A Country Practice — Season 8

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An itinerant farm labourer's reluctance to settle down is putting a strain on his marriage and prompting his wife to hit the bottle. The locals have conflicting views on how best to put Lover's Gully to good use. Michael helps Pam Allen forget her problems but lands himself in trouble with her husband and receives a black eye.

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When Leanne learns that she is pregnant, her husband, Dave, isn't exactly overjoyed. They already have one child with Down's Syndrome and Dave is fearful they could end up with another. Terence asks Alex to accompany him to a medical seminar in Canberra. Christopher feels rejected when he overhears his parents talking about a new baby.

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Jo has a hard time dealing with an over-zealous rookie cop. Terence and Alex return from Canberra very much in love. A mother is shattered when her son's simple case of measles develops into being potentially brain damaging. The discovery of white powder bags leads the Valley relief policeman to believe that the big time drug dealers are moving in.

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When Terence's daughter comes to the Valley to spend time with her father, her arrival places a strain on Terence and Alex's relationship. Ben is captivated by Millie Alcott, an innocent girl who has grown up out of touch with the modern world. Alex finds herself overshadowed by Terence's daughter and her adventure-packed life.

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Alex is torn between her professional ethics and her feelings for Terence and cannot decide whether or not to tell him that his daughter has a drug problem. A “sweet” old lady injures herself in the National Park and decides to sue for millions in damages. Terence decides to help his daughter to fight her problems – whether she wants his help or not.

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A father is displeased when his son befriends a handicapped person in hospital. A hard-nosed television journalist arrives in the Valley to do a piece on Frank, but has some trouble finding an exciting angle for the story. Terence asks Alex to marry him. A full-scale search is organised when two patients go missing from the hospital. Alex accepts Terence's proposal.

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Jo's friend Darren is having more problems than usual with his father. Ron owns a junkyard and is trying to force his son to leave school in order to help with the business. Alex and Terence announce their engagement and the pressure is on them to set a date for the big day. A family is torn apart when an undiagnosed medical condition causes a normally loving father to become violent.

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Jo and Cathy think they've discovered a Yowie in the National Park but what they really find is an escape murderer who's been hiding out for more than twenty years. The club gets a pool table and the competition is on to see who will represent Wandin Valley against Burrigan Slim. Ben has an accident with an uncontrollable horse.

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There are pre-wedding jitters all around as the big day draws near. Alex's parents arrive in the Valley and her father immediately takes over, causing Alex and Terence to have a blazing row. Ben's locum arrives and Cathy is far from pleased to meet up with Matt Tyler again. Jo asks Michael to the drive-in. The wedding arrives and Frank's precise schedule falls apart when Matt enlists his help to unbox his car, leaving Alex waiting at the church.

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Jo's father unexpectedly arrives in the Valley along with a little sister Jo never knew she had. Ben's former girlfriend, Barbara, arrives at the hospital to take care of him. Terence and Alex have a medical emergency to attend to on their honeymoon when Penny's grandfather has a heart attack.

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Jo resolves to look after her little sister, but Frank and Shirley realise this can't go on forever. Terence and Alex return from their honeymoon. Ben's future as a country vet is in doubt as a result of his accident. Jo is hurt by what she sees as Frank and Shirley's betrayal and failure to stand by her when they call in social services and then Michelle's mother turns up.

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Jo settles into her new flat and inherits her school friend Sandy as a flatmate. After treating a twelve-year-old girl who thinks she is pregnant, Alex decides the time has come to set up a community health centre in the Valley. A young couple find their relationship put to the test when one of them reveals they have a sexually transmitted disease.

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A man's imprisonment has meant a sentence not only for himself but for his family too. Jo and Sandy plan a romantic dinner party, but the evening does not go as planned. Tommy returns to the Valley from prison to a frosty reception from his “friends” and family.

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Alex organises the opening of the Community Health Centre to a less than spectacular reception. Cathy and Matt go driving and end up spending the night under the stars together. Jo finds out that Sandy's boyfriend is married, but Sandy doesn't believe her. A grieving mother abandons her child and Alex is left holding the baby.

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After receiving a bang on the head, Bob mysteriously develops clairvoyant powers. A young woman returns from a holiday cruise to find out she is pregnant. Cookie tries to take advantage of Bob's powers. Cathy is bitten by a deadly snake and ends up in hospital, leaving Matt and Michael to cope with the farm.

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A boy's illness could be a lot more serious than it appears. Michael's attempt to help a man who has lost the will to live fails. Matt is offered first refusal on Ben's practice. A father decides to take desperate measures to pay for medical treatment for his son, while Matt has a money-making scheme of his own.

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UFOs in the Valley? It certainly seems that way after Bob and Cookie discover a landing site, and when a strange man is admitted to hospital, Esme thinks he is an alien! Cathy's admiration for Matt quickly fades when he spends the night with another woman. When Alex opens Terence's old trunk, she's amazed by what she finds.

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Michael and Cathy spend a romantic afternoon on the river. Alex's dream to help the tenants of a dilapidated boarding house backfire when the landlady decides to evict them. Terence becomes environmentally friendly when he reads about the destruction of the ozone layer in the local paper. Jo is fed up with Sandy's burger empire and quits her job.

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Jo's search for a new flatmate ends when Sally moves in, but Jo doesn't know Sally as well as she thought. Terence and Alex have a difference of opinion – his idea of relaxing pastime is planting parsnips while hers is sinking into a spa. Michael and Matt try to force Cathy to see a doctor.

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Jo is battling the HSC blues. She is struggling with school and work and arguing with everyone. Jeff and Jill appear to be the perfect couple but looks can be deceiving. A girl's attraction to married man leads to a dangerous turn of events. Jo ends up in hospital as a patient when she collapses out of sheer exhaustion.

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An aging drifter and his granddaughter arrive in town. When Esme is charmed by the stranger, Cookie is less than pleased. Alex becomes the object of a lovesick camel's affections. It's HSC exam time and Jo is very nervous. Charlie proposes to a smitten Esme. A boy's hopes for a brilliant career nose dive when he's caught cheating.

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A woman's memory lapse and her forgetfulness proves almost fatal when she sets her house on fire. Shirley develops a severe case of triskadekaphobia – a fear of the number thirteen. Matron Sloan is acting like a bear with a sore head, all because of a toothache and her fear of dentists, although she soon comes to her senses when Terence threatens her with a pair of pliers.

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A boy who believes he is descended from Captain Midnight takes to his ancestor's bush ranging ways. A woman is reluctant to let Alex operate on her son. The town is in an uproar over the Bicentennial Art Exhibition-ist! Eddy Midnight and company smash a dog fighting ring.

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A Reform School girl arrives for work experience at the park and takes a fancy to Matt. Michael decides to set matters straight between himself and Jo, once and for all. A girl with epilepsy has trouble coming to terms with her condition. Michael tries to explain to Jo how he feels, but she doesn't seem to want to listen.

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Jo's HSC results arrive. Terence tries to convince the mother of a terminally ill boy to give her son a chance to enjoy life. Jo's results are not what she expected, but she consoles herself by accepting a date with Rod. Michael has to come to terms with a ghost out of his past in order to help a sick boy.

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Is there a werewolf stalking the Valley cemetery? Cookie thinks its curtain time when he is bitten by a mysterious monster. Michael has a secret admirer. Jo finds herself drawing closer to Rod, despite his father's disapproval. Rob blames himself for his father's heart attack, but Ted decides to use the situation to his own advantage.

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Terence's old flame, Marianna, starts work at the hospital and Alex is not happy. Jo tells Frank and Shirley of her plans to go away with Rob. Alex keeps drawing comparisons between herself and Marianna and can't help feeling inadequate. Jo is put out by Sheena's arrival, she is an old friend of Rob's and Jo's jealousy is quite evident.

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The battle begins to save Michael's life. It seems as if his chances are slim and the doctors have no option but to operate. Jo is babysitting an insomniac child and is unaware of Michael's accident. Sophie is back in the Valley, and her arrival is bound to cause more trouble for her father and Alex.

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Michael's sister arrives in town and tries to hide the real reason for her visit. Cathy resigns when she is accused of being part of the bird poaching racket. Alex tries to speak to Terence about Sophie, but he refuses to listen to what she has to say.

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Terence combs the seedy streets of Sydney searching for Sophie. Cathy is disillusioned with rangering and tries for a job as barmaid. Bob is admitted to hospital convinced that he is going to die. Terence finds Sophie, but she doesn't want to see him and asks him to leave. Alex tells a relieved Bob the results of his tests.

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Terence has trouble accepting Sophie's news. Matt tries to impress a woman by borrowing Michael's identity. Terence and Alex find their lives torn apart once again by Sophie. Jo and Frank go to the aid of a teenager who has been cheated by her employer. Sophie overdoses on heroin and her heart gives out as a result of all the years of abuse.

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Terence, still grieving over Sophie, leaves Alex and she doesn't know how to handle it. Cathy is working at the club and has to put up with Muldoon. Michael is fed up with hospital life. Shirley returns from Queensland and tells Frank she has taken up golf. Cathy is having trouble coping with a temperamental French chef. Alex talks a patient out of committing suicide.

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Alex's plan to go and find Terence is foiled when she learns the truth about the locum she has intended to leave in charge. Michael is jealous and suspicious of Polly's private nurse, Scott. Polly collapses and Scott finds himself faced with a difficult decision. Cathy gets carried away during a moonlit stakeout with Matt.

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Matt is convinced that Cathy has gone mad when she decides to take flying lessons. Matron Sloan has to act quickly when a boy has an accident on a tractor. The search is on to find the missing plane which has gone down in the National Park complete with Matron Sloan, Cathy, and young Craig all on board. Terence returns to Alex but has a lot of explaining to do.

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Terence tells Alex of his intention to give up medicine and take up farming full time. Esme finds it difficult entertaining a nine-year-old computer wiz. Terence is refusing to involve himself in hospital affairs. A woman finds it hard to get a straight answer on her newborn baby's condition and jumps to the wrong conclusion that her daughter has died.

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A boy turns to his father for help when he is tormented by a fellow student. The hospital chef decides to propose to the girl of his dreams, but wakes up the next morning to find he has popped the question to someone entirely different. A terrified boy takes desperate measures to stop a bully.

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A dying woman comes to the Valley in search of her daughter. Could the girl who she is looking for be Jo? An asthmatic teenager believes that her condition is turning her into an outcast. Jo is determined to help Wendy find her daughter, even though everyone else telling her not to get involved.

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Jo decides to look for her mother and places an ad in all the local papers. Alex blames herself when Jenny checks herself out of hospital. Michael tells Jo he wants to buy another motorbike. Matt is fed up looking after smaller animals all the time.

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Matt finds Sue injured in her car. She says she had a car accident, but Frank has trouble believing her. Matt is blames for the death of a prize bull. After much coaxing, Sue finally breaks down and confesses to Alex that she was raped by a guy she gave a lift home to.

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Michael starts his stint as acting Matron and finds that life certainly wasn't meant to be easy. Matt is disappointed when the female vet he had been expecting turns out to be male. Old ghosts come back to haunt Terence on Sophie's birthday. Cathy is instantly attracted to Mario, the Italian vet.

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Bob proclaims his innocence when he is arrested for drunk driving. Cathy is swept off her feet on a romantic trip to Sydney. With Mario but is stunned when Mario proposes. Michael is blamed for the death of a patient in his care and offers his resignation to save the hospital embarrassment when the man's widow threatens to sue.

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Cathy prepares to fly off to Italy with Mario, but more important matters come first when she uncovers a marijuanna plantation in the National Park. Frank is excited at the thought of making a big drug bust. Cathy starts to hesitate about Mario and her trip when she has second thoughts.

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A boy is injured in a car accident and Frank is having trouble finding the driver responsible. Matt's day doesn't start too well when he gets a visit from the taxation department. A woman has a difficult decision to make when her young son dies. Cathy and Matt do battle with a crotchety old man.

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Matt helps a young woman give birth in Cathy's barn. Alex has some news for Terence, but she isn't sure how he'll react to it. Why is Matron Sloan in a good mood? Is there a new man on the horizon? A goat wreaks havoc in the hospital when Jo tries to help an old lady. Alex finally plucks up her courage to tell Terence she is pregnant. To her delight, he is happy with the news.

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A flu epidemic hits town and Alex ignores Terence's plan to take it easy. Jo shows off her new engagement ring. Cathy is being forced to choose between being a farmer and a ranger as she is finding it hard juggling both jobs. Alex contracts the flu which turns into pneumonia. Matt helps Cathy in her fight to save the farm. Alex gets worse and fears for her baby's well-being. Cathy decides to sell the farm and concentrates on being a ranger. After having a scan, Alex tells Terence the sex of their baby.

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