australian television information archive

Finale Shock: Murder and a marriage proposal

Love is in the air, on All Saints, but so too are flying bullets as the hospital drama reaches a dramatic end-of-year climax.

Luke proposes to his beloved Paula, while their co-workers fear for their lives. A crazed gunman sprays bullets indiscriminately throughout All Saints Western General.

While many are hit, he's after only one person—Dr Charlotte Beaumont.

In his quest to find Charlotte, the shooter creates a trail of destruction that claims the life of one favourite staff member. Four are seriously wounded and many are left fighting for their lives.

In stark contrast, the love story of Paula (Jenni Baird) and Luke (Martin Lynes) comes to a head when the once-stuffy doctor stuns the pretty nurse by asking her to be his wife. The response, however, is unexpected.

"It's what every woman could ever hope for: the great-looking guy turning up in the Porsche with flowers, holding out an enormous rock to slip on her finger," says Baird on the Sydney location for All Saints.

"But Paula doesn't say yes. She just looks at Luke and says 'Let's talk about this'. It's not exactly the response he was hoping for."

Paula has secrets she didn't intend on telling Luke at this point in their relationship. She now fears he won't be able to handle the truth.

'There's so much about Paula that Luke has no idea about and she likes it that way," says Baird. "But Luke springs this proposal on Paula and she decides he might as well know everything. How he deals with it is another matter."

While Luke and Paula struggle with affairs of the heart, other All Saints staffers struggle for life. The hospital becomes a battle zone when ex-cleaner Greg (Brett Stiller) goes on a shooting rampage.

Obsessed with Charlotte (Tammy MacIntosh) Greg cruises the wards, shooting randomly at staff and patients in search of his heart's desire.

Greg wants Charlotte but, after weeks of waiting for her to reciprocate his feelings, he believes others are standing in the way of true love.

When staff and patients cross his path, he coldly shoots them down, ticking off the number of people no longer standing between him and the pretty medic.

"Greg feels he has lost Charlotte. Now he wants to settle the matter once and for all, and he's willing to use his gun," says Stiller.

"In emergency, he shoots an orderly, a nurse and one of the patients—and that's just the start."

Terri (Georgie Parker) desperately looks for Charlotte to warn her of the danger, but when Greg finds the head nurse, he puts the gun to her head and threatens to shoot unless she tells him where Charlotte is.

"Terri does everything she can to get Greg to put down the gun, but he knows what she's up to," says Stiller. "Terri is certain she can handle this, but Greg has other ideas."

The number of victims grows before Greg finally comes face to face with his beloved Charlotte. The level-headed doctor tells him to put down the gun and come into the tearoom to talk to her, fully aware she's risking her life.

Greg obeys and she closes the door behind them. Those outside hold their breath, then Charlotte's screams and heard…

The body count is later tallied and the injured medics gather not only to care for the many wounded but also to mourn the loss of a beloved friend.

"All Saints has never seen anything quite as horrendous as this," reveals Baird. "The tears flow as a final goodbye is bid. It's a finale I think few people will forget."

By John Burfitt
November 3-17, 2003
TV Soap