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Neighbours Episode 0397 from 1986 - NeighboursEpisodes.com
<<0396 - 0398>>
Episode title: 0397
Australian airdate: 02/12/86
UK airdate: 16/05/88
UK Gold: 10/05/94
Writer: Ysabelle Dean
Director: Mark Callan
Guests:
Music:
Summary/Images by: Karen (Katie)
Recap
- Jane arrives home to find Mrs Mangel sitting in the living room in a dazed trance-like state, around her the room is in disarray with broken furniture and overturned pot plants.
Robinson House
Lucy comes wandering in with the post moaning as to why no one sends her anything. Helen tells her to wait until she is older and then plenty of people will write to her all demanding money. Lucy finds a letter amongst the post for Helen from America, Lucy wants to know if it was from a man or lady friend. Helen is very evasive about the question. Jim arrives home and Lucy gives him the post, from the look on Lucy's face Jim guesses that Lucy didn't get a letter from Bradley. Lucy pipes up that Helen got a letter from America but she won't tell me who it is from. Helen gets annoyed and sends her off to the kitchen to set the table.
As Helen heads off to read her letter, Jim asks her what kind of day she had. She tells him that Paul is in some kind of panic over a report he is writing and he has made Susan stay back to finish it. She escaped when he wasn't looking. The doorbell rings (Yes the Robinsons have a doorbell!) it is Jane in a very distressed state, crying. She tells him about Mrs Mangel, the argument Charlene overheard and the state of the living room and asks if they can come and help as she can't find Clive. Lucy wants to go and look but Helen tells her she can't and steers her into the kitchen. Jim goes with Jane; Helen quickly hides her letter in the top drawer of the desk in the living room then follows.
Mangel House
They arrive at the Mangel house and the living room is all tidied up and Mrs Mangel is still sitting in the same chair in a dazed state. Jim asks Mrs Mangel what the matter was, Jane seemed to think that there was some kind of problem. Still rather dazed Mrs Mangel wants to know why Jane would think that. Jane explains that when she came home there was broken furniture and glass all over the room, it was a terrible mess...she must have cleaned it up. Mrs Mangel just dismisses it as an old chair that Len had broken she had put it outside.
Jane, who is still distressed, replies "But...but there was glass from the lamp...see" and rushes over to the lamp stand. Jim goes and looks and notices a pool of blood on the hearth of the mantelpiece which hasn't been cleared up. Jane asks if she and granddad had had a fight...Mrs Mangel is a bit dithery and then Helen notices her hand is cut. Mrs Mangel just dismisses it as cutting herself on the broken glass. Jim wants to know where Len is and Mrs Mangel tells him that he had to go away suddenly on a business trip as one of his work colleagues had come down with a virus. She apologises to Helen and Jim saying that she doesn't know what nonsense Jane has been telling them but she has just let her imagination run away with her. She is perfectly well...she tells Jane that she owes Helen and Jim and apology for worrying them unnecessarily. Jane, still distressed, says that she is sorry it must have been a false alarm.
Clarke House
Charlene arrives to a frosty reception from Kelly who is looking through the wanted ads of the local paper. Charlene apologises for signing Mrs Mangel's petition to get her out of Ramsay Street, she had caught her at a bad moment and Kelly had pushed her into the blackberry bushes. Kelly says " OK you have said it now...so rack off'. Daphne takes her to task and tells her that she ripped up the petition herself so there is no harm done. Kelly isn't so sure what if she stirs up trouble for Des at the bank. Daphne tells her to stop worrying about that he got called into Head office about a bank manger conference.
Charlene thinks they should try and get their jobs back with Shane. Kelly doesn't think he would give her, her job back if his life depended on it...No Charlene is better trying to get her job back and she will look for work else where. There is plenty of work out there. Daphne looks at the circles Kelly has made in the paper and points out that you need to have a good education, experience and skills to do most of them. Charlene and Kelly agree to join forces and not to fight with each other and butter up Shane to get the blackberry job back.
Mangel House
Mrs Mangel is still sitting in the same chair very dazed, Jane is trying to give her some plasters for her hand and has to offer them several times before Mrs Mangel realises she is there. Jane wants to know if she is all right, and points out that Granddad didn't take his electric razor. Mrs Mangel very dithery tells her that he must have forgotten in his rush to get away, he will just have to buy some of those...disposable ones.
Jane gently asks her if she is sure that he has gone away on business, she wasn't just saying that in front of Mr Robinson and Mrs Daniels. She tells Mrs Mangel about Charlene overhearing the argument. Mrs Mangel denies that they is anything wrong and getting distressed says that Charlene Mitchell is just a nasty little gossip mongrel. She snaps at Jane if that is the reason why she called the neighbours over. Jane explains that she was worried about her, she looked so shell-shocked. Mrs Mangel tells her what the neighbours will think if you go with them with these wild stories. Jane tries to explain her actions but Mrs Mangel dismisses them.
Jane wants to know where her grandfather has gone; she then remembers that he leaves the name of the hotel by the phone. Mrs Mangel is rather evasive and says that he did not this time and she can't remember where he said he had gone, but she is not to worry everything will be all right.
Robinson House
Lucy is overhearing Helen and Jim talking, Jim is telling her about the blood he found. Helen thinks that it must have been Nell's (Mrs Mangel's) but Jim isn't convinced as it was too much blood.
Lucy appears and tells them that all the kids in the neighbourhood think Mrs Mangel is an old witch. Maybe she was making some horrible spell with bats blood and has turned Mr Mangel into a bird-bath or maybe it was a spell to make Clive fall in love with her. Jim laughs and says it is an interesting thought...Mr Mangel as a bird-bath! Helen wants to know if Lucy has fed Basil otherwise she might start inventing a few spells of her own. Lucy rushes off to feed him.
Jim says that he wonders what did happen, if the Mangels have had an argument then Mrs Mangel wouldn't want the whole street to know about it. Helen thinks that Jane is a far too sensible girl to make things up and Nell certainly wasn't behaving like herself. Jim reminds her about the blood and wonders what Sherlock Holmes would make of it. Helen wants to know what they are going to do about it. Jim says they isn't anything they can do until Jane sends out another distress call. Helen thinks they better keep an eye on Mrs Mangel.
Mangel House
Jane is looking through the telephone directory trying to recall the names of the hotels her grandfather usually stays at. Mrs Mangel is still evasive and tells her that she won't find out. Jane gently urges her to tell her what is wrong; she knows that something is not right. She rang the garage earlier where her grandfather's car was in for a service and the car is still there. Mrs Mangel wrings her hands and makes the excuse that he must be using one of the company's cars, he sometimes does that. Jane says that she just wants to talk to her grandfather to make sure he is OK, she urges her again to tell her what happened. Mrs Mangel assures her that nothing happened at all.
The doorbell rings (Oooh the Mangels have a door bell as well!) and Helen tells Jane that she has a job for her for a couple of weeks working at the Daniel Corporation office. Jane is very excited, and asks when she can start. Mrs Mangel is off in a trance-like state staring out of the window, and doesn't seem to hear anything that has been said. Suddenly she says that she has a migraine and is going off to bed and leaves without saying anything to Jane about the job.
Helen feels awkward and says that maybe she should have mentioned the job in front of Mrs Mangel. Jane dismisses it and tells her that Mrs Mangel has been acting really strangely; all of a sudden she just goes blank. Helen suggests that she gets Clive to look at her, but Jane tells her that Mrs Mangel will not enter into it. Helen suggests that she then contacts her grandfather maybe he knows what has upset her. Jane tells her she has tried but Mrs Mangel won't tell her where he is. She feels that they have had a terrible row and hopes that when he has calmed down he will come home. But Jane doesn't want Helen to say anything because Mrs Mangel is already angry with her for getting them to come over earlier. Helen assures her that she won't and that Jane is most welcome at her house when Len comes back or if the atmosphere in the house is a bit fraught.
Ramsay House
Charlene is watching television as Kelly arrives wanting to know if Charlene has managed to get them their jobs back. She tells her the bad news that Shane would give her a job but not Kelly. Kelly understands that he wouldn't want a hardened criminal working for him. Charlene feels that it not on; Shane either gives them both of their jobs back or neither of them work for him. Kelly wants to know why Charlene would put herself out like this, Charlene tells her that she is feeling pretty low for putting her name on the petition and besides which they have a deal...
Mangel House
There is a shadow outside the Mangel front window...the front door opens and shuts with a bang. A shadowy figure walks into the living room. The noise awakens Jane, who thinks it is her grandfather coming back and she gets out of bed calling her grandfather's name. As she turns on the lights Mrs Mangel is standing in the living doorway holding a large shovel with dirt on her hands. Jane asks her what she is doing, but Mrs Mangel is disorientated and wants to know what Jane is doing out of bed at this late hour. Jane explains that she thought she heard her grandfather. Very dithery, Mrs Mangel says that he won't be coming back tonight. Jane asks her what she was doing, but Mrs Mangel looks down at her dirty hands and is unsure of anything...she dithers and umms and ahhs....she must have had to have gone out in the garden.... Finally Jane says that she must have been outside and sleepwalking and she thinks she should go back to bed. Mrs Mangel obeys and gives Jane the shovel.
The next morning Mrs Mangel is in a flap because she has slept through the alarm, she had such a terrible night tossing and turning. Jane reminds her about the previous night and her "gardening" experience. At first Mrs Mangel denies it as total nonsense until Jane points out the mud on her dressing grown. Mrs Mangel starts to get distressed and suddenly remembers that she bought some fertilizer yesterday and because she couldn't sleep decided to put it on the garden. Jane is shocked and asks if it couldn't have waited until the morning. Mrs Mangel goes a bit vague and says that it is done now.
Jane suggests that maybe she should stay at home today, which Mrs Mangel agrees to as she still has such a bad headache. But when Jane suggests that she get Clive to look at her, Mrs Mangel will not hear of it. She asks Jane to make her a cup of tea, Jane replies that she would but she has to get ready for work. Mrs Mangel doesn't know anything about the job at all...and seems rather confused about it all.
Jane asks Mrs Mangel to tell her if her grandfather comes home today. Mrs Mangel turns to her and tells her that he won't be coming home today that she can rest assured of that. Jane looks very worried.
Ramsay House
Kelly and Charlene are pouring over the wanted ads in the paper and getting depressed over the lack of work. Kelly wants to know why Charlene is so grumpy about it, last night she had been full of ideas. Charlene tells her that she isn't really awake until she has had a couple of glasses of juice. Kelly thinks that is a luxury, she was lucky at home to get a glass of water for breakfast. Charlene doesn't think her mother cared too much for her, Kelly shrugs and says why should she-she didn't want me in the first place.
There is a knock on the door and Jane arrives in a state, she wants Madge to go over to her house and see Mrs Mangel., she thinks she is having a nervous breakdown or something. She tells them all about Mrs Mangel's strange behaviour, the trances, the argument that Charlene overheard, the dishevelled room that suddenly got tided and her grandmother's strange obsession for gardening in the middle of the night. Kelly thinks it is obvious that Mrs Mangel is being very smart, Jane's grandparents have had a big fight, and her grandfather disappears into thin air and Mrs Mangel buries the evidence in the back garden. Charlene thinks Mrs Mangel wouldn't do anything like that, but maybe they should have a look in the garden just to be sure. Charlene and Kelly go to investigate with a rather reluctant Jane following.
Mangel Back Garden
Slowly they open the side garden gate and edge their way around the house. Jane says this is ridiculous and Kelly tells her to "shush" they don't want Mrs Mangel to hear. They find the shovel against the house and Charlene wants to know what they do now. Kelly replies that don't they watch any cops shows? First they look for signs of a disturbance then they dig. They look around the garden and find a patch of newly dug earth.
Jane just looks at the ground and says that it is a mound of compost. Kelly corrects her and says it is a mound of earth made to look like a mound of compost. They argue over who is going to dig and Charlene finally decides she will do it. She takes two or three shovel's full of earth before hitting something hard in the ground. Kelly says that one good shower and the whole lot will be washed away. Jane tells her not to talk like that and just find out what is down there. Nervously Kelly bends down and starts to brush away the dirt......
<<0396 - 0398>>
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Jane Harris, Nell Mangel in Neighbours Episode 0397
Jane Harris, Nell Mangel

Lucy Robinson in Neighbours Episode 0397
Lucy Robinson

Jim Robinson, Helen Daniels in Neighbours Episode 0397
Jim Robinson, Helen Daniels

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Helen Daniels, Nell Mangel, Jane Harris

Nell Mangel in Neighbours Episode 0397
Nell Mangel

Nell Mangel, Jane Harris in Neighbours Episode 0397
Nell Mangel, Jane Harris

Charlene Mitchell, Kelly Morgan in Neighbours Episode 0397
Charlene Mitchell, Kelly Morgan

Kelly Morgan, Charlene Mitchell, Jane Harris in Neighbours Episode 0397
Kelly Morgan, Charlene Mitchell, Jane Harris

Jane Harris, Kelly Morgan, Charlene Mitchell in Neighbours Episode 0397
Jane Harris, Kelly Morgan, Charlene Mitchell

Charlene Mitchell, Jane Harris, Kelly Morgan in Neighbours Episode 0397
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Charlene Mitchell, Jane Harris, Kelly Morgan in Neighbours Episode 0397
Charlene Mitchell, Jane Harris, Kelly Morgan

<<0396 - 0398>>
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