home and away

Synopsis

It features the travails of the inhabitants of a fictional small coastal town in New South Wales, Australia called Summer Bay.

Stories originally revolved around one family, which was Pippa and Tom Fletcher, and their foster children, who included Frank Morgan, Carly Morris, Steven Matheson, Lynn Davenport, and Sally Fletcher who was adopted by Tom & Pippa. The family expanded with the addition of Bobby Simpson (daughter of Donald Fisher and Morag Bellingham) and that of her adopted younger sister Sophie years later.

Currently the series focuses on several new families: the Hunter family, the Holden family, the Fletcher-Saunders family, the Patterson-Bakers, along with original character Alf Stewart and his grandchildren, Ric and Martha.

Like Neighbours, Australia's other current daily half-hour soap, it attracts a mainly teenage audience and features a constantly-rotating teenage cast, with a smaller band of older actors who tend to last considerably longer.

Cast

See main articles:

• Current Home and Away characters
• List of Home and Away characters
• List of cast members of Home and Away

Current cast members

• Ray Meagher (Alf Stewart) (1988-)
• Kate Ritchie (Sally Fletcher) (1988-)
• Bob Morley (Drew Curtis) (2006-)
• Ada Nicodemou (Leah Patterson Baker) (2000-)
• Tim Campbell (Dan Baker) (2004-)
• Jessica Tovey (Belle Taylor) (2006-)
• Lynne McGranger (Irene Roberts) (1992-)
• Chris Hemsworth (Kim Hyde) (2004-)
• Jason Smith (Robbie Hunter) (2003-2006)
• Paul O'Brien (Jack Holden) (2005-)
• Jodi Gordon (Martha Holden) (2005-)
• Isabel Lucas (Tasha Hunter (2003-2006)
• Indiana Evans (Matilda Hunter) (2004-)
• Rhys Wakefield (Lucas Holden) (2005-)
• Mark Furze (Ric Dalby) (2004-)
• Sharni Vinson (Cassie Turner) (2005-)
• Jon Sivewright (Tony Holden) (2005-)
• Clarissa House (Beth Hunter) (2003-)
• Chris Sadrinna (Brad Armstrong) (2006-)
• Amy Mathews (Rachel Armstrong) (2006-)
• Holly Brisley (Amanda Vale) (2005-)
• Lyn Collingwood (Colleen Smart) (1988-1989, 1997, 1999-)
• Nicholas Bishop (Peter Baker) (2005, 2006)

Recurring cast members

• Cornelia Frances (Morag Bellingham) (1988-1989, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004-)
• Trent Baines (Macca McKenzie) (2006)
• Isaac Gorman (Ryan Baker) (2005-)
• Cooper Scott (VJ Patterson (#3) (2006-)

Departing Cast members

• Jason Smith (Robbie Hunter) (2004-2006) (departs 10th October 2006)
• Isabel Lucas (Tasha Andrews/Hunter) (2003-2006) (departs 10th October 2006)

Cast Members Coming Soon

• Rocco Cooper (Ian Meadows) (starts Monday 9th October 2006)
• Johnny Cooper (Callan Mulvey) (starts Thursday 19th October 2006)

Locations

Aside from the residents' houses Summer Bay has several well-known locations including:

The Surf Club - As with many real life Australian beaches Summer Bay has its own Surf and Lifesaving Centre. Over the years as well as serving its purpose as a centre for sea and land rescues it has been a place for the young people of the Bay to relax and socialise. Town meetings are often held in the Surf Club. It has also been used as a polling station and a private party/formal venue and has housed various food outlets. Several characters have been trained as lifeguards over the years and surf competitions take place occasionally.
Noah's Bar - Located in and joined to the Surf Club. Originally intended to be a business venture between newlyweds Noah Lawson and Hayley Lawson the bar was renamed after Noah's tragic death and changed hands after Hayley's move to France with Scott Hunter. The only known licensed premises regularly shown on the show, it is also used for private functions. Beth, Alf and Martha run the bar.
Summer Bay Gym - Also located next to the Surf Club. Currently owned by Amanda Vale, and run by Tony Holden. Previous employees include Jesse McGregor, Hayley Lawson and Kim Hyde.
The Beachside Diner - More commonly known simply as The Diner. Previously owned by Alf Stewart and his wife Ailsa Stewart, currently by Leah Patterson-Baker and Irene Roberts. It was gutted by fire in the mid-1990s and had to move location. Above is a two-bedroomed flat. The Diner is the first port of call for any residents of the Bay who wish to have a laid-back dinner or take-away.
Summer Bay High - The local co-ed high school. It is also used as a shelter in extreme weather conditions such as hurricanes and has been the scene of a hostage situation. Most of the younger characters attend the school, and many of the adult characters have worked there including Donald Fisher, Sally Fletcher, Irene Roberts, Amanda Vale, Tony Holden and Noah Lawson.
The Beach - The beach is an important part of the Bay and several major storylines have revolved around it. It is the main outdoor location, often used for casual encounters between characters. It also serves to showcase the looks of the cast, who are often seen wearing beachwear. There is a small saltwater swimming pool at one end of the beach which is used occasionally.

Production & broadcast schedule

The show is filmed five days a week for 46 weeks of the year. The crew is given a four week holiday at Christmas and a two week break for recuperation mid-year. A normal shooting day is 7:00am to 6:00pm, but can go later if shooting goes over time. There are 3 to 4 months between shooting and airing the program. The interior shots are filmed at a permanent set for the show in Seven Sydney's Epping studio. The exterior scenes are filmed on location at Palm Beach in Sydney's Northern Beaches region. Filming normally takes place on Tuesdays and Thursdays here.

Australian broadcast

Home And Away is broadcast in Australia on weekdays at 7:00pm. The show airs for 46 weeks each year (except for occasions where worldwide events take priority such as tennis and Olympic Games). Each new season begins on the second Monday in January (an exception to this was the 2006 season where it returned on the third Monday), and the season finale airs on the last Friday in November. The show rates very well in its timeslot, receiving between 1.1 and 1.5 million viewers per episode.

During the broadcast there are three ad-breaks and immediately following the broadcast of each episode is a short promotional trailer for the next episode.

Repeat episodes of the series were broadcast between 1999 and 2002, with a one-year break in 2000. The first 623 episodes (except for Episode 469, which was overlooked when Seven were showing the tennis in September 2001) were shown in this run, before it was taken off in May 2002, and so far has never returned.

International broadcasts

As of 2006, in the UK, the show is broadcast weekdays at 6:00pm, (repeated 12.00pm the following weekday) on Five. In accordance with European Union regulations for shows of this time-length, only one ad break is inserted into the programme at approximately the halfway point. An omnibus edition aired on Saturday mornings when that week's episodes were all repeated. As of October 2005, there has been no airing of the omnibus, however Five will re-broadcast omnibus editions from October this year on its new digital channel Five Life. In addition to this they will also be showing classic episodes of the show, and episodes that have not yet been aired on Five.

In New Zealand, the show used to be broadcast on TV 2 but now screens on TV3 on weekdays at 5:30pm, (repeated 10:30am on weekdays and an omnibus airs on Sundays at 10:15am). 1997 episodes are currently shown on Prime TV at 3:30pm weekdays.

In Ireland the show is broadcast weekdays at 1:25pm on RTÉ One and repeated at 6:30pm on RTÉ Two regularly getting into the top 5 ratings for that week. It is approximately six months behind australia.

Estonia is quite behind various other countries. Currently episodes from 2002 are shown on Kanal 2 every weekday at 6:30pm. In summertime (June-August), two episodes are shown instead of one.

Other countries that broadcast Home And Away include: Belgium on Kanaal Twee; Denmark; Iceland; Ireland; Israel; Lithuania; Norway; Poland; Serbia; South Africa; Sweden; France.

The series is also broadcast in the following countries via the Australia Network: American Samoa; Cambodia; Cook Islands; East Timor; Federated States of Micronesia; Fiji; French Polynesia; Guam; Hong Kong; India; Indonesia; Japan; Kiribati; Laos; Macau; Malaysia; Maldives; Marshall Islands; Mongolia; Niue; Northern Mariana Islands; Pakistan; Palau; Papua New Guinea; Philippines; Samoa; Singapore; Solomon Islands; South Korea; Sri Lanka; Taiwan; Thailand; Tonga; Vanuatu; Vietnam.

See also

• List of Australian television series
• Current Home and Away characters
• List of Home and Away characters
• List of cast members of Home and Away

External links

Official

• Seven Network - Home and Away
• five.tv - Home and Away

Fan Sites

• Home and Away at the Internet Movie Database
• Back to the Bay
• Home and Away Central
• Home and Away Forever
• BayLinks- A Directory of Home & Away related websites
• Fans of Home and Away
• http://www.home-n-away-by-mel.piczo.com 'home n away xoxo '