On Rhythm City in December:
Monday 3 December 2007
Episode 106
When Thembi finally gets her blood test results, there is a truly shocking outcome. Rachel is being drawn deeper into the fold of Pastor Ngidi - with her old life and new life coming to a point of conflict. At the Kilowatt Club, S’bu road tests the new remix of Rachel’s song, and it’s a huge success. Suffocate has, against his better judgement, allowed Moses back into the club, and despite his promises, Moses is back to his usual drinking and telling tall tales. It seems nothing can keep Moses quiet - until he is found almost lifeless at one of the tables.
Tuesday 4 December 2007
Episode 107
After getting the not so happy news, Thembi’s relationship with DJ Ngwazi goes from bad to worse. S’bu, with a very weak Moses, freshly ejected from hospital, drops him off with a reluctant Fats. Kop continues the charade with Mamokete, pretending he’s still got a job, while begging anyone at Redemption who’ll listen, to get him his job back. Rachel comes to the decision - with the help of Pastor Ngidi - that Sunay is a toxic influence in her life.
Wednesday 5 December 2007
Episode 108
Thembi decides to confront DJ Ngwazi. She calls him, on air, with the intention of understanding his point of view and ends up breaking up with him. Thembi’s secret is hard to bear. Kop’s unemployment woes continue as the Khuses, oblivious to this, continue to make their grand Christmas plans.
Rachel reels in the wake of dumping Sunay and Kop. When S’bu sets up a meeting between her and Moses (an old flame), Rachel genuinely believes she and Moses can pick up where they’d left off 20 years earlier. The Pastor proposes that she is baptized in his church. S’bu asks Miles if he knows Moses. Miles concurs and shares the news of S’bu’s discovery with Lucilla. She is adamant they keep their distance from Moses.
Thursday 6 December 2007
Episode 109
The break up scandal hits the press - to both DJ Ngwazi and Thembi’s shock. A journalist calls Thembi at home, raising fears in Rachel that the scandal may do damage to her reputation. Tipsy, Thembi divulges more information than she should to the press.
Kop’s unemployment woes are exacerbated by Tshidi’s success at the end of year prize giving ceremony. Rachel announces to Thembi and Redemption her choice to be baptized. S’bu explains to Miles the extent of Moses’ poverty, prompting Miles to donate a hefty sum of money.
Friday 7 December 2007
Episode 110
Pastor Ngidi works out how much the baptism will cost, and proposes a solitary trip to fetch the holy water required for the ceremony. Thembi, meanwhile, trembles on the brink of telling first Gail, then her mother, of her pregnancy.
S’bu and Suffocate disagree about giving Miles’ R5000 to Moses. Suffocate believes the old man will waste it. S’bu says you have to respect his right to the money. It looks, by the end of the day, as if Suffocate’s judgement was the right one. S’bu decides to find out why his father thought it necessary to buy off the old rascal. By hiring an expensive rental car, Rachel forces Bernard to decide to retrieve the company car from Kop - who continues to pretend he’s still hard at work driving Rachel.
Monday 10 December 2007
Episode 111
A kiss and tell newspaper article about DJ Ngwazi and Thembi sparks the DJ’s wrath so he trashes her on his show. Thembi eventually confides in Gail: she’s pregnant. Kop continues to spend his days at Kilowatt while his family remains in the dark about his predicament, but when Bernard arrives with Rachel’s new driver and asks for the car keys, things come to a head. Miles is troubled by the emergence of Moses and suggests to Lucilla that they settle with the old artist. S’bu then stumbles upon the fact that Moses Ntombela appears on one of Redemption’s best-selling albums. S’bu gets a call from Fats to say that Moses has gone AWOL.
Tuesday 11 December 2007
Episode 112
When S’bu rescues Moses from his latest reckless splurge and invites him to move into the Vilakazi home, matters come to a head between S’bu and Miles over the money owing to Moses. Over Lucilla’s forcible protests, she has a new and demanding houseguest for the foreseeable future. Rachel is caught up in preparations for her imminent baptism in Pastor Ngidi’s church. In the build up to the big event, Rachel and Pastor Ngidi grow ever closer.
David suspends DJ Ngwazi in order to placate Thembi and Rachel, and on the other side of town, Kop grows more desperate as his situation grows ever more dire. As a last resort, he gate-crashes dinner at the Vilakazi home and makes some unsettling discoveries...
Wednesday 12 December 2007
Episode 113
Thembi gives into Rachel regarding her baptism and mother and daughter are on the same team for a while. Thembi, however, has a lot on her mind, and the fact that Ngwazi is blaming her for his probation at 9Nine FM doesn’t help. Luckily Gail is there to stand up for her.
S’bu urges his father to do right by Moses, while Lucilla tries to play the accommodating host - that is until Moses takes his requests too far. Rachel finally gets baptised, with Bernard and Miles in attendance. It’s a special moment for Rachel when Thembi arrives at the ceremony.
Tshidi’s report arrives: she got several A’s on her report card, and is eager to get the MP3 player promised to her. Will this force Kop to come clean about his employment status?
Thursday 13 December 2007
Episode 114
When Moses confesses to propositioning Lucilla the night before, S’bu tells him he may have overstepped the mark. Meanwhile, an outraged Lucilla tells Miles she can’t stand it any longer, but Miles pleads with her to put up with him for just a while longer. Moses accidentally discovers his contribution to the Gospel Gold Collection but fortunately doesn’t realize he’s owed any money.
Rachel feels like a new woman following her baptism and decides it’s time to record a new album. Pastor Ngidi starts becoming more involved in her career, volunteering to counsel her on the messages in her songs. He also has Rachel agree to begin tithing to his church. Kop is still keeping up the pretence that he’s working, but Mamokete is beginning to get suspicious. Stone tries to get a job at Kilowatt but Suffocate won’t hire him.
Friday 14 December 2007
Episode 115
The rift between Thembi and Rachel widens, as Thembi becomes increasingly torn over what to do about her pregnancy, and what to do about the no-good DJ Ngwazi. Lucilla confronts Miles about the tithe he has agreed to pay to Ngidi on behalf of Rachel.
S’bu starts to regret inviting Moses into the Vilakazi home as the old artist cooks up a storm to impress his new lady friend, Belinda. Kop becomes increasingly despondent as Christmas is looming and the burden of keeping his unemployment from his family weighs ever more heavily on him.
Monday 17 December 2007
Episode 116
Moses and his girlfriend Belinda make themselves even more at home in the Vilakazi household. Miles, now at his wits’ end on how to get rid of Moses, finally concedes that giving him his money might be the only way out. Mamokete can’t get over the fact that their building materials were stolen, and that they’d have to start from scratch. Their dream’s shattered.
However Thembi’s career seems to be on the up despite the fact that she’s in the midst of a very intense internal struggle. Rachel and Ngidi’s day ends with a candlelit dinner on the patio. The chemistry between them is electric. Rachel welcomes it, Ngidi however, seems to shy away from it. This isn’t the usual pastor-parishioner relationship.
Tuesday 18 December 2007
Episode 117
Moses’ presence is such a disruption that Miles decides to pay him out what they owe him in royalties. He is incensed to discover that this special account is empty as Lucilla used that money to keep Redemption going through lean times. Rachel asks Pastor Ngidi if he would like to have supper again that evening. He makes excuses and departs hurriedly, leaving her feeling sexually frustrated.
David gives Thembi carte blanche in choosing a subject for her magazine feature. She also agrees to meet the DJ, who apologises to her for his behaviour. She tells him she is writing a feature about unwanted pregnancy. When Mamokete discovers Kop’s salary has not been deposited in the bank, her anxiety levels rise. Stone persuades Kop not to tell Mamokete as he wants to find out whether Redemption followed the correct procedures when he was fired.
Wednesday 19 December 2007
Episode 118
Moses and Belinda have now overstayed their welcome, turning the house upside down to the point where Lucilla has to break up a physical fight. Kop, on the other hand, has still not told his wife that he has been fired. Mamokete decides to call Redemption, because the bills are still pending and his salary cheque is nowhere to be seen. Kop realises his daughter has seen through his facade, while Stone organises for a law student friend of his to look into the legality of Kop’s termination.
While Rachel and Pastor Ngidi are finding it hard keeping their hands off each other, Thembi reconsiders her relationship with DJ Ngwazi following their conversation the previous evening... and considers an abortion for the first time.
Thursday 20 December 2007
Episode 119
Thembi decides to tell DJ Ngwazi about her pregnancy - but when he meets with her, she is appalled by his self-centredness. She shows him the door without revealing her secret. Rachel, Pastor Ngidi, and the Redemption team listen to the recordings she’s been making - and there’s universal acclaim: she’s never been better. The praise excites her and the good pastor, and they find themselves unable to resist the temptations of the flesh.
Stone and Kop tell Bernard at Redemption that they plan to take Kop’s case to the CCMA for arbitration. Miles discovers his collection of rare vintage records has disappeared. Miles throws Belinda out of the house.
Friday 21 December 2007
Episode 120
Pastor Ngidi freaks out in the aftermath of having sex with Rachel, calling her a foul temptress and storming out. A distraught Rachel cannot find him and panics, trying to enlist Thembi and Miles in helping her find him. However, Thembi knows the underlying truth and when she confronts Rachel about it, Rachel turns nasty. Moses confronts Miles about having thrown Belinda out of the house. Tshidi is discovered by Mamokete in the act of trying to return her new clothes and ends up spilling the beans about Kop losing his job. Mamokete decides not to confront him about it and to play along, trying to preserve Kop’s dignity. It’s the Redemption Xmas party. The pastor makes a proposal.
Monday 24 December 2007 - Christmas Eve
Episode 121
The Vilakazis are still reeling from Moses’ allegations in the weekend newspapers. In an effort to get him out of their house, they make the old artist an offer he can’t refuse. Rachel is too infatuated with Pastor Ngidi to realise Thembi is struggling with her own issues. Rachel is so desperate for an audience that she even calls Sunay. After one last attempt at begging Rachel for his job back, Kop finally comes clean to a very understanding Mamokete. Behind his back though, Stone makes a plan to turn his father’s situation around.
Tuesday 25 December 2007- Christmas Day
Episode 122
Rachel and Ngidi spend Christmas Day together, with the proviso that they keep their impending nuptials a secret and that they try to keep their hands off each other. Kop shares with Mamokete his feelings of failure as a provider but, despite everything, they end up having a very heart-warming Christmas with all the loners of the series ending up at their table. Lucilla and S’bu fight about who’s responsible for the Moses fiasco. Miles tries to intervene but will there be peace on Christmas day for the Vilakazis?
Wednesday 26 December 2007- Boxing Day/Day of Goodwill
Episode 123
Thembi struggles with the news that her mother has agreed to marry Pastor Abel Ngidi. Mamokete is getting rid of everything in her house that reminds her of Rachel Phakathi, the woman who stabbed them in the back! Bernard calls an emergency meeting with Lucilla and Miles and tells them of the legal threat hanging over Redemption from Kop’s “lawyer”. Moses forces Miles to pay R350 000 to a man from whom he wants to buy a flashy sports car. Later, he arrives in the car in the company of a troop of dancing girls from the casino - and S’bu throws him out. Fats volunteers his services as DJ for the New Year’s Eve party at the club when Suffocate learns DJ Ngwazi is nowhere to be found.
Thursday 27 December 2007
Episode 124
Thembi’s concern grows for Rachel’s rushed decision to marry Pastor Ngidi. Rachel is upset when Thembi will not give her blessing for the union. Ngidi offers to talk to Thembi himself, in an attempt to understand her reservations. Her excitement growing, Rachel tells Miles of the engagement. He, in turn, cannot keep the secret and announces it to Bernard and Lucilla, who are shocked by the news.
Stone and Thomas present a solid case to Redemption in Kop’s favour and are excited and relieved when he is offered his job back, along with added perks. Later, from his conversation with Thembi, Ngidi confirms his suspicions that she is pregnant. He presents her with the loaded option of coming clean with her mother... but she chooses to give them her blessing instead.
Friday 28 December 2007
Episode 125
Thembi is reeling from her encounter with Ngidi. Miles has called on a friend at the Zionist Federation to check up on the pastor. Bernard visits Kop to announce Redemption’s decision to re-employ him. Despite the added perks, Kop demands an apology from Rachel. Mamokete confronts Rachel with memorabilia from her time with Kop as her driver. S’bu continues his search for Moses. S’bu has found a DJ, but Suffocate tells him that someone will have to inform Fats, who has taken their request for a DJ a little too seriously.
Monday 31 December 2007 - New Year’s Eve
Episode 126
It is the last day of the year, and Suffocate prepares for the New Year’s Eve party. The stalemate between Kop and Rachel finally comes to a head, with all the Khuse family anxiously wondering - will their relationship have a happy resolution or a sad ending? S’bu manages to find a happy ending to the saga of Moses Ntombela. All enmity and rivalries are forgotten at the grand party at the Kilowatt Club, as we count out the old year, and enter the new.
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