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Packed to the Rafters Season 3 Episodes
Season 3 Episode Guide
22 Episodes 2010 - 2010
Episode 1
The Blank Page
42 mins
The Rafter clan welcomes its latest addition, Ruby Louise. Nathan is encouraged in his desperate refusal to accept Sammy has left him for good this time. Her mother Trish ends up convincing Ted that she moved to London with an ex, having closed the marriage chapter completely. Jake must face his semi-crippled condition for half a year.
Episode 2
Saturday Night, Sunday Morning
44 mins
Julie's confidence as a mum takes a beating when baby Ruby resists her breastfeeding attempts; newly-single Nathan hits the town with Carbo and Ben can't help feeling left out; Jake becomes overprotective as his mum begins to see someone; Mel's loyalty is tested when she runs into Sammy, who begs her not to tell Nathan she's still in town.
Episode 3
To Tell or Not to Tell
42 mins
Dave's dilemma over whether to reveal that his birth-father is alive leads to a roadtrip to meet his mysterious other family. Melissa is finding Sammy's secret increasingly difficult to keep from Ben. Rachel becomes the green-eyed monster when Jake's client, an attractive housewife, seems to be coming on to him.
Episode 4
A Good Husband
43 mins
Ben wants to make up with Mel by treating her to romance for their anniversary, so he books a balloon surprise trip. Nathan can't talk Carbo out of treating the happy couple to a second-hand waterbed, which proves as leaky as the very idea. Jake finally gets to meet Doug, his mother Grace's first lover in years, but Rachel can't convince him that his suspicions are groundless. Another stressed call from Sammy worries Mel so badly that Ben ends up canceling their trip, which is welcomed surprisingly warmly.
Episode 5
The Invisible Man
42 mins
Carbo is surprised when Mel suddenly objects to unhygienic bathroom borrowing and sharing. Ben works out that the real problem is Sammy, still calling her in secret, and gets her to agree they'll tell Nathan that she's not overseas. Ted stands up to a gang of abusive street girls; Chel is injured and once again resists help from Dave. After lonely neighbor crone Lumbscone dies unnoticed, Ted arranges for a seniors' check-up system and a self-defense program run by Ben's burly bar bouncer.
Episode 6
Home Matters
41 mins
Jake and Rachel plan to move out, although their ideas of a suitable home differ. Jake had (sort of) accepted Grace's lover Doug, but discovering about him and big brother moving out proves to much for Alex, who has unexpectedly returned from New Zealand. Rachel starts realizing how attached she is to home with its comforts and memories. Ben and Mel consider that Carbo's home is decorated too much to his parents' taste, so they spend some wedding-gift cash on introducing a hunters' theme.
Episode 7
Simple Needs
43 mins
Nathan is about to sign his divorce papers, so Ben finally musters the courage to tell him Sammy is still in Sydney. They meet, but she crushes his hope for a reconciliation. Carbo's recent Internet celebrity status now yields a teenage stalker girl, Georgia, which terrifies him and ultimately Ben. Julie comes up with an embarrassing "solution." Jake notices that Rachel is jealous of the "princess" fuss about her new baby sister Ruby. Dave is exhausted by the "new" mother but soon catches up.
Episode 8
Rites of Passage
43 mins
The Rafter clan gathers to welcome Ruby. Even devout orthodox Carbo can't convince them to hold a proper christening, so Rachel recommends an alternative "celebrant" for the park picnic and ceremony, which proves the worst part of her hopeless input. Jake is pleased to be invited with mother and brother, but Alex can't accept her boyfriend at home, for which Jake ultimately provides a startling alternative. Nathan has been approved medically as kidney donor for Chel, who is as reluctant as his parents, but must also pass a psychological session, which makes him question his motives. Sammy only reluctantly accepts attending the ceremony, and afterward announces that she's moving to London for a job after all. Carbo panics about gray hairs.
Episode 9
The Price of Parenthood
43 mins
Coby spies on the Rafter house and reports in jail to his equally puzzled grandfather, Tom Jennings, who thinks that Nathan, resembling him, must be his illegitimate son. Carbo's stalker Georgia sees him and tells Julie. Dave decides to visit his father with Nathan; Chel declines and isn't even remembered, reason enough for Dave to storm out. Jake installs himself and Alex in their new bachelor-boys' home, but Rachel refuses to keep visiting unless they clean to girl standards. Mel's "house training" example inspires her nastily.
Episode 10
Out of the Comfort Zone
42 mins
Ben desperately tries to avoid sacking waitress Lexi, but owner Derek insists that it's his duty as manager. Jake volunteers to babysit Ruby with Rachel, but she bails, so Jake takes the baby to Ben and Mel, who prove to be naturals. Nathan tells Dave that he will get to know Grandpa Tom, at least after his kidney donation. Grandpa Ted recognizes Roger's daughter Hayley as the street punk who attacked him and Chel, and unlike her, he insists on informing the police. When Roger wants Ted's seniors club banned from the club, Ben stakes his job, although he craves a regular income now that Mel is finally considering parenthood.
Episode 11
Lessons in Happiness
43 mins
Ben and Mel feel pressure mount now that people know they want children; even Julie's gift, a simple cookbook, adds stress. After resuming rugby training, Jake has a third fit, so the doctor diagnoses epilepsy. Since it was at home, he wants to keep it secret for now, but Alex, who found him, is too scared and tells Rachel. Nathan and Chel get a donor kidney surgery date in two weeks. Rachel is in line for a promotion but secretly applies for a dream job with Paul Morgan's much-bigger firm behind boss Lewis' back and without consulting Jake, whom she would see less.
Episode 12
Moments of Truth
43 mins
Just before his kidney donation, Nathan wants to make preparation, including letters "just in case" for his loved ones; lacking inspiration, he visits Tom in jail. Tom's invitation for Chel works, and he proves actually remembering their affair, to the relief of both. Ben finds facing any risk of losing his "kid brother" difficult. Carbo's bird-watching date is a fiasco, but being the erroneous victim of gay-bashing after delivering to a queer yields him another "future bride"--who just wants him for her gay brother.
Episode 13
Live and Let Live
44 mins
Ben is naughtily amused when Mel discovers that Carbo's "future bride" only invited him as a date for her gay roommate and confidant Jamie, who happens to share many interests with Nick. Ben is uncomfortable when Dave takes him and Rachel along to visit Tom, who wants Dave to find a job for Coby. Jake feels he must give his notice because of his epilepsy, but Dave decides to hire Coby as apprentice, despite Julie's suspicions. Nathan scolds Grandpa Ted for rebuking Chel's intention to travel again, like Nathan suggested, even if India is rather far away.
Episode 14
Know Yourself
44 mins
Ben wouldn't even consider Carbo's next "the one" might be just that, as he found "Loretta" on the Internet, but Mel witnesses their first meeting and it looks exactly like love at first sight. Coby arrives in the suburbs for his job interview and does well; even Julie mitigates her suspicion, which is actually justified as he secretly reports to Grandpa Tom in jail. Jake is happy that he now has a driver until his epilepsy medication is safely dosed. Nathan, just back from hospital, thinks nothing of a macho first meeting. Dave is cranky, apparently because of his low-cholesterol diet, but he actually fears no longer feeling needed, as even Chel accepted to recuperate in a friend's beach-house. Despite slick coaching by new colleague Liam, who wanted her creative-director job, a successful first presentation, and generous boss Paul Morgan, Rachel whines at home about a disastrous start and feels a misfit.
Episode 15
Don't Go There!
42 mins
Ben is desperate for fatherhood, so he pushes reluctant Mel to test; he's disappointed by the result, but it makes Mel realize that she's ready for motherhood. Nathan can't resist feeding Carbo's fear of ghosts after a horror movie. Their gang ends up searching a late neighbor's "ghost house" and finding that it has a squatter: Coby. Jake shows angelic patience with Rachel, who messes up the crucial account of Sanjay, to whom colleague Liam seems to be close. Dave must cut out non-essential expenses after failing a superannuation costs him over $15,000 in extra taxes.
Episode 16
When Worlds Collide
42 mins
Ben, Nathan, and Mel fear having to move back in with Dave as Carbo's parents hired an agent to sell the house and scaring off potential buyers fails, but Coby comes to show them how it's done. Actually, the solution proves telling the proud Karandoni home-front how the highest bidders plan to "remodel" the villa to their utterly opposed taste. Nathan discovers that Coby is illiterate but promises discretion. Coby rolls in cash after building materials worth $5,000 go missing from their present construction site. Dave is angry that Julie imposed her administrative services but can't concentrate due to Ruby and messes up a vital order. Jake is a rock of strength from emotionally-drained, viciously-fickle Rachel, who keeps blaming Liam for everything and scolds Jake from warning him off.
Episode 17
Spark of Life
43 mins
Grandpa Ted catches Coby squatting and forces him to own up to Dave, but allows him to stay and he makes progress learning to read, taught by Nathan. Coby successfully denies any guilt in another theft from a construction site. The affair costs Dave a major contract, probably even the regular client, which stresses him so that he nearly has a serious car accident. Carbo's promise to Loretta to abstain from pre-marital sex makes him an obnoxious horny nerves-wreck, but Ben's urging to set it straight results not in a break-up but a marriage-proposal-intention. Julie enjoys the company of Hamish, the only dad in mothers' group, commiserating about marital tensions, but flees when he steals a kiss. Coby intends to stop abusing the Rafters, but Tom demands that he continue.
Episode 18
Between the Covers
43 mins
Ben fails to talk Carbo out of proposing to Retta by faking marital misery, about which Mel gets mixed feelings. Nathan takes Coby out to the city's nightclub area, where the country cock scores a surgeon's spoiled, generous, Porsche-driving vixen. Jake is furious when Rachel, who is delighted with Liam as a business ally, prepared to work all weekend, not only cancels their romantic dinner last-moment but casually tells Liam about his epilepsy and dares refuse any apology. So precisely her threat against driving makes him. Tom can't accept losing his grip on Coby, who refuses to abuse his nice family anymore. Dave finally gets another major order. Once Carbo proposes, Retta lets him off the hook, but gets erectile dysfunction.
Episode 19
Breathe
42 mins
Coby now feels completely at home and makes progress in his reading lessons while manipulating gullible Nathan. Carbo and Retta prove terribly noisy bed-partners. This only stirs Ben's eagerness to become a father, leading to an "urgent" and awkward hospital fertility test. Jake is through forgiving career bitch Rachel after reproaches about a rugby team trip. Unable to praise or even accept Liam, who saved a major account by using a Sci-fi idea Jake offered, Rachel questions the corporate culture and semi-accidentally resigns. Dave and Julie win an Eric Clapton concert VIP arrangement, but afterward Dave admits he keeps getting unsatisfied moods.
Episode 20
Perfect Bubble
42 mins
CarboRetta drive their house-mates mildly crazy when she moves in. Ben plans a surprise suite for Mel, but she must work late--and then tragedy strikes. Jake reluctantly takes leave for the Bali holiday Rachel insisted on, only to hear she that she has just signed up with Paul Morgan again. Coby is invited to a Rafters family dinner, but must confess his part in the thefts as the police are catching up, and a furious Dave fires him.
Episode 21
Rest in Peace
44 mins
Ben is a sleepless wreck for weeks, still "seeing" his beloved Mel after the fatal car crash. Dave handles her arrogant father, who wrongly blames a drunken driver and is denied choosing the funeral arrangements. Nathan discreetly accepts condolences from Coby, and apologies. Tom gets compassionate prison leave to attend the requiem Mass and tells Coby that he's hoping for parole.
Episode 22
One Day at a Time
44 mins
Three weeks after Mel's funeral, Ben remains a sleepless wreck. The prospects of Ruby's first birthday party and Christmas make him decide to try resuming his life and job, but it still proves too hard. The Rafter clan despairs; Ted even fears that Ben might follow his suicidal example. Dave seeks advice from his therapist Dylan, to no avail. Nathan gets remorseful Coby a family pardon and even an official apprenticeship. Carbo formally proposes and is forced to tell his family in Greece about his fiancée. Nathan takes them both to the park, which finally gets Ben to relax a moment--which he instantly regrets. Mel's own words convince Ben to join the party after all and accept accompanying Nathan on an adventurous long road trip.
