Fiver viewers find out who the murderer is!

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...

Mention on Mirror blog & more Five promotion

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.

A few updates

- 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

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

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

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

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.

Out of the Blue on Fiver

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...

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

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.

What The Critics Said

Out of the Blue has attracted a loyal cult following with its BBC Two airings, but don't just take our word for it that the show is great. Here's what the critics have said about the show over its run.

Writing in The Daily Telegraph following Out of the Blue's launch in April, the critic James Walton admitted that he was intrigued by the show's murder mystery plot - describing the hook as "quite neat" and the programme itself as "promising".

The Daily Mirror was also enthusiastic about the show, writing: "Oo-er. Forget Neighbours - this is more like a warmer Big Chill, Desperate Housewives Down Under or a better acted Echo Beach - with all kinds of dark secrets buried in the sand waiting to be washed up by the tide."

The Guardian was impressed by Out of the Blue's mature tone in comparison to its rivals Neighbours and Home and Away. The paper commented: "Au-ssies! Everybody needs good Au-ssies! But wait a minute ... stepping into Neighbours' slot is something a little more grown up - with drink, gangs and even a murder."

The Times was yet another British newspaper which was won over by Out of the Blue's compelling plotlines, describing the show as "compulsive, classy, fast and slick".

British website The Soap Show has also been supportive of the show. As the killer was about to revealed, the site described Out of the Blue as "much underrated", adding that it had done well to build up a cult following after its change of channel, slots and often being taken off-air for summer sport.

Australia's The Daily Telegraph newspaper has also been enthusiastic following the show's premiere on Network TEN. Its writer Andrew Mercado described the show as "an adult soap" which was "more grown-up than Neighbours".

Let's hope there's more praise to come for Out of the Blue as it settles in on Fiver and continues to air on Ten.