Early Years on Amazon Prime UK

[Dan F]

It certainly is a great thing for UK fans of the show, and it's definitely a step in the right direction! Of course it would have been nice to see a terrestrial television repeat so that it's free for all in the UK, but I think we all knew that was going to be pretty unlikely.

It is however only a small step so far. As someone has already mentioned to us on Twitter, it's debatable as to whether 200 episodes (which don't even make up the whole season) is a big enough draw for people to start a H&A marathon, or sign up to Prime video if they're not a member already. If Amazon are indeed testing the water before adding more, then it might be something of a Catch 22 situation.

I think all we can hope for is that the word is spread, and the episodes perform well enough for Amazon to see it's a worthwhile thing for them. There is a 'Send us Feedback' link at the top of the H&A page which might be useful to let Amazon know that you'd like to see more H&A, and I see a couple of 5 star reviews have already been added so there's that option too.

Of course they might already have more in the pipeline, and they're just releasing on a gradual basis as they work through them, but we just don't know at this moment in time. I've spent the last week firing off emails to see if anyone is willing to answer this (which is the reason I'd delayed posting in here), but we haven't had anyone able to as yet.

That said, we need to see it as a positive move I think and keep our fingers crossed. It did cross my mind whether they'd thought of looking into it, given the presence of other Aussie dramas like All Saints, Rafters, McLeod's Daughters etc., but it is still quite a surprise as others have said.

[Skylover]

Being honest it would probably have been wiser to start from the 1996 season; because those of us who were bothered would have sought out the 1988 to 1995 episodes when they were repeated from 2009 onwards on Australian television. I suspect no more episodes will be added but on the positive side, I do think we are getting closer and closer to old episodes (of any soap) becoming more widely available.

I say this because UK television is currently repeating old episodes of 3 soaps; Coronation St, EastEnders and Emmerdale! Coronation Street's repeat started with 1986 and (due to airing 2 episodes each weekday) has already managed to get to the mid 90s (around 1994 I think, without checking), EastEnders started with 1985 and is already towards the end of 1990 (also via airing 2 eps each weekday) and Emmerdale is getting through the eps quickly too. The fact 200 eps of H&A have appeared on Prime is surely a good step. I did ask the Drama Channel in the UK if they'd consider a Neighbours repeat but they don't seem interested - and I know people have contacted Amazon to ask if a Neighbours repeat is being considered. As it stands 1987-2001 of Neighbours and 1996-2004 of H&A are areas I really want to see either repeated or uploaded to Amazon Prime (or Netflix). This is because of H&A's repeat on 7TWO which has made the 1988-1995 eps widely available, and the Neighbours 'From the Beginning' DVDs which has made 1985 and most of 1986 widely available. In due course I think every episode of EastEnders will be widely available and I'd really love this to be case for H&A and especially Neighbours, as it's my favourite soap.

But yes, surely we are one step closer! This is a massive step not only for H&A, but for all soap fandoms, as it's indicative of the future.

[James Martin]

The market for an FTA rerun would be limited, and possibly expensive - Amazon have deep pockets.  Also, you can watch at your own pace.

Bear in mind the Corrie and Emmerdale reruns aren't available on catch up... rights issues probably still play a huge part.

[Skylover]

10 hours ago, James Martin said:

The market for an FTA rerun would be limited

FTA?

10 hours ago, James Martin said:

Bear in mind the Corrie and Emmerdale reruns aren't available on catch up... rights issues probably still play a huge part.

Classic EE is available on UKTV Play though.

[Bobby Forever Missed]

2 hours ago, Skylover said:

FTA?

What we call Free to Air in Australia

[c120701]

I’ve registered for Prime Video only (without the Amazon Prime Delivery) which is only £5.99 per month. The episodes oddly have a title & a number, so the Pilot is titled Pilot but is numbered Episode 1, then Episode 1 is titled Episode 1 but is numbered Episode 2, so it gets confusing.

[realwildchildau]

channel 7 should have them streaming up on the 7PLUS page also

[PurpleKing1980]

Come on Amazon and add more episodes!

[c120701]

Did Ailsa’s flat behind the Diner become the old Nash house (later Leah’s)? The main room has a pretty similar layout at the back.

The beach is also pretty much a secondary character for a while isn’t it? It’s not really seen after the first couple of episodes for a good few weeks. Summer Bay seems more country than coastal.

[Red Ranger 1]

9 hours ago, c120701 said:

Did Ailsa’s flat behind the Diner become the old Nash house (later Leah’s)? The main room has a pretty similar layout at the back.

It burned down in 1989 so, no.