SOS Message Board: SOS Message Board -> Season 1 Recap

Season one was focused heavily on Diane Sterling, who was featured in two major storylines. Diane strangled Calinda Whitehead, a woman who was having an affair with her husband, John, in the first episode, and left her for dead. She was also becoming an unbearable presence in the life of her daughter-in-law, Carrie, who was growing tired of Diane’s constant interference in her marriage to Greg. Carrie’s attempts to move out of the Sterling guesthouse with Greg were always stopped by Diane, who eventually threatened to kill Carrie if she ever took her son away from her.

Elsewhere, teenager Ashley Abbot wanted to enter the Miss Oakridge beauty pageant, and after convincing her father Wesley to let her enter, she found herself the target of her unhinged competitor, Kim Logan, who would stop at nothing to win. Ashley’s constant support, her boyfriend, Nick, spurred her on but eventually Kim snapped and attacked Ashley, leaving her in a coma.

Other characters featured in the series were a group of young medical interns; Ben, Gillian and Nathan. Nathan and Gillian had a fledgling relationship while Ben was romancing waitress Gina Jackson, who worked at The Bungalow for Pamela Lockwood, a woman who had only recently been able to pay Diane off for going into partnership with her at the restaurant when they were younger.



Diane and John grew further and further apart as the case intensified surrounding Calinda’s death, which by this time had been classed as suicide by the police. A stressed John found himself unable to cope with the death of his lover and revealed to Diane that he had poisoned her, which was a shock to Diane as she thought she had killed her by strangulation. John decided to leave town for a while to clear his head, leaving Diane guilt free over the death.

As Ashley lay in a coma, her estranged mother, Alexandra, returned to Oakridge to be with her family in their time of need. Her relationship with Wesley was strained due to his resentment of her for abandoning the family years ago, they slowly began to warm up to each other again, until her fiancé, Matt, arrived in town, much to Wesley’s disgust.



Carrie’s best friend, Jessica, had a one night stand with Will Abbot, Ashley’s older brother, before embarking on a relationship with Josh Denman, Will’s best friend and business partner. Carrie, meanwhile, decided that enough was enough and vowed to get Diane out of her life for good. She contacted Diane’s estranged daughter Megan and paid her to come back to Oakridge to help her get rid of Diane’s influence.

Back in town, Megan met up with high school sweetheart Will Abbot. Initially she felt resentment towards him for the breakdown of their relationship. She advised Carrie to contact her aunt, Jackie, if she wanted Diane out of her life.

Elsewhere, Ashley awoke from her coma to discover that Kim Logan’s looks had been taken from her when Alex’s maternal instincts kicked in and she beat Kim up. Her life resumed to normal as her relationship with Nick grew more intense, although Ashley’s attitude had changed as a result of her experience with Kim, and she was now a stronger person.

Gillian found herself the target of Dr. Quentin Marshall’s sexual harassment and leant upon Nick’s older brother, Nathan, who would eventually save her from an attempted rape by Quentin. As Gillian and her mother, Anna, left town to start afresh, they were driven to the airport by Nathan, who was killed on the way back in a car accident, leaving his brother in mourning.



Jackie Sterling arrived in Oakridge with a surprise for Diane, she had been visited by John and he had signed everything over to her while he began divorce proceedings with Diane, to ensure that Diane was not able to get any of John’s assets. She threw a now penniless Diane out of the mansion, leading to Diane’s departure from Oakridge to visit her sister in London and get the profits of the money Pamela paid her for her half of The Bungalow from her offshore account.

The season finale saw Gillian returning for Nathan’s funeral, where Nick lashed out at her and blamed her for his brother’s death. Elsewhere, Josh proposed to Jessica and Megan received a letter from Diane that caused her to wonder if she’d done the right thing unleashing Jackie on her mother.

Events then moved on one month, as Diane returned to Oakridge and vowed revenge on Jackie. Greg and Carrie discovered they were to be parents, while Ben and Gina returned from Las Vegas a married couple. Diane held Jackie hostage and drove her to the woods, where she planned to kill her. However, a struggle between the women broke out and they battled for control over the gun, leading to a shot being fired as the season reached it’s close.