Out of the Blue
If it isn’t already well-known that this new soap opera has been made to order for the UK market, it’s certainly obvious from looking at it.
It has a dash of Neighbours, spoonfuls of Home and Away, hints of Echo Point -maybe even a sprinkling of Fast Forward’s parody ‘Dumb Street.’ Like a slice of glorious suburban Australiana, all the ingredients for which Aussie soaps have become famous in the UK are here: a pretty, young, whitebread cast, a slim budget impossibly stretched (there are quite a few location scenes), pedestrian dialogue, rolling surf, a local diner, a matriarch, cross-generational drama, the introductory voice over to set the scene. It has everything except the cardboard, recycled sets from HeadLand.
The premise of Out of the Blue is a reunion of the Class of 95, as old school mates gather to reminisce. Most love each other, one or two are at odds over broken hearts. A mother has two bickering sons and a grandchild on the way. As these thirtysomethings gather we see old video footage of them back in high school (despite the uniforms and acting up, they don’t quite pass that test). Several scenes push the backstory to bring viewers up to speed on how a myriad of characters interlock. Few of the classmates seem to have moved beyond their class, pardon the pun.
It isn’t until the third episode that one of the characters is found dead, igniting the ‘whodunnit’ element of the soap. It is debatable if by that point there has been the same investment from audience to replicate the same outcome that other soaps have achieved utilised this device. Will we really care if Mike, Dazza or whatever their name is has been bumped off, so soon?
At its best Out of the Blue seems to know what it needs to be to hook a UK audience: unabashed teeny soap that never aims especially high. At its worst it is, like a recent parody title, little more than moving wallpaper.
TEN has scheduled the show for a 10:30pm weeknight timeslot, seemingly aware it may struggle to build an audience in the more competitive early evenings. If it can perform in a late slot it will deliver the network some much needed local content points. The network is hoping it will benefit from the fact that summer audiences also watch television later in the night than during other seasons.
Out of the Blue isn’t trying to be taxing, and on that level it certainly succeeds. Hopefully there are enough younger viewers willing to stay up to 11pm to see it.
Out of the Blue screens 10:30pm Monday - Thursday on TEN.
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Damn, I wanted the cardboard, recycled sets from HeadLand.
Will there be any wooden acting ??
10:30 at night? I was really looking forward to this show but I don’t know if I want to stay up until 11:00 every weeknight to watch it. I thought this show would be replacing Neighbours during the summer. What’s going on at 6:30 instead?
@ Phil,
I think it’s fair to say it’ll be a repeat of something we’ve seen a thousand times. Futurama or Friends anyone?
This show is wasted at such a graveyard timeslot, shame shame shame 10.
It’s already screening in NZ at 5.30pm - I caught a few episodes while I was there, it’s not too bad!!
I reckon that Out Of the Blue should be put on at 10PM, and then have their 7:30 show at 7:00, their 8:30 show at 8:00, and their 9:30 show at 9. This might help their ailing early-night problems, as well as keep enough viewers on for OOtB to survive.
WTF is TEN doing putting this on @ 10.30? I hope i’m wrong but they are killing it putting it in the same timezone as infomercials - well near enough to them.
10 have taken off Everybody Loves Raymond so i officially hate this show!
And I hope 10 will replace Neighbours with Friends..
Its an exellent show and well worth a watch. The acting is really good with some great performances from Clayton Watson and Sophine Katnis.
Its a breath of fresh air in the boring and repetative TV landscape at the moment.
Classclown, this is what’s known as “burning it off and making up quota points”. The 10.30pm slot shows that Ten knows full well that it’s rubbish. But then, when a evening Australian soap isn’t even good enough for the crap-serial-drama-loving UK, the fact that it’s rubbish is pretty much a given.
Jack, I presume you work(ed) on it
I will, however, give it a glance. But only to see Sophie Katinis not doing comedy
This sounds great. I had a look at their official website and the cast looks good as well. There is a sprinkiling of Aussie Soap Veterans in there too. Its anoying that it clashes with Shamless on Monday night and Survivor on Tuesday, as I will have to stay up to watch one of them, as can’t tape both.
This was axed. It will only have 1 season. I was curious to know who the killer was though, so I looked it up on IMDB.
Slimmest of possible renewals if it finds an audience on Five and TEN, but it’s certainly helping TEN with local content, yes….
I’m going to give this show a go. I love late night aussie soaps and use to love watching Pacific Drive later than this and of course Prisoner repeated on Foxtel at midnight on UKTV all those years ago. I think every network could do a late night soapie and just over load the market with bad drama, hey if 9 can try and bring Young Doctors back, anything is possible.
From the promo’s I have seen it looks like a cheap “Headland” rehash! And what is with the voice over chick? She sounds so tacky “One of us is the killer!” dumb..
Like why not bring Headland back or play the rest of the episodes, I was actually getting into that show. With Rachael Taylor now well known and 3 of the Home & Away boys in it, it should do well over summer.
I watched the first 5 minutes. Pretty poor acting, but thats not unexpected.
Watched ten minutes whilst waiting for Kubrick doco on SBS,
Are we sure they didn’t use recycled sets from HeadLand ? Looks like same uninspiring blonde,surfer type folk. Supposed reuniting from school - no chemistry, hardly looks like they even graduated from pre school…Looks like no one can act - where do they get these souls from. Looks totally believable (only joking)
I won’t be back. It was shocking.
I don’t recognise the show I have watched for over 100 episodes from this review. Unabashed teeny soap? Out of the Blue is anything but. It has mercifully few characters under the age of 18. The focus is on a core cast in their late 20s/early 30s, along with some middle-aged characters, which makes this show very different to Neighbours and Home & Away. OOTB is clearly not aimed at younger viewers and its characters and plots have more in common with 80s shows such as Sons & Daughters than today’s soaps. Moving Wallpaper it ain’t. The show progresses at a lightning pace with more unexpected twists and turns than a year in Ramsay Street or Summer Bay could offer. Advice from someone who has seen most of the series - stick with it and prepare to be entertained!
Well it’s good to hear another POV. Obviously the review is written from viewing the first few eps not 100!
Fair enough - I know I have the advantage of having seen most of the series. I just hope it is given a chance in Australia and isn’t written off before it gets going. Any soap takes a while to bed in and it hasn’t benefited from any of the massive promotion Neighbours got way back when it turned around from being a flop to a hit.
Ian can I ask how you have watched 100 eps, has it aired else where?
I’m Loving Out Of the Blue. From the first ep I knew I will be sticking with this one and I havn’t felt that about any show this year since Underbelly.
Yes, Craig - I am in the UK but have been watching episodes from Ireland, where the show has now finished its run. OOTB is already screening in about six countries, including Belgium and the Netherlands, I think.
With sales to Belgium, Holland, New Zealand, Ireland, France and now a second broadcaster in the UK, I think that this show stands a good chance of renewal if the Aussies give it a fair go. I have now seen the whole show from beginning to end and can catagorically say I haven’t enjoyed a drama series as much for years - and by that I don’t just mean Aussie dramas. Like everything else any show takes a while to get into gear, but when Out of the Blue gets going, boy does it get going! I have never watched a show with more unexpected twists than this one… throughout its run I thought I knew where this show was going and I was constantly surprised…this isn’t normal soap fare…its an intelligent, pacy drama that is thoroughly addictive…I’d pass up watching all other television programmes totally for a whole year if it meant I could watch new episodes of this every day!
If you have any sense you’ll keep watching…you’ll thank me later!
i have seen quite a bit of it online and like what i saw too, it’s not like H & A and Neighbours at all, much older target i think
how long will this last it pushs letterman back half and hour this suxs.
Rubbish! Dam straight Harry! Letterman is the only thing worth watching most nights on Australian television. It’s part of my routine, as is Ten’s late news for a lot of people. Why would Ten decide to serve up this tripe to spoil our evenings?
What a waste. It’s high time for some new commercial tv licenses so that this crap can be relegated to a ten2 or 3 or 4. Who watches this rubbish???
Ian’s post is great, summed up everything I wanted to say! OOTB is so far from a teen soap - it’s an intelligent adult drama and, with a couple of months left before it ends here in the UK, I can honestly say it’s the best programme I’ve watched in years.
Whenever I watch Neighbours or one of the British soaps, I can no longer appreciate them because OOTB just blows them all out of the water with its compelling murder mystery plot (the repercussions of which are still being felt in episodes currently airing in the UK), fantastic characters and so many twists you just wouldn’t see coming. All of the other soaps are just so boring and unoriginal compared to this.
I can only hope that people in Aus give this show a decent chance. Yes, it is hard to get into a new programme at first, but believe me this one is worth it.
I must mention though, when I watched it last night, in what seems to be a conincidence, but when Gyton was up on the stage, and then Roy Billing came on, I thought it felt like a bit of the old ‘pass the buck’, in regards to the upcoming Underbelly saga, involving Roy as Robert Trimbole.
hey there i loved it but missed last night help …………….
I’ve been watching it from the start and I have to say that as corny as a soap can be, I’m actually enjoying the show and the characters. Overall, I will keep watching because I’m interested in finding out more of an indepth look into the characters.
I’m from aus not far from where it’s filmed actually. absouletly love the show by far the best show on tv atm just wish eps went for longer can’t get enough of it.
Didn’t really like the show to begin with but now I’m addicted! I love it.
Yes, the actors and the storylines aren’t really award-worthy but I can’t help it!
I would Like to know the theme song to out of the blue and who sings it if anybody knows let me know please and thank you
thoroughly hooked on Out of the Blue and look forward to viewing it the next day - thank heavens for pvr’s. Thumbs up for this one Ten. Just wish it had a link to view missed episodes or at least an ep synopsis.
Guys this is typical soap and would be best suited say after neighbours
many thanks