Home & Away

As Home and Away prepares to go off Australian screens at the end of this week, viewers will have to wait until January 26th 2009 before it returns. The UK will take a break over Christmas for two weeks, but with another eight-week break in Australia, the UK will only be five episodes behind in 2009.

I think it is about time Five accepted that Home and Away has a huge fan base that don't like being messed about. They may as well stay head to head with Australia and take the break with Australia. They can always keep viewers entertained with classic episodes over Christmas and then have a big build-up to the new season.

How exactly are Five messing around with it - it's scheduled in a regular slot and they're not taking it off air just for the sake of it, and being a week rather than a day behind gives them the added flexibility so it doesn't need to be dropped every time it is in Aus.

As for "classic" episodes - generally speaking regardless of the soap they're not so "classic" when shown out of context, but I imagine Fiver will show something in the slot during the break - though "classic" will only be since the beginning of the decade.

Aren't you a little old for Home and Away Mr Shatliff?

It'll be good to be so close to Oz, but will we ever see a return to the opening titles?!

They used to appear about once a week, but I don't think I've seen them for a long time.

They've even stopped framing the "previously" segment now and just use a full screen recap with someone saying "Previously on Home and Away" at the beginning.

this year's cliffhanger looks to be pretty good (it better be, they've been dragging the toxic building site storyline for months now).

I think that they would show them for the first day back, when H&A returns in 2009 in Australia, or at least that is what I hope they will do as they would be a waste to make them and not show it!

It does look good, I must agree to that...

Looks like next week we get the 2008 finale here, though this year Home and Away hasn't waited until the end of the Aussie open to return, so we'll be a couple of weeks behind - so it's only took Five eight years or so to completely catch up.

New credits too - and the theme tune is cut down even more:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgQyIDNGjmo
(NOTE: This clip doesn't contain spoilers but there may be spoilers around it).

The clip below does contain spoilers from the season finale and 2009 premiere, but shows the full "Previously..." sequence in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHRoYA9ZJDw

The closing theme is the same duration of 30 seconds. It's not heard in Australia. It;s on this page on the back to the bay site.

There's more about the remixed theme and "opener" on the official site

That version of the theme is rubbish. I haven't ever really watched the show, but the opening theme used to raise a smile.

Now not so much.