Amanda and not Alexa (especially the Langley murder episode and 7de Tronk).
* Vivian's crazy antics.
* 7de Laan moved to 2018 and moved to HD! We finally caught up with the times and got the opportunity to actually see how old Charmaine, Hilda, Matrone and Mariaan are - and they all look better in HD than before!
* The entire 7de Tronk storyline.
* Vanessa's redemption arc of accepting her ex, her situation and Bonita.
* Vanessa going from most hated in 2017 to most loved in 2018, spreading peace and bringing joy where she can.
* Hilda's fashion sense and incredibly huge wardrobe budget on that pension, out-dressing everyone else on the show.
* The show's behind-the-scenes developments - moving its entire production to a new studio, new sets, new production gear and everything 2018 that made the show more modern than before.
* The Bonita and Vanessa friendship and now tag along Lesedi.
* The Moloi and Welman feud put to an end.
* The return of Hettie (Isidingo and actress extraordinaire Karin van der Laag) and her son Tjaatas for the Christmas storyline.
Which brings us to Christmas 2018 Episode:
I know it looks like I rushed through the good quickly, but the second best episode of 7de Laan was this past December 25th Christmas episode.
7de Laan likes to hammer down hard on the holidays and is often a very political after school infomercial (insert relevant public holiday / political day) but they organically went all-out in the Christmas Episode this year.
If you have not seen the episode yet - watch it here on YouTube
(Only Available until 31 December 2018, when it will expire)
And yes you did 7de Laan, yes you did!
For those who have tuned into 7de Laan recently, I'll quickly recap who Hettie and her son Tjaatas are:
1. Vanessa and Xander's daughter Karmen is kidnapped on their second wedding event (4,000th episode).
2. She is missing for months and months and months.
3. We're introduced to a poor family Hettie - a single mom who does her best to provide for her son Tjaatas, who has cancer.
4. Through that storyline we find out that Hettie and Tjaatas have Karmen - they did not kidnap her tho.
5. Through kindness and her compassion to barely feed the two of them, Hettie rescues and takes Karmen into her well being in her modest shack in Muiniesville.
6. Karmen is reunited with her broken family Vanessa and Xander - but misses Hettie ("Old Girl") and Tjaatas ("Boetie") dearly.
7. After a few months Vanessa comes to her senses and allows a visitation of Karmen to Hettie and Tjaatas as they have been there for them.
8. Hettie and Tjaatas are never mentioned nor seen again since the conclusion of the storyline but we are to believe they co-exist in Karmen's life.
Okay all caught up and on Christmas Eve's episode, Tjaatas comes to visit Karmen at the Penthouse to give her a Christmas gift. It had been that long that it took several seconds to register that it was Tjaatas.
Vanessa, being the incredibly nice person she is now - not a 2017 witch - makes him feel at home and feeds him and allows the two to bond, welcoming Karmen's second family into her home and heart.
She notices that Tjaatas saves parts of his food to take home - possibly to his mom - and after him falling asleep on the couch on Christmas morning urges him to come clean.
7de Laan likes to preach but could Vanessa not put two and two together that the two are living in poverty that food is an issue? - it faces thousands and thousands of South African families daily.
However she offers to help Tjaatas and his family in any way possible and gives him a roast chicken so they too can enjoy a nice Christmas lunch together.
I thought that was special and powerful, but the scene that rocked my world and brought me to tears occurs mid-episode.
I have never cried in a soap as the melodramatic never resonates with me, but this particular scene from the dialogue, the backstory, the direction and the love these two actors express was so powerful it could have brought a grown man to tears. (See the link above and jump to 12:46 minutes in)
Being dirt poor - with no disrespect - Hettie and Tjaatas have proven that you can overcome any situation and circumstance with pure love and appreciation.
They have never ever on the show complained about their situation or played victim to this. (Looking at you 90% of Hillside.)
They make do with what they have and never complain and provide the best they can for each other. Their hearts are filled with an impeccable amount of love that it translates through the screen making them fan favourites.
In what appears to be their Christmas tradition, being too poor they cannot afford gifts for each other and have one of the most beautiful traditions I have seen on TV.
This particular bad is quite bad for them as they have been struggling without food, but the energy and joy in this scene is not lost at all between the two. They give each other fake gifts, hidden around in their little home. The excitement and joy is absolutely real.
The tears start swelling when Tjaatas gives Hettie a plane ticket to Cape Town and a voucher for a week at a guest house overlooking the sea. The shock and appreciation in Hettie's eyes breaks your heart but her heart sings with such joy.
This reminds us all of the true spirit of Christmas - we are all so blessed in so many ways - we always take it for granted and often always complain. Here are two genuine characters who, on Christmas, have nothing to eat but still focus on the love and joy they have for each other.
And in that 7de Laan teaches us: it's the thought that counts not the gift.
And for 7de Laan that is a big lesson, but the most beautiful lesson 2018 could teach us at all!
7de Laan please bring these characters back in 2019 - however do not make them regulars - the writing seems to kill any kindness in most characters, with some varying expectation or as storylines require.
Hettie and Tjaatas are a pure positive Christmas message of love and appreciation and in these times of duress, in not only Hillside, we needed to end 2018 on that note. Thank you for that episode redeeming the Monique, Tieneke, Chris Exit, Ringmaster, Haven and Connie storylines in the year!
Every character was involved with the Christmas episode - and they have all had their highlights and low points this year, but there was no angst, no drama, just pure celebration and love. Even Connie surprised as she's been a thorn for a few weeks who opened her heart.
This was 7de Laan's best feel good episode. Reminded me a lot of the good old days of 7de Laan (i.e. 7de Laan on SABC Encore at 9pm)
Side Notes:
* I am loving that there were only two major exits in 2018 and a few minor characters introduced. It felt more constant.
* I am hoping to see the return of Kristen Raath (Amorey Welman) on the show one day. When introduced, her energy made the Welman family connectable and she was a fresh breath of air for the show.
* I am glad the show has given Mariaan Welman something to do with Chris' exit - shows struggle to keep one half of a spouse going when the other leaves. Even if the latest storyline has some eyes we roll at.
* On the note of storylines... Charmaine has been severely underused this year, which is a shame for actress Vinette - with the exception of Vivian, she has not had much to do.
* Again, I love Vanessa this year and through great writing she's not only been redeemed but is an amazing character again.
* Please stop making Jacob so preachy.
* Writing makes the character. Carina Nel's version of Alexa has been very boring - however with meaty content as Amanda, she shines and is our
MVP (Most Valuable Player) of the year! With her revelation of the MSF storyline of her ordeal as Alexa, again Carina showed what an asset she is as a character.
* Please let's conclude storylines organically and give some resolutions to characters who deserve it.
* Zelda (Amor Vittone) is always welcome on my screen and her week guest arc was absolutely hilarious! She shines in comedic value.
* The new psychologist - Dr Nathan Alexander (aka Bonita's new love interest) is a nice addition. Please don't make him Marlena Evans of Hillside and preach and try fix everyone, but in 2019 every character needs at least an appointment in his chair to get over their issues.
* We need to know who the Ringmaster is. It's like being in an abusive relationship and being dumped and not knowing why.
* Please keep your promise and bring Gita back for 2019 - we need her!
Happy Holidays and Seasons Greetings to all 7de Laan viewers!
Disclaimer Notes:
As usual this post comes with no criticisms personally on any of the cast and crew involved in 7de Laan. It's quite a thing to weekly take us into the lives and journey of the Hillsiders. 2018 was good overall with highs and lows - as in any community, the B and C storylines often saved and kept viewers going. Appreciation to the hard work by all 7de Laan production cast and crew for a successful year and wish you all the best in 2019.
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7de Laan
Monday - Friday
18h00, SABC 2
Also Available Here With a 7 Day Catch Up On YouTube