1995 Season Debuts on 7TWO
This coming Monday will see the debut of the 1995 season of Home and Away on 7TWO, the eighth season to begin airing on the Australian channel.
The repeats began with the Pilot episode from 1988 on the day of the channel’s launch in 2009, and have run largely interrupted through the first seven years of the show. The airings have proven to be extremely popular on our forum, so once again we must praise 7TWO for committing to them for so long and hope that they continue.
1995 is largely regarded by long-term Home and Away fans to be the beginning of the “golden era” of the show, with a large number of popular and memorable storylines—arguably some of the most famous in the show’s history.
The era is heralded by the arrival of the iconic 1995 opening titles in the season premiere, though some may be surprised to learn that the 1995 theme tune does not come until much later in the season. Mike Perjanik’s much-praised underscores for the show will also undergo a gradual revamp, with a much more orchestral scoring being introduced.
The following preview will give you a glimpse at just some of the storylines to watch out for throughout the season.
All dates presume that there are no transmission breaks. If breaks occur, such as in the new year for tennis, then we will endeavour to update the article accordingly.
You can discuss the years episodes with other members of the forum in this dedicated thread.
The season will begin with the fallout from the disastrous Christmas in the Ross household, with Sally having decided to run away following her outburst over the dinner table. The family are concerned when Sally’s bag is found abandoned in the city, and is enough to reopen the lines of communication between Michael and Pippa. When she eventually turns up safe a week later, the couple are on the way to reconciliation.
Jack is looking to beef himself up, and when he gets involved with dodgy local steroid pusher Eric Phillips (Daniel Goddard), it looks like he may give in to temptation. His true colours are realised when Eric tries to force himself upon Shannon. This in turn will trigger some traumatic repressed memories for Shannon from her childhood.
Meanwhile, on 5th April Irene’s sister Wendy McFarlane (Fiona Stewart), a well known Country & Western singer will rock up in the bay with her son Nelson (Laurence Bruels) in tow. The relationship between the siblings is somewhat frosty, and is only put further under strain when Irene beats Wendy in a Country singing competition. Selina takes a shine to Nelson and after a shaky start it looks as if they could be the perfect match, but it isn’t set to last when Wendy & Nelson depart a couple of weeks later. Nelson returns later in the year, by which point Selina has moved on with Curtis.
The third and fourth weeks of the season will see the departures of Damian Roberts (Matt Doran) and Roxy Miller (Lisa Lackey) respectively. Whilst Damian will be departing for university, and will return several times during the year, Roxy will break things off with Rob following the all clear from her cancer treatment and depart for the Greek Islands.
The following week on 28th April will see tragedy strike for engaged couple Angel & Shane when Angel is hit by Alf’s car. With only weeks until their wedding, Angel is told that she may never walk again.
May will see the introduction of Laura Bonetti (Claudia Buttazzoni), an Italian exchange student who comes to stay with the Stewarts. It doesn’t take long before a rebellious Laura starts to lead a besotted Curtis astray.
Donna’s abusive ex-boyfriend Andrew Warren (Adrian Lee) arrives in town, and it emerges that he used to beat her. Despite his past, Donna falls for his charms and is willing to give him another chance, one which she will come to regret. The episode featuring the climax to the storyline (airing on 13th July 2016) was nominated for an Australian Film Institute award.
Mid-June will see an action packed week, with Home and Away’s most famous wedding—that of Shane & Angel—airing on Tuesday 14th June. Damian and Sarah (Laura Vazquez) return for the ceremony, which memorably sees Angel rise from her wheelchair with Don’s assistance to walk down the aisle to Shane.
A few days later, we’ll see the shocking conclusion to the Laura/Curtis storyarc, when a dangerous stunt goes wrong and Laura ends up being killed by a speeding train. Summer Bay resident Travis Nash (Nic Testoni) is witness to the tragedy and is introduced in the following episode to air on Monday 20th June.
As we reach the end of June, Selina will be shocked to learn that she is pregnant following a one night stand with Damian on the eve of Shane & Angel’s wedding. Tragically she will lose the baby only four weeks later.
With Shane & Angel married and finding a home together, Angel will fight Anne (Fay Kelton) & Paul Harris (Ramsey Everingham) for custody of her young son Dylan (now played by Corey Glaister).
New teacher Teresa Lynch (Diane Craig) will arrive in Summer Bay on 18th July, and in the same episode we will see the first appearance of the Nash House – a set which would remain on-screen for 20 years. Teresa brings with her a son, Joe (Justin Rosniak, who previously played Ben McPhee), who Sally takes a shine too – sadly for her, the feelings are not reciprocated.
Later that week we’ll see the final episode of Rob Storey (Matthew Lilley). Whilst we’d like to tell you what happens to him, it’s something of a mystery….
The show will take a two week break for the Olympics from Monday 8th August.
The show’s return on Monday 22nd August will herald a new era as a brand new theme tune debuts. Sung by Doug Williams & Erana Clark, it marks the first time the theme has been changed since the show began.
The same episode will also see the introduction of Donna Bishop’s (Nicola Quilter) brother Gus (Samuel Johnson) who will arrive for a four week guest stint. He will depart in the same episode that sees Donna leave with Travis on an environmental research trip to Canada.
Monday 29th August will bring around a new set of opening titles, ones which include a whopper of a spoiler with the reintroduction of Marilyn Chambers (Emily Symons), who makes her return to Summer Bay in the same episode. With her marriage to Phil having fallen apart, Marilyn decides to settle back in the bay. Moving back into the Beach House as a lodger, she soon opens up a beauty salon in the old storeroom at the Diner (the door to which magically appears overnight…)
Meanwhile Ailsa has been going through a tough time, and falls into a deep depression and state of paranoia after being attacked whilst closing up the Diner. Ailsa’s breakdown will reach a shocking conclusion on Thursday 1st September, in one of the most famous Home and Away moments of all time. Home alone and dosed up with years old amphetamines, Ailsa starts hearing a whispery voice calling her name. Following it to the kitchen, Ailsa finds none other than the late Bobby Marshall (Nicolle Dickson) stepping out of her fridge! After an evening running around the house trying to avoid Bobby’s taunting, Ailsa finally realises she needs help.
There’s trouble for Shane and Angel when Shannon develops a crush on Shane. After her attempt to kiss him is rebuked, Shannon decides to try and convince Angel that she and Shane slept together. Her attempt to split the couple is successful, and Shane arrives at the wharf just in time to see the seaplane containing Angel & Dylan taking off. Sadly, Summer Bay’s seaplanes don’t have the best track record, and the plane crashes in the middle of the bush in the episode airing 12th September.
Whilst there are two fatalities, Angel & Dylan are relatively unscathed, and when the search party finds them, Shane & Angel get back on track. Teresa, who was also on the flight, isn’t in a good way and is transferred to the city for treatment, which marks both her and son Joe’s exits. A little Yugoslavian girl, Maja Krajacek (Xenia Natalenko), is orphaned in the crash, and Michael takes her into the Ross household for a few weeks before her family are tracked down and he’s forced to say an emotional goodbye.
The rejection from Shane will cause Shannon’s emotional stability to decrease further, and she will end up battling anorexia. Things come to a head when she gets into difficulty whilst swimming and Angel is forced to dive in and save her.
Wednesday 21st September will see the introduction of Chloe Richards (Kristy Wright), but her blossoming relationship with Jack Wilson will cause trouble with her abusive, racist father Max (Rob Steele). So much so that Chloe will run away to find her mother in WA, but will return to the bay later in the year. A couple of weeks later, Pippa’s father Bert King (now played by Peter Collingwood) will come to stay following his wife Coral’s death.
In mid-October, Marilyn will have a surprise when she goes to meet the new Maths teacher off the bus, as it’s none other than Steven Matheson (Adam Willits), returning home to Summer Bay 4 years after leaving for Uni. Within a few weeks they start dating.
The day after, Irene will have a slightly less happy reunion when her ex-husband Murdoch Roberts (Tom Richards) rocks up in the bay for a couple of weeks. Whilst he appears to want to give his marriage another go, he wastes no time in sleazing onto Selina, and is finally caught out when the ladies set a trap for him. An infuriated Irene sends him packing.
Meanwhile there’s more torment for the Parrish family when it becomes apparent that Angel is being stalked. Top of the suspect list is recent arrival Joanne Brennan (Kimberley Joseph), a bitchy ex-schoolmate of Angel’s. As the campaign of terror continues with phone calls and creepy goings on around the house, the stalker is finally revealed on 4th November when Angel is attacked in her home, and it’s certainly not who they were expecting!
If that wasn’t enough for the family, Dylan has also been under the weather, and in the very next episode Shane and Angel receive the devastating news that their little boy has leukaemia. The couple have some impossible decisions to make as Dylan faces treatment, and tears shed when Dylan asks Angel if he’s going to die.
Jack will get into more strife later in the month when he buddies up with troublemaker Rad (Rudi Baker), with the duo crashing a car and inadvertently starting a devastating bushfire which threatens to wipe out half the town. Whilst Donald fights to save the school, in a cruel twist of fate his home is destroyed. Nelson, who was badly burnt after saving Jack from the crashed car, receives treatment at the hospital where we meet Dr Kelly Watson (Katrina Hobbs) for the first time. The trauma takes an emotional toll on Nelson and he departs for the final time a couple of weeks later.
Shortly after the fire, Shannon discovers a burnt body in the bush. When the body is identified, it’s revealed to be Murdoch – and he was dead before the fire started. With both Irene and Selina becoming major suspects in a murder investigation, it’s a few weeks before the killer is identified, and it’s no-one that anyone could have suspected.
A week later, Michael checks in a new guest at the caravan park, Brian Forbes, and whilst the name rings a vague bell with Pippa when she later glances over the book, it’s not until he walks into the house that she’s shocked to find herself face to face with ‘Dodge’ (Kelly Dingwall). Having gone to prison 6 years earlier, for killing Steven’s uncle Philip Matheson, Dodge is certainly not welcome back in the bay. When Steven marches over to the van to attempt to turf him out, Dodge calmly states that he’ll be staying put. Over the following 6 weeks, Dodge is determined to make Steven pay for putting him away…
Shannon will strike up a friendship with acclaimed author Mandy Thomas (Rachel Blake), who visits the bay to work on her new book. The friendship causes a bit of a stir, not least with Mandy’s partner Toni Jarvis (Bridie Carter), as it becomes apparent Shannon has developed a crush on Mandy. Travis will return to the bay the following week, having split from Donna, and moves back into the family home with current tenants Steven & Kelly.
(the following dates may alter if the show takes a break from transmission for tennis coverage)
In the new year, the Dodge storyline will culminate in a clifftop showdown after he kidnaps Kelly—whilst fighting, both Steven and Dodge fly off the cliff and into the ocean. Whilst Steven makes it to safety, Dodge is never seen again.
At the end of the same week, an American lady named Quinn Jackson (Danielle Spencer) will arrive in the bay looking for Alf Stewart. They don’t get off to the best of starts, and she’s on her way back out of the bay before he realises the significance of her name. Finding her at the bus stop, she reveals herself to be his daughter, the result of a fling Alf had whilst serving in Vietnam. Whilst father and daughter start to get to know each other, Quinn is busy sabotaging a business deal of Alf’s as an act of revenge, something which she later regrets.
As the season begins to draw to a close, Selina and Shannon will meet Saul Bennett (David Ritchie), the leader of a cult on the other side of Yabbie Creek, who it turns out is the father of her boyfriend Alex (Nick Freedman). Still feeling the loss of her baby, and convinced that she saw a vision of her during a near-death experience earlier in the year, Selina gets drawn in to Saul’s teachings.
In the season finale, currently due to air on Friday 24th February 2017, Kelly finds out that she’s at risk of being HIV Positive after pricking herself with a needle at work; Selina continues to fall under Saul’s spell as he invites her to come and live on the commune; Donald gets rather tipsy during an improptu Christmas party with Steven & Marilyn in his office; and Shane is knocked off his motorbike by a hit and run driver. As Shane’s slips into unconsciousness at the side of the road, a deathly silence falls over the Parrish house.
A few other things to look out for in the year include:
- An early appearance by Belinda Emmett (who later went on to play Rebecca Fisher), playing a love interest for Travis appropriately enough
- A snake on the loose in Summer Bay House!
- The debut of the infamous pink Bambino
- Shane occasionally getting up to mischief in the opening titles
- A return for Nana Coburn (Norman Coburn’s real life daughter, who previously played Vicki Baxter) playing Dodge’s girlfriend Lisa Matthews.
- A surreal near-death experience for Selina when she swallows a bee
- A short guest stint for veteran actress Gwen Plumb, who previously appeared in the Pilot episode as local gossip Doris Peters
- A 2 episode stint for Tasma Walton playing Kelly’s sister Rachel Watson, whose visit to the bay is marred by a tragic accident
- The bay’s first porcine pet, Rosemary
- Angel becoming a thief!
- Donald receiving a right hook from Alf in front of his pupils
- The first appearance of school geek Jeremy Riggs (David Stanley), who forms an obsession with Selina
- Irene getting engaged to a returning guest character
- Damian returning with a bold new look and career path
- A big fallout between the Ross and Stewart families, not helped by a cheeky fax sent by Sam!
- The alternative mix of the 1995 theme tune which will play on occasion, featuring a different saxophone track and reverbed vocals
Key Dates
| 1606 | Mon 28th Mar 2016 | Season Opener |
| 1612 | Tue 5th Apr 2016 | Wendy & Nelson McFarlane’s first episode |
| 1620 | Fri 15th Apr 2016 | Damian Roberts departs |
| 1624 | Thu 21st Apr 2016 | Roxy Miller’s final episode |
| 1629 | Thu 28th Apr 2016 | Angel’s accident |
| 1638 | Wed 11th May 1016 | Laura Bonetti’s first episode |
| 1644 | Thu 19th May 2016 | Corey Glaister’s first episode as Dylan Harris |
| 1649 | Thu 26th May 2016 | Andrew Warren’s first episode |
| 1662 | Tue 14th Jun 2016 | Shane & Angel’s wedding |
| 1665 | Fri 17th Jun 2016 | Laura’s death |
| 1666 | Mon 20th Jun 2016 | Travis Nash’s first episode |
| 1673 | Wed 29th Jun 2016 | Selina’s pregnancy |
| 1683 | Wed 13th Jul 2016 | Andrew Warren’s final episode |
| 1686 | Mon 18th Jul 2016 | Teresa Lynch’s first episode / Nash House |
| 1690 | Fri 22nd July2016 | Rob Storey’s final episode |
| 1693 | Wed 27th Jul 2016 | Selina’s miscarriage |
| 1699 | Thu 4th Aug 2016 | Ailsa’s attacked |
| Mon 8th Aug 2016 | Two week transmission break for Olympics | |
| 1701 | Mon 22nd Aug 2016 | Gus Bishop’s first episode / New theme tune |
| 1706 | Mon 29th Aug 2016 | Marilyn Chambers returns |
| 1709 | Thu 1st Sep 2016 | Bobby comes out of Ailsa’s fridge |
| 1716 | Mon 12th Sep 2016 | The seaplane crash |
| 1720 | Fri 16th Sep 2016 | Donna Bishop’s final episode |
| 1723 | Wed 21st Sep 2016 | Chloe Richards’ first episode |
| 1725 | Fri 23rd Sep 2016 | Max Richards’ first episode |
| 1734 | Thu 6th Oct 2016 | Bert King returns |
| 1738 | Wed 12th Oct 2016 | Steven Matheson returns |
| 1739 | Thu 13th Oct 2016 | Murdoch Roberts’ first episode |
| 1741 | Mon 17th Oct 2016 | Joanne Brennan’s first episode |
| 1755 | Fri 4th Nov 2016 | Angel’s stalker is revealed |
| 1756 | Mon 7th Nov 2016 | Dylan’s leukaemia diagnosis |
| 1766 | Mon 21st Nov 2016 | The bushfire |
| 1769 | Thu 24th Nov 2016 | Murdoch’s body is found |
| 1775 | Fri 2nd Dec 2016 | Dodge returns |
| 1778 | Wed 7th Dec 2016 | Mandy Thomas’ first episode |
| 1779 | Thu 8th Dec 2016 | Nelson McFarlane’s final episode |
| 1802 | Tue 10th Jan 2017 | Alex Bennett’s first episode |
| 1806 | Mon 16th Jan 2017 | Dodge’s final episode |
| 1809 | Thu 19th Jan 2017 | Quinn Jackson’s first episode |
| 1825 | Fri 10th Feb 2017 | Quinn Jackson’s final episode |
| 1827 | Tue 14th Feb 2017 | Saul Bennett’s first episode |
| 1835 | Fri 24th February 2017 | Season Finale |