For a dusty little Australian cattle ranch out in the middle of nowhere, Drovers Run certainly sees a lot of action. Koch Vision has released McLeod's Daughters: The Complete Fifth Season, another massive eight disc, 32-episode compilation of what was a few years ago, Australia's favorite nighttime drama. This season (which originally aired from February to November of 2005) includes a shocking departure for one of the series' regulars, along with the requisite numbers of misunderstandings, family squabbles, frustrated dreams, unrequited longings, shady, long-lost relatives, near-fatal accidents, and of course, lots of (usually off-screen) hooking up, that make up your average stint on a rural Australian cattle farm. It's an expertly crafted sudser which keeps drawing me along, season after season.

Diving right into the middle of an established series can be a daunting prospect for the uninitiated. I've watched McLeod's Daughters right from the beginning, and consistently, it's been an engrossing, tightly-constructed serial. Newcomers might be intimidated with the task of sorting out the large cast, as well as the innumerable permutations of their various interconnected relationships, but overall, the series is careful to keep the individual stories as self-contained as possible, so it's not impossible to start McLeod's Daughters right here, right now, if you're looking for a quality serial to watch.

As brief background, McLeod's Daughters concerns a cattle ranch in the spectacular Australian outback, run by Tess McLeod (Bridie Carter). Tess inherited half the ranch from her deceased father, with the other half being owned by her half-sister, Claire (Lisa Chappell), who died in spectacular fashion last season. Helping out at Drovers is Stevie Hall (Simmone Mackinnon), a rough-and-tumble redhead who oversees the farm; Jodi Fountain (Rachael Carpani), the gorgeous blonde ranch hand whose mother Meg (Sonia Todd) used to work at Drovers, and Kate Manfredi (Michala Banas), a soft-spoken but determined young woman who also works as a farm hand. Killarney, the expansive, successful neighboring farm, is run by gruff, bullying Harry Ryan (Marshall Napier) and his two sons: sensitive Nick (Myles Pollard), who recently married Tess, and hotheaded lunkhead Alex (Aaron Jeffrey), who was to marry Claire. Harry's wife, Sandra (Inge Hornstra), is a scheming, manipulative snake who's always angling to get control of Killarney, while Dave Brewer (Brett Tucker) is the local vet who frequently gets caught in the middle between the ambitions of the two farming families.

SPOILERS ALERT!

Season Five highlights include the rift between Tess and Nick, when Sally, Nick's former lover, brings Nick's baby Harrison back to Drovers. It's a melodramatic subplot right out of the silent movies, to be sure, but Bridie Carter has the Tess character, with all her contradictions and conflicted emotions, down pat by this fifth season, and she's quite good at making all of this nonsense look believable. The loss of Myles Pollard as Nick (or is he really dead?) will probably come as a big blow to diehard fans who have followed the show right from the beginning, but his character always struck me as an afterthought, anyway, so we'll see what's in store for Tess now that Nick has flown the coop, if you will, in an airplane crash. Simmone Mackinnon continues to impress as the outwardly wild but inwardly soft and vulnerable Stevie; the writers obviously enjoy playing to the emotional unpredictability she brings to her scenes. Her growing attraction to and love for Alex has a nice, slow build this season (with a shocking conclusion), with solid, attractive Aaron Jeffery working well with the red-haired beauty. I would imagine Rachael Carpani's flighty, unlucky-in-love Jodi was a fan favorite with the young women who watched the show. She always hits the right tone of brightness and light, while playing her romantic scenes (which are usually fraught with conflict) with appropriate angst; her subplot with dragstrip racer/ garage mechanic Luke (Dean O'Gorman) is given prominent space during the first half of the season. Marshall Napier's Harry and Inge Hornstra's Sandra are an interesting pairing - both flinty and devious and tough. They provide the necessary "villainy" of the piece, even though the series is careful to round their characters out in usually understandable shadings. And the introduction of Zoe Naylor as geologist (and niece to Tess) Regan McLeod provides a good-sized conflict in the beginning of the season's third act, when the unscrupulous Regan stakes a claim for gold on Drovers Run.

For me, a series like McLeod's Daughters works best when the producers and filmmakers make the piece - regardless of its level of artistic merit - with a sense of confidence and professionalism that demands you respect it. This is essentially a soap opera, but the makers of McLeod's Daughters have infused it with an atmosphere of subtly romanticized glamor (the cinematography is feature film-worthy, the stars are all model-pretty, the emotional conflicts are neatly solved or at least prettily suffered), filtered through a metronome-steady pacing which achieves a level of professionalism that you wouldn't expect from such a project. The best compliment I can pay McLeod's Daughters is that it's assured. It knows exactly what its goals are (i.e.: offer extremely well-written, well-plotted escapist entertainment, set down in a beautiful, wild setting, enacted by attractive actors), and it hits them consistently, and it hits them well. That's about as good as it gets for serial TV dramas and soaps.

Here are the 32, one-hour episodes of the eight-disc box set, McLeod's Daughters: The Complete Fifth Season, as described on their hardcase back covers:

DISC ONE:

Episode 107 - No Man's Land
Nick and Tess strain to keep their marriage together, but the damage caused by Sally's arrival with Nick's child may prove to be too much for the struggling newlyweds.

Episode 108 - Little White Lies
In order to visit Sally and his son Harrison, Nick finds himself lying to Tess. Even though his intentions are pure, Stevie warns him about letting matters get out of hand.

Episode 109 - Rules of Disengagement
Alex and Stevie concoct a plan to bring Tess and Nick back together, but once again, the inopportune arrival of Sally only makes matter worse.

Episode 110 - Once Were Heroes
Dave's passionate but stubborn side is exposed when he risks his career to save some mistreated horses. Jodie also takes some dangerous risks of her own, trying to stop Luke from gambling both his car and future in a drag race.

DISC TWO:

Episode 111 - Return of the Black Queen
Tess is stuck in bed with the chicken pox, so Kate pleads with Stevie to give Jodi her old job back. But even though she's struggling to find work, Jodie is the one who needs convincing.

Episode 112 - Do You Read Me...?
Stuck at home with an injured foot, Stevie inadvertently uncovers a horse-substitution scam that places both her and Alex in some hot water. Jodi, in order to prove her love to Luke, is asked to make a huge sacrifice involving the devious Greg Dawson.

Episode 113 - Taking Care of Business
When Kate resigns, Stevie and Tess face an uphill battle to keep Drovers Run in business. On the other side of the fence, Kate's inexperience forces Kinsella's tough farmhands to walk out on her.

Episode 114 - Old Flames
Passions flare for Kate and Jodi on a high-school reunion hiking trip. While Kate faces her first love, Jodi comes head to head with her old nemesis.

DISC THREE:

Episode 115 - Body Blows
Feeling more frustrated than ever, Alex decides to leave Killarney once and for all. Meanwhile, Meg must question her own sense of judgment when she decides to run the local election.

Episode 116 - Sins of the Father
Alex is back in charge of Killarney and Sandra is desperate to see him fail. Her scheme to make Alex look incompetent backfires when Stevie and Alex expose the deception.

Episode 117 - Boy Made Good
Excitement sweeps the area when a powerful ex-local is due to visit Gungellan in the interests of doing big business. When one of his employees arrives to set up in advance, Stevie is stunned to see he is none other than Will Hamilton, the father of her daughter Rose.

Episode 118 - The Pearl
Jodi, convinced that he was only doing deals to ultimately free himself from obligation, is prepared to risk everything for Luke. When things heat up, the young lovers formulate a reckless plan to flee the town forever.

DISC FOUR:

Episode 119 - The Prodigal Daughter
When Tess' mysterious cousin Regan arrives she makes enemies faster than she makes friends. But, Regan redeems herself when she helps Stevie escape a life-threatening farm accident.

Episode 120 - Love and Obsession
Kate finds her own reasons to dislike Regan as she watches Dave's flirtations with her grow into something more. Jealous and desperate for some dirt, Kate does some detective work to find out Regan's real reasons for coming to Drovers.

Episode 121 - One Long Long Day
Stevie jumps at the chance to help take care of Charlotte, but after a momentary distraction, she must face the most harrowing hour of her life when the little girl goes missing and one of her toys is found floating in the dam.

Episode 122 - Down to Earth
A new overseer for Killarney, Rob Shelton, arrives and his reserved manner does nothing to impress Alex and Jodi. At Drovers, the girls are threatened when they discover Regan's real intentions.

DISC FIVE:

Episode 123 - Heart of Gold
It's McLeod versus McLeod as the battle to save Drovers is on. After throwing Regan off the property, the Drovers girls fight to stop her from mining for gold. Tess feels doubly betrayed when she finds Dave in Regan's bed.

Episode 124 - Taking Flight
Dave and Kate form an unlikely team in the local Twitchathon with Dave hoping to repair some of the damage caused to their friendship because of Regan.

Episode 125 - Make Believe
When her grandmother arrives, Kate is forced to come clean to her friends and confess that she has been exaggerating her life and lying. While Kate is desperate to keep up this facade, it is her grandmother who has the most surprising confession to make.

Episode 126 - Heaven and Earth
Uncomfortable with the business side of things, Stevie puts the farm's long-worked-for organic status at risk. Trying to make amends, she makes matter worse when she puts Tess' horse in a situation that sees his life hanging in the balance.

DISC SIX:

Episode 127 - Moonstruck
When Stevie learns Alex will be taking an old flame to the Farmer's Council Ball, she jealously storms off. Later, when Alex tries to help Kate and Jodi fix the water pump and is overcome by gas fumes, Stevie puts her feelings aside to save him.

Episode 128 - If You Build It...
When some cattle from Drovers wander into Killarney in search of water, Sandra is furious. She decides to dig a drain that would channel much needed rain away from Drovers Run and straight into the Killarney dams.

Episode 129 - Out of Time
When Stevie's sister, Michelle, is injured by a rampaging stallion, Stevie notices the bond between Rose and Michelle and realizes she must keep the truth about Rose's maternity a secret.

Episode 130 - Betwixt and Between
Caught off guard, Stevie reveals to Rose that she is her real mother. Rose is devastated, leaving Stevie to face an uncertain future with her daughter.

DISC SEVEN:

Episode 131 - Truth or Dare
Sparks fly when Dave's brother Patrick arrives and sweeps Kate off her feet. While Patrick is charming Kate, Dave must deal with the painful memories of his father that his brother has churned up.

Episode 132 - The King and I
It's Jodi's twenty-second birthday, and she's not looking forward to it at all. Her mood improves when she receives news of a trust fund set up for her by the late Jack McLeod.

Episode 133 - Intentions
When a former student threatens Dave with a sexual harassment suit, he is forced to question his past behavior. His concern doubles when he learns that the threat is meant to blackmail him into giving the girl the reference he had previously denied.

Episode 134 - Stranger Than Fiction
Meg agonizes over Jodi's reaction to the revelation that Jack McLeod is possibly her real father. The arrival of copies of Meg's novel only increases her woes as the book has obvious parallels to Jodi's life.

DISC EIGHT:

Episode 135 - Twelve and a Half Hours Behind
Tess returns to Drovers and discovers she is pregnant, but an even bigger shock is in store when a call comes in from Argentina claiming the plane Nick has been traveling on has gone missing.

Episode 136 - Anniversary
After learning of Nick's death, Tess declares she wants to hold a party to celebrate his life. The girls decided to go along with whatever she wants, but Alex is upset, feeling unwanted as comforter and protector.

Episode 137 - Body & Soul
Alex is not coping with his brother's death and disappears from his friends' lives entirely. Tess, meanwhile, tries her best not to mourn for fear of harming the baby inside her.

Episode 138 - New Beginnings
Terrible arguments send Alex to the shack, and when Sandra also arrives in a rage against Harry, their shared misery leads them to an unexpected liaison. A fire breaks out and Stevie comes to the rescue, but learns she might be too late to tell Alex her true feelings.

The DVD:

The Video:
The anamorphically enhanced, 1.78:1 widescreen video transfers for McLeod's Daughters: The Complete Fifth Season look spectacular, as usual. Colors are brilliantly realized, in a crisp, clean, compression-free image.

The Audio:
The Dolby Digital English 2.0 soundtrack is more than adequate for this largely dialogue-driven drama. No subtitles or closed-captions are available, unfortunately.

The Extras:
No extras are included for McLeod's Daughters: The Complete Fifth Season

Final Thoughts:
McLeod's Daughters: The Complete Fifth Season is another expertly-crafted season of Aussie soap theatrics, with tightly constructed, well-integrated scripts, spectacular location shooting, and as always, a talented, attractive cast. Don't sniff at stuff like this: it's storytelling at its most basic and most elemental. And most engaging. I highly recommend McLeod's Daughters: The Complete Fifth Season.