Melanie Martin

**Melanie 'Mel' Martin** was a main character from The Bayside, the American version of the popular Australian soap opera South Bay. She made her first appearance in June, 1998. She is the oldest child of Alan and Rebecca Martin, the older sister of Michelle, Molly and Macey. She made her final regular appearance in October, 2009 but returned for a guest appearance in 2016.

Melanie joined The Bayside in 1998, as one of the fun and flirty Martin sisters who were added to the series to "spice things up" and bring some drama to Bayside. She would go onto make history as the series first main, lesbian character when she came out in 2001. Many of her storylines involved her job as a police officer, until she was fired in 2005 after her breakdown in the wake of her dad's death.

## Early Life

Prior to her arrival in Bayside, Melanie lived in Malibu with her two sisters, Michelle and Molly. As a child she was raised by her mother and father. Her mother, unsatisfied with the marriage, left the family home when Melanie was a teenager, taking her youngest daughter Macey with her. Melanie stepped up to support the family, as the eldest as her father wasn't in a position to do so. As a teenager, Melanie was particularly close to her father and a bit of a tomboy. At school, she was on the tennis team.

After graduating High School, Melanie would go on to study to become a police officer. In college she discovered she was a lesbian. Prior to her arrival in Bayside, she had been suspended from her job due to the actions of Drew.

## 1998-1999: Arrival and Coming Out

Melanie first arrived in The Bayside in June 11th, 1998, though she wasn't initially introduced as Melanie. She was instead just a woman who Jason Robertson met at a bar and started flirting with. The pair arranged several dates, but unbeknownst to Jason, the entire thing was a set up orchestrated by Melanie and her sisters, Michelle and Molly to get revenge on Jason for breaking up with Molly. Things would escalate when Melanie and Michelle drugged Jason and lead him to a hotel room where they stripped him, put makeup on him and took photos, before revealing themselves to be Molly's sisters. They would later spread the photos around town, humiliating Jason.

The Martin Sisters then moved to Bayside, bringing with them a whole heap of trouble. Melanie was the oldest and most sensible of the sisters, often stepping into a maternal role. The three sisters quickly turned heads with the men of the town and the women, many of whom were intimidated by the trio. The sisters didn’t help matters by showing flagrant disregard for the town’s quiet reputation, playing loud music and having parties. Whilst her sisters both focused on relationships, Melanie kept to herself, making friends and focusing on work.

In October, 1998, Michelle’s ex-boyfriend Drew Coleman arrived. Drew had a criminal past and had treated Michelle poorly in the past. Melanie didn't like him as he'd gotten her suspended from her job as a police officer back in Malibu. Melanie worked with Molly to keep the pair apart, but eventually Michelle chose Drew, ending her fling with Justin McGraw. Melanie tried to threaten Drew to get him to leave, but he refused. After getting caught stealing in December, Drew convinced a naïve Michelle to run away with him to get eloped in Vegas. Molly and Melanie joined forced with Justin and Eric Dunn to chase them down and the two cars were involved in an accident. Melanie was able to detain Drew to prevent him from leaving. Police arrived and arrested Drew who had stolen the car. Justin was severely injured and put in an induced coma whilst he recovered.

In the aftermath of the accident, Melanie's talents were picked up on by police officer Joe Ortega, who offered her a chance to return to the force. She began working at Southern Bayside Police Department in January 1999.

As a police officer, Melanie wasn't taken seriously and especially clashed with officer Cole Lawson, who often patronised her because she was a woman. She would fight back against this by being abrasive and often towing the line of violence with suspects. In April 1999, Melanie and Cole were still clashing when they ended up being captured by a local biker gang. The pair had to work together to get out of the situation and were able to find common ground, as Melanie opened up about her relationship with her father.

In July 1999, The Martin sisters were delighted when their eccentric but loveable dad, Richard ‘Dick’ Martin arrived. He was the polar opposite of his beautiful daughters and yet the trio clearly loved him. A bit of a used car salesman, Dick found himself involved in several dodgy dealings, usually by accident. However, he bought some much needed joy to his daughters’ lives. With that came lots of opinions on his daughter’s lives. Though he encouraged Melanie is sporty activities, he wasn't thrilled to learn she was working as a police officer again, believing it was too dangerous for a woman. He also thought that she should focus on finding a man, being the only one of the sisters who wasn't in a relationship. Melanie turned to Cole for support, who in turn attempted to kiss her and revealed that he had feelings for her. Melanie rejected him and confided in Michelle, who encouraged the relationship, not wanting her sister to be alone. Melanie attempted to tell her something but backed out when Dick showed up.

That night Melanie was at a bar when she met a woman. The two ended up sharing a drink and kissed, revealing Melanie was in fact a lesbian. Melanie hid this from everyone around her at first. Melanie would eventually come out to her sister's after they tried and failed to set her and Cole up. They initially didn't understand but would soon accept her for who she was. In October 1999, Cole would follow Melanie to a gay bar and saw her kissing a woman. Feeling rejected, he reported the bar and police arrived to shut the place down. Melanie was arrested along with the other patrons after a fight broke out and was subsequently outed to her colleagues and the rest of Bayside.

The fallout of this saw Melanie experiencing a lot of homophobic abuse from her colleagues and people in the town. It started to affect her work, especially when police car was sprayed with the word 'Dyke' and some officers left her without backup during a convenience store robbery, she was able to stand up for herself both with her colleagues and the bigots in the town. Things would get difficult when Dick would hear rumours about Melanie being gay after overhearing a conversation in the bar. He confronted her and she told him the truth. He didn't accept this at first, blaming himself for encouraging her tomboy behaviour. The pair stopped speaking for a few weeks. However, Dick would eventually accept Melanie for who she was and the pair mended their bond.

## 2000-2001: Molly's Wedding and Rebecca's Arrival

The turn of the millenium started off well for Melanie as she celebrated with her sisters at The Sun Club. She was in the club when the fire broke out and helped to get people to safety. She was also involved in the investigation afterwards. Cole was injured in the fire and struggled with his recovery, becoming depressed. In March 2000, Melanie would discover the depth of Cole's problems. She helped him resolve the issue and he eventually decided to leave Bayside.

Melanie's sister Molly got married in July 2000. Melanie spent most of the ceremony flirting with one of the servers. Things would go disastrously wrong though when Molly's husband was ran over outside the venue, dying in Molly's arms. Melanie got over-involved in the investigation, despite Cole asking her to step back. Melanie was horrified to uncover the man responsible was a loan shark her father had borrowed money from to help pay for the wedding. Dick pleaded with her to keep it quiet, which she did at first. Eventually Molly found out the truth and ran off, refusing to speak to Melanie and Dick.

Things started to look up for Melanie though when she met Robin Silver and the two started dating. Melanie and Robin faced trouble from the local residents, who didn't approve of their relationship, but they remained together in spite of this. However, they did eventually break up due to their very different lifestyles, with Robin being more relaxed and into partying.

Shortly after the breakup, in September 2000 Melanie was in for another setback when Molly returned with mother Rebecca Martin and the youngest Martin sister, Macey in tow. Melanie and Rebecca had always had a difficult relationship, with Melanie being closer to her father, so the arrival proved difficult for her. However, Rebecca initially played nice, pretending to be the dutiful mother there to support her daughters. She even resumed her relationship with Dick again. Things soon turned sour though when she started flirting with other men and it was revealed she was having a fling with her pilates instructor. When Melanie found out about this, she confronted her mother, who turned nasty and threw a torrid of homophobic abuse at her. Soon, Rebecca was exposed and left in January 2001, leaving Macey with her father.

## 2001-2003: Affair and Work Drama

Following her mother's departure, Melanie and her sisters banded together to look after Macey. Macey was obsessed with boys, much like her mother and had her father wrapped around her little finger. Petulant and constantly whining, It didn't take long for Melanie to grow tired of Macey's antics, especially after she caught her with an older, college boy and threatened to have him arrested for statutory rape, prompting Macey to call her a 'dirty lesbian bitch'. Melanie slapped Macey.

Soon, Macey believed she was pregnant, causing a headache for her entire family. She would later discover this to be a false alarm. Melanie would get into trouble at work after threatening the boy suspected of getting her pregnant. Eventually, Macey would return to live with her mother, in June 2001.

Following this, Melanie would meet a woman named Julie in a bar and sleep with her. She would later find out Julie was married and the pair would embark in an affair. She soon learned Julie's husband Dave Carter was a police officer working for another station. Dave would soon transfer to Melanie's house and made things difficult for her. In November 2001, Dave caught Melanie and Julie together. Julie decided to leave Dave for Mel, but he refused to let her leave and physically assaulted her. Melanie found out and along with Cole, was able to get inside and apprehend Dave. After the incident, Julie left Bayside and asked Melanie to come with her, but Melanie decided not to and to let Julie figure out who she was by herself.

In early 2002, Melanie would support her sister following the arrest of Justin McGraw for a crime he committed as a juvenile. She continued to support her throughout her pregnancy and birth of her son, Adam McGraw. Around the same time, the police station got a new chief in Jeffrey Muntz, who took an immediate disliking to Melanie because of her 'attitude'. Muntz was a member of the old boys club and didn't agree with women being police officers. He also had an issue with Melanie being gay. He frequently reprimanded her, spoke down to her and forced her to change in front of the male officers. Melanie took all of this in her stride and was able to push through it. She also had a few brief relationships during this time.

In October 2002, Melanie became close friends with a rookie officer named Jamie Shapiro. Jamie was a young man who Melanie would soon learn was gay after seeing him in a gay bar. Melanie helped Jamie come to terms with his sexuality. However, after being outed to the rest of the house, Jamie faced constant harassment from his coworkers, that Muntz allowed to happen and even took part in. This lead to Jamie taking his own life in February 2003. In the aftermath, Melanie went on the warpath and got Muntz fired for his treatment, all whilst doing her best to keep Jamie's memory alive and support his grieving mother.

Shortly after Jamie's death, Melanie would also say goodbye to her sister Molly who left Bayside in June 2003 to move to Florida with her new, Spanish boyfriend, who many people (including Melanie) had initially assumed was only interested in Molly for a green card.

In late 2003, Melanie became involved in an undercover operation where she pretended to be a prostitute to help bust a local gang.

## 2004-2006: Dick's Death and Breakdown

In March 2004, Melanie because involved in a dramatic storyline involving her father, when he purchased a shipment of stolen goods from Joe Capriano. Though he didn't know the stock was stolen at first, he soon realised and was sucked in and threatened by Joe. Melanie was one of the officers tasked with investigating the stolen goods, having been trying to bring down Joe for a while. Joe taunted her about her father's involvement, warning her not to get too close to the case.

Melanie uncovered her father's involvement in May 2004 after Joe set him up to take the blame. Despite his best attempts to explain, Melanie made the heartbreaking decision to arrest him. She was torn by this decision and earned an earful from Michelle about it. On the lead up to Dick's trial, Melanie was asked to testify against her father. To cope with the pressure, she started drinking heavily. Dick ended up taking a plea deal so Melanie didn't have to testify, taking a 5 year sentence.

In August 2004, Dick was attacked in prison. He died in hospital with his family around him a few days later. Melanie was devastated by his death and both Michelle and Molly blamed her. She isolated herself from everyone around her, including her then girlfriend Dana Ortiz, who she broke up with. She started taking pills to numb her pain. When she was no longer able to get pills from doctors, she went to a local dealer and eventually she ended up crossing paths with Joe Capriano. Joe manipulated her, taunting her about her father's death and how low she'd sunk, whilst providing her with more drugs.

In January 2005, Melanie's co-worker and rookie officer Luke Garcia became suspicious of Melanie and shared his concerns with the newly instated chief, Cole. Cole didn't believe Luke at first, chastising him for talking badly about an established officer, but soon he too became suspicious and confronted Melanie. Melanie denied everything and tried to cover her tracks by kissing Cole. He pushed her away and found pills in her house, officially suspending her from duty and taking her badge and gun.

This didn't deter Melanie from being involved with Joe and she continued to play him. All attempts to get through to her by Cole and her family fell on deaf ears. It would then be revealed that Melanie wasn't as 'far gone' as people thought and was actually playing a dangerous game, manipulating Joe into thinking she was a junkie so that she could get him to implicate himself.

This all came to a head in April 2005, when Melanie received intel that a large shipment of drugs was being brought into the dock. Joe discovered Melanie's lies and held her hostage, drugging her into a trance-like state. Cole and Garcia soon learned of Melanie's plan when Michelle called them to Melanie's house for a wellness check after not hearing from her for several days. They rushed to the warehouse and were able to find Melanie. A confrontation ensued between the officers and Joe. In the confrontation, Melanie was able to get hold of a gun and threatened Joe, causing him to surrender. As he was about to be arrested, Joe made a comment implicating himself in Dick's death and Melanie, in a fit of rage shot him in the back of his head as he was turned around to surrender himself to Cole.

In the aftermath, there was an investigation into Melanie's conduct and though she was spared any jail time, in July 2005 she was officially fired from her job and had to undergo mandatory counselling. After the investigation was over, Melanie took some time out to go and visit Molly. She returned in October, 2005 with a new attitude and was ready to find a new lease on life.

## 2016: Return and Helping Michelle

Melanie made a surprise guest appearance in March, 2016 after Michelle ran away from her abusive boyfriend Mark. Michelle was hiding at Melanie's house when Mark showed up. Melanie refused to let him in threatened him. Afterwards Michelle confided in her about the relationship. During their conversation it was revealed that Melanie was still living with adopted daughter Sarah. She also mentioned to Michelle that she was dating again.

Melanie then went to drop Michelle off at the airport, not knowing that Mark was watching. Mark then went to Melanie's door and abducted Sarah. He called Michelle and Melanie, telling them to come to him or they'd never see Sarah again. Michelle and Melanie did as he asked. Mark traded Sarah and Michelle. Luckily Michelle was able to get away from him and Melanie was able to arrest Mark, revealing that she was working as a cop again.

After making sure Sarah was okay and Mark was safely in custody, Michelle and Melanie enjoyed a glass of wine at The Beach Hut before Melanie left Bayside once again.

## Trivia

* Melanie was the first, openly lesbian main character in The Bayside
* Her coming out storyline was incredibly controversial for the time it was released and Röhm received a lot of hate following the storyline
* Prior to her official coming out storyline in 1999, writer Angela Davies confirmed that "Melanie was supposed to be a out lesbian from the beginning, but it took almost a year for us to be able to convince the network to let us have an openly gay female regular."