Out of the Blue Source

Out of the Blue back in Ten's schedule

2009-10-05T20:25:00.002+01:00

After more than a month off Australian screens, Out of the Blue is returning to Ten.

From this week, viewers can catch up with the latest goings-on in Manly in a new 12pm (midday) Saturday slot. They will be showing double episodes which means getting through the action more quickly than before.

According to TV guides, Ten will be picking up where they left off, meaning that Episodes 68 and 69 will be on this Saturday. These episodes have already been uploaded onto Ten's website but later disappeared.

For those who've forgotten, the last thing that happened on Australian screens was Marcus threatening Poppy.

Ten drops Out of the Blue from Sundays

2009-09-02T23:40:00.002+01:00

TV Tonight is reporting that Ten has dropped Out of the Blue from its Sunday schedule.

The last time we updated on the ratings, the show had hit an unexpected high of 354,000, but since then the figures have started to drop again and last Sunday's episode was seen by only 216,000.

Ten's whole schedule underperformed on Sunday night and it now seems that its bosses have decided that big shows like Australian Idol need a better lead-in. Don't Forget The Lyrics will now take Out of the Blue's place in the schedule.

As we've said many times before (and Ten has admitted), the only reason the show stayed on air in Australia for so long was because of the local content credit Ten received for showing it. It's unclear whether the remaining episodes will ever be broadcast in Australia, but we'll keep you posted as we hear anything.

Over the next few days, our YouTube channel will continue to be updated with the most recent clips aired in Australia. The last clips we uploaded were the murderer reveal in full. Once it's clear what Ten plans to do about the show, a decision will be made about the future of the channel and whether clips unaired in Australia will be posted.

Aussie ratings: The word of mouth effect?

2009-08-10T00:05:00.003+01:00

The latest on the ratings for Out of the Blue on Ten in Australia...

On Sunday 26th July, Episode 61 was watched by 235,000 viewers. It saw the murder mystery come to a dramatic climax as Bec appeared to be framed for the crime, suspicion grew among the characters and Daniel and Detective Wilson finally discovered who the real killer was...

On Sunday 2 August, Episode 62 was watched by 292,000 viewers. This installment saw the murderer confess to everything after being caught out, reveal some earth-shattering secrets, get chased by the police and fall off a cliff. Talk about a bad day!

On Sunday 9 August (yesterday), Episode 63 was watched by 354,000 viewers - an increase of 62,000 week-on-week and also the highest figure the show has had since it moved to Sundays back in January. The previous Sunday high was 339,000 on June 21.

Anyone who knows much about Aussie ratings will know that the figures Out of the Blue is getting mean it's still extremely far from being a hit. However, the fact that the show can pick up viewers by word of mouth alone like this does say something about its quality. Also, Neighbours often drops below 700,000 for some of its episodes and that has TV ads, magazine and newspaper promotion, a regular slot, 5 episodes a week and a history spanning more than 20 years. Plus, it doesn't have Ten programmers coming out to declare that they're only broadcasting the show because they have to.

Of course, it wouldn't be a surprise if the ratings fell again over the next few weeks as the crippling effect of no promotion and ridiculous scheduling takes effect again. But still, we can't help but wonder - how much better would Out of the Blue be doing if it was given a decent slot and treatment???

Out of the Blue is all over for Fiver fans!

2009-08-08T16:53:00.002+01:00

Fiver's screenings of Out of the Blue in the UK finally came to an end on Wednesday, meaning that the twists, turns, shocks and great storylines are now all over for the 'second generation' of British viewers.

With the show having been relegated to an early morning slot weeks earlier, it would have been easy for it to finish without anybody noticing or caring. However, the dramatic finale has once again left viewers desperate for more.

Since Wednesday, there's been a flurry of new signatures on the Save Out of the Blue Petition and Out of the Blue Second Series Petition, and their totals now stand at 325 and 432 respectively. If you haven't yet signed the petitions, please do so as it only takes a couple of minutes to add your support and it certainly can't do any harm. Additionally, if you have any family members or friends who enjoyed the show, encourage them to sign too!

Another thing worth doing is contacting the BBC to complain about their treatment of Out of the Blue as it was their fault that the show never built up an audience last year and the reason that there currently won't be a second series for the dramatic cliffhanger of episode 130 to be resolved.

The many comments on the petitions are worth a read because they demonstrate just how this show managed to grab viewers and get them completely hooked, even if only a few people were watching. However, Australian readers should be aware that the petition comments do contain spoilers.

Meanwhile, people have even been writing in to Teletext to find out what's going on with the show. Read the comments here.

Fans may now be split on whether it is worth keeping up the fight for more Out of the Blue. Certainly, it would be very surprising if more episodes were commissioned. However, it takes so little time to make your voice heard to the people who make the decisions, so here at this blog we're still encouraging people to do what they can.

Important links:

> Sign the Save Out of the Blue Petition

> Sign the Out of the Blue Second Series Petition

> Complain to the BBC

> Contact Five/Fiver to praise Out of the Blue

Charlotte Gregg in Packed To The Rafters

2009-08-01T23:57:00.001+01:00

Charlotte Gregg (Tracy O'Donnell) is the latest Out of the Blue star to land a high-profile role on Australian television.

She'll be making a guest appearance in the next episode of hit comedy show Packed To The Rafters, which airs on the Seven network on Tuesday.

The news was revealed on Twitter by Charlotte's partner, Australian Idol winner Wes Carr. Apparently they'll both be "in the middle of Australia somewhere" when the episode airs, so they're looking for someone to tape it for them.

Meanwhile, Wes also used Twitter to plug this Sunday's episode of Out of the Blue, which sees the murderer finally revealed.

Samara Weaving rocks up in Summer Bay

2009-08-01T23:55:00.002+01:00

Samara Weaving's (Kirsten Mulroney) arrival in Home and Away is finally here... for viewers in Australia, at least.

Her character Indigo is now on screens down under, but viewers in the UK will have to wait a little longer than usual as Five has now started a break from the show to avoid their transmissions getting any closer to those in Australia.

For now, British fans will have to make do with a picture from the What's On TV website. They reveal that Indigo is an unhappy teen who feels cut off from her friends back home - mainly because her mobile phone was confiscated by her parents following an unfortunate 500 dollar bill.

Meanwhile, Samara has given an interview to the Herald Sun, in which she discusses her acting ambitions, family life and famous uncle Hugo Weaving.

We first revealed Samara's new role in March. Her stint will run for five weeks.

Rescue Special Ops launch week round-up

2009-08-01T23:50:00.003+01:00

It's been a big week this week for Rescue Special Ops ahead of its launch on the Nine network tomorrow (Sunday). As we've said many times now on this blog, it's the big new show from Julie McGauran (OOTB producer), which stars Katherine Hicks (Poppy Hammond).

Over the past week there's been plenty of coverage and interviews in the Australian media which have done a great job of promoting the show.

Here's some of the highlights:

Katherine Hicks was among the cast members who attended a launch party for the show this week. At the bash, Nine's head of drama paid tribute to the work of Julie McGauran.
The TV Tonight blog gave the show a very positive review, describing it as a "confidently woven piece that shines best in the danger zone".
The Sydney Morning Herald also praised Rescue Special Ops in a review, describing the first episode as "beautifully assembled" and crediting the "fine work of creator-writers Sarah Smith and Julie McGauran".
Show star Les Hill described Rescue Special Ops as "more real" than other shows on TV in an interview with Nine News.
Hill also gave interviews to The Herald and the Herald Sun.
Finally, other stars including Peter Phelps, Andrew Lees and Daniel Amalm gave their own promotional interviews for the show.

Rescue Special Ops launches on Sunday at 8.30pm on Nine.

Important warning for Aussie viewers

2009-07-26T17:45:00.002+01:00

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.

BBC axes Out of the Blue website

2009-07-24T20:30:00.004+01:00

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

2009-07-24T20:11:00.002+01:00

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...

Rescue: Special Ops airdate confirmed

2009-07-23T08:32:00.004+01:00

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

Rescue: Special Ops latest

2009-07-22T21:03:00.002+01:00

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

Watch our Out of the Blue clips

2009-07-21T23:56:00.003+01:00

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.

Aussie ratings: July 20

2009-07-20T23:20:00.003+01:00

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!

Good news for Daisy Betts fans

2009-07-17T20:44:00.002+01:00

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

2009-07-17T20:33:00.002+01:00

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.

Ten programmer comments on Out of the Blue

2009-07-16T00:01:00.003+01:00

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.

Aussie update

2009-07-15T09:31:00.002+01:00

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.

Petitions update

2009-07-09T10:12:00.002+01:00

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!

Award nominations for Aidan Gillett & Bernard Curry

2009-07-08T16:13:00.004+01:00

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

2009-07-08T00:24:00.003+01:00

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!

Ten puts episode 59 online

2009-07-05T15:24:00.003+01:00

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!

More on the AWGIE nomination

2009-07-03T11:30:00.004+01:00

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!

Aussie scheduling update

2009-07-02T23:56:00.003+01:00

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.

Out of the Blue gets AWGIE nomination

2009-06-29T17:04:00.003+01:00

Out of the Blue has received a nomination in the 42nd AWGIE Awards, organised by the Australian Writers' Guild.

Episode 4 of the show (written by Sam Meikle), which features the immediate fall-out from Philby's murder, is nominated in the Television Serial category alongside two episodes of Neighbours (5474 & 5486) and one episode of Home & Away (4649).

The winner will be revealed on August 28th.

Read more here.

Aussie ratings: June 28

2009-06-29T17:01:00.002+01:00

As predicted on here, there was a decline in the Out of the Blue ratings in Australia last night following the unexpectedly high figure of 339,000 the previous week - however the drop was bigger than we anticipated.

Episode 58 was watched by 244,000 viewers - a drop of 95,000 from the previous week and a 10.3% share of the audience.

Hopefully things will pick up as Ten approaches the stunning conclusion to the murder mystery.

Thoughts on the Aussie ratings

2009-06-26T17:05:00.002+01:00

Unless there has been some promotion for the show that we haven't spotted, the figure of 339,000 for Sunday's episode of Out of the Blue on Ten is a strong indication that people are starting to actually talk about the show and create more interest in it.

The preceding episode had been pretty amazing - with the heat increasing on some of the suspects in the murder investigation and then ending with Daniel's gruesome discovery of a mystery corpse. Could it have been this that got people recommending the show to friends at last?

The next episode, which more people tuned in for, was more low-key with Gabby and the gang visiting Jason's parents to tell them about Detective Wilson's theory. For that reason, it's probable that the ratings may fall again this coming Sunday - though perhaps a few of the floating viewers saw enough to keep them interested.

Alternatively, it could simply be the case that people who tuned out because (due to Ten's ridiculous scheduling) they didn't want to wait six months to find out who the murderer was are finally tuning back in now that the storyline is reaching a conclusion.

Either way, hopefully it bodes well for the murderer reveal episode getting more of a respectable figure when it airs next month. Fans of the show can help by continuing to chat about it to friends, family and on the internet in order to get those figures rising.

However, what Out of the Blue really needs is media backing in Australia - something which has been sadly lacking despite the fact that a large number of talented Australians have been treated badly due to the various scheduling mishaps the show has suffered. Our advice for Aussie fans is to get writing to newspapers and magazines, particularly letters pages, to talk about your interest in this great show.

Aussie ratings: June 21

2009-06-22T16:37:00.003+01:00

Out of the Blue saw an unexpected rise in the ratings in Australia yesterday, pulling in 339,000 viewers in the usual 5.30pm slot.

While still far from fantastic for the timeslot, it was a rise of 54,000 viewers from the previous week and also the highest figure (by far) that the show has had since January, when the four nights a week 10.30pm airings stopped.

The episode saw Marcus's deceit revealed at last and Jason's parents learning about the reopening of the investigation into his death.

Sad news for Fiver fans

2009-06-22T16:31:00.002+01:00

Sadly, Friday 26th June will be the last time that Out of the Blue airs in the afternoons on Fiver. For the short time that the show remains on the air, it will play out in the early morning 6.45am slot only.

The show's Demand Five page is likely to remain in tact for the rest of the episodes, however fans using this service have experienced many problems in recent weeks so it could be an erratic experience for them.

What a shame that such a fantastic finale for the show will be watched by early risers only! Hopefully the dedicated fans the show has built up will still be able to watch in either of the forms available.

New role for Renai Caruso

2009-06-15T09:05:00.004+01:00

Renai Caruso (Bec Quilter) has landed a new role in the Aussie drama Satisfaction, which airs on the Showcase network.

For those who don't know, Satisfaction follows a group of women who work in an upmarket city brothel and explores how they balance their personal and professional commitments.

Renai will play the character of Tess, a personal assistant who is looking for a career change. She'll be appearing in the forthcoming third season, which is currently filming in Melbourne and expected to air in Australia from December.

Satisfaction has been a hit since launching down under in 2007. Among its main cast is Madeleine West, who played Dee Bliss in Neighbours.

Read more about season three here.

Aussie ratings: June 7 & 14

2009-06-15T00:15:00.002+01:00

Time for another ratings update. On Sunday, June 7, along with other shows Out of the Blue saw a decline in viewers due to the long weekend. Episode 55, which saw Detective Wilson cracking Philby's laptop code and finding a shocking email from Bec, was watched by 224,000 viewers, a fall of 71,000 from the previous week.

Things were more or less back to normal for the most recent installment. Episode 56, which saw Bec quizzed over her email threat, was seen by 285,000 viewers, a 10.8% share of the audience.

Next week's episode also focuses on the show's many mysteries as Detective Wilson goes public with his latest theory: Was Jason Connors killed by the same person who murdered Philby?

Keep in touch with us

2009-06-13T20:23:00.002+01:00

We always like to hear from Out of the Blue fans from all over the world. As some of you have already noticed and taken advantage of, you can respond to any of our entries using the comments feature below each one. You don't have to sign up for anything to do so - it's possible to comment anonymously.

If you want to send us a private message, email us at outoftheblueblog@gmail.com and we'll get back to you.

You can also now get in touch with us on Twitter. Simply click here to visit our page. We'll be using the service as a companion to the blog, so updates on the show will be posted on there and we'll also chat to fans and followers. If you have a Twitter account, please show your support by logging onto our page and clicking "Follow". If you don't have one and don't wish to join, simply bookmark the page and keep checking back - all of our updates are available to all either way.

Thanks for visiting and please carry on supporting Out of the Blue.

Fiver schedule change

2009-06-13T20:18:00.001+01:00

Another slight change to the Fiver schedule from next week. Sophia's Diary is out of the schedule, which means Out of the Blue now starts five minutes earlier in the afternoon - at 4.00pm. Fiver+1 is obviously affected by this too, so the new time on there is 5.00pm.

Wes Carr's Fearless video

2009-06-10T16:42:00.002+01:00

You've seen the trailer, but now watch the full video for Wes Carr's new song Fearless, which features some of your favourite Out of the Blue cast members...

You can also go behind the scenes to the making of the video. Wes thanks Ryan Johnson (Stavva Jones), Clayton Watson (Jarrod O'Donnell) and his girlfriend Charlotte Gregg (Tracy O'Donnell) at the end of this clip...

Compare the openings!

2009-06-07T23:30:00.001+01:00

It's been known for a while that Out of the Blue has different opening titles for both the UK and Australia, but up until recently only the British ones were available for international viewing online.

However, the Australian ones have finally turned up on Youtube, allowing UK fans to view them for the first time. Rather than focusing on shots of Sydney and close-ups of the cast like the UK opening, the Australian version contains more fast-paced clips, fun and action.

Which is better? Watch both versions below and decide for yourself.

UK Opening

Australian Opening

And finally...

Here's our own attempt at some Out of the Blue opening credits, in the style of US sitcom Friends. Enjoy... (Warning: This clip contains a wedding spoiler unseen on both Fiver and Ten.)

Aussie ratings: May 31

2009-06-01T08:00:00.000+01:00

Episode 55 of Out of the Blue was watched by 295,000 viewers in Australia last night, up 25,000 from last week but still down on the 319,000 who tuned in for Episode 52 a few weeks back.

Last night's episode saw the aftermath of Peta's boating accident and Detective Wilson finally cracking the code to Philby's laptop before discovering a threatening email.

Next week sees the sender of the email being interrogated and Wilson considering new possibilties for the scope of the murder case.

Cast reunite in Wes Carr video

2009-05-31T00:07:00.000+01:00

It's always great to hear about what the Out of the Blue cast are up to these days, but the latest update is particularly exciting as it sees many of the gang involved in the same thing!

Yep, Australian Idol winner Wes Carr has some special recruits for the video to his new song Fearless. Alongside his partner Charlotte Gregg (Tracy O'Donnell), Ryan Johnson (Stavva Jones), Clayton Watson (Jarrod O'Donnell) and Sophie Katinis (Gabby West) also appear.

The full video hasn't been released yet, but Youtube has a 30-second trailer in which both Ryan and Clayton can be seen. Watch it below:

More good news is that the video has given the show its first mainstream media mention for months. In an article headlined "Wes Carr rings in the favours", The Daily Telegraph writes:

"Vince Colosimo, Pia Miranda and Matt Newton all appear in the clip, as does Carr's actress girlfriend Charlotte Gregg.

"Gregg is best known for appearing on Ten's series Out Of The Blue, and many of the cast can be seen in the clip, including Clayton Watson, Sophie Katinis and Ryan Johnson."

We'll let you know when we find the full video.

Pacific update

2009-05-30T23:42:00.007+01:00

The Pacific is a forthcoming Australian-filmed mini-series which was made before Out of the Blue but still hasn't hit the airwaves. Among its cast of well-known faces from Aussie drama are Aidan Gillett (Daniel McManus) and Zoe Carides (Pia Jones).

TV Tonight reported this week that the show isn't expected to premiere until 2010 but will air across the globe, in territories including the US, UK, Germany and France.

Aidan has confirmed to fans on Facebook that he has a small role in the first episode and really enjoyed being involved in the project.

From the creators of Band of Brothers, The Pacific will air in 10 parts and tell the story of three Marines during America's battle with the Japanese in World War II.

Aussie ratings update

2009-05-30T23:37:00.002+01:00

The last time we updated on Out of the Blue's Aussie ratings, the show had achieved its best figure in a long while by pulling in 319,000 viewers on May 1o.

Sadly, since then, ratings have decreased a little bit again - with Episode 53 being watched by 278,000 on May 17 and Episode 54 watched by 270,000.

From this point onwards, pretty much all of the episodes focus on the murder mystery in some form until the truth comes out, so there won't be the problem of weeks passing by for Aussie viewers without it being mentioned. But, some will argue that airing just one episode a week is still a big disadvantage for a show that is intended to be viewed multiple times each week.

Obviously it'd be great if the show could build its audience between now and Episode 62, which is when the murderer is revealed. Whether it does remains to be seen...

New project for Julie McGauran, Katherine Hicks

2009-05-17T00:01:00.002+01:00

Some interesting news which has just come out in Australia: Out of the Blue's co-producer Julie McGauran is taking charge of a new Sydney-based drama series called RESCUE Special Ops. If that's not exciting enough, Katherine Hicks (Poppy Hammond) is in the main cast.

Apparently filming is already underway. It's a 13-part show and it's going to be airing on Nine, home of Australia's top TV show Underbelly.

Also in the cast is Les Hill (Underbelly), Libby Tanner (Scorched, Headland), Peter Phelps (Underbelly), Daniel Amalm (Two Fists, One Heart) and Gigi Edgley (The Starter Wife).

Lots more details about the show are on the TV Tonight blog so log on to there for more. Fingers crossed it'll be a hit.

Storyline teasers for Aussie viewers

2009-05-14T00:05:00.001+01:00

A comment on one of our posts below requested some storyline teasers for forthcoming episodes. We'll start by doing this for Australia and see how it goes, however if you're desperate for some for the country you're living in, simply comment and let us know where you're from and whereabout in the storyline you are (try to be vague to avoid spoiling anyone watching at different paces). According to the Southern Star website, Out of the Blue has aired/is airing in 54 territories, so it's hard for us to keep track of them all!

To avoid spoiling anyone, we've added our story teasers in a separate post and backdated it to January, so anybody who doesn't want to see them doesn't have to.

Whether you read them is of course up to you. For some people, the appeal of Out of the Blue is never having a clue what happens next - quite easy given the lack of publicity/promotion.

However, our teasers give a glimpse of some stuff from the future without revealing any names or too much detail - we're giving a little away, but not a lot. With Out of the Blue airing so slowly in Australia, perhaps you will enjoy whetting your appetite for the future episodes.

To read the teasers, click here - and feel free to discuss them or give any feedback using the comments section.

It's fair to say that Out of the Blue has provoked strong feelings from people who have given it a chance in Australia, but the magic is that they haven't even seen the show at its best yet. Stay tuned...

Demand Five back in business

2009-05-13T15:50:00.003+01:00

There's been a bit of concern about Out of the Blue's future on Demand Five over the past couple of days following a delay in getting the most recent episodes online. Fortunately, today this has been rectified and Monday and Tuesday's episodes are now online and available to watch for UK fans as usual.

Meanwhile, Aussie fans shouldn't forget that they can also watch Out of the Blue any time they like on Ten's website. Simply click here. Usually they have the most recent 3-4 episodes on there, but at the moment there's only one - the episode which aired in Australia on Sunday night.

So, whether you're a British or Australian fan of Out of the Blue, regardless of scheduling mishaps or general poor treatment, it's still always possible to catch up with the show on the internet.

Latest updates

2009-05-11T00:02:00.005+01:00

The first week of Out of the Blue's new arrangement on Fiver has been a bit of a fiasco. Fans on Facebook have reported that the 6.45am slot has become a free-for-all, with nobody aware of what episode is supposed to be airing in that slot. It was originally thought that the show's 2 airings each day would now be the same episode, but 6.45am has even seen mad stuff like the same episode airing two days in a row. Now it's back being the repeat, so the first chance to see each episode on Fiver is in the 4.05pm slot... for now anyway.

As always, fans can watch on Demand Five but that's been erratic too, with dates not corresponding to episodes correctly and an incorrect synopsis being put up from a future episode which gave lots away. Let's hope these teething problems will soon be over. Fortunately, the 4.05pm slot hasn't seen any issues, and that's when most fans will be watching.

In other news, Aussie ratings fans will be interested to hear that Episode 52 pulled in 319,000 viewers this week, ranking 29th for the day. That's a rise of 52,000 from last week and a rise of 90,000 from what it had two weeks ago. Additionally, it's the highest figure that it's managed since being taken out of its 10.30pm slot in January. Remember that at 10.30pm it used to average around 335,000 but was showing strong signs of growth (coming close to the 400,000 mark) before Ten got rid.

The figure still isn't great for the timeslot, but given the uniquely crap position Out of the Blue has been put in on Ten, any rise in figures is probably a feat in itself. Let's hope it can keep it up - Aussie fans are, as always, encouraged to keep spreading the word about the show. Our Youtube videos may help! Just click the links on the right hand side of the page.

Don't forget...

2009-05-05T07:49:00.004+01:00

Just a reminder to UK fans that Out of the Blue debuts in its new slot on Fiver today, with episode 66 airing at 4.05pm. Those with access to Fiver+1 also have the opportunity to watch the episode at 5.05pm.

The 6.45am (7.45am on +1) slot remains unchanged, however it will now be the first time each episode airs each day rather than being the catch-up repeat.

All in all, that means that viewers still have four opportunities to catch Out of the Blue on TV each day. If that's not enough, each episode is put up on Demand Five every day. Right now, episode 66 is already up on there - incorrectly labelled 'Monday 4 May' (no episode aired yesterday) and with an incorrect and very spoilery summary from a future episode. Looks like the move has caused a couple of teething problems.

It's probably fair to say that those who have stuck with the show and watched last week's stunning reveal episodes are hooked. The fresh comments on the petitions and elsewhere online reflect this. We just hope that the move doesn't cause too much disruption for those who are enjoying the show. There's another great storyline about to kick off that Fiver viewers won't want to miss out on...

Gyton Grantley's Logie win

2009-05-04T00:14:00.002+01:00

Congratulations to Gyton Grantley, who won the Most Outstanding Actor award at the Logies in Australia on Sunday night. He scored the gong for his role as Carl Williams on Underbelly.

In case you don't remember, he played the small part of Alex, the geeky reunion video guy, in the early episodes of Out of the Blue. He's also worked with various cast members in the past on other projects.

Meanwhile, Sunday also meant the usual once-a-week scrap of Out of the Blue for the show's Australian fans. Episode 51, which featured Marcus scheming against Poppy and Peta, and Jarrod appearing to shoot Tiger, was watched by 267,000 viewers. That's a rise of 38,000 from last week but still, sadly, nothing to be proud of...

More reaction to last night

2009-04-29T23:52:00.003+01:00

Well the aftermath of last night's murderer reveal is certainly making waves among the show's characters, but what about the show's Fiver fans? Here's some more responses that we've found online. As usual, it's close to impossible to find any criticism of the show from those who actually take the time to watch it.

Supersoapgirl, on Digital Spy: "I've been really shocked by just how good this is when you get into it. I've only been watching since it started on Fiver but now I'm hooked! It'll be interesting to see how it progresses now the mystery is over. It's a shame it hasn't been recommissioned as I think it had a lot of potential."

misspeg, on Digital Spy: "They really need to rethink recommissioning it. [...] I think they should keep an eye on viewing figures towards the end of the series and advertise it more! If they'd advertised some of the more recent storylines then I think more people might have picked up on it and thought OH maybe this is getting better."

Pierced Musie, on Back to the Bay: "Wow... the acting completely put some of the Home and Away cast to shame. [...] Awesome moments."

Luke, petition supporter: "I can't believe I missed this fantastic soap on the Beeb! I really hope Five recommission another series!"

Ruth, petition supporter: "It's the best show in a long time."

Sam, petition supporter: "Please please add another series! This is a great show, but it was NEVER marketed properly so most of my friends who love Home and Away, and who would have loved this show, never watched it!"

As usual, we encourage anyone who feels the same way to express their views directly (but politely) to the people who count - the BBC, Five and Ten. Emails are great too but bear in mind that physical letters often show more passion/commitment because they take a little bit more effort.

Thanks for reading the blog and keep visiting.

Fiver viewers find out who the murderer is!

2009-04-28T23:35:00.003+01:00

Well tonight one of the most thrilling episodes in Out of the Blue history aired on Fiver. As we have Australian readers who haven't seen it yet we won't reveal anything, except to say that the show's fresh lot of UK fans finally got a chance to find out who killed Philby... and why.

With fantastically acted scenes and compelling and shocking writing that brought together all of the loose ends and mysteries of the first 60 episodes, it's no surprise that the show is getting high praise once again from a small but dedicated fanbase. Here's what some new viewers have had to say (remember this is spoiler free).

Hazel, on Facebook: "WOW!!!! That was so good!! I just watched Friday, Monday and Tuesday's in a row and it was so exciting [...] I can't believe they're not making another series of this, it's soooooo good! Please tell me it remains as good? I'm assuming it does since I still loved watching even when we thought Ray was the murderer."

LukeCageH4H, on Digital Spy: "I just watched tonight's episode and all I can say is holy cow!!! I have never been so impressed with a soap. It is such a shame it has been cancelled. Let's hope Fiver make a second run."

ukdiva23, on Digital Spy: "I'm enjoying it so far, can't believe I missed it first time round."

misspeg, on Digital Spy: "Top class television! I can't believe how good the show is, it's disappointing it hasn't been a success because I think once you get over the initial 'new show, new characters' thing, the characters become easy to get to know and enjoy watching. I started watching near the beginning and turned off again, I recently went back to watching it so I rewatched the episodes I could on Demand Five and now I'm sat here a couple of weeks later wishing it didn't have to end."

It could have all been so different...

A year ago today...

2009-04-28T10:05:00.004+01:00

Well it's been one year since Out of the Blue launched on BBC One on April 28, 2008. As most people will know, it made a decent debut with 1.2m viewers but steadily dropped to around 600,000 viewers over the next nine days, prompting the BBC to shift it to BBC Two and thus killing the show off from pretty much day one.

One year on, and the impact of that decision is still being felt. Many people regard Out of the Blue as a turkey, when in fact it was a million times better than Neighbours and Home and Away and just needed a fair chance to prove itself.

The loss of the BBC's backing also put Australia's Ten network off the show, perhaps partly due to financial reasons (ie reluctance to take over financial responsibility for the series if it became popular). For that reason, we've seen appalling timeslots and abysmal treatment in Australia, with the show now running just once a week at 5.30pm Sundays despite building up a decent fanbase at 10.30pm which was growing all the time.

The latest news about the show is that, after this week's murder-related bombshells, it's being taken out of its 7.30pm slot on Fiver. From next week, the schedule will be as follows:

Fiver
6.45am Out of the Blue
4.05pm Out of the Blue

Fiver+1
7.45am Out of the Blue
5.05pm Out of the Blue

This new schedule won't come into effect properly until Tuesday 5th May. On Monday 4th, only the 6.45am showing will air - a repeat of Friday's episode. The logic behind it seems to be that, from Tuesday, the two showings will be the same episode each day.

Finally, we haven't updated on the Aussie ratings for a while because it's just been more of the same. However, here's how the show has been doing recently:

April 13
Episode 48: 239,000

April 20
Episode 49: 262,000

April 27
Episode 50: 221,000 according to OzTam figures, 229,000 according to Ten figures.

With 80 episodes left to air on Ten, who knows how long this situation is going to be allowed to play out for. As has been stated before, it'd be a huge surprise if Ten got rid of the show altogether as they need it for local drama points. To get these points, the show must air between 5.00pm and 11.00pm.

You would think that it would make more sense for them to play the episodes out more quickly to avoid Out of the Blue sticking around forever. However, airing it more frequently could see the show creating the momentum and buzz that it was successfully building up at 10.30pm - a situation that Ten seems determined to avoid. As always, we'll keep you informed of any updates.

No matter what the figures say, we know that Out of the Blue is a fantastic programme with great talent involved in every aspect of the show. Nobody who has given the show a fair chance - whether in the UK or Australia - has a bad word to say about it. The problem lies with poor promotion and lack of faith from TV networks who should know better.

All we can do as fans, especially those in Australia where there are still many episodes left to run (containing some truly fantastic moments), is try to keep spreading the word about the show, sending the Youtube videos along, signing the petitions - and perhaps most importantly - writing to letters pages, newsdesks and the network itself.

Out of the Blue: Fan Made Trailer 3

2009-04-14T09:42:00.003+01:00

We've uploaded another one of our Out of the Blue trailers to our Youtube channel. Some of the clips will already be familiar from our other videos, but we've tried to add some more fun moments to this one too. Also, with a shorter running time, it's designed to be all you need to know about Out of the Blue in 3 minutes and 21 seconds...

If you're totally spoiler-phobic, you might want to avoid this one. There's a few glimpses of upcoming storylines on there, but it doesn't really give away anything major.

Don't forget to pass our videos on to friends if you want Out of the Blue to build a bigger fanbase. As always, enjoy!

The Australian reports on our campaign!

2009-04-13T12:52:00.005+01:00

Our blog gets a mention from The Australian newspaper today!

In its latest media round-up, the paper reports on the frustration felt by Australian fans of Out of the Blue following the shoddy treatment it's received from Ten.

Under the headline Big Blue, they point out that Out of the Blue has a loyal fanbase but has been shunted around the schedules right from the beginning. They also kindly give a link to this blog.

So, welcome to any new readers! We hope you enjoy what the site has to offer. This is pretty much the only website which gives regular updates on what's going on with the show, so if you want to be kept informed about schedule information, media coverage and what the cast are up to, bookmark us and check back often.

If you want to help the show, there are two main things you can do. First of all, the Save Out of the Blue petition and Out of the Blue Second Series petition are always in need of new signatures.

Secondly, if you're an Australian fan, contacting Ten to request a better slot and network backing for Out of the Blue would be another great thing to do. Many fans have been using the Contact Us forum on Ten's own website to do this, but they don't seem to pay any attention to it.

For that reason, we're recommending writing to your local Ten office using the relevant address on this page. It obviously takes a little bit more effort than using the internet, but if you're here, you'll probably agree that Out of the Blue is worth it. We won't get a new series of the show if things don't pick up in Australia, and the best way to make sure that happens is by keeping up the pressure for a regular timeslot on Ten - and not just one episode a week!

Finally, if you're looking for a place to chat to other fans, the Facebook group is very active, with multiple postings and discussions going on every day. Cast members have also been known to post on there, but you'll have to join to find out who!

Thanks for visiting and carry on supporting Out of the Blue!

Clips: Blade's revenge

2009-04-10T14:07:00.002+01:00

Blade's final encounter with Bec and Kirsten was one of the scariest moments of the whole series, and you can now relive it with the videos below.

Don't forget to keep visiting our Youtube channel for more exciting and memorable Out of the Blue clips. If you enjoy them, why not pass them on to friends who don't watch the show and let them see what they're missing.

Clip: Gabby gets another grilling from Wilson

2009-04-08T09:54:00.002+01:00

Here's one of the latest clips uploaded to our Youtube channel. This one shows Gabby getting another grilling from Detective Wilson after a second piece of information links her to the murder. Did she do it, or are her excuses genuine?

Aussie ratings: April 5

2009-04-06T09:22:00.002+01:00

Out of the Blue returned to Ten last night after being taken off for Formula 1 coverage the previous weekend.

There were no unexpected miracles in terms of the show's ratings, but it did manage to get the highest figure that it's had since being taken out of its 10.30pm slot.

Episode 47, which explored Jarrod's surprise inclusion in Philby's will (and airs on Fiver in the UK tonight), pulled in 316,000 viewers, a rise of 27,000 from what it got two weeks ago. It was ranked 29th for the day.

Shane Withington in Summer Bay

2009-04-04T23:59:00.004+01:00

Shane Withington - best known to us as Detective Wilson - gets a mention in Australia's Daily Telegraph newspaper today.

The paper reports that he's landed a guest role in Home and Away, which will keep him busy over the next few months. He plays John Palmer, a member of the surf lifesaving club.

Sadly the newspaper doesn't mention that Shane is also in our favourite show.

Just in case you're losing track, Aidan Gillett (Daniel McManus), Bernard Curry (Nate Perrett), John Atkinson (Stephen Mulroney) and Samara Weaving (Kirsten Mulroney) have all either been in, or been linked to, Home and Away in recent months. Kain O'Keefe, who played crazy Blade, is also about to pop up on UK screens.

Pretty soon it'll be hard for the casual viewer to tell the difference between the two shows!

Out of the Blue gets 'underrated' nomination... and more

2009-04-03T23:51:00.004+01:00

Finally, some (kind of) positive Out of the Blue news to share from Australia.

The show has picked up two nominations for The Sun Herald's Bogie Awards, described as "the hall of shame for television's most annoying, embarrassing and underrated programs and personalities".

That's terrible, you might say. But thankfully Out of the Blue has been spared the further blow of appearing in the rubbish categories, and instead is nominated for Most Underrated and Most Jerked Around By The Networks.

In the Most Underrated category, it appears alongside the fine company of 30 Rock, Good Game, Prison Break, Dexter, Review by Miles Barlow, The Einstein Factor, In Treatment, ABC2 News Breakfast, Eli Stone and Rush.

In the Most Jerked Around By The Networks category, it's up against 24, Without A Trace, CSI: Miami, Scrubs, Cold Case, ER and Ugly Betty.

If you want to vote for Out of the Blue, you can do so using the site's comments section here. Please note that you're required to vote in each category, not just the ones which feature Out of the Blue.

It's unlikely that the show will win, but there's no harm in voting. In any case, it's good to see that Ten's abysmal treatment of Out of the Blue hasn't gone completely unnoticed in Australia.

Clip: Out of the Blue's airport shooting

2009-04-03T19:07:00.003+01:00

Another day, another memorable clip for you to relive from our Youtube channel.

This one shows a dramatic shooting at the airport as Tess tries to escape with the diamonds. It was a great way to bring the diamonds/threatening emails story to a climax and probably the biggest cliffhanger that we'd seen at that point in the show.

Enjoy the clip, and don't forget to pass the links to all of our clips on to your friends if you want them to become Out of the Blue fanatics too.

Clip: Lucia's secrets revealed

2009-04-02T00:26:00.005+01:00

Here's another recent clip of Out of the Blue from our Youtube channel. This one shows Lucia's secret relationship being revealed, and she also lets slip a possible clue about Philby's murder.

One of the great things about this clip is how, at first, it seems like an ordinary 'forbidden love' type storyline... but then you get the added sinister twist of what Lucia might know about Philby's death. Out of the Blue always seems to keep you guessing and goes just that bit further than other soaps, constantly keeping viewers on their toes.

Enjoy.

Out of the Blue videos

2009-04-01T09:37:00.005+01:00

Over the next few days we're hoping to make more use of the Youtube channel by uploading some memorable/interesting clips from the series. Hopefully, as well as serving the obvious purpose of allowing people to rewatch certain scenes, they'll be another way of showcasing what the show is like and good to send to friends if you want to get them hooked.

We don't want to pre-empt the Australian airings though, so as such, nothing will be put up until it's aired on Ten.

Check out the full list of videos here.

Below is the recent clip of Gabby getting a grilling from Detective Wilson after her secret romance with Philby was exposed.

Samara Weaving on Home & Away

2009-03-31T10:21:00.004+01:00

According to a source on the Back to the Bay Forum, Samara Weaving - who played Kirsten Mulroney on Out of the Blue - has recently signed up for a 5-week guest stint on Home and Away.

She's expected to follow in the footsteps of John Atkinson (Stephen Mulroney), Aidan Gillett (Daniel McManus) and Bernard Curry (Nate Perrett) - who've all popped up in Home and Away recently - when filming for her role begins in the next couple of weeks.

If it's true, congratulations Samara!

Gyton Grantley gets Logie nods

2009-03-31T10:02:00.005+01:00

Congratulations to Gyton Grantley, who's picked up two Logie Award nominations in Australia. His role as Carl Williams in Underbelly has earned him recognition in the Most Popular Actor and Most Outstanding Actor categories.

What has this got to do with Out of the Blue, you might ask? Well, Gyton played Alex, the geeky reunion video guy, in the first few weeks of the show's run.

Prior to Underbelly, Gyton played the role of Dane Pickerstaff in Headland, which also starred Sophie Katinis and Adrienne Pickering - best known to us as Gabby West and Detective Christine Taylor.

In 2007, he appeared alongside Ryan Johnson (Stavva Jones) and Charlotte Gregg (Tracy O'Donnell) in the movie All My Friends Are Leaving Brisbane.

If that's not enough, he also used to date Charlotte!

Talk about a small world! Since Gyton appeared to know half the cast and is such a popular actor, it's a shame that he wasn't able to appear in more episodes.

For a full list of Logie Award nominations, click here.

Poppy & Peta media mention

2009-03-27T23:08:00.003Z

Out of the Blue's Poppy (Katherine Hicks) and Peta (Daisy Betts) get a mention on the TV Tonight blog today in an article about the current lesbian storyline on Home and Away.

The Seven Network has decided to tone down Joey (Kate Bell) and Charlie's (Esther Anderson) plotline (in particular, a forthcoming kissing scene) following complaints from lobby groups.

The article points out that Out of the Blue has been airing at 5.30pm without getting any complaints about its own lesbian couple.

Read all about it here.

Aussie scheduling update

2009-03-25T23:11:00.002Z

Just to confirm, there's definitely no Out of the Blue airing on Ten this week. The Formula 1 coverage is airing instead on Sunday afternoon/evening, and unusually for Ten, they've decided to just skip the week rather than putting the episode on after midnight or something like that.

So, barring any last-minute tomfoolery, Episode 47 will air on Sunday, April 5 at 5.30pm.

Petitions update... again

2009-03-23T23:19:00.003Z

The Out of the Blue second series petition has reached another milestone and now has 200 signatures. It's slowly catching up to the original Save Out of the Blue petition, which at the moment has 266 signatures.

Obviously, petitions for other shows often have much higher numbers... but, for a soap that only had promotion for about three weeks in an eight-month run and aired in a rubbish slot, it's something. Here's a selection of some of the more recent comments which have been added from viewers:

Stacey: "I have abandoned EastEnders to watch this fantastic soap on Fiver! It's better acted, faster-paced and far more edgy than other soaps on TV, and we need more."

Jane: "This was an excellent, fast-moving soap and I really hope there will be another series."

Kim, Oxon: "Please, please let us have a 2nd series of Out of the Blue - to end on such a superb cliffhanger and never to know the outcome would be awful."

Melanie, Cheshire: "I have watched every episode and love it to bits, please don't leave it on such a cliffhanger!"

Keeley: "Out of the Blue was the best programme and I did not miss an episode, the characters and plot were excellent and I was upset that the show was to be no longer running. Every day I was at the edge of my seat as all the different stories unravelled. Please make another series as it will be sorely missed."

Anonymous: "Out of the Blue never had a chance with BBC - constant shifting of the channel, time slot and transmissions - what a farce! A great show. Bring it back to win over more viewers."

Susan, Kent: "Having watched every episode of Out of the Blue, I feel BBC didn't give it a chance. Kept mucking about with firstly channel then number of episodes each week. It was supposed to be a replacement for Neighbours, but you never knew when it was going to be on til you read the next week's TV guide. They didn't even say when the last episode was on that it had finished!"

Lynda: "I was gutted when the BBC took this off the air and at such a crucial climax."

Hannah: "It's AMAZING!!! It's got to come back for a second series but carry on like Neighbours and Home and Away!"

Margot, Melbourne: "Finally a teen drama with liberal values. Much better than Neighbours and Home and Away."

John, Cheshire: "This is the best new drama series that I have seen for many years. I am disappointed that the BBC decided not to continue with it for a second series, and I hope that the controllers will review this decision."

Hopefully the signatures will keep coming.

Aussie ratings: March 22

2009-03-22T22:45:00.003Z

Time for the weekly ratings update...

Episode 46 of Out of the Blue, which featured a shock discovery for Tess, attracted 289,000 viewers to Ten in the usual 5.30pm slot. That's a rise of 24,000 from last week and equal to what it was getting two weeks ago. Put simply, everybody who tuned out last weekend saw their error of their ways this week and started watching again.

The Aussie TV guides are currently suggesting that the show won't be on next week due to Formula 1 coverage. At least it hasn't been taken off for bowls like on the BBC... but if fans have to wait 2 weeks for another episode, that's obviously annoying. We'll keep you posted on any info we find.

Summer Bay: Refuge for Manly's finest

2009-03-19T23:48:00.003Z

Hot on the trail of Bernard Curry (Nate) and Aidan Gillett (Daniel), another Out of the Blue cast member is about to pop up in Australia's top soap Home and Away.

This time it's the turn of John Atkinson, who played Stephen on the show. He takes on the role of Summer Bay's new crazed character Derreck. From psychologist to madman eh...

Thanks to Caroline for the info!

Petition update

2009-03-19T23:42:00.003Z

A link to the Save Out of the Blue Petition has now been added to The Mirror's We Love Telly blog following a fan request. It appears on the same page as their previous update on the show where they promoted the Fiver airings and suggested that there could still be some hope left.

At the moment, the Save Out of the Blue Petition has 263 signatures, while the Out of the Blue Second Series Petition has 195. Please do sign both petitions if you haven't done so already.

Aussie ratings: March 15

2009-03-15T22:40:00.004Z

Another disappointing week for Out of the Blue's ratings on Ten. The latest episode, which saw Bec and Kirsten fighting to escape from crazed Blade, didn't make it into the top 30 programmes for the day and attracted only 265,000 viewers. That's a fall of 24,000 from last week.

Over on Seven at the same time, Fawlty Towers was watched by 625,000, while football on Nine pulled in 513,000.

Next Sunday's episode is the one where Tess makes a shock discovery about Philby's will. The whodunit element of the show gets back into full swing from this point onwards, but with no promotion, it's unlikely that many people will be watching.

Aussie ratings: March 8

2009-03-08T23:23:00.003Z

Unlike last week, the ratings for the latest Out of the Blue episode on Ten have been released. The bad news is that they were poor.

The latest episode, which featured more from the Blade/Bec saga, attracted just 289,000 viewers at 5.30pm - a fall of 18,000 from what it was getting two weeks ago.

But if it makes anyone feel any better, ratings seemed to be down across the board, partly due to the public holiday in some parts of Australia. Out of the Blue was actually ranked 30th for the day, while last week it didn't feature in the top 30 at all and the show at the bottom of the list had 332,000.

Next week, Bec and Kirsten try to escape from Blade's clutches. Only another 18 weeks until the murderer is revealed............

Why did Ten lose faith in Out of the Blue?

2009-03-08T00:03:00.001Z

Just a quick follow-up to our post the other day on the frustration felt by Australian fans of Out of the Blue following constant schedule changes and generally ridiculous treatment...

When Ten secured the Australian rights to Out of the Blue last year, a spokesperson said: "We are thrilled... Out of the Blue has a great script, exciting casting and is a fresh and engaging series from the very first minute. The show is a perfect inclusion to Ten's strong stable of shows for 2008."

High praise indeed, but if they believed it was so great, why did they keep the show off air for months, debut it in an unreasonable late-night slot, then try to kill it off altogether by moving it to a once-a-week slot after the show performed inexplicably well at 10.30pm with no promotion?

The next episode on Ten will see Blade taking revenge against Bec. If this storyline, or indeed most of the show's plots, aired on Neighbours or Home and Away, they'd be praised for pushing the boundaries of serial drama with fresh and creative storytelling. Sadly, due to the treatment from Ten, many Aussie soap fans are missing out on these fantastic moments.

Fiver scheduling and New Zealand updates

2009-03-07T00:01:00.000Z

Heads up to any new fans of Out of the Blue in the UK who have discovered the show on Fiver. Yesterday was the final time that the show will air in its 9.25am slot. From next week, there'll be just two showings a day - with a repeat of the previous night's episode airing at 6.45am as usual, and the latest episode airing at 7.30pm. Viewers with Fiver+1 also have two extra opportunities to catch each episode at 7.45am and 8.30pm.

In other news, the show has recently completed its run on TV2 in New Zealand. The show started out in an early evening slot on the network, going up against Home and Away on another channel. In later weeks, it transferred to a 1.30pm slot and had double episodes. We've already seen a couple of comments online from fans in New Zealand who are wondering what will happen next. For example, TV Tonight reader Lottie says:

"I've just finished watching the whole series in New Zealand and loved it, but it has just ended without notice and a big cliffhanger. Are they going to make any more or is it all over? I think there is an audience for it here and everyone I know loved it... the majority being over 25. Please bring another series!!!"

It'll be interesting to see whether Aussie fans become as fanatical as their UK counterparts as the show continues to hot up over the next few weeks.

Aussie Out of the Blue fans are fed up

2009-03-06T08:20:00.004Z

There's been lots of views posted up from UK fans of Out of the Blue on this blog recently, but until now we haven't heard much about what Aussie viewers think about the way the show has been treated on Ten.

Don't forget that the show started out in a four-nights-a-week 10.30pm slot on Ten in November, which is quite a bizarre decision for a daytime/evening show. Despite the lack of promotion and no network backing whatsoever, the show rose steadily in the ratings across its run as the storylines hotted up - particularly as the Tess diamonds plot was reaching its conclusion.

Sadly, in January Ten made another strange decision - removing the show from its 10.30pm slot and sticking it in a once-a-week 6pm slot, then later 5.30pm, on Sunday nights, thus making it very difficult for it to keep up any kind of momentum or buzz because the storylines are now moving at a snail's pace. And that's even if you don't consider the total lack of promotion or backing given to the show.

Here's what Aussie fans have been saying about the nonsensical scheduling recently.

jillli, Ten Forums: "Out of the Blue reminds me of another Channel 10 show which was aired two nights a week many years ago and had a lot of followers, just as this show will if Ten give it the chance it deserves, anyone remember E Street? Please Channel 10 listen to what we want to watch."

andole, Ten Forums: "It will take forever to resolve the Philby mystery at this rate. I've given up on it. Ten will never bring it back in a reasonable way so I'm just going to read the episode summaries and leave it there."

spunkystack, Ten Forums: "This is BS! How are we expected to follow the show if it's on once a week for half an hour?"

devotedparent, Ten Forums: "I agree with how ridiculous it is of Channel 10 to reduce OOTB to a half hour show each week when they give up so much airtime to run reruns and crap from the US. Come on Channel 10, give us back our OOTB!"

kellymm, Ten Forums: "I was so disappointed when this changed timeslots (twice!) without warning, because I missed a couple of episodes thanks to this. Then I discovered I can watch them online! However, now when I click on "episode 42" etc, it says there is an empty playlist!! Why? I am desperate to know what happens as I missed 42 and 43!"

eilkel, Ten Forums: "I prefer to watch it online too. Sundays at 5.30pm is such a stupid time to have it on the television."

ID10T-AU, Ten Forums: "If they are going to edit the show for 6pm Sunday, why can't they edit it for 6pm Monday to Friday?"

stewie_13, Ten Forums: "One episode a week is not enough, it will take us years to get through it all! We are just over 1/4 of the way through the season."

asianzebra, Ten Forums: "I'm really ticked, I got hooked on that show, as much as some think it's pathetic. It was the show I'd watch to wind down at the end of the day. Half an hour a week isn't going to be adequate at all, hopefully ratings pick up so that it will be reconsidered for a different or longer timeslot."

juls81, Ten Forums: "I am a big fan, I don't think once a week is enough. I love the show and am going crazy not being able to watch it every night."

Sharon200, Ten Forums: "Channel 10, put Out of the Blue back on nightly. I don't care what time as I record it anyway. I love it, it is easy to watch. Bring it back nightly. Surely there is enough crapola on TV to bump something else."

Shannon, TV Tonight: "Can you please just make up your mind if Out of the Blue is going to be on one night then you need to run it for at least an hour. This half an hour business is stupid for one night a week. There are people out there that enjoy this show, let us watch it!!!"

ek9, TV Tonight: "I just watch it online from the Channel 10 website now, a lot easier than trying to keep up with all the ridiculous programming changes."

Lisa, TV Tonight: "Just watch it from the Ten website, no ads and wrapped up in less than 23 mins. I'm loving this show - actually I'm addicted, anyone else out there that feels the same way? Storyline is good - I'm loving to hate certain characters and it generally throws you every ep, so bring on more OOTB!"

bulls_eye, Media Spy: "I actually think Ten gave up on this show about 2 weeks in when they stopped showing the advert about what's coming up in the next episode just as the episode finishes. Either a very lazy or cheap marketing department over at Ten."

Tickford, Media Spy: "This show is so much better than Neighbours and H&A."

southernguy, Media Spy: "Poor show has never stood a chance!"

---

Like in the UK, it seems that the vast majority of those people who have tuned in on a regular basis have nothing but praise for the show. The problem is that there aren't more people willing to do so because of a total lack of faith and promotion from the network. There are probably many people out there who haven't even heard of Out of the Blue!

It's easy to forget that Neighbours debuted to low ratings when it launched in the '80s and is now the longest-running Australian drama, raking in a fortune from international sales. However, unless there's a miracle (ie a total change in attitude from Ten), it seems that Out of the Blue is going to be one fantastic show that passes many people by.

A ratings-free week

2009-03-02T12:55:00.002Z

Ratings fans will be disappointed to hear that no info has been released on how Out of the Blue performed on Ten last night. The show didn't make it into the Top 30 programmes for the day, though, and so since the show at #30 pulled in 332,000, we know it was below that! But that won't be any great surprise for anyone who's been following the ratings since the move to Sunday nights.

Barring any more last-minute timeslot changes, next Sunday's episode will see Blade's promise of revenge against Bec play out - surprisingly it's been deemed suitable for 5.30pm, unlike her first encounter with him!

New fan-made trailer

2009-02-27T10:36:00.002Z

Things have been a bit quiet on the news front over the past few days, but perhaps that's a good thing rather than hearing about 5 new slots on Ten in Australia or something like that.

Anyway, here's a new fan-made trailer for you to enjoy. This one shows off the action-packed and unique nature of Out of the Blue and will hopefully work well if any of you have friends who are still wondering just why you keep going on about the show. The clips used are a wide range from over the whole series, so if you're spoiler-phobic, beware!

Kate Ritchie praises Charlie-Rose MacLennan

2009-02-24T23:05:00.005Z

Charlie-Rose MacLennan, who played Zoe O'Donnell in Out of the Blue, has received praise from an Aussie soap legend this week.

Kate Ritchie - who played Home and Away's Sally Fletcher for 20 years - worked with Charlie-Rose on the new series of Underbelly, playing her mother.

In an interview with Australia's TV Week magazine, Kate said: "The young actors who play my character's kids, Charlie-Rose MacLennan and little Harry Ikimis Healy, are so sweet and they were incredible, considering the stories we were filming."

Charlie-Rose spoke about her role in a recent interview with The Soap Show website. You can read it here.

The ratings for Underbelly, which also stars Diane Craig (Deborah McManus) are still well over the elusive 2 million mark in Australia.

Aussie ratings: February 22

2009-02-22T22:31:00.002Z

Yep, it's that time of the week again!

The latest episode of Out of the Blue on Ten attracted 307,000 viewers, a rise of 30,000 from last week. It's still not a great figure for 5.30pm, especially as it used to do better at 10.30pm, but at least it's going in the right direction despite the abysmal way the show is treated.

The show has been going up against The Rich List on Seven over the past few weeks, but that's finished after this week, which means that Out of the Blue's timeslot rivals next week will be Antiques Roadshow and Fawlty Towers! Maybe if we're lucky it will get a bit of a boost as a result.

Another interesting thing in the ratings for Sunday is seeing a massive US show like 24 getting 317,000 viewers at 10.30pm. Out of the Blue often did better than that in the same timeslot from November to January. Food for thought eh...

Zoe Carides update

2009-02-22T17:17:00.003Z

Zoe Carides is certainly keeping busy lately. Following her contribution to the Short & Sweet theatre festival in Sydney, the woman known best to us as Pia Jones is now doing some directing.

She's in charge of a production of the Pulitzer-nominated play Love Letters by A.R. Gurney, currently on at the Factory Theatre in Sydney. The show's run is raising money and awareness for the Hope for Cambodian Children charity.

The Australian Stage Online website has more info and they're very complimentary about Zoe's work:

"Director Zoe Carides hasn't tampered: she's had the courage, intelligence and discernment to adopt a 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' approach. If only more directors knew when to take a step back, rather than make an indelible stamp."

Click the link above for more.

Five's Out of the Blue ads

2009-02-19T14:05:00.003Z

By request we've added Five's excellent promo ads for Out of the Blue onto the site. Three versions of the ad have aired over the past few weeks - a short one, a medium one and a longer one. Since the show launched, it's mainly been the shorter version which has been seen.

Click below to play the long version of the ad. The links to the other two ads can be found on the right hand side of the page, under the heading Out of the Blue Videos.

Another media mention for Out of the Blue

2009-02-18T23:03:00.003Z

The Out of the Blue Second Series Petition gets a mention in the UK's top soap magazine Inside Soap this week. Check out the mention on Page 95 of the current issue (it's in the Request Spot section of the letters page).

The number of signatures on the petition has been boosted thanks to the mention, rising from 89 to 123 in just two days. The original Save Out of the Blue petition currently has 234.

In other news, the new series of Underbelly, featuring Diane Craig, is continuing to be a smash-hit in Australia. An impressive 2,465,000 people tuned in for episode three on Monday night.

Latest Aussie update

2009-02-16T14:43:00.003Z

There were more Ten shenanigans at the weekend: An episode of Out of the Blue aired on Saturday night after 11pm! It didn't appear to be in any of the online TV guides so it seemed to be a last-minute decision. Perhaps, like the first Blade/Bec episode, it was considered to be unsuitable for an early evening slot. It's quite an unsatisfactory situation though if episodes are going to be aired all over the place due to content restrictions. How anyone can follow the storylines this way is a mystery.

In other news, the show's first outing in a 30-minute 5.30pm slot attracted 278,000 viewers on Sunday night, a fall from the previous week. This was the kind of figure that it was getting on a bad night when it aired at 10.30pm, so it would seem that this kind of number reflects the show's core fanbase and no new viewers are tuning in.

Only time will tell whether a soap that's supposed to air 5 nights a week can build up its audience in a once-weekly Sunday 5.30pm slot with no promotion, no network support and with decisions being made that seem to make no sense...

Charlotte Gregg gossip

2009-02-14T20:58:00.003Z

It's not often that you see the Out of the Blue cast in the gossip pages, but ever since her partner Wes Carr won Australian Idol last year, Charlotte Gregg (Tracy O'Donnell) has been the exception.

Yesterday, the Courier Mail newspaper found time to tell its readers that Charlotte and Wes are hunting for a new home. Apparently they were spotted looking at a one-bedroom flat worth $450,000. Sadly, the newspaper forgot to put a plug for Out of the Blue alongside its gossip.

Meanwhile, the newspaper is also reporting that the ratings success of Underbelly: A Tale Of Two Cities (which has Diane Craig among its cast) and Packed To The Rafters shows that Aussies are turning back to home-produced drama rather than reality TV.

With its talented cast and compelling scripts, it's a shame that Out of the Blue hasn't yet been given a proper chance to be one of the success stories...

'All My Friends...' airing at Canadian film festival

2009-02-13T10:59:00.006Z

Sounds like Charlotte Gregg (Tracy O'Donnell) and Ryan Johnson's (Stavva Jones) movie All My Friends Are Leaving Brisbane is getting some attention in Canada.

The 2007 rom-com will be airing at the OzFlix Film Festival in Toronto this weekend.

For more info, see this news report (which names the film as one of the festival's gems), as well as this general info page.

Also see the film's Wikipedia page for details of the movie itself.

Out of the Blue fans have found the movie difficult to get hold of, but it is possible to buy the DVD online. UK buyers should make sure that their DVD players can play other regions first and also bear in mind that it'll cost around £18 when you include postage. Finally, when buying DVDs from other countries, there's always the possibility of being hit by extra customs charges.

Thankfully, watching Aidan Gillett (Daniel McManus) in Home and Away later this month won't be so complicated!

Out of the Blue messed around by Ten again

2009-02-13T09:53:00.004Z

Is Out of the Blue about to set the record for the most timeslots given to a show in living history?

We only ask because news has just come out that the timeslot on Ten in Australia is changing yet again.

Last week, the show moved to a new 1-hour 5.30pm to 6.30pm slot, but that's proved to be short-lived. From this Sunday, the show is back to 30 minutes only, but it's still starting at 5.30pm. Repeats of The Simpsons are back at 6.00pm.

The TV Tonight blog, which is reporting the news, is pretty much saying that the only reason the show is still on air in Australia is because of the local content credit it gives to Ten, rather than them having any loyalty towards it.

The bright side is that 5.30pm is a less competitive slot, so perhaps the show can build up an audience without having to contend with major news competition on the other channels. However, you have to wonder whether viewers will simply get bored of wondering when on earth the show's going to be on and give up completely.

It's a shame because the show is now getting to a really good point. Sunday's episode will see the return of Blade as he tries to get his revenge on Bec. Unfortunately since their last encounter aired after midnight on Ten, many fans will probably be wondering what the hell is going on.

Aidan Gillett and Diane Craig news

2009-02-10T00:13:00.004Z

Attention all fans of Aidan Gillett!

The man known best to us as Daniel McManus will be seen in Home and Away on Five from Friday, 27th February. His storyline involves the characters of Aden and Joey, played by Todd Lasance and Kate Bell respectively.

Thanks to Sarah on the Facebook group for the info.

Speaking of the McManuses, it seems that Diane Craig (Deborah McManus) is currently appearing in Underbelly: A Tale Of Two Cities on Nine in Australia. She's playing the character of Barbara Mackay (who almost sounds like Deborah living under a half-hearted pseudonym). The show is a massive hit over there, debuting with a massive 2,584,000 viewers last night (Monday) and easily becoming the most watched programme of the day.

Charlie Rose MacLennan, who played Zoe O'Donnell on Out of the Blue, also has a role in Underbelly, but as we can't watch the new series here in the UK yet we're not sure when she'll pop up - if she hasn't already!

We'll keep you posted with any other news we find on Out of the Blue's talented cast members.

Aussie ratings update

2009-02-08T22:53:00.004Z

Out of the Blue debuted in its new 5.30pm-6.30pm slot on Ten in Australia today and ratings increased slightly as a result. As previously discussed on here, the show has pulled in figures like 170,000 and 266,000 viewers since being moved to 6.00pm on Sundays a few weeks ago.

In its latest outing, the show attracted an average of 307,000 viewers over the hour. It's not a fantastic figure given the timeslot, but not a total disaster like some previous weeks. Repeats of The Simpsons (which still seem to be quite a popular choice on Ten) used to air in the same slot and one episode got 385,000 in the week before the show was replaced by Out of the Blue.

Some positives are that the show did well to increase its audience this week given that the last 30 minutes still went against news shows, and with the Australian bushfires, people would understandably be even more interested in those broadcasts than usual. The show seems to be in the process of building up its audience again - but whether Ten gives it the chance to continue doing so remains to be seen.

Weirdly, the catch-up episodes on Ten's official site are ahead of the TV broadcasts, with some already up on there that have yet to air! Perhaps that shows just how little attention they are paying to the show!

Five releases Out of the Blue statement & campaign update

2009-02-07T22:02:00.003Z

As discovered by Alaina on the Facebook group, Five have released a statement about Out of the Blue after being bombarded with emails from the show's loyal fans (not bad for a programme which, according to the BBC, didn't have a following).

Anyway, their official response to the emails isn't the greatest. They say: "Lots of people seem to think that we are carrying on from where the BBC left off. Unfortunately, we are not doing this. We've bought up all the episodes originally commissioned by the Beeb and there are no plans to produce any more. Sorry about that."

Not as sorry as us...

Interestingly, just above their statement they discuss the mixed response to their remake of Minder, explaining: "All we would say is that when we get a lot of reaction from a TV show on Five, good or bad, we're happy."

If that's not an incentive to keep up the campaign, we don't know what is.

Speaking of those efforts, on the Facebook group we've also been alerted to a leaflet which has been produced by a fan. See it here. If anyone does decide to use it we'd obviously recommend doing so sensibly - ie, don't cover your nearest postbox with 500 of them or hire a helicopter to drop them over your closest town centre.

Yet another new start for the show tomorrow as it changes to its new 5.30pm-6.30pm slot on Ten in Australia. Whether fans over there have any idea that it's moving again is anyone's guess. Judging by Ten's forums, a lot of viewers are now only watching online because they can't keep up with the channel's crazy scheduling.

New petition

2009-02-06T08:18:00.002Z

The Save Out of the Blue petition is still going strong, however a new petition has now also been set up with the specific aim of encouraging Five to commission another series. New visitors are encouraged to sign both if they have not already.

Meanwhile, the Five homepage is currently asking readers to vote on whether Neighbours, Home and Away or Out of the Blue is the best Aussie soap, so don't forget to take advantage of this extra opportunity to show support for the show!

Mention on Mirror blog & more Five promotion

2009-02-05T09:00:00.002Z

Out of the Blue was given a rare mention in the UK media yesterday after a fan emailed The Mirror's We Love Telly blog to express their dismay at the show being dropped by the BBC.

In response, the site said: "Well there might be some good news for you [...] Out of the Blue is getting a second shot on Fiver, and if it performs well on the ratings it might be the boost it needs to get new episodes produced."

Bear in mind that, as previously discussed on here, Five are currently ruling out commissioning any more of our favourite soap. Who knows what could happen in the future, though: there's certainly no harm in trying to create a buzz around the show by talking to friends about it, as well as emailing or writing to Five to express your interest.

Meanwhile, Five have also put a promotional article about the show up on its Official Neighbours Website.

The repeats continue on Fiver tonight with the immediate fall-out of Philby's murder.

Mystery begins & Petition update

2009-02-04T20:43:00.003Z

The show's big mystery has now started on Fiver, with the murder having occurred (off-screen of course) in tonight's episode. Pretty much every episode from this point onwards is excellent, so let's hope the show starts getting some great ratings.

The only other news today is that the Save Out of the Blue petition has now been signed by over 200 people. Here's a selection of the latest comments on there, which once again illustrate the passion that fans have for the show.

David: "Out of the Blue is the best soap with the best storylines I have seen in YEARS! Please, please save this magnificent show!"

Sarah: "Loved the show, can't believe the BBC messed it up so badly!"

Jane: "Please save Out of the Blue, I am lost without it!!! And how the hell can it be left on such a cliffhanger!!!"

Anonymous: "What a nightmare!! I've been watching Out of the Blue since the start on BBC Two and it's just keep me hooked but didn't realise that last Thursday's episode was the last one and what a cliffhanger [...] Bring it back BBC Two!"

Jaonne: "It's the only programme I watch on TV, and now it's been axed... such a shame for a good programme."

L May: "It is simply unfair to introduce a cliffhanger [...] and leave the loyal fans hanging. There is plenty of scope left, and sticking to a schedule will ensure viewers are loyal."

Shabnum: "This is pathetic by the BBC, I switched on today 2 Feb thinking what the hell is going on!!! Why isn't the programme on!!! BBC get a grip and don't show replays of wildlife and I can't stand bloody Loose Women on ITV!"

Margaret: "I was angry but not surprised by the BBC after the way it mucked about with the viewing times of OOTB. They seem to think that all viewers want to watch is their precious DEPRESSING EastEnders which I stopped watching long ago. Good luck with the petition."

Anonymous: "There HAS to be a second series of this programme!!! It is one of the best TV shows out there! I didn't watch every single episode not to find out what happens next!!! So PLEASEEEEEEEEE give us round 2 :)"

Claire: "This drama is brilliant, couldn't believe it when it stopped last Friday especially leaving on a huge cliffhanger like that!!!!!! Don't axe it."

Susan: "I have really enjoyed watching Out of the Blue and can't believe that it is at the end of its run, why can't you see it is sooo goood and if you give it a chance and a sensible timeslot then you would soon see how popular it was."

Janet: "If I was only allowed to watch one programme on TV it would be Out of the Blue. It's brilliant [...] It should have been shown in an evening slot - wasted on daytime TV. Although we've already seen this, mum and I will be watching again on Fiver. Thank God we've got a digibox."

Samantha: "One of the best things produced by the BBC in a long time. Perhaps if BBC spent less of our licence fee on funding untalented and lewd presenters (which are not even name worthy!) then a 2nd series would already be in the bag. I guess this is indicative of today's Britain - a country which I am ashamed of."

Joanne: "I have been engrossed by this drama since it started on BBC Two, despite the ridiculous and erratic viewing schedule it was given. Thank goodness Five have taken it over, but please please please let them continue with it after episode 130. It's a real worthy TV drama with great characters, exciting plotlines and wonderful locations. Please keep it going!"

Premiere reaction, Aidan and Aussie ratings

2009-02-03T17:02:00.005Z

- We've been scouring the web trying to find some reactions to the Fiver premiere of Out of the Blue from new viewers. In the interests of fairness we'll include a selection of good and bad from what we've found:

littlelau, Handbag Forum: "Seems a bit boring so far [...] At the moment it doesn't seem like a soap, more like a drama that will turn into a murder mystery."

Slade, Back to the Bay: "Ok, well I watched the first episode and it seemed a bit anticlimatic but it is early days so I'll give it a chance. During the voiceover it was mentioned that one of them was going to be murdered so I look forward to seeing that."

ukdiva23, Digital Spy: "I recorded it because it clashes with Corrie, I don't think Fiver thought it through putting it on head to head with the major soaps like EastEnders and Corrie [...] I quite enjoyed the first episode though, so will definitely continue watching."

Tyleer, Digital Spy: "I really enjoyed it, so will definitely continue to watch it and hope I can really get into it [...] I also agree that they should put it on at an early time to get more viewers but as I can't stand Corrie it doesn't affect me."

It probably is fair to say that the first episode is the least action-packed of the lot, so it will be interesting to see how reactions change as the series progresses.

- Writing on the Facebook group about his stint on Home and Away, Aidan Gillett (Daniel McManus) has confirmed that he will be on-screen in Australia by February 13. Remember that the UK airings are currently two weeks behind those in Aus.

- It looks like Out of the Blue is starting to struggle a bit in the ratings in Australia. The show performed really well during its two-month stint in a 10.30pm slot on Ten - with an estimated average audience of 335,000, and with figures looking set to soon reach 400,000 before being taken out of the slot. These were respectable figures given the episodes were on so late.

Unfortunately, since moving to 6pm on Sundays, those figures have dropped. Two weeks ago the show debuted in its new slot with 170,000 viewers. At the weekend, it had 266,000 viewers - an increase, but still disappointing. Part of the reason for this is that the 6pm Sunday slot was probably the most competitive one the show could have been put in. In Australia, news programmes are always the highest-rated shows of the day, and Out of the Blue was unlucky enough to be put up against two of them - Seven News and Nine News.

To put things in perspective, on Sunday Seven News had 2,000,000 viewers and Nine News had 1,272,000. That's a massive chunk of the available audience watching news shows! Out of the Blue's move to a 5.30pm-6.30pm slot this weekend could possibly address this problem - it'll have a 30-minute advantage over the news shows and will hopefully keep hold of viewers over the hour.

Another issue is that the show could at least build up some momentum in its 4-nights-a-week 10.30pm slot. Such a low number of episodes each week prevents that a little bit.

Whatever happens, the official ratings season has now started in Australia and so Ten will obviously be watching closely to see how the show performs. Maybe the show just needs time to settle into its new slot - after all, it dropped to just over 200,000 at 10.30pm at the start of January before shooting back up to the high 300,000s the week after. We'll keep passing on any info we can find!

A few updates

2009-02-02T20:27:00.005Z

- Out of the Blue has now aired its first episode on Fiver! The advert for it has been put on at pretty much every opportunity over the past two weeks, and anyone who was intrigued by the promotion has now had a glimpse of what the show is like. The Fiver announcer said that it was great to have another Aussie soap on the air, and declared that the first episode was "awesome". If she thought that was awesome, she'll be running out of adjectives in a couple of weeks once the murder mystery has started properly and the really good episodes have started to air!

- The show is available to watch online via Demand Five. Thanks to Alaina for the link.

- In Aussie news, the show has now aired for the final time in its 30-minute 6pm Sunday night slot. As previously discussed on here, it now starts airing double episodes from 5.30pm to 6.30pm each week, starting this Sunday. As well as airing the usual Sunday evening episode yesterday, Ten also put a new episode on after midnight. It was time for the Lucia/Kirsten/Blade storyline, and as the episode had an "M" rating for adult content, they couldn't show it in the early evening - at least not without making cuts. Hopefully this will be the last scheduling mishap and the show now gets some stability in Oz.

- The number of signatures on the Save Out of the Blue petition continues to rise as more fans realise that Thursday's BBC Two episode was the last one. Though they couldn't be bothered to tell fans this after the episode had aired, the BBC have now updated their homepage for the show for the first time in months to include the message: "Out of the Blue is no longer being shown on the BBC."

- Over the next few months we'll try to pass on any information we can find about what the cast are up to. Here's our first nugget of news: Zoe Carides, who played Pia Jones on the show, has been taking part in the Short & Sweet Festival in Sydney. The theatre event sees audiences turning out not just to watch one play, but to watch 10 or 11 - with each being just 10 minutes long.

Zoe's play is called Duals. According to the Australian Stage website, the short production explores "fame, fidelity and family". It seems that the site's reviewer was impressed by Zoe, too: "Brilliantly cast, this piece is clearly theatrically sophisticated: and brilliantly acted. Zoe Carides as the genuine and forgiving makeup artist Susan, is well matched to the diva actor Tessa (Alice Ansara)."

A new era for Out of the Blue

2009-02-02T06:00:00.002Z

Today's the day! After completing its run on BBC Two, Out of the Blue's repeat airings make their debut on Fiver at 7.30pm tonight. It'll seem a little bit weird to go back to the beginning - lots of us are still reeling following the shock cliffhanger ending in the last BBC episode - but it shouldn't take too long for us to start enjoying the early episodes again.

Who knows what these repeats airings will mean for the show. After all the TV promotion, it will at least pull in a few new fans who can experience for themselves just how great the show is, if they decide to stick with it. If it does turn out to be even a moderate success, it would add weight to fans' belief that there is still life in the show and it deserves a chance.

The best we can hope for is that Fiver realises what the BBC didn't - a soap needs time to build up a dedicated fanbase who tune in every day. It's impossible to gauge anything about an audience's reaction to a show like this after just a week. People will tune in out of curiosity for the first episode, the audience may start to drop afterwards, then the dedicated fans who are left will help to maintain interest through word of mouth. Ideally, after that the ratings will build back up again over time.

Out of the Blue wasn't given the chance to do this on the BBC - after a week it got shunted to a rubbish timeslot and all promotion for the show was stopped. Hardly a great way to convince people to watch and build up those viewing numbers. With 130 episodes of the show, there's plenty of time for it to establish itself on its new channel if it is given the chance - let's hope Fiver are prepared to give our favourite soap some stability!

Here's a reminder/first-look (depending on if you're an old or new viewer) of the first episode, courtesy of Alaina who was kind enough to upload the video:

And so the rollercoaster ride begins again...

Out of the Blue finale: What the fans are saying

2009-02-01T00:03:00.008Z

Yesterday we wrote about how fans of Out of the Blue have been creating a buzz online after the final episode of the Australian soap's run aired on BBC Two. It seems that there's a lot of excitement about how the show ended, but still a lot of frustration and disappointment over the way that the show has been treated, especially as we may never discover what happens next.

Rather than boring you with our views again, we now present a selection of comments that have been made by viewers on the internet. Don't worry if you haven't watched the finale - there are no spoilers in this post, but bear in mind that some of the links to other sites do mention the ending.

Heather, Save Out of the Blue Petition: "I have only just realised that Out Of The Blue isn't on the BBC anymore, I'm gutted. I'm a big fan of anything Australian including all of the soaps. It was such a cliff hanger the other day. I've been so impressed with the story lines throughout the show, the story lines aren't predictable like other soaps I can never guess what's going to happen next, it's brilliant. I work during the day but record it every time. Please, please continue to show Out of the Blue it's the best soap around."

Rhiannon, Save Out of the Blue Petition: "It's like going through a divorce. I'm so upset!! pleeeeeaaasssseee bring back Out of the Blue!!!!"

Jan, Save Out of the Blue Petition: "Out of the Blue is a great soap but it just isn't given any support. If it was advertised in the soap mags I'm sure it would have gone alot higher in the ratings."

Claire, Save Out of the Blue Petition: "Brilliant drama and will really miss it. Haven't missed an episode - thanks to sky plus! Didn't even realise it had been axed by the BBC until it wasn't on today and I decided to find out why!"

Carly-Hannah, Save Out of the Blue Petition: "I hope there's a chance that you give Out of the Blue a second go. It really is pretty awesome! I don't think the BBC realise how much fan base it has behind it."

Linda, Save Out of the Blue Petition: "Out of the Blue did not stand a chance as it was scheduled at the same time as Loose Women. It is a brilliant soap and could have been shown at a better time, perhaps after Doctors it is much better than Doctors."

Diane, Save Out of the Blue Petition: "Please, please do not axe Out of the Blue, it is so good, far better than Neighbours and Home and Away!!! I think that the poor ratings are down to no advertisement that it's on!"

Hannah, Save Out of the Blue Petition: "Out of the Blue is one of my favourite programmes of recent years. The storylines are involving, you care about the characters and I've never missed an episode. Please can we keep this fabulous soap!"

DE4DJ, Back to the Bay: "That was the best episode of Out of the Blue ever! I’ve never shouted at the TV so much it was brilliant. Even my dad who’s never watched OOTB before loved it."

Casperfan, Back to the Bay: "A brilliant end to a brilliant series! God this show deserves more recognition! I loved everything about it!!!"

Miranda, Back to the Bay: "These poor actors deserve better. Hopefully they will all go on to bigger and better things and forget the bad treatment they got."

Madamebronchus, Out of the Blue Online: "I just want to be angry and sad at the same time. Angry for the fact that the BBC didn't even bother saying that it is the very last episode! And sad as it might very well have been the last Out of the Blue ever!!"

Sally, Out of the Blue Online: "It was so shabby not even having the courtesy to announce that it was the season finale. It was like some shameful secret being swept under the carpet!"

Clydefrog, Digital Spy: "The BBC are so bitter they didn't mention it was the last episode today. "

Rivercity_rules, Digital Spy: "That is how you end a soap! What a spectacular episode! Seriously just lost for the right words just now, fabulous, amazing, brilliant."

We could go on adding quotes all day, but it is great to see so much support for the show. If any fans have stumbled across our blog as they look for information on their favourite Aussie soap, please do check out our Saving Out of the Blue page for information on how you can contact the relevant broadcasters directly.

We'll continue adding comments from the petition and other sites as they come in.

Out of the Blue finale creates online buzz

2009-01-31T00:01:00.001Z

Out of the Blue's fans have been passionate about the show from the beginning - and this shows no sign of abating following its conclusion on BBC Two on Thursday.

As predicted on this blog, the BBC's decision not to bother telling viewers that they had just aired the last episode has led to a great deal of confusion among fans, many of whom have sought answers online after finding their favourite show replaced by a repeat of Open Gardens in the schedule on Friday.

The Facebook group for the show has been extremely active over the past two days, with existing members posting for the first time to share their thoughts on the finale and find out what is next for Out of the Blue. Other Facebook users have joined the group for the first time for similar reasons.

The Save Out of the Blue Petition has also seen an increase in activity following the finale, with many more signatures being added from fans who are desperate to find out what happens next after Thursday's shocking cliffhanger ending. Let's hope more are added over the coming days.

Many fans have contacted Five to find out if they have any plans to commission a second series. Unfortunately, the official word from them is that Fiver will not be showing any episodes beyond the run of 130 that we have seen on the BBC. Fans have not given up hope yet, though - and it's still worth contacting Five to (politely) express your interest in the show.

The Soap Show, which has been a long-time supporter of the programme, has praised the quality of the last week of episodes and, like many of us, expressed disappointment over the way it was treated by the BBC. You can read their words for yourself in the linked article, however the following quote from the site sums up the situation extremely well: "A new soap takes months to bed in and find its audience, but sadly these days, if a programme isn't an instant hit, actions taken from the fear that it doesn't have appeal lead to a self fulfilling prophecy." Wise words, and let's hope another great show doesn't suffer the same fate as Out of the Blue.

Forums on Out of the Blue Online, Digital Spy, Back to the Bay and Neighboursfans have also seen discussions on the finale. The reaction has been mixed - viewers seem to have been blown away by the dramatic conclusion to the show, but there's obvious frustration that we may never find out what happens next due to the hasty decision made by the BBC after the first week of the show had aired.

Keep up your passion for Out of the Blue and don't forget to tell your friends about the repeats on Fiver!

Promotion on Five & Fiver

2009-01-30T10:19:00.004Z

With just three days to go before the show makes its debut on Fiver, Five have become Out of the Blue fanatics and have been promoting the show like there's no tomorrow.

Adverts for the show started airing last week on Fiver in between their first-look airings of Home and Away and repeats of Neighbours.

This week, the ads have also been airing on Five itself before, during and after the two other Aussie soaps. With Home and Away and Neighbours being two of Five's biggest shows, and appealing to a similar target audience, let's hope the promotion pulls in a good few curious viewers.

There's at least three versions of the ad, which has a "Friends" theme, opening with shots of the gang at school before fast-forwarding 13 years and showing the cast with captions like "Friends get richer", "Friends get hotter", "Friends get dumped" and "Friends get out of control". Katy Perry's hit single Hot 'N' Cold is used as the backing track.

Bernard Curry in Home and Away

2009-01-30T10:13:00.000Z

Bernard Curry, who played Nate Lee in the final few weeks of Out of the Blue, is now playing the character of Hugo Austin in episodes of Home and Away currently airing in Australia. He made his debut in Episode 4777, which is six episodes into the 2009 season.

The 2009 season of Home and Away starts airing on Monday February 2 in the UK, so if our calculations are correct, he'll be on screen in the UK by Tuesday February 10.

In an Australian TV interview, Bernard has confirmed that his character will be on the show for at least a year, so - in the event that a second series of Out of the Blue is commissioned - he would presumably not be returning.

Don't forget that Aidan Gillett, better known as bad boy Daniel McManus, is also appearing on Home and Away soon, but we don't have any firm details yet. It'll be interesting to see if Bernard and Aidan's characters interact much after Nate and Daniel didn't have much to do with each other on Out of the Blue.

Out of the Blue on Fiver

2009-01-29T23:59:00.000Z

As you may have heard, though the show has now completed its run in the UK on BBC Two, the digital channel Fiver will now be repeating Out of the Blue from episode one, starting Monday, February 2, 2009. Want to know more? Read on to find out the details.

How can I find Fiver?

Fiver is available on all of the major digital platforms. You can find it on Sky Digital channel 176, Freeview channel 36, Virgin Media channel 152 and Tiscali TV channel 31.

When will the show be airing?

Out of the Blue will be airing three times a day on Fiver. Each episode will air for the first time at 7.30pm, with repeats of that episode airing at 6.45am and 9.25am the next day.

Anything else?

Understandably, some viewers may watch other shows at 7.30pm and be unable to watch the morning episodes. However, don't forget there is also the Fiver+1 channel (Sky Digital channel 177), which airs all of Fiver's shows one hour later. This means that, for viewers who receive this channel, there's three extra opportunities to catch each episode at 7.45am, 10.25am and 8.30pm.

New viewers?

Obviously, Out of the Blue fanatics who are already familiar with the show from BBC Two will be keen to watch each episode again. However, Fiver will be hoping to attract new viewers who missed out on the BBC airings. If you're a new viewer who still needs some convincing that Out of the Blue is worth watching, check out our trailer below to see some of the show's highlights. Be warned that there are some spoilers in the video - so if you don't want to know which character is bumped off in the first week (more on that later), you should avoid pressing play.

It's all over...

2009-01-29T14:34:00.001Z

The final episode of Out of the Blue's first series aired this afternoon on BBC Two. The show kept up the high quality right until the end - we had heartbreak, a wedding, a shock twist, and a massive cliffhanger ending!

Sadly, the BBC did not acknowledge the fact that they had just aired the final episode - meaning that a lot of viewers who don't follow the show online are going to be surprised when it disappears from the schedules next week.

Out of the Blue is now being replaced in the 1pm slot by Coast and Meerkat Manor.

Don't forget to check out our 'How you can help' posting below if you want to continue the fight for a second series.

Finally, don't forget to use the 'Older Posts' link at the bottom of the page to view entries which have been bumped off the front page.

Stay tuned to the blog over the coming weeks for all of the latest news surrounding the show's move to Fiver and its progress Down Under on Ten.

Out of the Blue's future & how you can help

2009-01-29T11:44:00.001Z

Out of the Blue is currently facing an uncertain future. The BBC has stated that it will not commission any further episodes beyond the first series, which consists of 130 episodes. However, fans still believe that there could be a future for the show and have been campaigning with this aim.

A petition - backed by some cast members - has been set up in order for fans to express their interest in seeing the show on another broadcaster. Please sign the petition if you have not already.

Success in Australia could also prove to be beneficial to the show's future. Network TEN is a channel with few Australian dramas and a high-quality show like Out of the Blue could turn out to be a great long-term investment for its schedule. Ten has a Contact Us forum on its website which allows viewers to share their thoughts with the Powers That Be. Alternatively, there are also postal addresses for this purpose. If you're an Aussie who believes that Out of the Blue deserves a better slot, write to Ten online or by letter and let them know. (Note: If you use Ten's Contact Us forum, try to look through the pages for existing threads about the show rather than adding your own - we want to be heard, but equally don't want to be a nuisance for the people who run the site.)

It's unclear if Five have any plans for the show beyond showing the repeats on Fiver. If you wish to show your appreciation for the soap, Five also has a Contact Us page. Bear in mind that Five have already been quite good to Out of the Blue, with heavy advertising on-screen and giving it some decent slots.

The BBC has given up on the show. However, if you wish to share your thoughts on the way the show has been treated, perhaps they will reconsider their 'axed within a week' approach when it comes to other projects. Check out the webform link from this page if you wish to get in touch with the BBC.

Out of the Blue on Network Ten

2009-01-29T10:57:00.000Z

Australia's Network TEN bought the rights to Out of the Blue shortly after it was commissioned by the BBC and finally started airing the show in a 10.30pm slot on Mondays to Thursdays from November 2008.

The show performed well in its late night timeslot - with an average of around 335,000 viewers - prompting Ten to try it out in an earlier 6pm slot on Sundays from January.

From February 8, fans in Australia will be able to see double episodes of the show on Sunday nights from 5.30pm to 6.30pm. You can also catch up with the episodes on Ten's website if you miss any.

Ten appears to be doing its best to find a place for the show, but still seems slightly wary of giving it a regular evening slot on weeknights.

The 130-episode run is likely to be broadcast in full in Australia as it has been in the UK. Out of the Blue gives local content credit to Ten, meaning that it's unlikely to leave the episodes sitting on the shelf.

Out of the Blue on the BBC

2009-01-29T10:56:00.001Z

Out of the Blue was first commissioned by the BBC at the end of 2007 as a replacement for Neighbours following news of its move to Five in the UK. The first episode premiered on April 28, 2008 at 2.15pm (airing after Doctors) and attracted 1.2 million viewers. Reports stated that the soap would have to stay above the 1 million viewers mark if it was to have a long-term future.

Just days later, on May 7, the BBC announced that the show would be moving to BBC Two at the earlier time of 1.00pm, putting it in competition with the BBC News at One. The decision occurred after viewing figures had dropped to 700,000. The BBC stated that it hoped the new slot would prove to be a "stronger home" for the show - a strange statement given the competition from one of its own channels.

Following the move, the BBC stopped sending out promotional material for the show, meaning that it received no coverage in the press. In the disappointing new slot and now with no backing from the BBC just one month into the show, viewing figures dropped to 100,000, prompting the BBC to confirm that it would end after the first series.

Viewing figures have increased from that level over the show's run - with the last information we have heard showing that Out of the Blue is now attracting around 142,000 viewers daily. Sadly, we will never know whether this increase could have been on a larger scale in its original slot and with backing from the BBC.

With no new episodes set to be commissioned by the BBC and the show now set to air on Fiver, the BBC is pretty much done with Out of the Blue. However, many fans remain disappointed that the show was never given a proper chance to build its audience - an opportunity that all soaps need in their early days. Who knows what long-running shows would be off our screens now if faith had been lost in them after just one week.