Out Of The Blue (2008 TV Series)
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''Out of the Blue'' is an Australian serial drama commissioned by the
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, produced by Australia's
Southern Star Entertainment Endemol Australia, formerly known as Southern Star Group, Southern Star Productions, Southern Star/Hanna-Barbera Australia and Taft-Hardie Group Pty Ltd, was Australia's largest independent television production and distribution group. On 26 Jul ...
. It began screening on
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
on weekday afternoons on 28 April 2008. The programme attracted lower than desired ratings figures, prompting the broadcaster to shift it to its second channel BBC Two from 19 May 2008. The BBC eventually decided not to commission a second series, and the final episode aired on 29 January 2009. The rights to show the first series in Australia were purchased by Network Ten, while in the UK, Channel 5 has picked up the repeat rights to ''Out of the Blue'', and began airing all 130 episodes on digital sister channel Fiver in February 2009.


Premise

Set in Sydney beach suburb of
Manly, New South Wales Manly is a beach-side suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is north-east of the Sydney central business district and is currently one of the three administrative centres of the local government area of ...
, ''Out of the Blue'' is a drama shown five days a week about a group of thirty-year-old friends returning home for a high school reunion, which is brought to an end when someone is murdered. An investigation follows as the group attempts to discover which one of them was the killer.


Background

The BBC announced the commissioning of ''Out of the Blue'' on 30 November 2007 as a replacement for '' Neighbours'', another Australian soap opera they had lost to Channel 5. Produced by
John Edwards Johnny Reid Edwards (born June 10, 1953) is an American lawyer and former politician who served as a U.S. senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2004 alongside John Kerry, losing to incumbents George ...
and Julie McGauran of production company
Southern Star Entertainment Endemol Australia, formerly known as Southern Star Group, Southern Star Productions, Southern Star/Hanna-Barbera Australia and Taft-Hardie Group Pty Ltd, was Australia's largest independent television production and distribution group. On 26 Jul ...
, filming began in early 2008, with the BBC initially ordering 130 episodes. The show launched on 28 April in the UK.


International broadcasts

On 29 January 2008, Network Ten announced that they had gained the rights to air ''Out of the Blue'' in Australia. The show started airing on the network on 17 November 2008 at 10.30pm and ran in this slot from Mondays to Thursdays each week. The network was looking at an early evening slot, but due to being unable to schedule the show in a 5-nights-a-week early primetime slot due to the show's occasional M rating, Network Ten had to run with a later timeslot. From January 2009, due to lower ratings compared to TEN Late News, it was moved to a weekly Sunday slot. It originally aired one episode on Sunday evening at 5:30pm, though for several weeks Ten aired two episodes from 5:30pm to 6:30pm, however it was quickly reverted to one episode a week, and sometimes skipping a week due to other circumstances. Early on in 2009, Ten would air episodes that were classified M on a late Sunday night slot. The series made its Irish debut on 5 May 2008 on
RTÉ One RTÉ One ( ga, RTÉ a hAon) is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís ...
. Screening the show five days a week (compared to the BBC latterly only showing four), RTÉ went on to overtake the UK and began to premiere individual episodes, ultimately airing episode 130 on 12 November 2008. The series has been airing all over Africa on the GO channel, a satellite TV channel. Five episodes are shown on Wednesday evenings, repeated at various times during the week. On 5 January 2009, the series started to air on
NET 5 Net5 is a Dutch free-to-cable commercial TV channel and is part of Talpa TV, formerly a part of SBS Broadcasting B.V. and now owned by Talpa Network. Other channels of the group in the Netherlands are SBS6, Veronica, and SBS9. It is aime ...
in the Netherlands. The series is shown at 2pm. On the same day, Net 5 started to show ''Home and Away'' which airs twice a day at 2.30pm and 6.30pm.


Reception


Critical reception

Prior to the launch of the series in the UK, an article in ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'' described ''Out of the Blue'' as "compulsive, classy, fast and slick" and made comparisons to BBC One's long-running soap '' EastEnders'', though the author also expressed concerns over the "logic" and "financial" sense of commissioning a British soap to be set in Australia. Nevertheless, the article stated that the BBC hoped for the show to be a "long-stay resident of the daytime schedule" like ''Doctors''. Other early reviews were also generally positive. ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...
'' said that the show looked "quite promising" and described its murder mystery hook as "quite neat". A reviewer for ''
The Daily Mirror ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
'' wrote: "Oo-er. Forget '' Neighbours'', this is more like a warmer '' Big Chill'', '' Desperate Housewives Down Under'' or a better-acted ''
Echo Beach "Echo Beach" is a song recorded by the Canadian group Martha and the Muffins in 1979. Written by band member Mark Gane, it was released as a single from their album '' Metro Music'' in 1980 and went on to reach number 5 in Canada, number 6 in Aus ...
'', with all kinds of dark secrets buried in the sand waiting to be washed up by the tide." Meanwhile, ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' remarked upon the difference in style between ''Out of the Blue'' and ''Neighbours'', writing: "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." In September 2008, as the long-running murder mystery plot was about to reach its climax, an article on British soap website ''The Soap Show'' described the programme as "much underrated", noting that it had built up a "loyal cult audience" in spite of "being moved between channels, subject to frequent schedule changes and often pre-empted for summer sport". In November 2008, the show's Australian premiere attracted a mixed response from critics. A review in ''
The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...
'' criticised the programme for having "clunky dialogue" and "over the top" villains, also suggesting that its 10.30pm slot would prove to be a disadvantage. A piece in ''
The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory ...
'' expressed similar sentiments, claiming: "The real mystery is how a show with a decidedly daytime production style, featuring well-telegraphed plot developments and lingering shots of the characters' puzzled/simmering/distraught expressions, will fare in the cut and thrust of after-dark TV." However, ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...
'' was more positive, predicting that the show would "prove popular for Aussie soap fans who prefer their fare more grown-up than ''Neighbours''".


Ratings

The show's UK premiere, which consisted of two episodes broadcast back-to-back, attracted 1.2m viewers. The BBC described this performance as "encouraging", but noted that it would take "some time" to consider whether viewers would accept the show in the long-term. Just days later, however, the BBC announced that the programme would be switching from its 2.10pm slot on
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
to BBC Two at 1pm after ratings had dropped to 654,000 viewers. The corporation stated that the new channel and slot would provide a "stronger home" for ''Out of the Blue''. Viewing figures declined further after the move, dropping to 100,000 viewers. Ratings later averaged out at 125,000 viewers, prompting the BBC to confirm on 1 July that the show would be axed after its first series. The corporation stated that ''Out of the Blue'' "just didn't grab hold" of the loyal following required for a soap. It was later reported that Network Ten had delayed its own launch of ''Out of the Blue'' due to its performance in the UK. The network also confirmed that it was concerned over whether the murder mystery plot would make the show unsuitable for a 6pm slot. Nevertheless, a spokeswoman insisted that the show would be on air by the end of 2008, and it finally started airing in a 10.30pm slot from 17 November 2008. In its first week on air in Australia in November 2008, the show attracted 372,000 viewers for its premiere episode and was still being watched by 321,000 by the end of the week. These figures were seen as respectable for the programme's late night slot. In its second week on the air, the show attracted its highest audience yet, with 477,000 viewers tuning in for Monday night's episode. In early January 2009, as the show aired for the final time in its 10.30pm slot, ratings ranged from 313,000 to 395,000. However, once it debuted in its weekly Sunday night slot, ratings started to drop, ranging from 170,000 to 306,000. Since the move to Sundays, there have also been frequent schedule changes, with one episode airing after midnight, and the show's airings alternating from 30-minute and 60-minute slots.


Later developments

Broadcasters in France, the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
,
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
and
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
also acquired the rights to the series. The head of acquisitions for Norway's TV 2 channel stated that he was confident the show would "share the same success that '' Home and Away'' has received in Norway as well as generating the results that our advertisers seek". In October 2008, Five acquired the repeat rights to all 130 episodes from Southern Star Entertainment, with the intent to show them on Fiver from 2009.Green, Kris (30 October 2008).
Fiver acquires rights to 'Out of the Blue'
, '' Digital Spy''. Retrieved 30 October 2008.
This was described as a possible 'lifeline' for the show's future. Five already owns the UK broadcast rights to fellow Australian soaps ''Neighbours'' and '' Home and Away''. At the time of the deal, ''Out of the Blue'''s BBC Two ratings had increased to 142,000 viewers daily, though this was still down 42% from the average viewers its timeslot had in 2007. It began screening in
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
on 29 September 2009 at 5:30pm-6pm, it had a 2-3week break starting from 18 December before returning in a new timeslot at 1:30pm–2:30pm on 29 December. Its screens on Tv2. Repeats of the show's first series began on Fiver on 2 February 2009. Following enquiries from fans, the broadcaster stated that it had no plans to commission a second series.


Awards and recognition


Theme song

"Out of the Blue" (composer: Todd Hunter)
The theme is actually two separate musical pieces; the instrumental piece which plays over the intro i
"Clocks" by Coldplay
which then merges into the vocals from Todd Hunter's composition, which is only 30 secs long for the actual opening credits and logo. The vocals were written by Mark & Todd Hunter (of Dragon fame) and Joanne Piggot. This was written especially for the show and never released as a single.


Cast


Main

* Sophie Katinis (Gabby West) *
Clayton Watson Clayton Watson (born 23 March 1977) is an Australian producer, actor, writer, and director. He grew up in the Australian outback on a sheep station close to Morgan, a small town in South Australia. He is best known for his breakthrough role as K ...
(Jarrod O'Donnell) *
Charlotte Gregg Charlotte Gregg (born December 1978/January 1979), also known as Charlotte Carr, is an Australian actress and blogger. She played the part of Charity Fernbrook in ''Home and Away'', who was a member of The Believers cult and prior to that was a ...
(Tracy O'Donnell) * Renai Caruso (Rebecca 'Bec' Quilter) * Ryan Johnson (Ian 'Stavva' Jones) *
Katherine Hicks Katherine Hicks is an Australian actress. She is known for her roles as Heidi Wilson on '' Rescue: Special Ops'' and Sam MacKenzie on ''Winners & Losers''. Hicks was born in Melbourne, Victoria, and grew up on a farm in Byron Bay, New South Wal ...
(Poppy Hammond) * Dylan Landre (Philip 'Philby' McManus) * Tom Oakley (Jason Conners) * Daniel Henshall (Adam 'Addo' O'Donnell) * John Atkinson (Stephen Mulroney) * Daisy Betts (Peta Lee) * Olivia Bonnici (Tess McManus) *
Aidan Gillett Aidan Gillett (born 12 April 1986) is an Australian actor and stunt performer, who is best known for his roles as Daniel McManus in the BBC-commissioned soap opera '' Out of the Blue'' and Robert Cruze in '' Home and Away''. Early life Gillett ...
(Daniel McManus) *
Nathaniel Buzolic Nathaniel Buzolic ( ; born 4 August 1983) is an Australian actor. He was the host of Nine Network's late-night television quiz show '' The Mint'', and had a regular role on the BBC soap opera '' Out of the Blue'' (2008). He was also a co-host o ...
(Paul O'Donnell) *
Samara Weaving Samara Weaving (born 23 February 1992) is an Australian actress and model. She began her career in her home country, playing Kirsten Mulroney on the drama series '' Out of the Blue'' (2008). She came to prominence with her portrayal of Indi Wal ...
(Kirsten Mulroney) *
Louis Hunter Louis Hunter (born 17 March 1992) is an Australian actor. He was born in Glebe, one of the central districts of Sydney. After training in numerous acting and theatre programs as a child and attending a performing arts high school, Hunter bega ...
(Kyle Mulroney) *
Basia A'Hern Basia A'Hern is a former Australian film, television, and stage actress. On stage, Basia has played the role of Little Cosette in the Sydney leg of the 1997–1999 Les Misérables Australasian Tour. A'Hern made her television debut in 2001, gue ...
(Lucia Jones) * Kim Knuckey (Brian Jones) *
Zoe Carides Zoe Carides (born 19 February 1962) is an Australian actress of film and television, who is best known for her roles in '' Death in Brunswick'' as Sophie, ''G. P.'' as Dr. Sonia Kapek and ''Grass Roots'' as Liz Murray. Family Carides was born ...
(Pia Jones) *
Noel Hodda Noel Hodda (born 1954) is an Australian actor, writer, dramaturge, director and teacher. Acting career Hodda was a founding member of the Riverina Theatre Company, located in Wagga Wagga and Project TYER, a Theatre In Education Co., for whom ...
(Ron O'Donnell) *
Diane Craig Diane Mary Craig (born 1949), sometimes credited as Di Craig, is a Northern Irish-born Australian actress best known for her performances in film and television. She was born in County Down, and since 1971 has been married to award-winning Aust ...
(Deborah McManus) * Bernard Curry (Nate Perrett) *
Maggie Dence Margaret Helen Dence (born 1 February 1942) is an Australian actress of stage and screen, with a career spanning some seven decades. She is equally at home in both comedy and drama roles, and is best known to early audiences for her roles in t ...
(Olive Hammond) * Charlie Rose MacLennan (Zoe O'Donnell)


Recurring

*
Toni Pearen Toni Michelle Pearen is an Australian entertainer, actress, singer, songwriter and television presenter. She initially became recognisable through her role on soap opera '' E Street'' from 1989 until 1992. She had a limited pop music career in ...
(Justine) * Sam Haft (Noel) * Jacinta Stapleton (Tamara) *
Roxane Wilson Roxane Wilson (born 1965) is an South African actress best known for her roles in ''Water Rats (TV series), Water Rats'', ''Stingers (TV series), Stingers'' and ''The Alice (TV series), The Alice''. She was born in Durban, South Africa to an It ...
(Angela Mulroney) *
Shane Withington Shane Withington (born 22 August 1958) is an Australian actor, currently best known for playing surf lifeguard John Palmer in ''Home and Away'' on the Seven Network; his former role as Brendan Jones in the television series ''A Country Practice ...
(DS Simon Wilson)


See also

* ''
Eldorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...
'' - a previously commissioned BBC soap opera, set in Spain * Richard Saunders, had a
cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...
on 2 April 2008


References


External links

*
''Out of the Blue Online''


{{DEFAULTSORT:Out of the Blue (2008 Tv Series) Australian television soap operas Network 10 original programming BBC television dramas 2008 Australian television series debuts 2009 Australian television series endings 2008 British television series debuts 2009 British television series endings Television shows set in New South Wales Television series by Endemol Australia English-language television shows