Sunday 26 July 2009

Important warning for Aussie viewers

As expected, Out of the Blue's shocking Episode 62, which sees the murderer caught out, is now live on Ten's website and available to watch - a week before it airs on TV.

However, we're advising fans NOT to try and watch it online unless you want the outcome of the mystery to be spoiled. The front page of Ten's Out of the Blue website now explictly reveals who the killer is - with the identity revealed in the synopsis.

Additionally, all of the Australian TV guide synopsises we've seen for next week's episode also reveal who the killer is.

Our advice is to try to hold out until next weekend when it airs on TV, avoiding Ten's website and TV guides.

The BBC was also a nuisance for spoilery synopsises when they aired Out of the Blue last year. However, even they managed to be vague when it came to the murderer reveal episode.

Friday 24 July 2009

BBC axes Out of the Blue website

Bad news for fans of the BBC's Out of the Blue website. Without warning, they've got rid of the whole thing and replaced it with a basic page showing the episode synopsises and nothing else.

The site was never the greatest, since the BBC didn't bother to update it from about a week after the show launched and they decided to give up on Out of the Blue completely. However, it did have useful character biographies and an exclusive behind the scenes video featuring interviews with the cast.

Clips relating to Poppy and Peta from the video are still on Youtube courtesy of the petapoppy video channel, however the rest of the interviews may now be lost completely.

Ten targets Rescue: Special Ops

They've messed Out of the Blue around no end, and now Ten is also plotting against Rescue: Special Ops, the new channel Nine show from Julie McGauran (OOTB producer) and starring Katherine Hicks (Poppy Hammond).

As reported on TV Tonight today, Ten is extending its reality hit Australian Idol in order for it to finish at 8.40pm on Sundays, overlapping with Rescue: Special Ops by 10 minutes from August 9. The first episode of Rescue Special Ops premieres on August 2.

It is slightly frustrating to see that this new show could be under threat from the same source as Out of the Blue's Australian ratings problems. However, all is fair when it comes to TV channel rivalries and it's a lot more understandable than sabotaging your own show which Ten has appeared to do with Out of the Blue.

Will Rescue: Special Ops be a hit? Only time will tell...

Thursday 23 July 2009

Rescue: Special Ops airdate confirmed

Further to our last update, it's now been confirmed that Rescue: Special Ops will be launching on Sunday August 2 on channel Nine.

Use the Rescue: Special Ops tag below to look back at all of our updates on this new Aussie drama from Out of the Blue's producer Julie McGauran and starring Katherine Hicks (Poppy Hammond).

More on Rescue Special Ops:

> Nine trailer
> Nine press release

Wednesday 22 July 2009

Rescue: Special Ops latest

TV Tonight has another update on Julie McGauran (OOTB producer) and Katherine Hicks's (Poppy Hammond) new show Rescue Special Ops.

Apparently channel Nine has started running advertisements which indicate that it'll have a Sunday night slot on the network, probably at 8.30pm. No official start date has been announced yet, but it's currently being tipped to launch on August 2.

Coincidentally, August 2 will also be the day that the murderer revealed episode of Out of the Blue will finally air on Ten. Unless they change the slot or delay an episode again...

With both Out of the Blue and Rescue Special Ops now airing on the same day, it seems like Sunday nights are going to be the place to be for fantastic drama from Julie, Katherine and Southern Star!

Click here to watch Nine's trailer for Rescue Special Ops

Tuesday 21 July 2009

Watch our Out of the Blue clips

If you're not already a fan of our Youtube channel, there's never been a better time to check it out. Here's some of the recent clips from Aussie episodes that we've uploaded:

Tess thinks Daniel is the killer

Detective Wilson cracks the laptop code

Bec quizzed over her threatening email to Philby which referenced Jason's death

Jarrod and Bec become prime suspects

Detective Wilson fears Jason was also murdered by Philby's killer


Lucia accuses Daniel of being the killer

Daniel discovers human remains at Wattle Grove

We've also recently uploaded a couple of older clips following requests from fans:

Philby's funeral

Tracy shooting aftermath


More clips will be uploaded in the next few days. If you like what you see, why not use the clips to help spread the word about this great show.

Monday 20 July 2009

Aussie ratings: July 20

Episode 60 of Out of the Blue was watched by 323,000 viewers on Ten last night, a rise of 63,000 from the previous week.

The small increase can almost certainly be credited to the massive success of Masterchef on Ten. The show's final was also airing last night and it seems that people were tuning in early in preparation for the TV event of the year. The Simpsons, airing after Out of the Blue, also saw a rise in viewers.

The latest episode saw Bec revealing the secrets shared by Philby, Jason and herself - only to end up being charged with Philby's murder.

Following the pattern of the last couple of weeks, Episode 61 is already online and available to view on Ten's website. The dramatic edition sees a number of characters discovering who the real killer is.

As we've said on here many times, viewers themselves don't find out about the killer until Episode 62. At the moment it's looking like that mystery will be solved next week for some viewers - that is, those who are canny enough to realise that the website is a week ahead!

Friday 17 July 2009

Good news for Daisy Betts fans

Most fans of Daisy Betts (Peta Lee) are already aware that she recently starred in a new US drama series called Persons Unknown. However, up until now there's been little information about when it's going to air and on what network.

Not any more! It's finally been announced that the NBC network has picked up the rights to the 13-part series. Additionally, the Hollywood Reporter article isn't ruling out the green light being given for more episodes. It's still not clear when it's going to air though.

Persons Unknown tells the story of a group of strangers who wake up in a deserted town where they're being watched by surveillance cameras, with no recollection of how they ended up there. In order to escape, they have to solve a "surreal puzzle".

Want to know more? Check out this trailer on Youtube, courtesy of the lovedaisybetts channel.

Another show to watch out for

Lately we've updated a couple of times on Rescue Special Ops, the new Nine show from Out of the Blue's co-producer Julie McGauran and starring Katherine Hicks (Poppy Hammond). It's due to start next month.

Now there's another show to keep an eye on: Tangle, which comes from Out of the Blue's other main producer John Edwards. TV Tonight has reported that it's going to start on Showcase on October 1. Comparisons are already being made to John's smash-hit show Love My Way.

The 10-part show apparently focuses on "interconnected families and relationships". It'll air in an 8.30pm slot.

Check out the TV Tonight article for more information on the show.

Thursday 16 July 2009

Ten programmer comments on Out of the Blue

As expected, Part 2 of TV Tonight's interview with Ten programmer David Mott has gone live today and includes a rare insight into how the network regards Out of the Blue.

Unsurprisingly nothing earth-shattering has been said about the show and the response was quite blunt. The full quote is available on the website, however the main points of what was said are as follows:

  • Out of the Blue is PG-rated and, as such, cannot be paired with Neighbours on weekdays due to content restrictions. This, in Ten's view, justifies the poor scheduling.
  • The only reason Ten still airs the show despite low ratings is because it gives them local content credit.
  • Ten intends to show all 130 episodes (59 have aired in Australia so far).
  • "Clearly it won't be renewed," says Mott.
  • He also insists that Ten does invest in Australian content, namely Rush and Neighbours.
As with all TV Tonight articles, the piece has a comments section for those who wish to use it.

Wednesday 15 July 2009

Aussie update

Out of the Blue returned to Ten on Sunday with 260,000 viewers, rising up 16,000 from the figure it got when it last aired two weeks ago. Episode 59, which had already been available to watch online on Ten's website for a week, saw the police pressure increase on Bec and Jarrod - until Bec finally cracked and promised to reveal a massive secret she's been hiding.

Meanwhile, Ten's Out of the Blue website continues to be out of sync with the TV airings. Episode 60, which sees Bec reveal all, is now on there and available to watch - once again, before it's even aired on the channel. If this continues, the murderer reveal in Episode 62 will pop up online before it gets officially broadcast too.

Finally, keep an eye out on the TV Tonight blog over the next day or so. They've just done an interview with Ten's chief programming officer David Mott. The first part of the interview concentrates on Ten's new news show, but it's been promised that Part 2 will include some form of comment on Out of the Blue. This will be the first time that any comment has been made from Ten since the show launched at 10.30pm in November last year.

Thursday 9 July 2009

Petitions update

We haven't posted an update on the two petitions for a while, but both have been ticking over nicely with new signatures being added on a regular basis. Both now have over 300 signatures, with the Save Out of the Blue Petition having 305 and the Out of the Blue Second Series Petition having 302. Please take a couple of minutes and sign both if you haven't done so already!

Here's a selection from some of the recent comments:

Sarah Corbett, NSW: "I believe Out of the Blue is the best thing that's happened since Home and Away and I think it has real potential. I am also a full supporter of Poppy and Peta, finally a gay couple that isn't axed the first week."

Julie Hendley, Tunbridge Wells: "This is one of the best soaps I have seen. You really get involved with the characters, and care what happens to them."

H Taylor, Worcestershire: "Brilliant and compelling show. If something like Skins can be broadcast on a big channel over here in the UK, something like Out of the Blue would be wonderful in a good slot!"

Donna Douglas, Dorset: "Please keep Out of the Blue going as it is the best soap around."

Gemma Abbas, Cardiff: "Please commission a series 2. I absolutely love this show. I prefer this show much to my love of Home and Away & EastEnders."

Anonymous: "I'm an Aussie soap fan - always have been - since watching The Sullivans years ago, to The Young Doctors, A Country Practice, Sons and Daughters, Flying Doctors and the brilliant Prisoner Cell Block H! We have recently been given All Saints 'The New Aussie Soap', now gone. Headland 'The New Aussie Soap' also gone. Please don't get rid of Out of the Blue it's just too good to lose. It's by far more thrilling than Neighbours and Home and Away put together."

Keep the comments coming!

Don't forget to vote for Aidan Gillett and Bernard Curry in the Inside Soap Awards 2009!

Wednesday 8 July 2009

Award nominations for Aidan Gillett & Bernard Curry

Aidan Gillett (Daniel McManus) and Bernard Curry (Nate Perrett) have both been nominated for Inside Soap Awards in the UK for their respective roles in Home and Away.

You may remember that Aidan had a guest part in Home and Away earlier this year, playing the evil Robert Cruze in a sinister rape plotline involving Joey Collins (Kate Bell).

Meanwhile, after completing filming as Peta's brother on Out of the Blue, Bernard landed the regular role of Hugo Austin on the show and he's still around in Summer Bay.

Now Aidan has been nominated for the Best Bad Boy award at this year's ISAs. The full nominees for this category are as follows:

Gray O'Brien (Tony Gordon, Coronation Street)
Jack P Shepherd (David Platt, Coronation Street)
John Altman (Nick Cotton, EastEnders)
Larry Lamb (Archie Mitchell, EastEnders)
Jeff Hordley (Cain Dingle, Emmerdale)
Danny Miller (Aaron Livesy, Emmerdale)
Jamie Lomas (Warren Fox, Hollyoaks)
Barry Sloane (Niall Rafferty, Hollyoaks)
Aidan Gillett (Robert Cruze, Home and Away)
Luke Jacobz (Angelo Rosetta, Home and Away)
Stefan Dennis (Paul Robinson, Neighbours)
Fletcher Humphrys (Guy Sykes, Neighbours)

Meanwhile, Bernard has been nominated for the Best Newcomer award. The full nominees for this category are as follows:

Katy Cavanagh (Julie Carp, Coronation Street)
Craig Gazey (Graeme Proctor, Coronation Street)
Lauren Crace (Danielle Jones, EastEnders)
Marc Elliott (Syed Masood, EastEnders)
Danny Miller (Aaron Livesy, Emmerdale)
Lyndon Ogbourne (Nathan Wylde, Emmerdale)
Darren John Langford (Spencer, Hollyoaks)
Jorgie Porter (Theresa McQueen, Hollyoaks)
Rebecca Breeds (Ruby Buckton, Home and Away)
Bernard Curry (Hugo Austin, Home and Away)
Morgan Baker (Callum Jones, Neighbours)
Margot Robbie (Donna Freedman, Neighbours)

Well done to both!

Click here to vote for Aidan and Bernard in the Inside Soap Awards 2009!



Rescue: Special Ops update

Southern Star's new show Rescue: Special Ops is officially on the way.

If you didn't see our last update on this new Aussie drama, you won't know that it's being brought to us by Julie McGauran, who was one of Out of the Blue's main producers. The other big connection to the show is that Katherine Hicks (Poppy Hammond) is in the main cast.

TV Tonight has now reported that the Australian media has been invited to watch the first episode this coming Thursday - an indication that it could hit the airwaves very soon.

With Out of the Blue, Julie helped to create one of the best dramas we've seen in a long time. We're confident this will be well worth a watch too!

Sunday 5 July 2009

Ten puts episode 59 online

As previously discussed on here, Ten didn't bother to air Out of the Blue this week for one reason or another, meaning that Episode 59 will be on next Sunday instead.

However, it seems that whoever uploads the episodes onto Ten's website is unaware that the show wasn't on this week. Episode 59 has been uploaded to the Out of the Blue homepage and, at the time of us writing this, is available to watch - a week before it's supposed to be on TV.

A similar thing happened back when the schedule changed in January. Though the show was relegated to once a week, episodes continued to be uploaded onto the site multiple times per week - corresponding to the previous four-times-a-week schedule. This meant that the Out of the Blue website ended up being way ahead of the TV airings - though somebody eventually realised the error and things went back to normal.

To add to the sense of confusion, we've had a comment from a viewer who was given an email alert from Ten reminding them to watch today - despite the fact that the show wasn't on! Thank you to the person who told us about this.

Keep visiting for more updates!

Friday 3 July 2009

More on the AWGIE nomination

Earlier this week we reported the news that Out of the Blue had received a nomination in the 42nd AWGIE Awards, organised by the Australian Writers' Guild.

Now it's time to take a closer look at the competition the show faces in the Television Serial category...

As we told you before, Episode 4 of the show is the one which has received the nomination. Written by Sam Meikle, it sees the Manly community rocked by the news of Philby's shock death. As well as expressing grief for their lost friend, a number of the group of reunited schoolfriends also have reason to be concerned about their whereabouts on the night of the tragedy. The episode ends with a shock - as Detective Wilson arrives at the cafe and announces that the death wasn't an accident - it was murder - setting the scene for the compelling mystery that follows.

Episodes of fellow Aussie soaps Neighbours and Home and Away have also been nominated in the same category. But which ones?

Neighbours gets two nominations. The first is for Episode 5474. Written by John Davies, the episode premiered on Australian television in June 2008. It featured a shock meltdown for bipolar character Sam (Simone Buchanan), causing concern for Ramsay Street's residents.

The second nomination for Neighbours is for Episode 5486. Written by Anthony Morris, it also premiered on Australian television in June 2008. The dramatic episode saw many of the characters battling to survive in a bushfire.

Home and Away's nomination is for Episode 4649. Written by Sean Nash, it premiered on Australian television in June 2008. It saw Kane (Sam Atwell) return to Summer Bay with a big favour to ask.

Sam has already won AWGIE awards on two previous occasions for his work on Home and Away. Can he win a third time?

We'll be providing some clips from Out of the Blue Episode 4 soon to refresh your memory further!

Thursday 2 July 2009

Aussie scheduling update

Out of the Blue will not air this coming Sunday (July 5) on Ten in Australia because they've decided to show Sports Tonight in the 5.30pm slot instead.

According to TV Tonight, things will be back to normal for the show a week later on July 12th.

Of course, this means that Aussie fans have to wait even longer to find out who killed Philby - the mystery that was first presented to them back in November last year! If the show had been broadcast as intended with five episodes per week, it would be long over by now.

The most recent episode to air in Australia was episode 58. Viewers finally discover who killed Philby in episode 62 - which will now air on August 2 barring any more schedule changes.