Home and Away Universe. Bunlight.

 As anyone who follows the Home and Away Universe will know, they have been having a hard time of it lately. With the cancellation of Mangrove Rising, Morag Bellingham Investigates limping along, and the high profile flops of both Reefton Lakes and Heath Braxton in the 25th Century we all feared we might never see another Home and Away spin off. But rest assured, there is one in the pipeline; and, as usual, I have been given exclusive access to it.

Tentatively called Bunlight the story starts when a new family the Bunlens, a doctor, his strange wife, and their four,so called, but oddly aged children move into Summer Bay. Naturally their curious hairstyles and pale pallor arouse suspicion. But they seem 'fair dinkum' as Alf describes them, so they seem to settle in. But the four kids, who all go to Summer Bay High, sit on a table away from the others at recess. This suits most of the other pupils, but Sasha is strangely drawn to one of the newcomers. She can't keep her eyes off the palest, oddest, and most sullen of the Bunlens, Nedwood. What is this curious attraction? Sasha wonders. It is as if Nedwood can see into her very soul. But every time she tries to talk to him, or get close, he acts like a prick, which puzzles Sasha even more.

Then, a series of people start to go missing around the Bay. Sasha has bad dreams where the Bunlens are applying hair product to each other as they wade through Yabbie creak. What could it mean? As she is leaving school one day John Palmer asks to have a word with her.

    

    " You've been having bad dreams about the Bunlens haven't you, " John says.

    " Yes, but how did you know? " Sasha replies amazed.

    " I've been having them too, so much hair product. "

    " But what is it all about? " Sasha enquires.

    " I believe the Bunlens are a family of Bunyips! "

    " What's a Bunyip? " Sasha asks conveniently.

    " Bunyips are supposedly mythical creatures, " John answers spouting exposition. " The Aboriginal people have many stories about them, the Bunyip loves creaks, swamps and rivers. The only trouble is they are not mythical, but real and very dangerous. "

    " But not Nedwood, he can't be a Bunyip. "

    " They're all Bunyips and it's up to us Sasha to stop them. "

       The first episode certainly seems fresh and original, so I asked the producers if it wasn't a little far fetched.

    " Not at all it's nowhere near as stupid as, say, Grimm. "

    

You have to say he has a point, but will the Bunlight Saga succeed where all the others have failed, time will tell.

    Over