McLeod's Daughters (season 8)

McLeod's Daughters - The Eighth Season
Country of origin	Australia
No. of episodes	22
Broadcast
Original channel	Nine Network
Original run	23 July 2008 – 31 January 2009
Home video release
DVD release date	5 November 2008
Season chronology
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The eighth and final season of the Australian television drama McLeod's Daughters was screened on the Nine Network from 23 July 2008 until 29 January 2009.

Plot

Adventure and drama continues on Drover's Run in the final series with 22 episodes of McLeod's Daughters. Financial ruin threatens the future of Drovers Run, new romances come under pressure and Stevie mourns the death of her late husband Alex. Jaz McLeod returns to help sister Grace; Ingrid goes missing. The series ends on a high note with the property secured for the future and the return of Jodi Fountain-McLeod and her mother Margaret Fountain. Jodi Fountain-Mcleod is now Matt Bosnich's wife and can now return to Mcleod's daughters because the peope following her and Matt have all been put in jail. As the screen scrolls down we see that Jodi is pregnant but we never see the birth or baby due to the series ending abruptly.

2008-2009 Main Cast

Actor	Character	Episodes	Number Of Episodes
Simmone Jade Mackinnon	Stevie Hall	8.01 - 8.22	22
Abi Tucker	Grace Kingston-McLeod	8.01 - 8.22	22
Edwina Ritchard	Jaz McLeod	8.08 - 8.22	15
Michala Banas	Kate Manfredi	8.01 - 8.04	4
Matt Passmore	Marcus Turner	8.01 - 8.22	22
John Schwarz	Ben Hall	8.08 - 8.22	15
Gillian Alexy	Tayler Geddes	8.01 - 8.22	22
Luke Jacobz	Patrick Brewer	8.01 - 8.22	22
Doris Younane	Moira Doyle	8.01 - 8.22	22

Special Guest Stars

Actor	Character	Episodes
Aaron Jeffery	Alex Ryan	203, 205, 208
Zoe Naylor	Regan McLeod	209, 210, 223, 224

Special Guest Appearance By

Actor	Character	Episodes
Rachael Carpani	Jodi Fountain McLeod	224
Sonia Todd	Meg Fountain Dodge	224

Recurring Cast

Actor	Character
Rachael Coopes	Ingrid Marr
Dustin Clare	Riley Ward
Anita Hegh	Sharon Buckingham
Martin Lynes	Frank Edwards
Alex Cook	Lily Edwards
Basia A'Hern	Rose Hall-Smith

Arriving/Returns

Actor	Character Name	Episode
Edwina Ritchard	Jaz McLeod	103 - 104, 210 - 224
John Schwarz	Ben Hall	210 - 224

Departing

Actor	Character Name	Episode	Info
Dustin Clare	Riley Ward	203	Missing from the Christmas Eve car crash.
Michala Banas	Kate Manfredi	206	Left to run a youth farm.
Aaron Jeffery	Alex Ryan	208	Killed by a falling tree.

Finale Episode Air Dates

• Australia - 29 January 2009 (Double Episode 223 & 224)
• New Zealand - 12 February 2009 (Double Episode 223 & 224)
• Germany - 4 November 2008 (Single Episode 224)

Opening credits

For the final season of McLeod's Daughters the show's opening theme remained the same as the 2007 version, but the pictures were all updated. Grace and Stevie remained together; the background was changed to the Drover's Run sign. Marcus remained on a motorbike but on a dirt road, Kate was blowing a feather in front of trees. Tayler was holding a dandelion, and Patrick was standing in the rain.

Episodes

Season #	Series #	Title	Director(s)	Writer(s)	Original airdate
1	203	"Aftermath"	Arnie Custo	Margaret Wilson	23 July 2008 (2008-07-23)
The season opens five days after the Christmas accident; while Grace, Patrick and Tayler have survived, Riley is still missing. Patrick has several other near-fatal accidents. This angers Tayler and she confronts him, after which they both admit they love each other. Grace's secret hero is revealed to be Ingrid, and she tells Kate that Riley's body was probably dragged away by the river.
2	204	"The Pitfalls Of Love"	Arnie Custo	Nick Stevens	30 July 2008 (2008-07-30)
Grace and Marcus become trapped at the bottom of a mine shaft. Tayler asks Kate for romantic advice. She still struggles with the loss of Riley and turns to Father Dan for comfort. Grace starts hallucinating and she and Marcus almost give into their passion; they are rescued before anything further happens. Tayler and Patrick work out their issues after she confessed to still being a virgin.
3	205	"Wild Ride"	Steve Mann	James Walker	6 August 2008 (2008-08-06)
Kate throws herself into her new job as an overseer. Stevie's wild-hearted rodeo mate Sharon comes to Drover's, but she and Stevie are no longer on the same wavelength. Marcus goes to extreme lengths to save Ingrid from an abusive rodeo rider.
4	206	"Nowhere To Hide"	Steve Mann	Sarah Duffy	6 December 2008
While finishing her chores, Kate crosses paths with a young man whose car has broken down. Tayler and Patrick are interrupted by Noisy the dog every time they try to get romantic, so Tayler suggests they move in together, to which Patrick responds negatively. Kate decides to leave Drover's life to join a church camp for troubled and runaway teenagers. Note: This is Kate Manfredi's (Michala Banas's) last episode.
5	207	"Stand By Me"	Richard Jasek	Sam Carroll	13 December 2008
Moira wakes up every night hearing strange noises; there seems to be an intruder at Drover's. Moira meanwhile struggles with her feelings for Phil, and she worries that she might have been too harsh on him, when her curse on him comes back to haunt her. Tayler and Grace discover Lily, a little girl, in their house.
6	208	"Close Enough to Touch"	Richard Jasek	Christopher D. Hawkshaw	13 December 2008
Alex returns home and shares the news that he won't be going to Argentina again. Their joy is soon turned to despair when a tree falls on Alex. He dies in Stevie's arms. Later, she gives birth to a boy, but she can't bear to look at him because he reminds her too much of Alex. Tayler fights with Patrick about their relationship and asks Moira for help. Note: This is Alex Ryan's (Aaron Jeffery's) last episode.
7	209	"Bringing Up Wombat"	Ian Watson	Greg Millin & Justine Gillmer	20 December 2008
Regan McLeod has returned to Drover's and soon discovers the little kiss Marcus and Grace shared. Stevie doesn't feel at home any more, and moves with her son who goes by the name of Wombat for now to Killarney. Note: Regan McLeod (Zoe Naylor) returns.
8	210	"Three Sisters"		Chris Corbett	20 December 2008
Jaz McLeod steps off a bus in Gungellan looking every inch a fashion plate. As she struggles to gather up her luggage she meets Ben, a handsome larrikin on the same bus. Back at Drovers, Jaz’s return seems to reawaken old tensions amongst the McLeod sisters. Grace and Jaz are so different — the rebel and the princess — and they have always clashed, leaving Regan stuck in the role of peacemaker. Note: Jaz McLeod (Edwina Ritchard) returns and Ben Hall (John Schwarz) arrives.
9	211	"Damned"			27 December 2008
The girls mobilise the local community to prevent a massive dam being built upstream. Jaz is blackmailed by a pro-dam farmer, who threatens to reveal an explosive secret from Jaz's past. Patrick's trial as overseer on Killarney ends in disaster.
10	212	"Mother Love"			27 December 2008
Tayler's and Patrick's happy domesticity is disrupted when Tayler's mother, Jane, returns. Jane wants to set the record straight with her daughter, but Tayler is wary, owing to Jane's previous appearance around her 18th birthday. Now, Jane wants to be up front with Tayler, to explain why she left, and why she stayed away for 16 years without so much as a word.
11	213	"Bright Lights, Big Trouble"			3 January 2009
Grace, Jaz, Marcus and Frank head off to the city to confront the Minister responsible for a dam proposal that will take away their ground water. Marcus manages to get in to see Ayres and arranges a meeting for later that day. But instead of the face-to-face meeting they'd imagined, Ayres leads them directly into a press conference. Meanwhile, it's Stevie and Alex's first wedding anniversary but Stevie wants to forget about it.
12	214	"Love and Let Die"			3 January 2009
Frank threatens to detonate a deadly bomb during a town meeting over the controversial dam. Jaz ends her relationship with Frank, unaware this has tipped him into a deadly rage. Stevie and Marcus's lives are at risk when they accompany a visiting politician.
13	215	"A Dogs Life"			10 January 2009
Ben tries to contact his ex-girlfriend Monique, with no luck; he resigns himself to another day in the district without her. Meanwhile, Marcus has been looking for a new overseer for weeks. He clashes constantly with Ben; neither of them can accept that Ben is right for the job. With the district yard dog trials approaching, Ben is unexpectedly befriended by a border collie dog. Marcus, however, is unaware of this, and unwittingly denies any knowledge about the dog to its irate owner, the burly, heavily tattooed Trevor. When Marcus finds out, he insists they take the highly trained dog back. But when Ben steals the dog back, believing it's being abused, Marcus is furious — Ben has got them into even more trouble.
14	216	"My Prince Will Come"			3 January 2009
Jaz is shocked when Prince Misha, her royal ex-boyfriend, turns up on Drovers.
15	217	"Snogging Frogs"			17 January 2010
A children's fundraising ball is being held at Drovers. Everybody attends except Stevie, who stays with Xander. Taylor brings another date after having a fallout with Patrick. Moira struggles with the fact she has to tell Phil she's pregnant. Jaz and Misha are making up plans to clear their names while Grace wants to stop their plan. Father Dan has more feelings for Grace then he's supposed to and Marcus tries to persuade Stevie to attend the ball.
16	218	"The Merry Widow"			17 January 2009
A picture of Stevie and Marcus in the newspaper causes trouble when everybody in Gungellan believes they're dating. Drover's misses out on a big cattle sale and have to drive them to a faraway paddock. Stevie goes out with the girls, leaving Xander alone for the first time. Taylor finds a job application of Patrick's for a job in another city. Father Dan goes through rough times trying to avoid Grace.
17	219	"Show Pony"			17 January 2009
Annie, Jaz's show-jumping horse, is startled when trying to do farm work. Stevie doesn't want Annie to be trained for the farm. Ben and Jaz try to find out what causes her to be startled. Moira and Phil are going through rough times after losing the baby. Drovers inadvertently bought stolen cattle; they find out when two detectives visit. Meanwhile Taylor's initiative to redo Ingrid's schedule goes all wrong. Ingrid's violent husband visits Drover's.
18	220	"Every Move You Make"			17 January 2009
Ingrid becomes increasingly worried about the safety of Marcus, as well as her friends, when her ex-husband Paul continues to stalk and harass her; she is finally pushed to breaking point.
19	221	"Into Thin Air"			24 January 2009
Paul starts to become more aggressive when he is released from hospital. Ingrid continues to worry about Marcus and her friends when she discovers that Paul had messed with her brakes, nearly killing her and Stevie. Hours later, the girls find Ingrid's car at the bottom of a ditch, broken, with branches and blood, but no Ingrid.
20	222	"The Show Must Go On"			24 January 2009
The music Phil wrote for Moira finally gets performed. Tayler and Patrick are anxious about Noisy giving birth to puppies. Stevie becomes quite attracted to a new male vet. Marcus is becoming more and more unsettled, and gives up on finding Ingrid when he finds a note from her. Moira and Phil have a falling out when Phil wants to buy a property near his son; Moira doesn't want to move.
21/22	223/224	"Into The Valley Of The Shadow/The Long Paddock"			31 January 2009
In the final telemovie-length episode of McLeod's Daughters, Drovers' future is in doubt and the girls pull out all the stops to shear through the night to try and save the farm and their futures. Six months have passed since the previous episode. High summer is looming and the ongoing drought has forced drastic action. All the sheep are being mustered and shorn to sell off so the remaining stored feed can help keep the cattle going through the next months. Halfway through the shear, Stevie confesses all: the financial situation is even more dire than she's told the others She hasn't been drawing a wage for the last six months, opting not to pay herself in order to avoid having to sack one of the girls. With the help of Killarney, the shearing is completed. But just as a relieved Stevie thinks they're out of the woods, the silo holding all of their grain stocks catches fire. Suddenly the grain that was supposed to help get the cattle through the next few months is gone. They decide to sell off the cattle. Due to her owing the truckers money, Stevie is unable to get the required trucks to take the cattle to the sales yard. Grace finds a driver from a Queensland company that will take the cattle, but he won't leave the main highway due to time pressure. So, with no time to spare, the team locks up Drover's for the first time and perform a massive droving to meet the truck. After some incidents including an attempt to steal the cattle, Drovers makes the rendezvous to win the day. Before Xander's first birthday party, Moira receives a premonition of an accident and comes across a returned Phil. He is on the side of the road with a flat tyre. She tells him to get off the road and knocks him clear just as a jack knifing truck tears past. Both are unhurt. She tells him that he almost died without her getting to say how she feels about him. Everyone at the party toasts Xander. Stevie takes Xander and Charlotte for a walk and imagines them grown up and working the properties themselves. They are the spitting image of Alex and Claire in mannerism, looks, banter, and even participation in the local pool competition. In the concluding scene, the Drover's women ride across the land - Stevie, Grace, Jaz, Meg, Jodi, Regan, Ingrid, Moria and Tayler. The property is safe, in the end they have won the day. Note: This was the final episode of McLeod's Daughters. Jodi Fountain McLeod (Rachael Carpani) and Meg Fountain Dodge (Sonia Todd) return.

Songs In Episodes

• Aftermath

McLeods Daughters Theme--Rebecca Lavelle
Don't Give Up--Rebecca Lavelle
Take The Rain Away--Rebecca Lavelle

• The Pitfalls of Love

McLeods Daughters Theme--Rebecca Lavelle
The First Touch--Rebecca Lavelle
6 Months Overtime--Floyd Vincent and the Childbrides
Sick Of Love--Sarah McGregor

• Wild Ride

McLeods Daughters Theme--Rebecca Lavelle
Love You Hate You--Rebecca Lavelle
Struck Down--Mia Dyson
Right On Time--Black Guns

• Nowwhere to Hide

McLeods Daughters Theme--Rebecca Lavelle
Understand Me--Rebecca Lavelle

• Stand By Me

McLeods Daughters Theme--Rebecca Lavelle
Just A Child--Rebecca Lavelle

• Close Enough To Touch

McLeods Daughters Theme--Rebecca Lavelle
We Had No Time--Rebecca Lavelle

• Bringing Up Wombat

McLeods Daughters Theme--Rebecca Lavelle
We Had No Time--Rebecca Lavelle
Did I Tell You?--Rebecca Lavelle

• Three Sisters

McLeods Daughters Theme--Rebecca Lavelle
Don't Give Up--Rebecca Lavelle

• Dammed

McLeods Daughters Theme--Rebecca Lavelle
My Hearts Home (Drovers Run)--Rebecca Lavelle
So Fine--Cinema

• Mother Love

McLeods Daughters Theme--Rebecca Lavelle

• Bright Lights, Big Trouble

McLeods Daughters Theme--Rebecca Lavelle
Common Ground--Rebecca Lavelle
Always a Devil--Braindead Lovers
Stand Back--Offcuts

• Love and Let Die

McLeods Daughters Theme--Rebecca Lavelle
We Got It Wrong--Rebecca Lavelle

• A Dog's Life

McLeods Daughters Theme--Rebecca Lavelle
Common Ground--Rebecca Lavelle
Bright Eyed Century--Eva Trout
Sleeping In--Danny McDonald

• My Prince Will Come

McLeods Daughters Theme--Rebecca Lavelle
Broken Dreams--Rebecca Lavelle

• Snogging Frogs

McLeods Daughters Theme--Rebecca Lavelle
Sometimes--Rebecca Lavelle
Busta Blues--as credited
Free To Choose--as credited
The Price You Pay--as credited
You'll Be Mine Tonight--as credited
The Charity Ends Here--as credited

• The Merry Widow

McLeods Daughters Theme--Rebecca Lavelle
Don't Judge--Rebecca Lavelle

• Show Pony

McLeods Daughters Theme--Rebecca Lavelle
Broken Dreams--Rebecca Lavelle
Sorrow--Rebecca Lavelle
Bright Eyed Century--Eva Trout

• Every Move You Make

McLeods Daughters Theme--Rebecca Lavelle
Heat--Rebecca Lavelle

• Into Thin Air

McLeods Daughters Theme--Rebecca Lavelle
Am I Crazy?--Rebecca Lavelle

• The Show Must Go On

McLeods Daughters Theme--Rebecca Lavelle
Wake Up Gungellan--Doris Younane
Truckstop Woman--Doris Younane & chorus
Forever--Doris Younane, Peter Hardy, Abi Tucker, Matthew Passmore & chorus
Trust The Night--Rebecca Lavelle

• Into The Vally Of The Shadow

PART 1 McLeods Daughters Theme--Rebecca Lavelle
Time Turn Over--Rebecca Lavelle
You Believed--Rebecca Lavelle
PART 2
McLeod's Daughters Theme--Rebecca Lavelle
Drovers Run--Rebecca Lavelle
Speak My Angel--Abi Tucker
Ella--Crash Symphony

See also

• McLeod's Daughters

References

• Australian Television Information Archive
• www.tv.com
• McLeod's Daughters at the Internet Movie Database

External links

• McLeod's Daughters Official Website