THE long-awaited return of popular teen favourite Hannah Montana has finally arrived.
Hannah Montana Forever is the fourth and final instalment of the programme and began airing in early October. The concluding series is set to feature 13 episodes, airing a double-bill on weekdays that will repeat at the weekend. The writers have been faced with the challenge of rounding off the already existing storylines while preserving its originality. With 5.5 million people tuning in for the opening episode, the team behind the series will want to maintain this momentum.
The culmination of the Hannah Montana series is completely new ground for the Disney Channel. Beforehand, it has never aired a special finale programme for one of its shows. In addition, Hannah Montana Forever will also make its debut in high definition on the Disney HD Channel. It will be the first of the Hannah Montana series to be filmed and aired in this new, exciting format.
The show returns with main character Hannah Montana (played by actress and pop star Miley Cyrus) as she continues her battle with stardom, her personal life and everything in between. Ordinary girl Miley Stewart continues to struggle with maintaining the secrecy of her alter-ego, starlet Hannah Montana. She leads a life of fame while trying her best to keep in touch with normality, her family and her friends. Hannah finds that it can be fantastic, but isn't always easy to have The Best of Both Worlds, as the renowned title sequence music suggests.
Cyrus' father Billy Ray also resumes his role as Robby Stewart, loving Dad and mentor to Miley. The family is completed with the re-appearance of Miley's older brother Jackson (played by American actor Jason Earles). They continue to be two of the very few characters who know the true identity of Hannah Montana.
However, fans will notice an absence from the cast of the previous series. This being one of Hannah's best friends, Oliver Oken, played by actor and musician Mitchel Musso. The character became a recurring role for Musso as he had other commitments, including the filming of another Disney Channel show, Pair of Kings. Oliver is set to make guest appearances in some of the new episodes. The cast will also be reunited with Lily Truscott, another of Miley's best friends, who is played by Emily Osment; and Rico Suave (Moises Arias) best friend of Jackson and annoyance to Miley. The first two of these three characters also know of Miley's pop star alter-ego, but have been sworn to secrecy.
Nevertheless, a new series brings about new characters. One of the main introductions is Sienna (portrayed by Tammin Sursok), the bikini model girlfriend of Hannah's older brother. Other guest roles have been provided for Angus T Jones (young star of comedy Two and a Half Men), Christine Taylor (wife of actor Ben Stiller), television personality Dr Phil McGraw and talk-show host Jay Leno.
The show will also boast some entirely new songs, some of which will feature celebrities performing duets with Hannah. The most notable of the musical guest appearances is that of Grammy award-winning songwriter Sheryl Crow. She will collaborate with Hannah in a song entitled Need a Little Love in an episode where Miley is having a hard time with her relationship. The episode in question, It's the End of the Jake as We Know It, will also feature the first of two return appearances for Mitchel Musso and his character Oliver. The other notable musical cameo is hip-hop artist Iyaz (aka Keidran Jones) in a song called Gonna Get This. The music from Hannah Montana Forever has been compiled into an official soundtrack containing 12 songs, including those aforementioned.
The new series goes hand-in-hand with a revamped website. There are a number of interactive features on the new site which include a graphical mobile phone full of Hannah Montana pictures. The phone allows users to send their own message to Miley, and comes with customisable backgrounds. It also displays some of the messages from adoring fans as you navigate the site. In addition, there is a feature called Miley Stewart's Laptop, which displays fictitious interactions with fellow characters. Viewers can also interact with Hannah and send her messages, many of which she replies to.
Sixteen new Hannah Montana games have been added to the new website. One game, Sound Board Mix-Up, puts you in the place of Hannah's sound technician. The game asks you to keep the soundboard in check for Hannah as she rehearses and performs some of her popular songs. It does work on hand-eye coordination as you must press particular letters on the keyboard when required to do so on the screen. Other games include decorating Miley's bedroom and designing her outfits. There are games based on other characters like Oliver's Treasure Hunt and Jackson's Beach Treat Delivery. There are a number of downloads available from the site and these include printable posters, desktop wallpapers, buddy icons and t-shirt decals.
Also available on the website is a videography from the show. You can select clips from each of the different series as well as the 3 Minute Game Show, which has fans answering questions on Hannah Montana-related trivia. Full episodes are available for streaming through the same video player. You can also view interactive biographies of the main cast members and you can message your chosen character. Finally, you can access the music player featuring samples of tracks from the show.
Once the series has come to its conclusion, it is assumed that episodes will be repeated on the Disney Channel at the weekend. The show eventually had to come to an end with budding star Miley Cyrus having to commit herself to other areas of her developing career. Through exposure on the show she has shot to stardom through further leading roles in films such as The Last Song. Cyrus also has a promising music career, with a number of her songs ranking high in the US charts.
